If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Exclusive BF for big baby?
Hi, This is my first post, although I've been lurking since my son was born
4/2/03. This group has been very informational for me, and I thought I'd ask for advice. My son was born 8lbs 9 oz, as of last weekend, he was a little over 18 lbs. so he has double his birthweight and then some, and he's not yet 4 months. He has been almost exclusively breastfeed since birth (except for the first few days when I was force to supplement w/ formula, due to my inverted nipples, but thank god for breast shields, my BF savior, and he wean off of those at 10 weeks, but now is refusing bottles of EBM but that's another story.) . I've been lucky that he has always slept through the night since birth, (4-6 hours) until he was 4 weeks then 5-7 hour when he was 6 weeks, and 6-8 hours at 8 weeks, and 8 hours+ for the last 6 weeks. Well now he is starting not to sleep through the night, I'd say for the past week, he's woken up 4 time at midnight or 3 am, starving, last night it was twice. Sometimes he cries, other times he is just tossing and turning and sucking his fist vigoriously, and is smacking his lips. I readily feed him, and he goes right back to sleep after 10 min or so, but I'm wondering if milk is still enough for him. I mean I know that it is, but I kind of like him sleeping through the night. I don't think it's a growth spurt, I've actually not notice any except for the 3 week one. I have a really good supply, but I think he can't drink enough in the day sometimes to meet his intake requirement. The few times that he has sucked my dry, my body does really well and adjust the next day, and I get engorged for several days. I nurse every 2-2.5 hours, but sometimes he won't nurse for more than 5 min.most times he'll nurse for 10-12 min, but always refuses the other breast. In all I'm nursing about 7 times during the day. I'm debating starting solids. I know about the allergies, but I'm worried that I can't nurse him enough during the day for him not to be hungry in the middle of night. I know some babies, don't sleep through the night til much later, but I'm spoiled and don't want to give that up. Any advice for me to either get him to nurse longer during the day? Part of the problem is I think I have OAL, and I've heard that I should pump to relieve some of that, but that just don't make sense to me, I mean if I pump won't I continue to produce more than I need. And at what point should I start trying solids, what the largest baby in this group who has gone exclusive BF, and had the baby sleep through the night? Maybe I should just suck it up, and do what's best for my son and just exclusively BF until he's at least 6 months. Reading this I'm not really sure what I'm asking but for some of you guys to share your experiences with me. Especially those of you w/ larger babies, and how long you exclusily breast feed for. I know I have enough and can produce enough BM to keep him going but at what cost to me, and at the rate he's gaining I expect the problem to just get worse.. And a side note Dr. Sears said if your baby is taking 40 ounces of formula, you should (it might have could) probably try to replace one of his feedings with cereal. According to my calculations he needs 36-45 ounces a day (the 2 - 2.5 ounce per lb standard), so does that apply to BF babies to? So I'm unsure of what I should do, a. try to get him to nurse more during the day b. try to add cereal to his diet c. suck it up, and feed BM whenever he wants it even if it means not sleep through the night anymore. I know this isn't a problem compared to what others are experiencing but it goes through my head about every day, weather I should start solid or not. Thanks, LuLu and my chunky monkey. |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Exclusive BF for big baby?
Hi Lana,
My baby is the exact same age as yours, born April 2nd! She was 8lbs 13 or 14oz (4kg's exact) and is now 5.6 kgs, so well below doubling her birth weight. Your boy has grown lots!! Way to go full cream Muma Just recently she gave up her long stretch of sleeping at night (6-7 hours) to waking every 3-4 hours for a feed. I too started wondering if maybe I fed solids she'd be fuller and less hungry. She also is really into chewing things and I think she'd enjoy some food. But then I recommitted to "sucking it up" and do what I feel is right, and wait for 6 months. Low and behold she slept 6.5 hours again last night so maybe it was a little growth spurt that just needed one extra feed. (I've never noticed a growth spurt either, because she munches all the time as it is! She'd have to be permanently attached to nurse much more frequently!!) If the BM is satisfying him with an extra feed I'd be sticking to that in my situation. Cheers, Leah "Lana" wrote in message news:G6pUa.131718$OZ2.25972@rwcrnsc54... Hi, This is my first post, although I've been lurking since my son was born 4/2/03. This group has been very informational for me, and I thought I'd ask for advice. My son was born 8lbs 9 oz, as of last weekend, he was a little over 18 lbs. so he has double his birthweight and then some, and he's not yet 4 months. He has been almost exclusively breastfeed since birth (except for the first few days when I was force to supplement w/ formula, due to my inverted nipples, but thank god for breast shields, my BF savior, and he wean off of those at 10 weeks, but now is refusing bottles of EBM but that's another story.) . I've been lucky that he has always slept through the night since birth, (4-6 hours) until he was 4 weeks then 5-7 hour when he was 6 weeks, and 6-8 hours at 8 weeks, and 8 hours+ for the last 6 weeks. Well now he is starting not to sleep through the night, I'd say for the past week, he's woken up 4 time at midnight or 3 am, starving, last night it was twice. Sometimes he cries, other times he is just tossing and turning and sucking his fist vigoriously, and is smacking his lips. I readily feed him, and he goes right back to sleep after 10 min or so, but I'm wondering if milk is still enough for him. I mean I know that it is, but I kind of like him sleeping through the night. I don't think it's a growth spurt, I've actually not notice any except for the 3 week one. I have a really good supply, but I think he can't drink enough in the day sometimes to meet his intake requirement. The few times that he has sucked my dry, my body does really well and adjust the next day, and I get engorged for several days. I nurse every 2-2.5 hours, but sometimes he won't nurse for more than 5 min.most times he'll nurse for 10-12 min, but always refuses the other breast. In all I'm nursing about 7 times during the day. I'm debating starting solids. I know about the allergies, but I'm worried that I can't nurse him enough during the day for him not to be hungry in the middle of night. I know some babies, don't sleep through the night til much later, but I'm spoiled and don't want to give that up. Any advice for me to either get him to nurse longer during the day? Part of the problem is I think I have OAL, and I've heard that I should pump to relieve some of that, but that just don't make sense to me, I mean if I pump won't I continue to produce more than I need. And at what point should I start trying solids, what the largest baby in this group who has gone exclusive BF, and had the baby sleep through the night? Maybe I should just suck it up, and do what's best for my son and just exclusively BF until he's at least 6 months. Reading this I'm not really sure what I'm asking but for some of you guys to share your experiences with me. Especially those of you w/ larger babies, and how long you exclusily breast feed for. I know I have enough and can produce enough BM to keep him going but at what cost to me, and at the rate he's gaining I expect the problem to just get worse.. And a side note Dr. Sears said if your baby is taking 40 ounces of formula, you should (it might have could) probably try to replace one of his feedings with cereal. According to my calculations he needs 36-45 ounces a day (the 2 - 2.5 ounce per lb standard), so does that apply to BF babies to? So I'm unsure of what I should do, a. try to get him to nurse more during the day b. try to add cereal to his diet c. suck it up, and feed BM whenever he wants it even if it means not sleep through the night anymore. I know this isn't a problem compared to what others are experiencing but it goes through my head about every day, weather I should start solid or not. Thanks, LuLu and my chunky monkey. --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.459 / Virus Database: 258 - Release Date: 25/02/03 |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Exclusive BF for big baby?
In article ,
"lovey" wrote: he's also lately gone from one wakening a night to a couple/few times... maybe it's normal for 4 mth olds? It does happen with some -- "Baby Love" says some babies sleep through the night from about 6 weeks, then stop doing so at about 4 mo. Unfortunately my DS followed ths pattern, and yes, it WAS hard to adjust! OTOH it was usually a single waking, except when he was teething/sick. WRT overweight babies -- if the baby chooses his own feeding patern I think he is unlikely to be overweight. Overweight is more likely in bottle-fed babies who (a) can't control the milk flow rate like bfed babies or (b) have some adult encouraging them to finish the bottle. Once a baby starts to crawl, and particularly when they learn to walk, their weight gain changes and they slim down. If your doctor isn't concerned, I would not be either. I suppose if the weight percentile is a long way ahead of the height percentile it might be time to worry. -- Chookie -- Sydney, Australia (Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply) "...children should continue to be breastfed... for up to two years of age or beyond." -- Innocenti Declaration, Florence, 1 August 1990 |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Exclusive BF for big baby?
I've been lucky that he has always slept through the night since birth, (4-6
hours) until he was 4 weeks then 5-7 hour when he was 6 weeks, and 6-8 hours at 8 weeks, and 8 hours+ for the last 6 weeks. Well now he is starting not to sleep through the night, I'd say for the past week, he's woken up 4 time at midnight or 3 am, starving, last night it was twice. Sometimes he cries, other times he is just tossing and turning and sucking his fist vigoriously, and is smacking his lips. DD was born 3/27 7lb 7oz, she is now 4 mos 13lb 12oz (90th percentile). She has been doing the same exact thing, has slept thru the night since about 5 weeks and now she wakes at 11pm to nurse and sleeps till 6, or the other day it was 3am and 6am feeding from 10 at night. She is a big girl, but I have decided and the pediatrician agress that we should wait until 6 months for solids, that is unless of course she really needs to start before then. Maybe it is all a 4 month old thing rather than a large baby thing, I mean the change in sleeping patterns. Good Luck. Karen Ann Mommy to: Ashley 11-13-90 Meghan 3-10-97 Hayley "Chunky Monkey" 3-27-03 |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Exclusive BF for big baby?
"Lana" wrote in message news:G6pUa.131718$OZ2.25972@rwcrnsc54... My son was born 8lbs 9 oz, as of last weekend, he was a little over 18 lbs. so he has double his birthweight and then some, and he's not yet 4 months. Which shows how well he's doing on your milk! In all I'm nursing about 7 times during the day. I'm debating starting solids. Dr. Sears said if your baby is taking 40 ounces of formula, you should (it might have could) probably try to replace one of his feedings with cereal. According to my calculations he needs 36-45 ounces a day (the 2 - 2.5 ounce per lb standard), so does that apply to BF babies to? You'll also notice on Sears's site that he lists many other criteria regarding readiness other than the amount a baby is eating. I would urge you to wait. Kelly's AP Site has a link addressing the question of starting solids to encourage sleeping through the night: "The idea that solids will help your baby sleep is an old wives' tale that has been disproven by medical studies. Feeding your baby solids or formula in an attempt to make baby sleep longer is not a good idea for several reasons." Then there's an extensive explanation. See http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/solids-sleep.html. Belphoebe |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Exclusive BF for big baby?
In G6pUa.131718$OZ2.25972@rwcrnsc54 Lana wrote:
Hi, This is my first post, although I've been lurking since my son was born 4/2/03. This group has been very informational for me, and I thought I'd ask for advice. My son was born 8lbs 9 oz, as of last weekend, he was a little over 18 lbs. so he has double his birthweight and then some, and he's not yet 4 months. He has been almost exclusively breastfeed since birth ( except for the first few days when I was force to supplement w/ formula, due to my inverted nipples, but thank god for breast shields, my BF savior, and he wean off of those at 10 weeks, but now is refusing bottles of EBM but that's another story.) . I've been lucky that he has always slept through the night since birth, ( 4-6 hours) until he was 4 weeks then 5-7 hour when he was 6 weeks, and 6-8 hours at 8 weeks, and 8 hours+ for the last 6 weeks. Well now he is starting not to sleep through the night, I'd say for the past week, he's woken up 4 time at midnight or 3 am, starving, last night it was twice. Sometimes he cries, other times he is just tossing and turning and sucking his fist vigoriously, and is smacking his lips. I readily feed him, and he goes right back to sleep after 10 min or so, but I'm wondering if milk is still enough for him. I mean I know that it is, but I kind of like him sleeping through the night. I don't think it's a growth spurt, I've actually not notice any except for the 3 week one. I have a really good supply, but I think he can't drink enough in the day sometimes to meet his intake requirement. The few times that he has sucked my dry, my body does really well and adjust the next day, and I get engorged for several days. I nurse every 2-2.5 hours, but sometimes he won't nurse for more than 5 min. most times he'll nurse for 10-12 min, but always refuses the other breast. In all I'm nursing about 7 times during the day. I'm debating starting solids. I know about the allergies, but I'm worried that I can't nurse him enough during the day for him not to be hungry in the middle of night. I know some babies, don't sleep through the night til much later, but I'm spoiled and don't want to give that up. Any advice for me to either get him to nurse longer during the day? Part of the problem is I think I have OAL, and I've heard that I should pump to relieve some of that, but that just don't make sense to me, I mean if I pump won't I continue to produce more than I need. And at what point should I start trying solids, what the largest baby in this group who has gone exclusive BF, and had the baby sleep through the night? Maybe I should just suck it up, and do what's best for my son and just exclusively BF until he's at least 6 months. Reading this I'm not really sure what I'm asking but for some of you guys to share your experiences with me. Especially those of you w/ larger babies, and how long you exclusily breast feed for. I know I have enough and can produce enough BM to keep him going but at what cost to me, and at the rate he's gaining I expect the problem to just get worse.. And a side note Dr. Sears said if your baby is taking 40 ounces of formula, you should (it might have could) probably try to replace one of his feedings with cereal. According to my calculations he needs 36-45 ounces a day (the 2 - 2.5 ounce per lb standard), so does that apply to BF babies to? So I'm unsure of what I should do, a. try to get him to nurse more during the day b. try to add cereal to his diet c. suck it up, and feed BM whenever he wants it even if it means not sleep through the night anymore. I know this isn't a problem compared to what others are experiencing but it goes through my head about every day, weather I should start solid or not. I have a 20 pound four month old (just got her weighed yesterday), and I wouldn't dream of starting solids at this point. She can't even sit up on her own. She does, however sleep about six hours at night, and I think that's wonderful. My son (who is now 2) weighed 19 pounds at his four month visit and never slept longer than two hours at a stretch until he was about 2 1/2. And that was after he weaned. Some babies sleep, some babies don't. I haven't found that it's related to food intake, honestly. Contrary to popular advice, solids do not usually make a baby sleep through the night. I know a lot of people who try it, but I've rarely ever seen it work. Dr Sears says that if your *six to nine month old* formula fed baby is taking 40 ounces of formula, you might try introducing solids. (http:// askdrsears.com/html/3/t032000.asp) I don't think he is a fan of introducing solids early for the reasons listed on the link above. As far as sleeping, try checking out "The No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. I will say, however, that it is really common for babies in the second half of the first year to wake more often. Developmental milestones, teething, and a bunch of other things can disrupt sleep, and it's really normal. Good luck, Meredith |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Exclusive BF for big baby?
Have you been to your 4 month check-up yet? Our ped. said that SOMETIMES
they suggest cereal if a baby is too overweight because it has less calories. He said it just depends on the baby--I think DS is achieving developmental milestones, etc. like some of the other people have said and that is causing him to wake more. Good luck, Robin "Lana" wrote in message news:G6pUa.131718$OZ2.25972@rwcrnsc54... Hi, This is my first post, although I've been lurking since my son was born 4/2/03. This group has been very informational for me, and I thought I'd ask for advice. My son was born 8lbs 9 oz, as of last weekend, he was a little over 18 lbs. so he has double his birthweight and then some, and he's not yet 4 months. He has been almost exclusively breastfeed since birth (except for the first few days when I was force to supplement w/ formula, due to my inverted nipples, but thank god for breast shields, my BF savior, and he wean off of those at 10 weeks, but now is refusing bottles of EBM but that's another story.) . I've been lucky that he has always slept through the night since birth, (4-6 hours) until he was 4 weeks then 5-7 hour when he was 6 weeks, and 6-8 hours at 8 weeks, and 8 hours+ for the last 6 weeks. Well now he is starting not to sleep through the night, I'd say for the past week, he's woken up 4 time at midnight or 3 am, starving, last night it was twice. Sometimes he cries, other times he is just tossing and turning and sucking his fist vigoriously, and is smacking his lips. I readily feed him, and he goes right back to sleep after 10 min or so, but I'm wondering if milk is still enough for him. I mean I know that it is, but I kind of like him sleeping through the night. I don't think it's a growth spurt, I've actually not notice any except for the 3 week one. I have a really good supply, but I think he can't drink enough in the day sometimes to meet his intake requirement. The few times that he has sucked my dry, my body does really well and adjust the next day, and I get engorged for several days. I nurse every 2-2.5 hours, but sometimes he won't nurse for more than 5 min.most times he'll nurse for 10-12 min, but always refuses the other breast. In all I'm nursing about 7 times during the day. I'm debating starting solids. I know about the allergies, but I'm worried that I can't nurse him enough during the day for him not to be hungry in the middle of night. I know some babies, don't sleep through the night til much later, but I'm spoiled and don't want to give that up. Any advice for me to either get him to nurse longer during the day? Part of the problem is I think I have OAL, and I've heard that I should pump to relieve some of that, but that just don't make sense to me, I mean if I pump won't I continue to produce more than I need. And at what point should I start trying solids, what the largest baby in this group who has gone exclusive BF, and had the baby sleep through the night? Maybe I should just suck it up, and do what's best for my son and just exclusively BF until he's at least 6 months. Reading this I'm not really sure what I'm asking but for some of you guys to share your experiences with me. Especially those of you w/ larger babies, and how long you exclusily breast feed for. I know I have enough and can produce enough BM to keep him going but at what cost to me, and at the rate he's gaining I expect the problem to just get worse.. And a side note Dr. Sears said if your baby is taking 40 ounces of formula, you should (it might have could) probably try to replace one of his feedings with cereal. According to my calculations he needs 36-45 ounces a day (the 2 - 2.5 ounce per lb standard), so does that apply to BF babies to? So I'm unsure of what I should do, a. try to get him to nurse more during the day b. try to add cereal to his diet c. suck it up, and feed BM whenever he wants it even if it means not sleep through the night anymore. I know this isn't a problem compared to what others are experiencing but it goes through my head about every day, weather I should start solid or not. Thanks, LuLu and my chunky monkey. |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Exclusive BF for big baby?
My son was born 8lbs 9 oz, as of last weekend, he was a little over 18 lbs.
so he has double his birthweight and then some, and he's not yet 4 months. Wow! Sounds like he's doing terrific on your milk! So I'm unsure of what I should do, a. try to get him to nurse more during the day b. try to add cereal to his diet c. suck it up, and feed BM whenever he wants it even if it I snipped most of your post, but I would definitely try to wait a little longer to start solids. Not necessarily 6 months, but he isn't even 4 months yet, which is really the bare minimum. Since it's entirely normal and common for 3 1/2 month old babies to nurse at night, why not just feed him at night if he wakes. Maybe he'll go back to sleeping through in a few days, or maybe not. You could certainly try feeding him more often during the day and see if that will help, though if he's already eating every couple of hours during the day, he probably won't want to nurse much more than that. (Before rushing to cereal, remember that, while he's a big baby, he's still only 3 1/2 months old, and so probably can't digest cereal yet. Do you really want to fill his belly with something that he can't make any use of? Give it a few more weeks. At 4 or 4 1/2 months, if you still want to try the cereal, and he's showing other signs of readiness, you can offer him some and see if he likes it/is able to take it.) Naomi CAPPA Certified Lactation Educator (either remove spamblock or change address to to e-mail reply.) |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Exclusive BF for big baby?
Lana wrote:
apply to BF babies to? So I'm unsure of what I should do, a. try to get him to nurse more during the day b. try to add cereal to his diet c. suck it up, and feed BM whenever he wants it even if it means not sleep through the night anymore. I know this isn't a problem compared to what others are experiencing but it goes through my head about every day, weather I should start solid or not. I had one of 'those' babies. Wubby was 7-14 at birth, 11-12 at 4 weeks, 18-8 at 4 months and 20-8 at 6 months. He nursed almost exclusively until he was 9 months old (I tried solids earlier but he gagged on them). He was also a short duration, frequent nurser. 5-10 minutes on one side every 1-2 hours was his norm. This does sound like a growth spurt and while I hate saying 'suck it up' (it seems so uncaring) I would go this route for at least a little while before resorting to solids/formula etc......He may settle back into his pattern in a few weeks. I don't want to be really *itchy but the vast majortiy of babies BF or FF are not sleeping 8 hours a night at his age, I'd call you lucky he is only waking once around 3, I'd think anything better than that is gravy. Try to get him to nurse more during the day. Any thought to waking him right before you go to sleep to try and carry him through the true middle of the night? karen |
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
misc.kids FAQ on Prenatal Testing - Overview and Personal Stories | [email protected] | Pregnancy | 1 | April 17th 04 12:52 PM |
misc.kids FAQ on the Pregnancy AFP Screen and the Triple Screen | [email protected] | Pregnancy | 0 | January 16th 04 10:15 AM |
Baby item recs againhigh chair etc | Jill | Pregnancy | 11 | January 13th 04 06:17 PM |
Question about sling/attachment parenting (long, sorry) | Vijay | Pregnancy | 23 | November 11th 03 09:12 AM |