Is It Possible to Nurse Your 5 Week Old Too Much?

My son went through a phase like that...honestly, for us, he really wasn't eating much, I think he just like the sucking sensation. I tried to find a pacifier that worked...instead of being the human version of that. I would try that.

-M

K.,

Congratulations on your new one! I had a baby that nursed just like yours. You are SO not alone! One hint that my sister-in-law gave me was to eat protein at every meal or snack starting from noon on. That way my body could digest the protein and it would be in my milk during the 'bewitching hours' (5pm to midnight). It helped my baby through her growth spurts and she started sleeping more (after the growth spurt). Hope you get the help you need!

Best wishes for you and your baby!

absolutely normal, this is not a job for sissies!

Your questions sounds just like one that I would have asked awhile back. My daughter was the same way. She is now 7 months old and nurses more regularily in the evenings but up until about 3-4 months - she nursed constantly from 6-9pm. I've heard that women tend to produce less milk in the evenings...so if your daughter is gaining weight fine and stops screaming when nursing...then by all means, if you can afford the time, use the time to sit back and relax!

It depends on who you talk to. I believe in nursing on demand. This is what I did with both of my kids who are now 3 and 5. They nursed at that age throughout the day and throughout the night. They slept w/me so getting up to feed was never an issue. Your baby is still very young and working on the whole supply/demand thing. Nothing is wrong with her. Momma's milk is goooooood.

Congrats on your new baby!
M.

Hi and congrats on your newborn! This sounds totally normal to me. My son did the same thing at that age. He would cluster feed every hour from 4pm - 10pm. I think this lasted until he was 3.5-4 months old.

there are times when the baby is gaining weight, and there is enough milk supply, but the latch is not effective.

you want to make sure that the baby has a deep latch, with the chin into the breast and the nose is back a little. picture yourself drinking a glass of water, your head is tilted back a bit. that's the way you want you're baby's.

check out drjacknewman.com for video clips on poor latch and better latch. you can see the difference in how much better flow of milk there is when a baby is latched onto the breast in the proper place.

normalfed.com has good information about baby's feeding patterns as well. what a baby expects, etc.

she could also be cluster feeding at that time. it is a very common time to do that.

bottom line, you want to look to your baby to tell you if she's hungry or satisfied.

a satisfied baby will fall asleep at the breast with ARMS RELAXED, palms open or pull off the breast and no longer show signs of hunger.

good luck, let me know if i can clarify anything that i mentioned. :)

K.,
My 6 week old does the same thing. I talked to my lactation specialist and she called it cluster feeding.... What happens is that your milk production is at it's highest in the morning and by evening you produce less, thus not satisfying your baby so they need to eat more often. When my LS told me this it totally made sense. You will notice how much smaller and softer your breast become in evening... Sometimes I feel like I don't have anything to give her but if I latch her on I immediately feel a let down. I hope this helps.

Well I must say that if its a problem then we are in the same boat. My four week old uses me pretty much as a cow and a human pacifier. I figure I would let this go on until he's about 2 mos. and then I'l worry about how to stop him from this habit. From what my girlfriends say, it's not an abnormal thing for the little one's to clig to their mothers.

My dd did the samething, we called it our nursing marathon! It only happened in the evenings, and nursing was all she wanted to do, even though I know she was not hungry. I got a big pillow and we would lie on the couch (so I could at least rest as well!) and let her nurse until she fell asleep. Luckily, it didn't last for long (and the nursing to sleep didn't become an issue either). Hang in there!

-M.

Congratulations on your new baby and you're such a good mom to follow her cues and seek information to do what's best for her. As soon as you get used to a routine the baby will go and change it! At about this age she has just gotten through most of the breastfeeding learning period so a change to nursing more frequently may be a surprise to you.

Yes, nursing "constantly" is NORMAL for many babies at around this age due to a growth spurt (usually at 6 weeks). Different babies have different nursing styles, so this may be different from what you experienced with your firstborn. She is trying to increase your milk supply and it shouldn't go on forever. If it continues beyond a week and you think she's not getting enough milk, get help from your local breastfeeding support group.

I would hesitate to use a pacifier until you're sure breastfeeding is going well. If you were to introduce a pacifier now, she won't stimulate your milk supply as much as Mother Nature intended. Babies nurse for many reasons other than nutrition; you are her world right now. Many babies go through a fussy period each day; often at the end of the day. If nursing helps calm her down then consider it a wonderful mothering tool available for you to use! :-) If this is the case --fussy baby-- it often subsides around the 3-month mark...hang in there!

You can't overfeed a breastfed baby.

C.

May be colicky. No, you can't nurse too much, but if it's too much for you, try some other things to soothe. It helps sometimes if you offer just one side for 2 feedings, then the other. Sometimes they just need to suck, but aren't hungry. Look at the La Leche League site.

Hi K., I am sure you've gotten responses but wanted to let you know that you can not overfeed a breast fed baby. You can overfeed a bottle fed baby, but not a breast fed baby.
Hope that puts your mind at ease!
K.

um, brestfeeding is one of the busiest "jobs".... some babies, yes, nurse EVERY hour. It's not the frequency per say...but the intake amount that is important... also, breastmilk digests faster and quicker than formula, so breastfed babies need to nurse more often etc.

Could it be that perhaps your baby is "not" getting enough intake per session....thus, she is nursing more frequently? How much is she drinking? How long does she nurse? Make sure it is at least 15 minutes or longer so she gets to the "hind" milk. The reason I ask is.... I have a couple of friends...whose babies were quite fussy and cried a lot....come to find out, the Mom didn't have enough milk, and in the other baby he was not suckling properly and thus was basically starving and always hungry....thus, needed to nurse all the time because his suckling was not efficient and not properly latched on etc. In both babies they were basically hungry all the time because of the lack of intake(milk) that they were getting for various reasons. And, they cried all the time as a result, and were fussy.

Is this a new behavior of hers....or has she always nursed all the time? Perhaps she is going through a "growth spurt" and so at this time is hungrier than normal? And this is normal too.

If anything, check with your pediatrician.

Take care and all the best,
~Susan

try giving her a pacifier between and that may help. Do it while snuggling. But take it away when she goes to bed because every time it falls out of her mouth during the night she will cry for it. I did that with my son and he never needed one in his bed.

My 8 week old is doing the same thing. So, after I change and nurse her, I just have to hold her and cuddle her. But I don't let her nurse if she's not hungry because then you become a human pacifier. You might want to try a pacifier because sometimes they want to suck but they're not hungry. That's normal. Hang in there. It does get better! After six babies, I know!

HI K.,

Congratulations on your little one! You've gotten great advice, so I'll just add a suggestion to weigh her every week --- she should be putting on about 0.5 - 1 ounce of weight per day, I think (check with your lactation consultant). If she's gaining well, then you're making enough milk. I thought my little on was colicy, and discovered that I wasn't making enough milk for him.

You're probably fine, but peace of mind is worth the world at this point!
good luck
C.

She's just cluster feeding. It's totally normal. Hang in there, she'll slow down before too long. She's just taking what she needs from you right now as she grows. She'll go through lots of growth spurts where she eats a ton. Then, sometimes she'll just sleep a ton. Good luck with your new baby : )

If you are concerned talk with your doctor. My son was a very fussy baby and screamed and cried a lot especially in the evening. He wanted to nurse All the TIME, especially in the evening. We later discovered that he had severe acid reflux and that he was wanting to nurse frequently for temporary comfort/relief of his acid reflux. Hopefully this is not be the case with your child, just keep a close eye on her and share details of her behavior and routine with your doctor. If she is spitting up frequently make sure to mention that to your doctor too. Oh, and if you aren't already swaddling you might want to swaddle her really snug. We followed the 5 S's (swaddle, side, shhhhh, suck, shake) from the DVD Happiest Baby on the Block, and once we got the hang of it, it worked like a charm. Check out this site and see if this might help you. http://www.thehappiestbaby.com/ It certainly worked for us!!! I wish you the best of luck!!! -T.

This is normal : ) My baby, Gavin, nursed for 45 min each side and took a 30 min break between feedings. I learned at this time to nurse laying down- side nursing. Your body adjusts as your baby sucks (read what to expect the first year). When they nurse, your body will prepare for growth spurts, which happen all the time. During this period they will just eat and sleep at the same time. Keep your binky in your pocket, you don't need it. Remember a baby cries when hungry, tired, gassy or needs to be changed. Your doing great.

It could be that she is not getting enough each time she nurses. It could be either a latching problem, or production. Talk to your OB/GYN or hospital and they can get you connected to a Lactation specialist that might be able to help

Emily S. gave a good posting, but would like to add... I have a 5 week old and he is going through a growth spurt. Which means he would stay latched on all day if he could. I swear he is latched on every hour! So if it is just evenings it could be cluster feedings but if it starts to be all day, could be a growth spurt...you are not alone!

My daughter went through a smiliar thing at about the same age. She really wasn't hungry, just restless. I pretty much indulged her, and it passed after a week or so. Try handing her off to someone else for break for your nopples.

My daughter used to nurse every hour and a half. I was so exausted that I thought I would lose my mind. But she's very healthy because I nursed

It sounds normal to me. My son would nurse every 2-3 hours all day long for about the first 3 months. He's now 7 1/2 months old, although I nurse him on demand, he has fallen into a routine, which is pretty consistent. Remember too, the nursing time frame is counted from the time you begin nursing to the beginning of the next nursing. My son took his sweet time when he was a newborn and I often only had 60-90 minutes between nursing. Breastfeeding is wonderful for the baby, but it is a huge commitment by mom. The good news is that it does get easier and not quite so intense.

Just a head's up...at about 6 weeks babies go through a growth spurt. Don't be shocked if the nursing schedule intensifies. My son was nursing every hour and a half, sometimes every hour for about 2-3 days. This is perfectly normal...exhausting, but normal.

Hang in there, you're doing a wonderful thing for your daughter that will benefit her the rest of her life. Congratulations on your sweet girl!

New borns breast feed a lot, but if she is screaming unless she is nursing then you should take her and get her checked by the doctor. She should be sleeping a lot too.
She may have gas or have colic. There are so many things that babies can have that are easy fixes, but they should not be crying that much.
Take care
B.

I think this is super normal-and most babies do this. The evenings are hard. probably our milk supply is thinner, and baby likes the snuggle. Do not worry.

Dear K.,

My son wanted to nurse 24/7 every hour for 30 minutes!! the nursing specialist (1 week follow up send by the hospital)who came to my home told me that he just liked the closeness - he was getting enough milk. She recommended I give him a water bottle if he wanted to nurse less than two hours after the previous session. This worked!!I was much less grumpy because now I had a bit more time for my other 2 sons (ages 4 and 2).

I have to stress that my son was growing normally - in fact he never lost weight like some newborns do, nor did he ever have difficulty latching on or feeding. He did eventually give up the water. I tease him now that he is a true born control freak!

Good Luck!

S.

It is normal for newborns to go through a growth spurt at 6 weeks which you can usually tell a huge surge in nursing by. Sounds like she may be doing this, and it is normal. Keep feeding on demand, and she should slow down again when the growth spurt fades.

K.,

Also, make sure that you are making enough for her. Eat lots, drink plenty of fluids and keep your stress level down. Light excersise helps with the stress. Make sure you are relaxing and not doing too much.

Evelyn

K.,

They say you can't over feed your infant. My 7 month old daughter has done that off and on since she was born. I just chalk it up to a growth spurt. She does it for a week or so and then there is a lull then she does it again. I asked my doctor the same thing a few weeks ago because I began to think, wow she's almost 7 months old is it normal? He (or his nurse) said check to make sure you are making enough milk and that you are eating a balance diet. There were times when I just couldn't keep up with her needs so I used Fenugreek which you can find in health/holistic stores it works in 24 hours. I love it. I am a working mom so I take it to keep up my supply and when I'm off I use it if I feel I'm not making enough. Sometimes I think she uses it more to get to or back to sleep instead of nurishment so I try to give her a binky instead which she takes sometimes.

M. P