Breastfeeding - Deland, FL

Hang in there. She will soon adjust to a more reasonable schedule. It just takes a little bit of time.

Keep it up :)

Congrats on your second! You must have your hands full!
Are you trying to get her on a sleeping routine too? A good routine is sleep, Eat, awake time,etc. (except at night of course)--and at 2 months this routine should take about 2.5- 3 hours, moving to 4 hours around 16 weeks. The key is to feed AFTER she wakes up during the day and not BF her to sleep. Also make sure she is emptying at least one of your breasts out (and don't switch during feeding until she does) so she gets the hind milk which will satiate her longer.
It's a learning process though, and she won't just following this routine immediately or exactly everyday. Just try and stretch her a little longer each time and try to keep her awake!
Some good reading materials on this are both "The baby whisperer"
http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Baby-Whisperer-Connect-Comm...
and Babywise
http://www.amazon.com/Becoming-Baby-Wise-Nighttime-Becomi...

My friend (who completely BFed both her kids) insisted that I read and follow Babywise and then I also found the Baby Whisperer book that recommends a similar routine but offers some different tools to achieve it. I think bvabywise explains why its so important by the baby whisperer gives much more practical advice on how to do it.
Like I said it's never exact--sometimes they sleep shorter/longer and sometimes they need to to be fed earlier, but they do fall into the routine and by 14 weeks our son was eating regularly and sleeping through the night (10 hours straight).

E.,
Breast milk is digested very quickly. That's why brest-fed babies have bms almost everytime they eat. It is normal for a two month old to eat every two hours. The only thing that may help her go longer at night would be a bottle of formula right before bed. She doesn't need rice cereal her little digestive system isn't ready for that. So many people told me to try that, but the dr said NO. She said that it isn't good for their immune systems as well as many other things. Every child is different. My second slept thru the night on breast milk alone very early. My first didn't sleep with supplements and my third is 7 months and he still wakes up. Just hang in there. And you can always try the formula if you want. It did make my oldest go in longer between feedings just didn't help him to sleep thru the night.
God Bless,
R.

I had the same problem with Emily when she was a baby, but she was 4 months old! It was impossible to go anywhere or do anything! I don't know how you feel about pacifiers, but that always bought me a little extra time with her. Otherwise, what I found worked best was distraction, like turning on some music and dancing around with your baby or putting her on the floor for some tummy time. If you can get her to go an extra 15 minutes for one feeding, try for 30 at the next one. Eventually she'll adjust to the new schedule.

Hi E.,
I was a La Leche League Leader for 7 years and nursing every two hours for a two month old is very very normal. If you try to nurse her a little more frequently in the evenings, you may be able to stretch out a longer first sleeping period, which helps when you have a little one. Remember too that babies go through growth spurts at 3weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months and six months. You aren't loosing your milk when that happens, just making more.
Good luck! and enjoy this time. My kids are 21, 19, 16 and 8 and these days go by so fast.
D.

I remember those days, when it seemed like all you were in the world was a nursing machine. I really miss those days. This is a growing month for your baby. She is also powere nursing to get your milk supply up. Some days she will want to nurse every hour and you will think she's not getting enought. DON'T suppliment. This new hunger is her body's way of making you let her nurse so that in a few days, you will have more milk and she can nurse bigger amounts less often. Breast milk is so gentle for thies undeveloped systems, that it doesn't last long in the tummy. She is getting more nutrients out of it than formula and it is teaching her to eat until she is no longer hungry rather than to eat until she has that stuffed, stretched stomanch feeling. This early training will help her be a healthier eater when she is grown. Often breastfed babies are fatter as babies but are much less likely to be obese adults because they haven't learned to down a huge bottle in less than a minute. She will go to about every 2 1/2 - 3 hours soon and then when she's four months, she will nurse every hour for about 3-4 days and will then be able to go every 4 hours. The general rule of thumb is if they are 1 month, they nurse every hour, 2 months, every 2 hours, 3 months every 3 hours, then at 4 months they nurse every 4 hours and that continues until they start solid foods at 6 months at the earliest, then they still nurse every 4 hours or so, but don't require as much time because they learn to drink with more strength and concentration so they can get back to playing. You may even find your baby will pullup your blouse, nurse for 3 minutes and seem to be done, she is getting an amazing amount of concentrated milk during those snacks and will make up for it at nighttime during the last and first feedings of the day. Hang in there, call La Leche League if you need someone to talk you through each stage. It is helpful and the women LOVE supporting you. Thank you for taking the time and ENERGY needed to be a sucessful breastfeeding mom.

Kelly W gave excellent advice and I want to add one thing... it took me until baby #3 to finally figure out that every time a baby fusses it doesn't mean he/she is hungry. If you use the techniques in Secrets of the Baby Whisperer to feed when she wakes up instead of wait until she is both hungry AND tired, then you'll find that she will nurse less often and her cues of hungry versus tired will be easier to read. If you nurse her when she's sleepy (as most moms mistakingly do) then she will associate nursing and sleeping instead of nursing and eat.

Dear E.,

I know how difficult it can be to nurse every two hours, but that is what she needs right now. She will turn a corner in a few weeks and be able to go longer w/o nursing. Just go with the flow.
Have you tried putting her in the bed with you- so you can sleep and she can nurse. I am sure that the every two hours through the night is the hardest.
You could also ask your pediatrician if she can have a small amount of cereal (taken from your finger) to see if that will help.
Make sure she is getting your hindmilk (like cream). If she is only getting your foremilk that isn't enough to keep her full. You can tell if she is only getting foremilk, because her poo will be green.
Hope this helps!
L.

Hi, looks like you have your answer, but I just wanted to add something to the "hind milk" thing... it may be what you already figured out, but... anyway...
I NEVER switched during the feeding. EVER. I never really needed to, and if I tried, they quit and were done. I just switched breasts for the NEXT feeding. Use a safety pin or something on your bra or blouse to help you remember which side is "due" (especially those middle of the night feedings)... or pin it to the arm of the chair... That way they are guaranteed to get the hind milk, AND your breasts each get fully emptied and will increase their production. You will get a little leakage from the unused one (especially at the beginning of the feeding), so keep extra nursing pads handy. It shouldn't be much longer before your baby stretches to 2 1/2 hours. Then before you know it 3 hours. Just remember one thing: As your baby sleeps longer at night between feedings (like you WANT them to), they have to make up that "missed" feeding during the day. So if your baby is going longer at night without waking, I wouldn't worry about the daytime frequency just yet. After your baby establishes a good regular 7 or 8 hours at night, THEN you can start watching the daytime feedings stretch out. For me, that occurred pretty concurrently with adding cereal in the diet around 4 months. If my memory isn't lost (my oldest is 10 yrs next month), he was going about 3 1/2 - 4 hours between feedings once he became accustomed to eating solids (cereal).

E.,

Two months is very normal to nurse a lot. She's just getting started.
I had one that nursed every hour and a half for one solid year! Count your blessings!

Take Care