How Can I Speed up Breastfeeding 4 Month Old?

My first daughter did this as well but I did just have another daughter in january and she is so quick. My doctor said they get all they can in the first 5-10min so any thing else is just comfort... hope that helps!

Lots of good advice so far but I think the best advice, by far, is to contact a lactation consultant. They can help you determine if supply is an issue and teach you how to figure out when your baby is feeding versus comforting herself at the breast. I wouldn't start working to build up your supply until you know if your supply is actually low. Having too much isn't any better than too little because you can then develop mastitis.

I don't know what resources Cranston has but South Shore Hostpital in Weymouth, MA has a FABULOUS group of consultants who hold free breast feeding support groups every week day and where you delivered is not an issue. They also have a great "warm line" to assist with breast feeding problems by phone. I would guess there are similar reources in your own area, but if you're up near Boston's south shore, check out SSH's support group!

Your going to get all kinds of advice here but really just try to enjoy it. It's a nice quiet time for everyone to relax. The one side thing will probably help as will supplementing with a bottle of formula once a day or so. Either way, find what works and enjoy it...soon she'll be running away from you!

My son used to fall asleep a lot while nursing, so we had this issue too. In addition to waking her up when she slows down, I would also recommend squeezing down your breast, by holding it about halfway up and squeezing hard. This gets all the milk from the higher up ducts. She is probably slowing down because less milk is coming. When she slows down, have you ever checked to see how much milk is still flowing, by manually expressing? The milk might be gone, and she is nursing for comfort. It sounds like you arent OK with her continuing to nurse for comfort after the milk is gone, so when the milk is gone, you can decided whether you want to pull her off.

Hi M.. My LO got faster and more efficient at BF'g arouond 6 mos. She too was a slow nurser - and yes, even more so at bedtime. I used to pump at night and have my DH give her a bottle at night before bed because it took so long! I often work at night too, so it worked out for us.

To get her 'moving' again, I used to rub the palm of her hand with my thumb, or raise her arm over her head almost like she was raising her hand in class. Both those methods worked the best.

Around 4 mos I started to feed my LO every 3.5 hrs instead of every 3, and slowly moved to 4 hrs by 6 mos, and she ate more in one sitting faster.

I hope that info helps!

Hi
I am an Occupational Therapist and work with feeding for babies. Sometimes the slow eating is not mom but the baby having a slow suck and swallow process. This can be evaluated and treated easily. I use CranioSacral Therapy for the babies that I treat. You can go onto Upledger.com and "Find a therapist"
Hope this was helpful
C.

Have you tried talking to a lactation consultant?

Also, 3-4 ounces is A LOT to be pumping. I wish I could pump that much. I pump every day, and often only get an ounce or two at a time. So I wouldn't worry about your supply. Sounds like she's just a laid back kid!

Hi M.,

Regarding the amount that you pump: the baby is MUCH more efficient at getting milk out of you than the pump is, so she is probably getting more than the 3 to 4 ounces that you pump.

I can also totally emphathize: my daughter used to fall asleep while nursing when she was a newborn and feeding would take abou 90 minutes! She got more efficient on her own eventually, though I don't remember how long feeding took at 4 months (since I probably thought 40 minutes was fast by then!)

One other thing that I would do is to switch sides more often. Switching sides would jostle her awake more and get her to eat faster. Perhaps you can right 10 minutes on each side, but to do each side twice. I also used to do a diaper change in the middle to also wake her up more. Good luck!

If your daughter has healthy bowel movements and is peeing and gaining weight she is getting enough and your supply is not an issue, however she may still be working awfully hard for it. How often are you nursing? Perhaps more frequent nursing is necessary. At 4 months she should still be nursing every 2-3 hours (min) during the day, or even sooner if she's asking for it)Also you can take fenugreek (3 capsules 3x a day) to boost your supply and see if that helps. (Can be found anywhere where supplements are sold/ 100 pills are usually $8-10 and 180 count bottles are about $12) She may start chugging if there is an abundance.

Breastfeeding is quite a commitment. You are approaching a new phase where it does start to get easier. At 6 months you can start her on solids and (I swear) with that they start to "own" things more and will suddenly seem quite efficient. Right now she is still new. She could just be a dwadler. Do you use a sling? Being close to you may help, it will also increase your supply due to a hormonal response, and it may satisfy her needs to be close to you and encourage her to "get to business" at meal times. (Besides they make life so much easier and nursing in them allows you some freedom).

Don't be discouraged! you 're doing a great job and this is for a very short time. I promise you that in the next few weeks she will start to be more mobile and curious (and hungry) and progress on her own without any tricks. 4 months is brand new! She wants to be where she is most comfortable...can you blame her ;-)

p.s. - I have had a great amount of struggle in breastfeeding both of my children and had 2 "failure to thrive" babies that both were breastfed (and are breastfeeding successfully). Contact your local Le Leche League and talk to someone there. They can provide you with the support and information you need. I COMPLETELY DISAGREE that a baby "gets what they need in the first 5-10 min". That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard in my life and at this point I have a whole lot of research, knowledge, and awareness on these issues. Any doctor who says that must be "old-school" and not a true supporter of breastfeeding. LLL is on line too and Kellymom.com is another excellent resource.
Best of luck to you. Please message me if there might be any other way I can help.

I nursed my daughter for 18 months and then my son for 2 1/2 years. What I learned is that almost 90% of the milk that the baby is getting they get in the first five minutes of nursing each side. After that, you are just one big human pacifier. Babies cry. They do. Let her cry and soon you will be nursing maybe as little as five to ten minutes each side. Even ten minutes is long really. That is twenty whole minutes of nursing. Exhausting! If your baby is truly hungry then you may both think about
1. are you getting enough fluids into yourself so that you are producing enough milk?
2. Is it possible you need to supplement with a bottle?

Honestly, it is more likely that your baby just loves to cuddle. Which is nice, but in the end you will get run down and not have the energy for all the other things you need to do.

BTW: 3-4 ounces pumping is awesome! Sounds like you are doing great.

Try just nursing on one side per feeding. She'll get more of the thicker more satisfying hind milk. That should fill her up faster than switching to the other side before she gets this milk.
I always nursed one side at a time- even though the lactation consultant said otherwise. I read this in a Dr. Sears book and it worked very well with both of my daughters. One of whom was a more relaxed nurser. I think if I had switched sides while nursing her we'd have been there all day!
Just use a safety pin on your bra strap to help you remember which side you used last- just switch it each time you nurse her.
Good luck!
-S.

I had the same experience with my daughter. My first recomendation is to speak with your doctor and/or hospital's lactation consultant. I called the lactation consultant (many times in fact). They told me that you can "train" your baby to eat faster by stopping the feeding sooner. My daugher's weight was not a concern so the couple of days it took to retrain her to eat faster didn't harm her in any way. I fed for 15 minutes on each side then stoped. It worked for us. Good luck!

All great suggestions already. A friend of mine had trouble with this, and her pediatrician suggested keeping it to a set amount of time -- 5-10 minutes per side. That way the child understands that when she's nursing, she needs to take advantage of the time. I think it took some adjustment time, but then the baby became a very efficient eater.

Hi M.,

I wish I could help with some magical solution, but I am a new mom too and share your frustration. It was right around 4 months that I gave up on nursing and just pumped and fed my daughter with a bottle. I know that pumping isn't any fun, but for me it was the most efficient use of my time. I would even pump and feed my daughter her bottle at the same time. My daughter had a unique condition at birth and she had reflux too so I thought that that might have impacted her eating habits. Truthfully, I don't think it made much of a difference she too was a very slow eater. I would nurse her and she'd fall asleep, I'd try to put her down and she would wake up and I'd have to top her off with a bottle of pumped milk anyways. Finally, I just gave up as I found it more efficient to pump and feed her with a bottle, that way I knew she was eating and knew how much she was eating. I can't even say that latching was her issue, she knew just what to do, but she didn't seem to ever get full from nursing. It was more of a soothing thing for her.

I'm a far cry from a lactation expert, but I don't think you have a supply issue. How often you are pumping? I used to pump every 3 or so hours and I'd fill the little medela bottles 2.5 ounces on each side within 7-10 mins. If I waited longer than 3 hours I'd fill 2 of those bottles for each side. My baby is 7 months now and I still pump, but I pump less often as I have built up a storage of breast milk and she seems to be eating less milk now. Good luck and I hope things go well for you and your angel.

are you producing enough milk?? I produce alot of milk and my daughter nurses for 5-15 minute stretches and is gulping down the milk, she will often then "comfort nurse" after that and can stay on the breast for up to an hour, but she gets the bulk of the milk in that first few minutes. How many letdowns do you have while nursing? Do you try to schedule feeding or just nurse when she is hungry? I have found that the evening nursing is always longer, this is normal. I also found that feeding more often(feeding on demand of what SHE needs, not a schedule) during the day results in shorter feeding time. It sounds strange but how much water do you drink during the day? try getting in 3 liters and see if that helps. You can also take herbs like fenugreek and blessed thistle for milk production (More Milk Plus us a great supplement) I would also talk to a Le Leche League leader about this, join a group in your area. I would first ask yourself if you think your baby is getting enough milk during each feeding, and if you are feeding frequently enough during the day. then talk to a professional about it. Le Leche Leauge is an excellent resource. Good luck

M.,

Your daughter may be a slow feeder but also think it is tiring to her so she seems to be taking a break -not really unusually for them to do. My daughter took a while to but also would always fall asleep so I didn't wake her up to nurse more so if your daughter isn't falling asleep and she cries when you take her off I would say she isn't finished and does want more. Also something that you might not realize is that your daughter can suck and not get milk - which is what they want sometimes. Basically using you as there pacifier. My daughter does this - it satisfies her need to suck when she doesn't need food. It's not a bad thing it is what she needs at that moment. Your daughter could be doing this as well.
As for the low milk supply I'm not sure that is the case. Pumping is very different from nursing. The size of the flange will yield different amounts of milk for different people so don't really go by that.
Before you change anything I would suggest contacting La Leche League in your area. www.llli.org These women will have the answers for you and be able to help you either speed up your daughter or at least understand why she takes a long time to nurse.

Good luck,
L. M

Rest assured that you did not get her into a "bad habit". Each baby has a different nursing temperment and be very catious when you hear that a baby at such-and-such an age should be doing this-or-that or only this often. Remember that you know your baby and her needs best. With that said.... I completely understand your desire for quicker nursing sessions.

Have you tried breast compression? When she is slowing down at the breast you can help to get another let down by firmly (but gently) holding (thumb on one side, fingers on the other) your breast far back from the areola and squeeze. Hold like this while the milk starts to flow again and she starts nursing more actively. Continue to hold while she sucks and when she slows again release your hold. You can massage your breast some and hold/sqeeze again cupping the breast in another area. This can help her to get more of the hind milk quicker.

Another tip that you can try is the "burp and switch" technique or "switch feeding". When she starts nursing less actively take her off and burp her or just switch her to the other breast. Let her nurse on that side until she shows the same signs of slowing/losing interest/sleepiness and switch her back to the other side and repeat again. Each time she switches sides will trigger let downs and keep the feeds active. Keep swiching sides until she is full.
Hope that these techniques help to get her full quicker.

Also, breastfed babies typically take in 2-4 ounces per feeding, sometimes less if it is just a quick snack and sometimes more if she is really hungary. Pumping 3-4 ounces in normal and she is likely getting more than the pump anyhow as babies are more efficient than any pump.
You may want to check out the La Leche League website to get more info and to find a LLL leader near you that can answer questions and tell you about local meetings in your area to get personal support from other nursing moms.
www.llli.org.
Also, "The Baby Book" by Dr. Sears is a great reference guide for baby's first 2 years of life and is a great breastfeeding resource as well.
Good luck and keep up the good work of Breastfeeding your sweet babe!
C.