My Baby Is Always Hungry

I nkow I am very late on this post. Did you get it worked out?

My sister was constantly breast feediing her baby. It seemed to be every 30 minutes. And took about the same length of time to feed him. She found out that he was tongue tied. The dr. told her he doesn't usually reccomend bottle feeding, but it was in the babies best interest. They had special nipples for babies that are slightly tnogue tied.

Sorry about the delay in my response.

I had the same thing with both my boys. They were hungry all the time and especially my first boy he would not sleep 3 hours in a row during the night! I was not fortunate to have enough breast milk for my babies so I was giving them formula plus my breast milk. My babies were both colicky especially my first one. Isn’t it just wonderful to hold him and give him your breast to eat? I miss these moments! Enjoy!!

Hi M.

If you just fed him 15 mins ago, and he is gaining enough weight (ask the doctor), maybe he just need to suck, give him a pacifier(don't give up if it falls out they can't always keep it in by themselves), or maybe he still has gas and needs to burp again. Try other things before feeding him again if its only been a short while. Last week on the Today show there was a lady that wrote a book about a baby different cries, what they mean and how to tell them apart(a I'm hungry cry V. a I got gas cry, V. I want attention or I'm tired) She said there is a way to tell them apart I don't remember her name or the name of the book, but if you look at their web site or at a book store, or Baby R us. Hope this helps.

Wow, I could have written this when my boy was that age. I think this is normal. My boy wanted to eat all the time. It a growth spurt. THey have small tummies. Once empty, there hunry again. One doctor I went to told me that If I feed my baby every hour, I will get sore nipples and they will get damaged, that I should let him cry until at least 2 hours before I feed him again. So I switched doctors. I always had a little problems breastfeeding, but you know what, my baby is now 17 months and I am still b-feeding. When he was 4 months I decided to put him in his own room, b/c he was always waking up and wanting to eat. Then instead of feeding him, I would put a pacifier in his mouth. He hated the pacifier and would cry a little, but I refused to wake up anymore and 3 in the morning for feedings. Well it worked and til this day, he still sleeps throught the night, except when teething.
I hope this helps.
L.

HI M.!!!

Congratulations!! I am a breastfeeding Mom too. I breastfed my 1st child for 6 months and my son is 8 months and I am still breastfeeding him. I have had my challenges too. Breastfeeding can be tricky because you don't truly know how much your child is eating. However, a 4 hour stretch at night between feedings for your 1 month old sounds really good. That is a good indicator that he is getting enough to eat during the day. On the other hand, it sounds like there is a challenge durning the day. At 1 month old, I breastfed my kids on demand. So whenever they seemed hungry I fed them. Truly, you CANNOT over feed a breastfed baby. After a while I tried establishing a schedule to level things out and create some structure to the day. When my son was 1 month old I breasfed every 2.5 to 3 hours. So if you fed at noon then you would feed again at 2:30 to 3 PM. Let your son start on your fullest breast and drain it. Then burp him and move to the other side. At your next feeding, start on the opposite side (which will be your fuller side).

If you are totally feeling overwhelmed and are having a hard time, consider calling a lactation consultant. I have been on consults a few times. I have paid up to $75 an hour. Or you can check your local hospital... sometimes they have breastfeeding support groups.

T.

Hi M. - This is completely normal as many people have posted. My baby is now two months old and he has mostly grown out of that stage so just hang in there. The first 6 weeks were EXTREMELY difficult for us but once you get over that hump, things do improve!

Also, be cautious with giving him a pacifier since he is still so young. We gave it to our baby early and I do think it caused some confusion. What's funny is that now he doesn't want it ever. He wants the real thing or nothing at all. Trial and error and trusting your instincts are key I think. :)

Good luck!

J.

Don't worry for one thing! Babies at this age are used to the luxury of being able to eat whenever they want. So its up to you to set the timetable..start trying to stave off his hunger signs by playing with him..turning on music bouncing him...as distractions...and then if he is still showing signs than feed him. My daughter did the same thing.. and I was trying to set this feeding routine of every two to two and a half hours that she was not trying to follow. But then when I went in for her check-up she had grown five more inches in a two week span. So don't worry feeding him is not going to killl him or you. It will probably give you time to bond and get to know this little tiny baby.. Its true that not every cry is a hunger cry but if when he cries and you respond by feeding him and he eats really well..than you know well... he was hungry!

Sounds like he is just one of those kids who eat often. My daughter woke up every two hours to eat for the first three months. It was tiring, but just her feeding cycle. I wouldn't worry about it too much other than trying to grab a nap while he does, so you have some energy to keep up with it.

M.,
Your little one sounds completely normal. Are you timing your 20mins per side or are you letting him feed until he is done? I would let him nurse as long as he wants he may be a slow nurser and it just takes him longer to get what he needs. As far as the sleep schedule during the day, if his belly is really filled up he could start napping longer. But if he doesn't don't worry that is normal and his naps will lenghten as he gets older. Just remember that all he is responsible for doing right now is growing:)

My son did the same thing, and it's because breast-fed babies eat more often than formula fed babies. Because breastmilk is the perfect food for babies, it is made to be digested easily, thus it goes through them quickly. Formula is more sugary and fattening so babies don't eat quite as often, most of the time. It's completely normal, there's nothing wrong with your milk, and if you have more questions go to www.lalecheleague.org.

Good luck!
M.
(24 year old new mom of a precious 6 month old baby boy)

My newborn was just like that--he ate every 90 minutes and sometimes every hour. And he ate every 2 hours at night, so you are actually lucky he's sleeping up to 4 hours! Little boys are just hungrier than little girls, and I remember my doctor telling me, "try to make him go 2 hours" and me thinking "yeah, right!" he grew out of that stage, but it took awhile. I was surprised at how often he ate, how much he ate, and how little he slept during the day. so just hang in there and enjoy the closeness of nursing that often and that long, because before you know it, he'll be running around eating real food!

I hate to be the one to break it to you but this is normal behavior. You never know with kids. Some eat less and some eat more and just when you think you got them down they switch it up on you. Newborn babies are not easy. Just know that eventually his eating schedule will be more spread out. One good thing is it sounds like he is sleeper for a one month old. Don't be afraid to ask for some help from your friends or family if you just need a break. We all do from time to time. Good luck!

I'll just hop on the band wagon and say my son ate at least that often when he was that age. It is hard spending half your day with a baby sucking on you, but they outgrow it pretty quickly as their tummies get bigger.

Hi M.!
I had this same problem with my son, who is now 4 1/2 months old, and I am still breastfeeding. Babies go through serious "growth spurts" at 3 and 6 weeks... and 3 and 6 months. And I think it's also at 3 and 6 years. When this happened to me, I was so scared that something was going wrong with my breastmilk, that I started feeding him formula (which I regret). Just stick with it, you are doing the best thing! And trust me, it gets much better! If you need someone to talk to more about this, please feel free to message me.
I really hope this helps!
S.

Hi M.,
I had the same thing when my three daughters were new borns, my last girl is now 6 mos.
She eats rice cereal and veggies 3-4 times a day and only since we started that about 2 mos. ago has she really evened out on nursing. She now nurses about 4-6 times a day and usually sleeps at night . I always felt worried that they were not getting enough too. I decided that all that pooping must show for somthing. and since your baby is sleeping he must be getting enough. My middle child only nursed for 4 mos. then she would cry and cry and I gave her formula. If he wasn't getting enough he would let you know by crying and would'nt keep wanting the breast, well thats how mine was anyway. I hope you feel better knowing alot of the moms who replied went through tha same thing as you are. It does get better, and you will be yourself again soon. Not just a milk machine :)
A. V.

my son did the same thing, my doctor told me to either put a tb of cereal in his milk, which means you would have to pump to get it in there, or also pump and put 1/2 tb of karo syrup in his milk, that is mainly for constipation, but it helps to fill them up also. try it it worked for me.

you might not have enough milk in your breasts try pupming your breasts and give it to him by the bottle

About every 2 hours is pretty normal for a breastfed baby--a little more often if he's in a growth spurt, and there are a lot of growth spurts in the first year. It may start becoming less often as he grows and is able to get more milk at one time, but then again, maybe not. In these instances whatever your baby is doing is normal for him, but if you're really concerned that he's not getting enough milk at one time, talk to his pediatrician or a lactation specialist.