Well said by Kathy Leeper and Pamela Morrison; I heartily agree with them.

I have vast experience with late preterm and early term infants. Pamela
describes quite well the feeding behaviors of these infants. Often parents
come for their (very very important) early follow-up visit at about 4 or 5
days old. They will frequently say the baby is fussy, gassy, and
constipated (lack of stooling a big red flag), when in fact the baby is
hungry,  or conversely say that the baby falls asleep while breastfeeding
(often meaning to them "she's full."). You really must question them
thoroughly (especially if you are taking a phone call) because mother may
say he falls asleep in 3 or 4 minutes or that he is taking 60 minutes to
feed. Both of these comments are red flags. (Even term babies who are
feeding "all the time" or "using me as a pacifier" are generally giving
cues that mom has a too low milk supply.

It is also very common to hear "the baby is just using me as a pacifier"
which I absolutely refute - the baby is trying to get milk! but  just can't
transfer it. This is dangerous when friends and even healthcare
professionals tell mother not to feed the baby so much saying "don't let
her use you for a pacifier."

The good news is that I have seen many babies gain 4 to 10 ounces (120 to
300 grams) in one day! once they are being adequately fed by alternate
route, to quickly make up for the lost weight and they then have the energy
to ultimately breastfeed more effectively over time.

Laurie Wheeler RN MN IBCLC
MISSISSIPPI USA

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