I think that there are some outlier dyads, who have come upon this scenario based upon a confluence of events(huge supply and baby with ability to down a lot of milk and stay happy). On a couple of occasions it seemed to be working relatively well. I remember in particular one "well-supplied" mom who came to my group, whose baby spontaneously starting sleeping through the night very young. Absolutely no sleep training. She was about the same age as the baby in the query. Baby took in enormous feedings at the group - 7 to 9 oz per feeding{generally from one breast}. She appeared perfectly comfortable, normal poops, no spitting up, normal weight, happy, active and meeting milestones. This baby also ate 4 to five times a day. Had she in any way appeared uncomfortable or had the mother been uncomfortable, I would have encouraged her to  modify this routine. But everybody was happy, mom was at the group to meet other mothers and to make sure that it was okay to continue the way she was going. My motto is always "if aint broke don't fix it", and I couldn't see anything broke. I can't say whether the baby grew up to be obese but she was a very average weight baby. Maybe this scenario isn't typical but I would hesitate to label something abnormal, just because it is unusual. The one thing that does make me nervous about these situations is the possibility that  the woman's body is going to be confused as to how old this baby is and down regulate the supply. One common question I get is "Should I pump to keep up my supply, after the baby falls asleep?" I know that there are many on this list who think it would be better to wake the baby and feed him or her, rather than pump, but that would be a pretty hard sell to many of the moms I work with.

It seems to me that the important info in the phone call was that the baby was becoming fussy at the breast. I wonder if due to a lack of feeding frequency this woman's supply has simmered down and the baby is fussy at the breast becasuse the flow has changed or the baby is hungry. I would want to know at what point in the breastfeeding does the fussiness start...before the baby even latches on, five minutes in etc etc All are clues as to what is going on, as  a test weight would be.
Kathy Lilleskov RN IBCLC

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]
Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask]
COMMANDS:
1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail
2. To start it again: set lactnet mail
3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome