Tina writes:
How much and how often should I be feeding him? For the last month I have
been feeding him every 2 to 2 1/2 hours during the day. Sometimes it
takes him a hour to eat. He is still sleeping thru the night. One of my
friends suggested trying to stretch out his feedings so he isn't cluster
feeding all the time.
~~~ First, Ingrid's suggestion of LLL meetings, where mom can get both good
information and support from a trained peer-type counselor as well as be
around other moms, may help this mom a lot. Her friend is misinforming her
by suggesting that a baby who is nursing every 2- 2 1/2 hours, ( and this
while "sleeping through the night") is "cluster feeding". This baby is
feeding completely normally for a breastfeeding baby of less than 6-9 months. If
baby is actually sleeping through the night, which means different things
to different people, baby will need to feed normally at minimum, to make up
for skipped feeds at night anyway. Perhaps letting mom know that babies at
this stage normally feed, on average, every 1 1/2 to 3 hours, and normally
8-14 times in 24 hours, plus acknowledging that many well-intentioned,
caring people are not aware of what normal is when it comes to feeding in our
culture, will help her look at her relationship with her baby with less
stress. ? Perhaps this reference is helpful for you, Tina, as you mention,
someone new to this role:
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/117/3/e387.full
It can also be a leap into a new area to help a mom see that being at
breast is about a lot more than the transfer of calories, so that each time at
breast represents getting help with hunger, thirst, temperature regulation,
unpredictable life outside the womb, a hug/snuggling, quiet time to
reconnect, etc. When we think of how many times, as grown-ups we have a meal, take
a drink, grab a snack, reach out for a loved one, touch someone when they
are talking to us, etc. it can help a mom see why those times are both so
"often" and meeting an important need that might actually put hunger at the
bottom of the totem pole.
She's lucky to have you.
Peace,
Judy
Judy LeVan Fram, PT, IBCLC, LLLL
Brooklyn, NY, USA
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