when do babies stop eating so much?

Question

I know all babies are different, but in general, when do breastfed babies stop eating every 2-3 hours, I feel like thats all I'm good for :)

I gave her a bottle or two when she was going through a growth spurt, she was eating every hour, so I definitately needed a break there. Pumping makes me engorged though, so I'll only do it for when I won't be around.

shocking babe - that was uncalled for. you don't even understand my question, and your answer doesn't make sense, but I'M stupid.......

Answer 1

My older daughter nursed every two hours during the day like clockwork until she was at least 6 months old -- maybe until she was 9 months old? However, she started going longer and longer stretches at night, and then longer stretches in the afternoon. Luckily, her nursing sessions were generally fairly short (rarely more than 15 minutes, often 5-10), so I didn't feel like we were constantly nursing.

My younger daughter still nurses 5-8 times a day at 19 months old, but most of her sessions are just to "check in", so they're very quick. If we're out and busy, she rarely asks to nurse, but if we're home, she wants to be cuddled on my lap.

All babies are different. I assume you have a newborn? If so, the nursing sessions should start getting shorter as your baby gets more efficient at the breast, and he will probably start giving you some longer breaks even if he sticks to a 2-3 hour pattern for a while.

Try to use those nursing sessions to watch some favorite TV shows or movies, read a good book, talk on the phone, etc. I actually got good at nursing in the computer chair with baby resting on the Boppy, and I could type with both hands. :-) Or you could learn to nurse in a sling, and you can even be walking around while your little one eats.

It will get easier on you, I promise. Sticking with breastfeeding in the early days does pay off. Good luck to you!

Answer 2

Most babies stop nursing every 2-3 hours sometime between 1 week old and 3 years old. There is just no way to know for sure when *your* baby will go longer between feedings.

A big part of the reason for this is that it depends on two factors: the baby, and the mother. Some babies need smaller amounts of milk and have larger stomachs. Some need more milk with smaller stomachs. Also, although *every* mother can produce enough milk for her baby, different mothers have different amounts they can produce *at one time*. Recent research determined that some women have large storage capacity; others small. If you have small breasts, you obviously don't have a huge storage capacity. But women with large breasts *do* sometimes have smaller storage.

If you have a baby with large needs and you can only store small amounts, the way you will produce enough is to nurse more often, while a woman whose baby has small needs with large storage capacity may be able to nurse infrequently.

Answer 3

WOW! I'm not the only. I have 2 kids now and the youngest is a week old today. Both breastfed. A lot of times I dont think they are as hungry as they portray, they just like to be snuggled up with mommy(mine always spits up from overfeeding). Also if you nurse for long enough I find that they stay full longer because they begin to get the thick hind milk. They usually start to go longer between feedings at about 4-6 weeks or when you introduce cereal to their diet. Mix the cereal with breast milk in a bottle only when nursing is well established.
Good luck to you and wish me luck with my newborn, too!

Answer 4

I understand just how you feel.
i had to supplement with formula because my baby was just nursing non stop!
He's 4 and a half months now and he hasn't slowed down at all. I'm still nursing but now i have to give him a few ounces of formula with a little bit of cereal mixed in at every feeding because he was not getting full and would wake up hungry after only 20 or 40 minutes!

On the flip side my sister-in-law is breastfeeding only and her baby doesn't seem to have that problem, nor does she seem to be constantly nursing. I think every mom-&-baby team is different.

Do what works best for the 2 of you.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Newborns will eat every 2-3 hours. This should taper off to every 4 hours, around the 2nd month of life, up to the 4th month.

Just remember, your stomach is only the size of your fist. Babies need a lot of nourishment, but not a lot of room to hold it.

Offer a bottle sometimes, give yourself a break too. You can still give breast milk in a bottle too.

Answer 6

my son is 6 months and he still takes a bottle every 3 hours and he eats baby food. but my girls it was at around 4 months that they took a bottle every 4 hours.
my sis-in-law breastfed and her youngest it was every 2-3 hours until she was well over 6 months and the oldest she stopped breast feeding at 4 months and I'm not sure how often she took a bottle after that (they moved away).
you could always pump your milk and put it in a bottle so someone else could feed the baby? my other sis-in-law did that her oldest was a preemie so he couldn't latch on to her breast and then she liked that so much she did the same thing with her youngest, she said she knew her baby was still getting the breast milk but someone else could feed them so she could get stuff done around the house.

Answer 7

You are right in saying all babies are different. My baby is 8 months old and she is on formula. She still eats 6 oz every 2-3 hours. And when she has jar food she only has about 4 oz formula. But that's just how she is and the doctor said it is totally fine. Give the baby food whenever they want it!

Answer 8

My dd is ten months and still nurses every couple hours around the clock. It is more for comfort than hunger. She recently had a ten-day nursing strike and during that time she did not wake up in the night to nurse.

Answer 9

Coz they r babies na.. stupid...