She is 2 1/2 months old and gets really excited if you put a bib on her to feed her a bottle. But when she nurses she wants to be attached on either side for a half an hour each. It's draining all my energy. So I try to feed her 2 bottles of formula a day with nursing inbetween. Is this normal or should I just nurse her?
2007-03-28 12:35:34 · 6 answers · asked by lexie511 1 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
yay for you for nursing!
she wants to nurse because she likes it! and it's the best thing for her!
by supplementing with formula, you are probably adding to the problem. breast milk is produced based on your baby's demand. if you are augmenting her diet with formula you will not produce enough milk for her, therefore her need to nurse for longer periods of time to get full.
some babies also tend to suckle for comfort rather than food. they say that the milk is generally gone after about 10 minutes on each breast. try breaking her free after 10 minutes each and feeding MORE OFTEN.
i love my son that he's older now, but i so miss the time i spent nursing him. enjoy this time while you have it...it's so precious!
2007-03-28 12:42:26 · answer #1 · answered by me 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
HOORAY FOR BREASTFEEDING MOMS!
I agree with the previous two answers - I went through the same thing with my son when he was 2-3 months old. My pediatrician had recommended introducing a bottle with formula at 8 weeks once or twice a day so that my husband could feed him, I could have a few hours to myself, etc.
As soon as we started giving him formula he started spending lots more time latched on to me at each feeding, and wanted to nurse more often.
For some moms introducing a bottle or two of formula per day might work - but it didn't for us and I think it was because my milk supply did decrease, and he missed me!
My son is now 10 months old and only nursing 3-4 times a day. When he was demanding to be nursed every 1 1/2 to 2 hours I couldn't wait for a little freedom from being constantly attached to him - and now that he is starting to eat real foods and nursing less I miss him!
And remember - with babies nothing is a pattern and everything changes in a week or two! Good luck!
2007-03-28 20:08:16 · answer #2 · answered by baltimoremillers 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Babies are born to be breastfed! If you have a choice (and it sounds like you do) stop all formula and just nurse her whenever she wants. This is the best thing you can do for her right now and yes, it can be exhausting, but it's soooooo worth it. I agree with the other posters that by skipping nursing sessions you could be compounding the "problem" but remember that your baby will want (and need) to nurse more often when she's going through a growth spurt or teething. She knows how much she needs the milk and *you*--it's your job to fulfill her needs.
Go mama!
2007-03-28 23:27:53 · answer #3 · answered by LAmama 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I also believe that the supplementing with formula is whats causing your daughter to nurse longer. She's not getting as much breastmilk AND she's "catching up" on the physical bonding experiencing that comes with nursing that she isn't getting while bottle feeding.
2007-03-28 19:51:02 · answer #4 · answered by mitchie0514 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Heck my daughter at that age would sometimes nurse for about 80 minutes. I think it's normal for them to do that for a while and if it's draining you, then give her the formula in between to give you a break.
2007-03-29 13:06:33 · answer #5 · answered by Donnertagskind 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Breast is best. The other moms get my vote too. Nix the formula.
2007-03-28 20:18:19 · answer #6 · answered by a former YA user 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋