should i still be breastfeeding my 2 1/2 month old every 2 hours?

Question

she sleeps through the night w/o a feeding.

Answer 1

Yes, if not more often. Breastmilk digests in 2 hours or less, and human infants are designed for more frequent feeds than that.

Babies need a MINIMUM of 8-12 feeds per day. If they are sleeping 8-12 hours at night then those feeds have to all fit during daytime hours.

http://www.kathydettwyler.org/detsleepthrough.html
Human children are designed (whether you believe by millions of years of evolution, or by God, it doesn't matter) -- to nurse *very* frequently, based on the composition of the milk of the species, the fact that all higher primates (Primates are the zoological Order to which humans belong, higher primates include monkeys and apes) keep their offspring in the mother's arms or on her back for several years, the size of the young child's stomach, the rapidity with which breast milk is digested, the need for an almost constant source of nutrients to grow that huge brain (in humans, especially), and so on. By very frequently, I mean 3-4 times per hour, for a few minutes each time. The way in which some young infants are fed in our culture -- trying to get them to shift to a 3-4 hour schedule, with feedings of 15-20 minutes at a time, goes against our basic physiology. But humans are very adaptable, and some mothers will be able to make sufficient milk with this very infrequent stimulation and draining of the breasts, and some children will be able to adapt to large meals spaced far apart. Unfortunately, some mothers don't make enough milk with this little nursing, and some babies can't adjust, and so are fussy, cry a lot, seem to want to nurse "before it is time" and fail to grow and thrive. Of course, usually the mother's body is blamed -- "You can't make enough milk" -- rather than the culturally-imposed expectation that feeding every 3-4 hours should be sufficient, and the mother begins supplementing with formula, which leads to a steady spiral downward to complete weaning from the breast.

http://www.todaysparent.com/article.jsp?content=1266685
Wiessinger believes that counting and timing feedings may only make a nursing mother feel more stressed about what she thinks she needs to accomplish during the day. The reality, however, might actually be quite different since, as Wiessinger points out, frequent feedings tend to be short and easy to fit around other activities.

Anthropologist Kathy Dettwyler from Texas A&M University says that nursing a lot is typical of babies around the world. She cites a study done in 2000 that looked at the feeding behaviour of infants aged three to four months in three different communities: families from Washington, DC, the Ba’Aka hunter-gatherers and the Ngandu farmers, both of the Central African Republic. They found that the Ba’Aka babies nursed 4.02 times per hour, the Ngandu babies nursed 2.01 times per hour and the American babies nursed 1.6 times per hour. Certainly the American babies nursed less often than the two African groups, but they nursed more frequently than many new parents expect.


http://breastfeed.com/resources/articles/expectation.htm
As a lactation consultant, I frequently hear moms say, "Well I tried to breastfeed my first child but they always wanted to eat, and my milk could never fill them up like formula did. They were always hungry." Get it? The formula makes them feel very full, but is that good for them? Not really. Formula is deficient in all immunological properties.

I then ask the mothers, "Before you changed to formula, was your baby gaining weight well and having plenty of wet diapers and bowel movements?"

"Oh, yes," they say. "That was going well." I have come to understand that the reason these moms quit is not that their baby is not growing well or that they did not have enough milk, but because they didn't want to feed as often as the baby needed to eat and felt that by switching to an artificial food, the baby would be "happier" and "more content." Their baby would behave more like TV babies. Their perception was that something was wrong because their babies ate often. Perhaps that feeling was reinforced by "helpful" friends or family members.




So I Nursed Him Every 45 Minutes
http://www.llli.org//NB/Law45com.html

"He Can't Be Hungry. He Just Ate!"
http://www.wiessinger.baka.com/bfing/howworks/hungry.html

Answer 2

Yes, if it's what he demands and you are not nursing purely to pacify him. I have a 3 month old little boy. When I'm around all day, he can sometimes eat every 1 1/2-3 hrs.When I'm gone and he's with daddy, it spans out to every 3-4 hrs (even with a bottle of breast milk/formula) When I asked my doctor at an appointment last week (we had since he had a cold for the last 2 weeks), he said that some babies eat every 2 hrs approx. As long as he is not gaining weight excessively or not gaining enough weight, it's fine. (my son is in thee 75th percentile for height/weight). Just keep doing what you are doing. Only you and your baby know what's right. It will keep getting further between feedings. Remember, you baby is only a few months old. Also, doctors say that you should not give your child anything else beside breast milk/formula until they are 4-6 months old. (ie, cereal, juice, water). Their systems are still to delicate to process them. It's also has been proven that putting "cereal" in bottles does NOT increase a babies feeding times, sleep nor does it keep them "fuller" for longer. Good luck!!

Answer 3

The stomach of a 2 1/2 month-old is the size of a walnut when full and empties rapidly. Feeding every 2 hours is certainly within the normal range. By the time the baby is roughly 10 pounds, there should be a wait of about 3 hours.
Discuss this with your pediatrician.

Answer 4

If she still wants to eat every 2 hours then yes.... my daughter is 3 months old and generally goes 2-3 hours between feedings in the daytime but longer in the night.

Answer 5

I was. For anyone who had to bottlefeed my son while I was at work he would go about 3-4 hrs, but around me, it was still 2-3 hrs between feedings. I would go with what he wants and when he's hungry. The feedings will space out over time. Now that my son eats solids (started rice at 4 1/2 mo), he goes about 4 hrs between feedings with them getting closer together the later it is until bedtime. I hope your child is at least sleeping longer periods at night, as he/she shouldn't be getting up to eat so much anymore.

Answer 6

My daughter still nurses every 2-3 hours day AND night. If she is sleeping through the night, she probably needs to nurse often during the day to get enough to last her at night. Just consider yourself lucky that you're getting some sleep!

Answer 7

you should feed her when ever she is ready but i would start waiting a little longer when she is about 5 months old only because i did what you are doing and feeding every 2 hrs and well they kinda get to attached my son is going to be 2 in nov and we have been trying to break him off for about 6 months now and well its not working lol good luck.

Answer 8

If he needs it, it's okay. How long do your nurse? Mine got 6 min on each side and they were down for 4 hours. I had to add rice cereal with a touch of milk & table sugar. That kept them less hungry and I didn't have to feed so often. I think I nursed first, then gave them cereal.

Enjoy the baby!

TX Mom
not an expert

Answer 9

Breastmilk goes through the body very quick. Since your baby is sleeping through the night he or she is taking it all in during the day!

Answer 10

NO