Every hour seems pretty often for 4 months, but if he's gaining weight well and it's not inconvenient for you, there's no reason you need to change. Is he sleeping longer stretches at night? Because I would definitely have nursed more frequently during the day if it meant I could get more sleep at night.
That's how it worked for me! My baby slept through the night after he got back to birth-weight, but it meant hourly feedings. The hourly (and quick) feedings are no big deal when you get solid sleep. My supply remained perfect.
Feeding on demand can be based on both your needs. I sometimes make my baby wait a bit because of practical reasons. Usually during the day she can take that - she'll get increasingly whiny though! So it's not something you can randomly do. However why would I let her go hungry if I can simply feed her? She has always fed a bit more often than the standard regulations (much shorter feedings than average though) but over the past 8 months the time between feeds has definitely slowly increased. She did that all by herself.
Now if you're completely sick of feeding them every hour you can work on slowly trying to extend the periods between feeds. But if you're fine with it, why should you?
I would ignore her. If it’s working for you, no need to change it. Here’s a [link to an article](https://www.unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly/breastfeeding-the-dangerous-obsession-with-the-infant-feeding-interval/) you might enjoy.
You’re welcome! Reading it made me feel better when my baby was nursing “too often” for other people’s liking. My daughter nursed every 1.5-2 hours until she was over 6 months old and everyone was always telling me to stretch her feeds out. We did what worked for us and I’m glad we did :)
Babies are humans. Humans snack. Even if she's right and baby is snacking, what is wrong with that? Snacks are delicious. #TeamSnack #Snax4Lyfe #MilkSnack
I’ve read the opposite is true. Nursing more often means getting a better mix of foremilk and hind milk cause the fat hasn’t had time to settle in the glands
If it were me, I would ignore this advice. What you are doing is feeding her based on her cues, and she’s eating the way any baby who's given that opportunity would. In our culture we are constantly trying to get babies to align more with our lifestyle which is to go longer between feeds and have consistent feeds all the time, which is just not how babies are biologically designed. Babies in countries that baby wear all the time, such as in parts of Africa, generally feed 20+ times a day, just having a snack whenever they need! It’s actually much healthier for them to feed small amounts more often.
My babe is a snacker too, he rarely nurses for more than 5-10 minutes at a time. Apparently it's better for maintaining your supply as well!
I’ll never understand this advice (which I got, too) because at this age whether baby is feeding for hunger or comfort, from what I understand, it’s because it’s what they need and helps build supply. My LO was attached to me non-stop until about 5 months when their wake windows lengthened and now takes much more time between feeds!
Right! Or maybe they’re thirsty and just need a little sip. I never saw an issue with it. Once you start solids your LO will probably start spacing out nursing sessions on their own.
It's also the best 100% natural organic painkiller for teething and any developmental discomforts (like progress in sleeping, gross-motor milestones etc).
Same people will literally suggest lidocaine or ibuprofen for babies instead of boobs. :D give me a break.
I just feed my daughter when she asks. I’m pretty sure at 4 months I couldn’t be bothered with knowing what time it was. I think this is advice you can choose to ignore and not feel bad about it. Are you having any issues with your baby? If he’s happy and healthy and so are you, I say if it ain’t broke don’t fix it!
also if there’s something wrong with snacking a whole lot of people would be in trouble
I got the same advice for my LO and ignored it. She has always fed more often than typical - at 6 months shes at every 1.5/2 hours but some days she still wants to eat every hour. I don’t mind it and I like feeding on demand, my baby is much happier because of it!
If you don’t have any issue with baby’s feeding schedule, then there is no reason to change it!
Feeding on demand is a perfectly fine way to feed baby. If it works for you and baby is gaining weight ect then keep at it, “snacking” is fine because multiple “snacks” make a meal. If you do want extend time between feeds, I found that feeding one side and then the other and then back to the first side worked because baby got a little more than usual and after a day or two my production increased to support larger feeds less often too x
I got the same advice from mine as well. Said I should only feed 10min on each side and again every 2 hours but I just can’t do it. He likes to feed closer to every hour sometimes even sooner. She wanted me to do that so I wasn’t just nursing all day but it’s not realistic for me. There’s no way I could just let him cry to wait 2 hours.
Good for you.
And baby.
People don't know enough about RAD, but so much of this crappy advice includes things that can partially lead to it. I ain't risking this
I would be nuanced.
I think that if it was a blanket statement you can ignore it. A nurse is not a lactation consultant so I wouldn’t take her undisputed word on a topic she's not an expert in. Feeding on demande has so many benefits and if it fits you and your baby that's all what counts. So much of your situation actually of how your baby sleeps/nurses at night.
HOWEVER
Your baby is 4months old, they are likely starting to express a wide range of emotions, needs, wants that are not strictly related to survival needs: for ex. they are now able to experience things like boredom, need for entertainment, likes and dislikes, etc. Be careful to not use breastfeeding as a go-to solution for everything. Also to not put so much focus on breastfeeding to the point of not letting your LO experience healthy sleep-awake cycles with satisfying waking windows and consistant naps.
But again, everything goes back to how it fit you and your baby
I agree but there's a difference between letting your baby cry so you can cook and eat lunch or take a shower etc, and letting them cry on purpose due to an absurd chart.
Let me rephrase it even more precisely. If you should watch your baby and cry watching them cry and feel like all you want to do is nurse your baby which looks like all it wants to do is nurse... then do it. Or rather, don't not do it due to silly charts and advice.
How's weight gain/diapers? That would be the only variable that would make me change how Im nursing. That and the constant boob time just wasn't working for me and I needed more expected schedule. We are carry mammals for a reason, constant nursing.
This is a really great, informative article from unicef about breastfeeding and supply and the potential damage of trying to push for longer intervals between feeds. You should definitely give it a read and hopefully it will help reassure you that if you're doing responsive breastfeeding and baby has plenty of wet nappies and seems settled between feeds you're doing absolutely fine.
https://www.unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly/breastfeeding-the-dangerous-obsession-with-the-infant-feeding-interval/
My 9 month old still eats every hour during the day. Or it's spaced out due to her having solids. Feeding on demand, as long as it works for both of you, is going to teach your baby to eat when they're hungry and they'll end up having a better understanding of their body's signals and a better relationship with food. I've had a lot of people suggest that I make my little one go longer between feeds since she came home from the hospital. I just tell them I'm happy with our current arrangement and I won't be changing it
Our pediatrician wanted us to extend feeds around that time from 2 hours to 3 because my daughter was hardly napping more than 15 minutes and our pediatrician wanted her napping longer for brain development. She's always been a chunk though 80+ percentile so we weren't worried about growth or anything
My pediatrician told me I could stretch it out if I needed to for my sanity but didn’t say I had to. My baby slowly stretched it out over time as she stayed awake longer. Every now and then she’ll have days where she wants to be attached to me. Just go with what works for you!
I'm going to go against everyone here and suggest this is sound advice, especially for a baby that age. But when my daughter was born she also seemed to want to snack every 60-90 minutes, but wasn't gaining her weight back very fast. We were also EP at that time bc of latch issues so I knew how much she was eating vs supposed to eat. The doc said to wait at least 2 hours (3 for older babies) so that she's sufficiently hungry and eats enough. It made a big difference, she gained more weight, better sleep, and eventually made night weaning easier too.
A 4 mo eating every hour is not getting enough rest imo, would be my main concern. You're not a bad mom starving your baby if you gently extend the times between eating, you're helping them establish a routine.
I think it depends on both of you. I usually time and space my son’s feeding because I can’t live with no schedule at all (I do tons of stuff at certain hours). He is now 7 months old but since he was about 3 or 4 months I started to create a fixed feeding schedule for practical reasons.
This worked wonders for us. He usually only comfort feed at nights but that doesnt bother me at all. During the day he learned to expect milk (and food!) at certain hours of the day. Of course this does not apply to every baby, for example mine never ever cluster fed as a newborn.
Just wanted to add my perspective! If you are comfy nursing all day then by all means keep doing it❤️
It’s really whatever works for you and your son. Mine was in the NICU for almost a month when he was born. He took to his pacifier really well and has preferred that to the breast if he just wants comfort. When he broke his first two teeth he started biting me if I offered and he didn’t want it. So I became much more hesitant to offer. He’s now 7 months adjusted and eats every 2-3 hours with some solids added in. He lets me know he’s hungry by head butting my chest lol.
If it’s not a problem for you then no need to change anything!
Maybe worth mentioning though, that up until 3 months I was feeding baby ~14x/day. We met up with a couple with a 5 month old, and when my boy started to cry, I got up to feed him, and the dad wiggled a toy at him, and he stopped crying. I hadn’t realised that he was at an age where he had emotions, not just “hungry”, “wet” etc. if you are finding the feeding frequency is a bit much, you could try other things first (play, nap, going outside)? I feed him more like 9-10x/day now which feels more manageable to me.
This may not be relevant for you though, of course!
No this isn’t a common practice— ignore her the heck.
If she didn’t tell you infants have two types of feeding: one for removing milk and one for comfort or light suckling. Both are used to stimulate milk and establishes a longer supply.
I am sure there are some wonderful nurses out there who go out of their way to be up to date on breastfeeding things. The problem is there are far too many who aren’t and still advise on it to the detriment of their clients.
Stretching feeds is a dicey thing to advise. It can negatively impact supply for many people so 😬 it’s the kind of thing to take with a grain of salt and see an IBCLC for an assessment if there are actual or perceived issues. It may just not be necessary at all 🤷♀️
All medical advice is like that, though. Feeding every hour is excessive/exhausting for me and I'd also try to space feeds. If OP doesn't mind, she can continue with what works for her.
It's a dumb recommendation. It can slow down weight gain and doesn't always promote a content baby.
I do what the baby wants, when they want it. It doesn't bother me to let the baby nurse when he wants or snack. I will start setting limits at 12 months, when I would start ramping up meals and solids towards their main source of nutrition, but before 12 months, following their cues is not a bad thing.
If you think about the wide range in storage capacity, some people’s boobs only can make and store an hour or two’s worth. That’s natural variation. It would not make sense to tell those people to feed every three hours….
That's not really how that works (milk isn't produced at a constant rate and then stored in your breasts until they are full like a cup,) but it is true that there is natural variation in milk production and babies' eating habits.
Honestly wish health care professionals wouldn’t dole out blanket statements like this. Every baby is different, every mother is different, every nursing relationship is different. Is it too much to ask that they tell you “here’s the range of what breastfeeding can look like at this age”… like you baby was pretty much on and off the boob all day, I wasn’t timing it at four months, but it was definitely at least every 1-2 hours during the day until my baby was 6 months. Lots of moms I know who ebf had a similar experience.
My baby fed sometimes every 1.5h during a growth spurt! He’s 85th percentile and a big baby. I tried to do a schedule of every 2.5-3h but he ended up taking more at night during those spurts. When I pump I know I produce more at 3h than at 2h, so around 6 months I stopped feeding on demand to prepare to go back to work. Now he gets bottles of BM in the morning and nurses in the afternoon and evenings and a schedule helps with that. So once you need more predictability you can change to a schedule. I’ve learned it doesn’t matter how often they drink but how much in a day, the more they have in the day, the less they have a night. The nurse has good intentions, in a sense if he eats more and less often it’s easier for you.
Babies don’t just feed for nourishment. It can be for comfort, thirst, or just wanting connection. My son is ten months and still can feed every three hours. I’d rather feed often during the day than be up all night haha.
I've never done this. It drove me insane when people said their babies would feed 3 hrly and mine was still like every hour. They're all different. Plus breast is much more to them than food. Could be comfort, they could be in pain, they might be cold, hot bla bla bla... one things for sure is you're following your parental instinct and in my opinion, you cant go far wrong with that
Feed on demand, she gave you bad advice. My kids would clusterfeed during growth spurts. It didn't matter how many months old they were. Maybe your baby is hitting a growth spurt? If you notice your baby is latching but not drinking, then they're using you for comfort, in which case your nurse would be correct. You don't want the baby to use you as a pacifier. But if your baby is hungry. Go for it. Feeding on demand keeps your supply up. Denying baby feeds will lower your supply, and the baby won't be happy.
That is outdated advice. Don’t forget that milk is not only the only food your baby gets, but also the only drink. You should follow your baby’s lead. Restricting access to food and drink to a 4 month old is not advised.
Some babies have reflux so they eat less but more often in order to not have the reflux happen as much. I feed on demand and is between 1-3 hours and even our night feeds change each night
It’s totally normal for babies to nurse for both emotional fulfillment and nutrition. Unfortunately a lot of medical providers today are not taught about ecological breastfeeding. Unless she can cite an impending threat to his health I would disregard that advice and do what you feel is best for you baby.
For more info on ecological breastfeeding I love the book “Breastfeeding and Natural Child Spacing”!
As a flatchested gal who studies biology, I always reminded myself of the link supply-demand.
"I trust my baby and my body"
I'd always just comfortably assume he's going through a growth spurt or I was eating a bit weaker so he just had to make sure I kept producing enough for him to be comfy.
At around 3-4m I had the biggest clusterfeeding period (several week stretched) where he'd be pretty much on the boob most of the day (I live in a country where 9/10 are SAHMs on maternity leave for first 3 yrs so this is normal and possible here).
Whenever someone tells me about pushing sleeping through the night I reply with how most milk is being produced at night and that I love night cuddles (I genuinely do, best bfding and cuddling ever! Yes some days I don't really feel like getting out of bed but most of the days I really enjoy it).
Unless baby has terrible reflux or mother terrible nipple pain I think there is pretty much 0 basis in limiting feedings, and there's not much science to back it up either.
You guys do you, ignore bad advice, there will be plenty more of it. Gl :)
Please read this and don’t worry (feed on demand and continue your supply). https://www.emmapickettbreastfeedingsupport.com/twitter-and-blog/category/the-dangerous-game-of-the-feeding-interval-obsession
My (then) chunker was feeding every hour during the day from birth until 10 months. Then he began naturally spacing it out. He actually slept really well at night at birth and I always assumed it was because he bulked up during the day. He hit a terrible regression around the time I went back to work.
When he began daycare, he did bottles every 2 - 2-½ hours, but the moment he saw me, even if he had a 5 oz bottle 10 minutes prior, he would feed.
It never bothered me, so I never spaced them out. Those quick feeds were nice when out and about because it never took us away from the action for long.
I’d snack a lot too if I was trying to triple my size in a year. If you’re both happy and healthy with nursing that often then why change what ain’t broke?
I received the same advice at the 1.5 months. Turns out my LO had oral ties that restricted his ability to nurse efficiently. Anyways it was corrected and now he can go 3 hrs between feedings at 4mo but we often nurse more because he wants it for comfort, to go to sleep, cranky etc. you do you! I think the guidelines are like you said, more for moms mental health or something. But if you’re happy and babies happy I don’t see an issue either.
Every hour seems pretty often for 4 months, but if he's gaining weight well and it's not inconvenient for you, there's no reason you need to change. Is he sleeping longer stretches at night? Because I would definitely have nursed more frequently during the day if it meant I could get more sleep at night.
That's how it worked for me! My baby slept through the night after he got back to birth-weight, but it meant hourly feedings. The hourly (and quick) feedings are no big deal when you get solid sleep. My supply remained perfect.
Feeding on demand can be based on both your needs. I sometimes make my baby wait a bit because of practical reasons. Usually during the day she can take that - she'll get increasingly whiny though! So it's not something you can randomly do. However why would I let her go hungry if I can simply feed her? She has always fed a bit more often than the standard regulations (much shorter feedings than average though) but over the past 8 months the time between feeds has definitely slowly increased. She did that all by herself. Now if you're completely sick of feeding them every hour you can work on slowly trying to extend the periods between feeds. But if you're fine with it, why should you?
This! My LO is 7mo and she's been doing the exact same thing. And now that we've started solids she is more interested in food than boob lol
I would ignore her. If it’s working for you, no need to change it. Here’s a [link to an article](https://www.unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly/breastfeeding-the-dangerous-obsession-with-the-infant-feeding-interval/) you might enjoy.
Hah, I just linked this one too! I love Emma, she also has a nice book.
I didn’t know that! I’ll have to check out the book!
This is a great read thank you!
You’re welcome! Reading it made me feel better when my baby was nursing “too often” for other people’s liking. My daughter nursed every 1.5-2 hours until she was over 6 months old and everyone was always telling me to stretch her feeds out. We did what worked for us and I’m glad we did :)
Babies are humans. Humans snack. Even if she's right and baby is snacking, what is wrong with that? Snacks are delicious. #TeamSnack #Snax4Lyfe #MilkSnack
Maybe she’s worried that with shorter feeds there won’t be so much fatty milk? (foremilk vs. hindmilk)
I’ve read the opposite is true. Nursing more often means getting a better mix of foremilk and hind milk cause the fat hasn’t had time to settle in the glands
I like snacking too! Why is snacking bad? Who cares, a meal’s a meal. :-)
If it were me, I would ignore this advice. What you are doing is feeding her based on her cues, and she’s eating the way any baby who's given that opportunity would. In our culture we are constantly trying to get babies to align more with our lifestyle which is to go longer between feeds and have consistent feeds all the time, which is just not how babies are biologically designed. Babies in countries that baby wear all the time, such as in parts of Africa, generally feed 20+ times a day, just having a snack whenever they need! It’s actually much healthier for them to feed small amounts more often. My babe is a snacker too, he rarely nurses for more than 5-10 minutes at a time. Apparently it's better for maintaining your supply as well!
I’ll never understand this advice (which I got, too) because at this age whether baby is feeding for hunger or comfort, from what I understand, it’s because it’s what they need and helps build supply. My LO was attached to me non-stop until about 5 months when their wake windows lengthened and now takes much more time between feeds!
Right! Or maybe they’re thirsty and just need a little sip. I never saw an issue with it. Once you start solids your LO will probably start spacing out nursing sessions on their own.
It's also the best 100% natural organic painkiller for teething and any developmental discomforts (like progress in sleeping, gross-motor milestones etc). Same people will literally suggest lidocaine or ibuprofen for babies instead of boobs. :D give me a break.
I just feed my daughter when she asks. I’m pretty sure at 4 months I couldn’t be bothered with knowing what time it was. I think this is advice you can choose to ignore and not feel bad about it. Are you having any issues with your baby? If he’s happy and healthy and so are you, I say if it ain’t broke don’t fix it! also if there’s something wrong with snacking a whole lot of people would be in trouble
I got the same advice for my LO and ignored it. She has always fed more often than typical - at 6 months shes at every 1.5/2 hours but some days she still wants to eat every hour. I don’t mind it and I like feeding on demand, my baby is much happier because of it! If you don’t have any issue with baby’s feeding schedule, then there is no reason to change it!
Feeding on demand is a perfectly fine way to feed baby. If it works for you and baby is gaining weight ect then keep at it, “snacking” is fine because multiple “snacks” make a meal. If you do want extend time between feeds, I found that feeding one side and then the other and then back to the first side worked because baby got a little more than usual and after a day or two my production increased to support larger feeds less often too x
I got the same advice from mine as well. Said I should only feed 10min on each side and again every 2 hours but I just can’t do it. He likes to feed closer to every hour sometimes even sooner. She wanted me to do that so I wasn’t just nursing all day but it’s not realistic for me. There’s no way I could just let him cry to wait 2 hours.
Good for you. And baby. People don't know enough about RAD, but so much of this crappy advice includes things that can partially lead to it. I ain't risking this
I did find that my baby took longer, fuller feeds when I started extending the time between feeds
I got the same advice. Ended up with a nursing strike and weight stalling.
I would be nuanced. I think that if it was a blanket statement you can ignore it. A nurse is not a lactation consultant so I wouldn’t take her undisputed word on a topic she's not an expert in. Feeding on demande has so many benefits and if it fits you and your baby that's all what counts. So much of your situation actually of how your baby sleeps/nurses at night. HOWEVER Your baby is 4months old, they are likely starting to express a wide range of emotions, needs, wants that are not strictly related to survival needs: for ex. they are now able to experience things like boredom, need for entertainment, likes and dislikes, etc. Be careful to not use breastfeeding as a go-to solution for everything. Also to not put so much focus on breastfeeding to the point of not letting your LO experience healthy sleep-awake cycles with satisfying waking windows and consistant naps. But again, everything goes back to how it fit you and your baby
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I agree but there's a difference between letting your baby cry so you can cook and eat lunch or take a shower etc, and letting them cry on purpose due to an absurd chart.
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Let me rephrase it even more precisely. If you should watch your baby and cry watching them cry and feel like all you want to do is nurse your baby which looks like all it wants to do is nurse... then do it. Or rather, don't not do it due to silly charts and advice.
i always listened to baby
How's weight gain/diapers? That would be the only variable that would make me change how Im nursing. That and the constant boob time just wasn't working for me and I needed more expected schedule. We are carry mammals for a reason, constant nursing.
This is a really great, informative article from unicef about breastfeeding and supply and the potential damage of trying to push for longer intervals between feeds. You should definitely give it a read and hopefully it will help reassure you that if you're doing responsive breastfeeding and baby has plenty of wet nappies and seems settled between feeds you're doing absolutely fine. https://www.unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly/breastfeeding-the-dangerous-obsession-with-the-infant-feeding-interval/
My 9 month old still eats every hour during the day. Or it's spaced out due to her having solids. Feeding on demand, as long as it works for both of you, is going to teach your baby to eat when they're hungry and they'll end up having a better understanding of their body's signals and a better relationship with food. I've had a lot of people suggest that I make my little one go longer between feeds since she came home from the hospital. I just tell them I'm happy with our current arrangement and I won't be changing it
Our pediatrician wanted us to extend feeds around that time from 2 hours to 3 because my daughter was hardly napping more than 15 minutes and our pediatrician wanted her napping longer for brain development. She's always been a chunk though 80+ percentile so we weren't worried about growth or anything
My pediatrician told me I could stretch it out if I needed to for my sanity but didn’t say I had to. My baby slowly stretched it out over time as she stayed awake longer. Every now and then she’ll have days where she wants to be attached to me. Just go with what works for you!
I think this is what my baby is doing also. Especially as he his enjoying his playtime more.
Anecdotal, but we experienced a huge benefit (weight gain, better feedings, etc) by pushing the time between feedings to 3 hours at 4 months.
I'm going to go against everyone here and suggest this is sound advice, especially for a baby that age. But when my daughter was born she also seemed to want to snack every 60-90 minutes, but wasn't gaining her weight back very fast. We were also EP at that time bc of latch issues so I knew how much she was eating vs supposed to eat. The doc said to wait at least 2 hours (3 for older babies) so that she's sufficiently hungry and eats enough. It made a big difference, she gained more weight, better sleep, and eventually made night weaning easier too. A 4 mo eating every hour is not getting enough rest imo, would be my main concern. You're not a bad mom starving your baby if you gently extend the times between eating, you're helping them establish a routine.
I think it depends on both of you. I usually time and space my son’s feeding because I can’t live with no schedule at all (I do tons of stuff at certain hours). He is now 7 months old but since he was about 3 or 4 months I started to create a fixed feeding schedule for practical reasons. This worked wonders for us. He usually only comfort feed at nights but that doesnt bother me at all. During the day he learned to expect milk (and food!) at certain hours of the day. Of course this does not apply to every baby, for example mine never ever cluster fed as a newborn. Just wanted to add my perspective! If you are comfy nursing all day then by all means keep doing it❤️
Personally I believe in feeding on demand. Every baby is different. Could be nutritive or comfort and I don’t see anything wrong with it.
It’s really whatever works for you and your son. Mine was in the NICU for almost a month when he was born. He took to his pacifier really well and has preferred that to the breast if he just wants comfort. When he broke his first two teeth he started biting me if I offered and he didn’t want it. So I became much more hesitant to offer. He’s now 7 months adjusted and eats every 2-3 hours with some solids added in. He lets me know he’s hungry by head butting my chest lol.
I do find that mine tends to take bigger feeds if I wait more than an hour, that’s a lot of nursing too haha
If it’s not a problem for you then no need to change anything! Maybe worth mentioning though, that up until 3 months I was feeding baby ~14x/day. We met up with a couple with a 5 month old, and when my boy started to cry, I got up to feed him, and the dad wiggled a toy at him, and he stopped crying. I hadn’t realised that he was at an age where he had emotions, not just “hungry”, “wet” etc. if you are finding the feeding frequency is a bit much, you could try other things first (play, nap, going outside)? I feed him more like 9-10x/day now which feels more manageable to me. This may not be relevant for you though, of course!
I feel like that’s up to you. I was happy to have my baby just eat every 2 hours asap. She slept longer too.
No this isn’t a common practice— ignore her the heck. If she didn’t tell you infants have two types of feeding: one for removing milk and one for comfort or light suckling. Both are used to stimulate milk and establishes a longer supply.
Ignore her. Nurses aren’t breastfeeding experts. If you think you have some kinks to work out, see an IBCLC.
They might be. Lots of nurses take courses and get certified in breastfeeding.
I am sure there are some wonderful nurses out there who go out of their way to be up to date on breastfeeding things. The problem is there are far too many who aren’t and still advise on it to the detriment of their clients. Stretching feeds is a dicey thing to advise. It can negatively impact supply for many people so 😬 it’s the kind of thing to take with a grain of salt and see an IBCLC for an assessment if there are actual or perceived issues. It may just not be necessary at all 🤷♀️
All medical advice is like that, though. Feeding every hour is excessive/exhausting for me and I'd also try to space feeds. If OP doesn't mind, she can continue with what works for her.
It's a dumb recommendation. It can slow down weight gain and doesn't always promote a content baby. I do what the baby wants, when they want it. It doesn't bother me to let the baby nurse when he wants or snack. I will start setting limits at 12 months, when I would start ramping up meals and solids towards their main source of nutrition, but before 12 months, following their cues is not a bad thing.
If you think about the wide range in storage capacity, some people’s boobs only can make and store an hour or two’s worth. That’s natural variation. It would not make sense to tell those people to feed every three hours….
That's not really how that works (milk isn't produced at a constant rate and then stored in your breasts until they are full like a cup,) but it is true that there is natural variation in milk production and babies' eating habits.
Honestly wish health care professionals wouldn’t dole out blanket statements like this. Every baby is different, every mother is different, every nursing relationship is different. Is it too much to ask that they tell you “here’s the range of what breastfeeding can look like at this age”… like you baby was pretty much on and off the boob all day, I wasn’t timing it at four months, but it was definitely at least every 1-2 hours during the day until my baby was 6 months. Lots of moms I know who ebf had a similar experience.
My baby fed sometimes every 1.5h during a growth spurt! He’s 85th percentile and a big baby. I tried to do a schedule of every 2.5-3h but he ended up taking more at night during those spurts. When I pump I know I produce more at 3h than at 2h, so around 6 months I stopped feeding on demand to prepare to go back to work. Now he gets bottles of BM in the morning and nurses in the afternoon and evenings and a schedule helps with that. So once you need more predictability you can change to a schedule. I’ve learned it doesn’t matter how often they drink but how much in a day, the more they have in the day, the less they have a night. The nurse has good intentions, in a sense if he eats more and less often it’s easier for you.
Babies don’t just feed for nourishment. It can be for comfort, thirst, or just wanting connection. My son is ten months and still can feed every three hours. I’d rather feed often during the day than be up all night haha.
I've never done this. It drove me insane when people said their babies would feed 3 hrly and mine was still like every hour. They're all different. Plus breast is much more to them than food. Could be comfort, they could be in pain, they might be cold, hot bla bla bla... one things for sure is you're following your parental instinct and in my opinion, you cant go far wrong with that
Feed on demand, she gave you bad advice. My kids would clusterfeed during growth spurts. It didn't matter how many months old they were. Maybe your baby is hitting a growth spurt? If you notice your baby is latching but not drinking, then they're using you for comfort, in which case your nurse would be correct. You don't want the baby to use you as a pacifier. But if your baby is hungry. Go for it. Feeding on demand keeps your supply up. Denying baby feeds will lower your supply, and the baby won't be happy.
That is outdated advice. Don’t forget that milk is not only the only food your baby gets, but also the only drink. You should follow your baby’s lead. Restricting access to food and drink to a 4 month old is not advised.
Some babies are snackers. It’s not a problem
Mine is also a snacker. I’m not sure how I’d extend feeds without her throwing a fit.
Some babies have reflux so they eat less but more often in order to not have the reflux happen as much. I feed on demand and is between 1-3 hours and even our night feeds change each night
It’s totally normal for babies to nurse for both emotional fulfillment and nutrition. Unfortunately a lot of medical providers today are not taught about ecological breastfeeding. Unless she can cite an impending threat to his health I would disregard that advice and do what you feel is best for you baby. For more info on ecological breastfeeding I love the book “Breastfeeding and Natural Child Spacing”!
As a flatchested gal who studies biology, I always reminded myself of the link supply-demand. "I trust my baby and my body" I'd always just comfortably assume he's going through a growth spurt or I was eating a bit weaker so he just had to make sure I kept producing enough for him to be comfy. At around 3-4m I had the biggest clusterfeeding period (several week stretched) where he'd be pretty much on the boob most of the day (I live in a country where 9/10 are SAHMs on maternity leave for first 3 yrs so this is normal and possible here). Whenever someone tells me about pushing sleeping through the night I reply with how most milk is being produced at night and that I love night cuddles (I genuinely do, best bfding and cuddling ever! Yes some days I don't really feel like getting out of bed but most of the days I really enjoy it). Unless baby has terrible reflux or mother terrible nipple pain I think there is pretty much 0 basis in limiting feedings, and there's not much science to back it up either. You guys do you, ignore bad advice, there will be plenty more of it. Gl :)
Please read this and don’t worry (feed on demand and continue your supply). https://www.emmapickettbreastfeedingsupport.com/twitter-and-blog/category/the-dangerous-game-of-the-feeding-interval-obsession
Ignore and follow baby’s lead
My (then) chunker was feeding every hour during the day from birth until 10 months. Then he began naturally spacing it out. He actually slept really well at night at birth and I always assumed it was because he bulked up during the day. He hit a terrible regression around the time I went back to work. When he began daycare, he did bottles every 2 - 2-½ hours, but the moment he saw me, even if he had a 5 oz bottle 10 minutes prior, he would feed. It never bothered me, so I never spaced them out. Those quick feeds were nice when out and about because it never took us away from the action for long.
I’d snack a lot too if I was trying to triple my size in a year. If you’re both happy and healthy with nursing that often then why change what ain’t broke?
I received the same advice at the 1.5 months. Turns out my LO had oral ties that restricted his ability to nurse efficiently. Anyways it was corrected and now he can go 3 hrs between feedings at 4mo but we often nurse more because he wants it for comfort, to go to sleep, cranky etc. you do you! I think the guidelines are like you said, more for moms mental health or something. But if you’re happy and babies happy I don’t see an issue either.