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thunderwolves 
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 Topic: Demand feeding
Posted: 04 December 2006 at 2:17pm |
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just wondering about anyone else who is demand feeding and how often they seem to be doing this.
I feel like i am feeding all day. Ethan seems to be starving so i feed him, he has such a small feed, falls asleep then wants to feed again in about an hour.
I am trying now not to feed him before an hour and a half is up so he has a decent feed, but then i am stuck with a very grumpy baby.
all this said i suppose i shouldn't complain since he only wakes once in the night for a feed. its just hard to do anything constructve during the day when i am feeding a baby every hour.
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Maya
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Posted: 04 December 2006 at 2:20pm |
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We don't demand feed but I do remember my midwife saying that even with demand feeding you shouldn't feed more often than 2-hourly (2 hours from the start of the last feed) otherwise they get into the habit of snack feeding.
Are you still expressing? How is it going? I am sooo over it!
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 Maya Grace (28/02/03)
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The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
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lizzle
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Posted: 04 December 2006 at 2:32pm |
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I did the same with my boys and found exactly the same thing - they would feed and fall asleep, wake up 20mins later hungry. I gave them a dummy in the end and then fed every 3-4 hours. It was so much better as I would have to feed for about 40 mins, BUT only once in w while. When i first had them - i honestly think I had a butt groove in the couch.
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thunderwolves
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Posted: 04 December 2006 at 2:33pm |
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He is on the breast with a nipple sheild during the day, but i express and he has a bottle before bed and his middle of the night feed, i am scared to stop the night bottles incase it ruins his great sleeping habits at night. I was so close to giving up the expressing, I had made the decision that if things hadn't improved by the end of the week that i would give it all up, I figured a month was long enough to say i had given it a good go, and he just got it, he is six weeks now so we have had two weeks of breasfeeding and his weight gain is good, so i think i was very lucky.
I think that is the problem, that i have got him into the habit of snack feeding. I am just going to have to toughen up and not let him do that anymore, it is my goal for this week. I am just a sucker for that quivering bottom lip, he pouts and he gets what he wants.
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Maya
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Posted: 04 December 2006 at 2:34pm |
I'm still trying to get mine back on the breast at 7 weeks  But I had forgotten about the nipple shields, might give them a go with Sienna, my resident nipple-muncher...
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Maya Grace (28/02/03)
(02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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thunderwolves
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Posted: 04 December 2006 at 2:41pm |
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He still can't feed without the sheilds, so i dont even bother trying him to latch with out it, and it works great,
it might be worth a try for you if its your last option, can't do any harm.
good luck.
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pepsi
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Posted: 04 December 2006 at 2:42pm |
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How old is your little one thunderwolves?
I have always demand fed Alyssa and she used to be the same, drinking all the time what seemed like every hour. I just let her do it since I figured her drinking is stimulating the milk supply that she needs. These days she only drinks about 5-6 times a day and pretty much grew out of it on her own.
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Kellz
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Posted: 04 December 2006 at 2:47pm |
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Isla was snack feeding too, and the midwife suggested changing her half way through a feed to wake her up a bit so she will feed more. This seems to work well. If she wakes up before 2 hours usually re-wrapping her, giving her dummy and a little rock of the bassinette does the trick.
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Kellz
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Posted: 04 December 2006 at 2:50pm |
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lol- I should have written "usually" in capitals,...cos i am sitting here with isla asleep in one arm after she woke after an hour and got more and more hysterical when i tried to resettle her! Good luck!
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thunderwolves
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Posted: 04 December 2006 at 4:09pm |
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Ethan is 6 weeks tomorrow, I know it could be a growth spurt, but it has been going on for over a week now, my other issue is that it took me four weeks to get him breastfeeding so i dont want to put him off, if thats possible.
But i have been sticking to my guns today and only feeding him every two hours, he hasn't been too bad, but its nearly 4.30 the start of our lovely evening together, where even on a good day he is ratty.
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EthansMummy
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Posted: 04 December 2006 at 4:39pm |
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HEHE very cool name!! My Ethan was demand feed but he was always 2-3 hourly and then it got better so now he feeds every 3.4-4 hours. Ethan only really falls asleep at the breast at night time and I just change him and that seems to wake him up enough to have a bit more. Good luck
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** MUM TO **
Ethan 29/08/2006
Brooke 22/09/2008
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busymum
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Posted: 04 December 2006 at 5:21pm |
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You should talk with Andie, she's just been through the same thing with her Ella I think - 7 weeks old.
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jax
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Posted: 04 December 2006 at 5:27pm |
I demand fed for the first eight weeks I think, but we tried "gently" to space the feeds out and Erin eventually fell into a routine on her own... and now she is thriving on it !! Her feeds are 7am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm and 9:30pm - and we are hoping that eventually she will have her "last feed" earlier and then we can change the spacing so it's just four feeds a day...
Ack, mind you, she's a fair bit older so all of that may be useless to you - sorry ! 
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Jacquie - Mama to Erin, 13.07.06 - Chief Cat Chaser & Marmite Sammie Eater
Love many, trust few, harm none. ~Anon~
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Demand feeding