Monday, June 8, 2009

Baby Boot Camp

When Fred was born she had a whole arsenal of tricks I hadn't ever run into with a baby before. Matey came into this world with a similar play book.

Moga has been staying sane but when I got here ... the gloves came off. Poor Matey didn't realize he was about to have a run in with a seasoned professional.

Sipping and napping all day long might be what he prefers but in the long run it isn't going to make him or his mommy happy.

I know I'm not a boobing expert by any means so this question goes out to all my SIL's who do have experience in that area. Does a 6 +week old need to eat every 5 to 10 minutes? I say no. Obviously he can't go the 4 hours a bottle fed baby can but an hour and a half won't hurt him right?

Last night he slept for 2 hours at a go for the first time in his life! Moga said she has noticed a marked improvement in his eating.

Yesterday we worked on putting him to sleep without being fed to sleep and today I'm going to attempt putting him down while he sleeps. Yes, this is the summer school version of this course :)

Tomorrow we're going to tackle eating from a bottle cause Moga has a hair appointment. Wish us luck!

8 comments:

Kathy said...

Bubba ate every hour and a half at that age. I see no reason a baby should be eating every ten min. unless the milk supply is lacking. If he isn't crying all the time, and if he is gaining weight at a good pace, it probably isn't lacking. She could try putting a pillow in between her chest and him when holding him so he can't smell her milk as strongly.
Good luck with the bottle. Neither of my kids would do it. But you are used to a crying baby-and it will help push those boundaries a little further.

Goodnight moon said...

Umm, no a breast feed baby doesn't need to eat every 5-10mins....if the baby is wanting the "boob" maybe use a pacifier to help soothe him?

Good luck!!!!!

Jessica the Jacked LDS said...

this is one of the reasons i cannot boob. i'd be doing it every 10 minutes. ugh...

Heidi said...

Your doing great Valinda! I agree with you and Kathy! Good Luck! I'm glad you are there to help :)

Anonymous said...

Poor Matey is outmommed! Tiney and I discussed a pacifier a couple of weeks ago and he wasn't going for it but w/ Aunt Ddonn and Grammy to back mommy up and drive places to try all the latest shapes and sizes the boy may just have to suck it up!
(pun intended)
xoxoxox

Safire said...

Nope, every hour and a half should be fine. If he's desperate to suck on something, try different kinds of binkies until you find one he'll take. My binkie baby didn't take one until he was about 6-8 weeks old, so it's worth another shot.

Emily said...

Wow! She's lucky to have you helping her. I know I had a lot of people helping me get my baby to sleep better. It's so nice to have so much support!

Hillary said...

If Moga can pump at least 4 ounces at a time, she's probably fine in the milk department. He definitely does not need to eat every 15 minutes. However, "they" do say that breastfed newborns need to eat every 3-4 hours. The time for in between feeding begins from the start of the previous feeding. At first, Sarah ate 45 minutes to an hour at a time so it seemed like all I was doing was nursing. However, Will came out eating like a champ. He was all 20 minutes and I'm done thank you very much and would go four hours in between feedings. I was worried he wasn't getting enough to eat, but he regained his birth weight within a day from leaving the hospital and has never looked back. He's almost 20 lbs now! And he can eat in less than 10 minutes. Love it. Good luck!