Ok, so I've been having some issues w/ feeding Rachel before she goes down for the night. Originally, I thought it was b/c I was spacing her breastfeeding and solid food sessions out too far so that it was like she was constantly eating and wasn't hungry at night. Although changing her solid food sessions to be closer to her nursing sessions has helped out tremendously, I still run into the issue of her being really tired at the end of the day and sometimes unable to take in a full feeding. This morning she woke up at 4:30AM (and she was crying); she ate from both sides rather vigorously, and then I laid her back down and she slept until 7:15. So, obviously, she's hungry. Yesterday, she woke up at 5:30. I was able to hold her off until 6/6:30 to eat, but she wasn't interested in sleeping anymore pre-feeding or post-feeding. She was wide awake. She was doing well for about a week after I had reorganized her feeding schedule, but it seems like we're falling back in the same pattern. She can't stay awake any longer than 1PM usually in the afternoon, and yesterday, she wound up going for her afternoon nap pretty late (2PM), since the sitter didn't realize what time it was, and then she didn't fall asleep until 2:30. She then slept until almost 4:30. I fed her then, and then fed her again at 7PM before bedtime, but she still fought me at 7PM. I know teething rears its ugle head, but I hate to always assume that and give her more Tylenol. I do give her Tylenol, but I just don't want to do it every night. Sure, sometimes it makes a difference, but other times it doesn't, so I'm thinking either that may not be her issue or it varies from night to night what the issue is.
So, if anyone has any thoughts/advice on this or has run into similar situations, I'm all ears. Generally, Rachel has been a good sleeper and slept through the night (11-12 hours) from about 7 weeks on. But, since 5 1/2 to 6 months, it's been a little hit and miss at times. So, I'm a bit baffled as to why she seems to be more hungry but isn't taking in enough during the day......
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
According to the kellymom.com resources, the lactation consultants say that babies starting around 4 months old become more distracted by the world and become less interested in eating. As a result of this, they may not eat as much during the day and need to make up the calories at night. It's also possible that Rachel is going through a growth spurt too as I know that one can occur around 6 months old.
Hi Jill! I'm going to echo Julia on the growth spurt...Kathryn had a major growth spurt around 6 or 7 months...I can't remember which...but she started waking at night when she hadn't done that since she was 9 weeks old. I started cluster feeding her in the evenings, and that really helped! So I'd feed her 2 hours before bedtime, then again at bedtime, which added a whole extra feeding to her day (so she was eating at 8, noon, 4, 6, and 8). I did this for a couple of weeks until she didn't eat as much at the 6 feeding, then I combined the 2 and fed her at 7, and then gradually worked it back to closer to 8. I hope this helps!
Post a Comment