Advice about night feeding

[buddyIV]

Hi ladies, I'm looking for a bit of advice about my son's nighttime feeding.

He's 6 weeks old, and is a total dreamboat! He's been cluster feeding since, well, birth which I know is totally normal and am fine with. He also seems to think that sleep is for the weak, which I'm dealing with ok (some days are better than others!). However, he's started being sick a lot during his night feeds. He rarely spits up during the day, but for the past two nights he's brought up a fair bit of milk several times during his cluster feeds. I've let him carry on nursing as I know the importance of it for supply and comfort etc.

However, I'm wondering if its a comfort thing, rather than hunger, if introducing a pacifier might help to avoid all the barfing? I'd always offer the breast first, but am considering popping in the paci once he's started comfort nursing rather than actively feeding. What do you think?

This is a new situation for me as my eldest son used to latch off once he was done, but I think this boy would stay on the boob 24 hours a day if he could!

 

[newlywedtzh]

I notice when my DD would comfort nurse/cluster feed at that age- she would also spit up a lot. My LC said sometimes when they're that little they don't get the cue "I'm full" ha and will over eat and then regurgitate the milk.

Personally, I never pushed the pacifier, seemed a little unnatural to me (and LO wouldn't take it anyway). He will grow out of the constant nursing (comfort or cluster), I promise. But couldn't hurt to try a paci at 6 weeks, every baby is different- at 6 weeks, they know if they're getting milk or not and he will let you know if he is actually hungry vs. if he just wants to suck.

 

[buddyIV]

Thanks for the info! That's so interesting about babies not knowing they're full, and makes a lot of sense to me. I'm strangely reluctant to give the paci, as I feel he's nursing (and wants the attachment and closeness) for a reason, but didn't want him to be spitting up so much! I think I'll just ride it out. Hopefully he'll be over this growth spurt soon!

Thanks again for responding

 

[MommyJogger]

I've done one baby with a paci and one without. My first was without and I can tell you this is a passing phase. My second baby would nurse and get pissed when he got milk he didn't want, so I offered the paci and he loves it, but I H.A.T.E. it, lol. BUT during a growth spurt, he will still spit the paci out and demand milk until he vomits, so might not even help your problem, haha.

 

[newlywedtzh]

Interesting mommy jogger!

Yeah that's how I felt about the paci - all of the nursing will help build and establish your milk supply so in my opinion it's all natural! Just so demanding on the mother in the first 8 weeks

 

[Princesskell]

I didn't want to use a dummy but now I am just a human dummy in the night!! Ds is 4.5 months and will just suck for hours in the early hours, as I try to unlatch him he wakes and cries!!
Don't know where t go from here!!

 

[Lemonade]

We introduced a dummy early on and it worked for us. She would never take it if she was really hungry, but it cut out some of the comfort nursing (I never had any issues with my supply). She stopped taking it herself somewhere between 2 and 3 months when she found her thumb and hasn't taken it since.