baby wants to suck instead of eat?

[wonders_of_nature]

Hi Everyone,

When feeding the baby (3 months old), she will either fall asleep or just kind of suck a but (but not eat). When I take her off the breast, she acts like she wants to eat more, but when I put her back on, the same thing happens. If I take her off and let her suck on my finger for a minute OR if DH distracts her by singing, dancing, etc., she is all goos.

Is it possible that she just wants to suck instead of eat? While she's on me, I have done breast compression, tickled her feet, sang to her, gotten up and moved to another room, etc, but none of this will make her eat more--maybe a suck or two at most.

Sometimes she will eat and eat until she comes off me smiling (so cute!). Usually this happens at the late-night or first morning feeding. She is a tiny girl, and has been gaining steadily, but slowly, so I have been taking her to the pediatrician's for weigh-ins.

Has anyone else experienced this?

[hilmom]

this sounds like my 5 week old - he was actually not gaining weight, unbeknownce to me, because he was "sucking" vs. "eating" - this decreased my milk supply also. I had to pump like crazy for a few days to get my supply back - this helped him eat better - with breast compresion I literally had to squeeze the milk into his mouth to get him going - thing is, he's really hungry most of the time but just doesn't want to do the work maybe to get the milk going. he seems to be more a cluster feeder rather than feed on a schedule - no fun for me - he likes to go for over an hour at times, even close to two - then not eat again for four hours or so. i'm not much help - actually interested to see what the others say - good luck.

[wonders_of_nature]

with breast compresion I literally had to squeeze the milk into his mouth to get him going

Yeah, sometimes I feel like I am doing this too... I figure she will eat when she's hungry, but the slow weight gain makes me wonder...

he likes to go for over an hour at times, even close to two

I can SO relate to this!! It can really wear me down sometimes. We will just have to hang in there.

[minx17051]

Have faith. As long as your babies are gaining weight that is all that is important. Slow or fast doesn't matter as long as they are gaining. You may just have petite babies. I can relate to the frustration of being the human binky though. I had the opposite problem with my first child and still do when they weigh her. She was always above avg in weight but she is short like me. My daughter is in no way overweight, she is incredibly active, she is just a very solidly built little girl. Trust your instincts when it comes to your little ones. Wish I had better advice for you.

[ima062002]

How slow are we talking about? If she is gaining within the range for a bf child I wouldn't worry. The range for her age group is 5-8.5 oz a week.

In any case, it's virtually impossible for us to assess your baby's sucking without observing :). I would suggest you see a good lactation consultant. You can find one with your zipcode here: http://www.ilca.org/falc.html

[mandeloo]

suck instead of eat, yes! Momma is the bestest pacifier. Plus, as mentioned on another thread..could be the beginning of teething. Both of my older kids started popping teeth at 3 months. They would nurse way more.

[hilmom]

it is exhausting, but worth it. i just want to know his little belly is getting enough. i hate being unsure one feeding to the next. you hang in there too!

[wonders_of_nature]

Thanks for the advice ladies. I have wondered about the teething, only because about a week ago, she has started drooling like crazy. Sometimes there is a little pool of drool on the Boppy before I can get her latched on. If she's sitting upright, bibs have been her best friend.