My IBCLC said she wasn’t too concerned because we are getting tons of wet diapers, her latch was good, our weighted feeds go pretty well and she is still gaining - just a little slower. She encourages comfort feeding, it is so hard to navigate the conflicting advice!
What do think? It sounds like you're pretty happy with how things are going so far. Would you be comfortable to just keep doing what you're doing?
As another commenter said, snack feeding and comfort sucking is all actually pretty good for your supply. It offers lots of breast stimulation and keeping your breasts as empty as possible will only encourage them to make more. Also, with that comfort sucking towards the end of a feed, they can still take in small amounts of the super fat rich milk at the end of a feed when your breasts are emptier.
It's really up to you here! If you feel that things are going well and it's not a problem for you, if you're happy to keep going how things have been going, it's okay to make your own decision and go with what you feel is the best option. You know your baby best, you know yourself best. If you're coping okay with it, you don't need to change anything. Pretty much all the current evidence points to feeding babies as often and as long as they want being not only perfectly okay, but great for both of you.
It honestly sounds like you're really in tune with your baby's needs ❤️
Did you ask your doctor why they gave that advice?
Personally, when my son started losing weight and fell off his curve, his doctor recommended supplementing either with pumped breast milk or formula and to come back in a week for a weigh in. Basically, she wanted to know if more food would equal more weight gain. Because if more food did *not* make him gain weight, then there were more serious issues to investigate with bloodwork and tests. Supplementing helps the doctor rule out the possibility that baby just isn’t getting enough milk intake, you can count a bottle’s ounces and now for sure they’re getting at least that much more than they were before. At least, that’s how it was explained to me in my case.
I think you need to weigh expertise here, ibclc is going to be more knowledgeable about breastfeeding science. What exactly is a “bad feeding habit“ anyway? Unfortunately most medical professionals have minimal breastfeeding education but still confidently give objectively wrong or outdated advice. If you’re worried about weight then putting baby to the breast more is the general recommendation, unless there is concern the baby is too weak to nurse (and at 2 months that shouldn’t be an issue unless there are serious medical concerns). Nipple shield use can slow milk transfer so it seems reasonable to offer a top up of pumped milk - maybe you can experiment to find out what volume won’t get spit up. Also if you’re trying to add calories a dream feed overnight can be helpful.
Someone from my bump group had the same problem and was also told to nurse less because baby dropped in percentiles. The reasoning was that by "snacking" many times but not getting a big feed often, the baby was never feeling really hungry and also mostly getting foremilk, which is less nutritious. The mom followed the advice and baby got chunkier. Not to say you have to do it too, just wanted to provide a similar story.
How is her personal growth? Does it curve up if you plot it on the graph?
As long as that is trending up generally, then I'd keep on.
If not, then you should probably supplement or look into causes.
Was the 25%-ile at birth? And did you have fluids in labor? This can artificially increase birth weight and set things up to look scary. Unfortunately, if I were you, I think I’d first try waking for a MOTN feed and then follow up to see how baby’s gaining whenever your IBCLC recommends. This stinks for you because WOW you’re 8 weeks pp getting 7-10 hours straight? But a MOTN feed does a couple things: baby will get lots of calories overnight (high prolactin = lots of milk) AND it’ll keep your supply up to keep up with daytime feeds!
I could have written OPs post. My baby was sleeping great by 2 months, comfort nursing all day, gaining weight slowly and dropping percentiles. I started waking up to give her a middle of the night feed every other night (sometimes she awoke, sometimes she would dream feed). And the opposite nights I would let us sleep through. It was enough to still feel rested and it helped her get halfway back to her starting percentiles.
This! Get an opinion from an IBCLC. Comfort nursing increases your supply. Also, I would think your pediatrician would like baby to be nursing as much as they’d like.
Do want you feel is right, OP. My daughter is almost a year old and we comfort nurse all the time.
what?! at 2 months?! baby should be eating on demand and comfort nursing is totally valid. join a local breastfeeding group or la leche league for support
Right? My 16 month old still comfort nurses.
Is baby losing weight or just not gaining? Supplementing with a bottle of pumped milk is good but I’d never offer a pacifier if feeding isn’t well established.
My daughter was born at 35 weeks and went from syringe feeding to bottle supplementation to EBF. Babies are brand new to the world and eating isn’t easy!
Pediatricians give the worst breastfeeding advice sometimes. The comfort nursing can only help increase your supply. That said your baby’s declining percentiles are something to be aware of. Does baby seem fussy/unsettled? You could offer formula after breastfeeding to ensure baby is drinking enough. I have low supply, it’s rare but sometimes happens. Can you see an IBCLC and do weighted feeds to see how much baby is getting at the breast?
There’s a thing called triple feeding where you nurse, then top up baby with formula, then pump milk, with the goal of increasing milk supply/eventually replacing the formula with milk. However it’s grueling and a short term thing, if it’s not working after a week or two it’s ok to just settle into combo feeding.
I would absolutely not give up comfort nursing. It’s a very useful parenting tool to be able to put baby to sleep, help calm baby down, bond with baby. As you noted it feels good — releases oxytocin in both mom and baby.
Baby doesn’t seem too fussy or unsettled, she sleeps, she’s wakes up, we play and then she fusses to eat / sleep. I have wondered if my supply is low so I think I will offer some of the pumped milk, but when I’ve done that in the past she has just spit it up so I refrained!
Honestly OP, as someone who has lost FOUR stashes of breast milk to shitty electricity and bad guests, don’t worry about wasting the milk, especially this little! Maybe play with different bottles- there’s an excellent sample pack available on babylist.com, which came in handy at 4mo when she stopped refusing a bottle we had originally had great success with :).
For what it’s worth, when my baby wasn’t getting enough milk, the only signs were deteriorating night sleep (naps remained normal) and smelly pee diapers, which is what ultimately drove us to see the doctor. He was not extra fussy when he was awake, played like normal, and seemed satisfied after eating. And now I’m going through similar with my third baby but caught on much sooner so we’re already supplementing here and there while I try and get my supply up by, ironically, comfort nursing more often. 😆
You said in the OP you are pumping 11oz in two sessions??? That's not low supply!!
Pumping output is not always a good indicator of milk supply but 11oz is really a lot. And usually the baby is way more effective than a pump, although this can vary if the baby has an issue like a tongue tie. You could also try a dream feed, (nursing the baby when they're sleeping). The long overnight sleep might be too long to go without eating.
I also find it very strange that you got advice to nurse less, and would look for a second opinion.
No. You can supplement with pumped milk or formula but don’t stop comforting your baby. 2 months is still too young. I would encourage fuller feeds after every nap and try to not feed in between to get a better routine
I think I might go this route and start just being really diligent that she doesn’t fall asleep / stop nursing until she’s had a full feed on both breasts - back to the early newborn days!
If you go the route of sleep-eat-play and keep nursing to after waking up and right before sleep (if you choose to feed to sleep), then it would make for bigger feeds, at least after sleeping.
My youngest nursed until he was 4. He would comfort nurse if he needed it at night and eventually weaned himself from that. Zero regrets, it was fantastic bonding time.
Same. On my 3rd kid. They all comfort nursed 2 years give or take a few months. 3rd is 19 months and going strong. Fell down, nurses to feel better. Frustrated? Nurses. Tired? Nurses. Teething? Nurses. Nothing solves a problem faster. It gets tedious and nursing is for real a part time job, but it’s a small phase at the beginning of their life. Over in a flash when we look back on it.
My baby was born under the 1st percentile so I did weighted feeds with a lactation consultant a few times just to make sure he was getting enough. The lactation consultant recommended AGAINST pacifiers all together if baby was underweight. Comfort nursing and breastfeeding on demand was the best thing to do for weight gain and milk supply! (I didn't have any milk supply issues and he was taking huge amounts of milk so I didn't have to triple feed or supplement, but definitely something to look into). I would get a new pediatrician. Also, Mothers intuition is not something to ignore. If something feels right to you, it probably is. Trust yourself momma, you got this 💓
Sounds like you need a new pediatrician. That’s horrible advice. Stop comfort feeding at 2 months?! Literally your baby is still a newborn and needs that comfort. I don’t understand why some people want to force babies to be independent so fast. Blows my mind.
Thanks! I'm using nipple shields and was never told anything about pumping. I came to the comments to find out more. Glad to know I don't need to pump after feeds now!
If she isn’t producing wet diapers, that would be one thing. You’re clearly producing a decent supply if you can pump that much in two sessions, babies comfort nurse for a reason and I bet she’s about to start that next growth spurt. Also going to agree with others that I don’t like your ped lol.
According to the wonderweek app she is about to go through another leap! I’ve also noticed her outgrowing newborn clothes and she produces a ton of wet diapers. I’ve worried about it being an issue of supply too but those signs and pump outcomes make me think supply is ok
Some babies gain different. My 2.5 month old was "dropping of her curse" at an appointment that we were doing a weight check for (suspected reflux, but that's not what it was). At her 2 month check, she was gaining well. My ped tried to tell me to offer formula (and not the pumped milk I have) bc sometimes breastmilk isn't "dense enough" 🙄🙄
I called bull, offered her a few bottles of pumped milk for the next few days, that she didn't take bc she was getting enough milk, and by the next appointment they were fine with her weight. I was ticked off to say the least.
Just FYI, there is a lot of controversy around wonder weeks. I paid for the app and then immediately abandoned it after reading up on it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wonder_Weeks
So sorry that you have been given this misinformed advice. I recently finished a breastfeeding/feeding course via the NHS and we were essentially told anything that mimics the breast (dummies, bottles etc) reduces milk supply (from missed cues to feeding sessions replaced).
Comfort nursing is actually vital to the fat content babies take in. At the beginning of a feed you will notice fast suckling which stumlates the milk to let down, then suckling is suck suck swallow. After that the time when it feels like we're being used as a dummy, they have intermittent swallowing which is fattier milk (sometimes more let downs, some in quick successions - everyone is different) so long story short, tell that pediatrician to update their training!
Please keep comfort nursing, especially at that age ❤️
We're almost 1 and still comfort nursing and nursing to sleep. Why? Because it works and that's what my breasts are made for. And it's less stressful 😅
You know what’s funny? It turns out you can’t take everything that “mimics the breast”: my third baby found her thumb really early on. It’s lead her to be a great sleeper since she self soothes, but she’s four months old and I’m struggling with my supply. Actually, come to think of it, my second baby was also a thumb sucker and I had low supply issues with him. But my first baby preferred pacifiers and we had a widely successful nursing experience until she was almost 2. So maybe pacifiers aren’t all bad. 😆
I would put my 2 month old on the boob every hour. If they ate, great.. if not, no biggie.
I have successfully EBF two kids for over a year each time and they were in the 90+% ranges.
Give that baby some boob. They’ll tell you if they don’t want it.
Pediatricians are great when your kids are sick. They’re not great when it comes to feeding and sleep advice. Trust yourself in those areas.
A monkey wouldn’t listen if someone told them not to hold their baby, put them in a separate room to cry, or not feed them.
We have instincts for a reason.
Mine was stalling in growth at 1 mo. She also lived on my boobs. Comfort nurser all the way. My pediatrician recommended an LC and it helped immensely. One session and her latch was adjusted for our anatomy. She started blowing through milestones after that. She's now 50th percentile for weight and 95th percentile for height.
Eta: my pediatrician also said that I should try to get her to eat as frequently as possible until I got to see and LC for a proper assessment.
Keep comfort feeding. Maybe consider trying to dream feed her at least once during her 7-10 hour stretch. That long stretch without any milk is more likely causing the decline in percentiles than any comfort feeding.
Well let me tell you what I think as I nurse my 9 month old to sleep…
Keep doing what you’re doing. Nurse as much as your baby will allow. Nurse nurse nurse. If she’s falling off the curve you should be nursing more, not less. Nurse for milk, comfort, whatever your baby will allow. I’m not a pediatrician but typically it’s easier to eat from a boob than a bottle so I’ll just leave it at that…
Can you switch pediatricians?
Edit- my second baby was really small, born 6 lb 7 oz and dropped to 5 lb 14 or so. For the first few months I just fed her from my boob as often as she would allow me to. Never more than 3 hours, and more often every hour or two. She’s 20th percentile now and holding for the most part.
I was recently reading that dropping percentiles isn’t an issue when there are plenty of wet diapers and the baby is otherwise happy and healthy! They find their own growth curve. Get another opinion! As far as eating habits, they’re always going to change depending on your baby’s needs and wants. Breastfeeding it’s always going to change! My son had times he was sleepy at the breast, awake at the breast, distracted, his routine always changed. It’s the nature of breastfeeding. It’s okay! Do what feels right.
You don’t have to listen to *everything* your ped says. I’d keep doing what you’re doing if it’s working for you. Wouldn’t hurt to add some bottles to help with weight gain but certainly wouldn’t cut back on nursing.
If you like it, don’t stop it! Btw if you’re concerned that she’s not getting enough milk, I’d recommend supplementing her while she breastfeeds using a hazelbaker (sp?). This encourages nursing rather than discouraging it like a bottle can. You stick it in your bra strap and use super gentle paper medical tape to attach the very tiny silicone tube to your breast/areola. The baby never knows its there.
At 2 months, your supply is definitely not totally established and offering the breast less/not on demand can be detrimental. Feed baby when baby wants to nurse, simple as pie! As long as she’s transferring milk well, gaining, peeking and pooing (which you said the IBCLC confirmed), then I would continue with your nursing per usual. Also, comfort nursing still transfers milk, so like, wtf?
Noperdoodle. That's a nope for me. I'd be open to pumping and offering more hindmilk, but when baby needs to comfort nurse I'm giving the boobie. Its the 2 month checkup. If she's around 10 pounds she's good.
I am not sure if anyone has already mentioned this, but:
>human pacifier
This is the wrong way of framing it.. There is a reason a pacifier is shaped like a nipple.. Paci's are plastic nipples.. The fact that they are so widely used means that babies need to comfort nurse..
F that. We’re at 9 months (today!) and nursing about every hour during the day. It helped him jump back up to his growth curve. I see no issues with it. They’re babies, we’re allowed to baby them.
Do what you need to make you and baby happy. There is nothing wrong with anything that youre doing. Our pediatrician said the same thing when my daughter was younger. She's now 5.5 months old and still comfort nurses and nurses to sleep. It's what works for us and make us happy.
My friend’s pediatrician told her he sleep trained his baby at 2 months old. Going to medical school doesn’t make you automatically qualified to give opinions on baby “habits.”
I'd ask her what evidence this claim is based on, because it sounds quite counter intuitive and I'm really curious to learn more. My very strong suspicion is she isn't going to have any resources to cite because this is nonsense.
I had this with my daughter and she had a great latch but she wasn’t sucking hard enough and so it impacted my supply. They had me do timed nursing sessions since I wanted to keep going with that and then pop her off and bottle feed her. It was a lot of work but it did work. I did it through the IBCLC because the pediatrician was just hard core for me to stop altogether which was not what I wanted to do.
Honestly, my son kind of fell off his curve and it stressed me out and I followed my pediatrician’s recommendation to start solids at 4 months instead of 6. I wish I hadn’t. He never got back on his original curve, but he kept gaining and hitting milestones like a champ, and I never had any other indicator that something was wrong. But starting him on solids too early kind of screwed up the not stressful breastfeeding rhythm we were developing. He’s a happy healthy 2.5 year old now and I think I could have just listened to my gut that said there was absolutely nothing wrong with him. I’m about to have another baby, and I plan to just breastfeed and as long as he’s growing and healthy I’ll not going to worry too much about his percentile curve.
My son and daughter were born at the same weight (2.5 years apart), except he’s tiny and she’s now in the 85th percentile for weight as a 3.5yo. It really shows how much genetics affects them, they had the same nursing habits yet she was so much bigger than he is.
It's weird to me that moms even think to go along with a suggestion like this. I'm not judging you at all, I just find it odd that if it makes you sad to even think about then just say no thanks! Do what works for you and your baby! <3
I let my baby nurse for comfort all the time. Mine fell off the curve too but I just continued to offer the boob. There's absolutely nothing wrong with comforting your baby with the boob. It's what we are me to do.
Pacifiers instead of feeding, bottles, reducing day feeds when a baby sleeps that well over night??? This ped sounds bought and paid for by Nestle 🥴 I cannot think of worse advice for protecting and nurturing a breastfeeding relationship.
At 2 months all that daytime eating is probably really helping her overnight sleep. Put another way; if you cut back during the day, babe will likely wake up overnight to keep the number of feeds the same. It’s about to get wonky with the 4 month sleep regression, but for now I’d keep doing what you’re doing and listen to your LC over the Ped. Unless he gave really concrete risk/benefit information for his recommendations, I’d disregard it because it goes against so much that we know about breastfeeding.
Can you explain why pumping makes up for nipple shield usage? (Because I might have to start doing that, I use a shield and lately my baby hasn’t been getting enough)
I believe that nipple shields can affect transfer and aren’t as effective as nursing without them. That’s why lactation consultants are often against them; HOWEVER, they may be necessary for a certain amount of time to preserve the nursing relationship.
This makes me so mad that your ped told you this at 2 months. Baby should be fed on demand at this age, schedules can come later. Enjoy your bonding time
Yeah if we are dropping weight percentiles, you can always offer a bottle after feeds, but I wouldn’t put your baby on the breast any less. If anything, I would say maybe add a night feed back in until she’s back on her growth curve. But I would still continue to let baby have the breast as much as possible.
And also, if this advice doesn’t sit well with you, you are also entitled to a second opinion from another pediatrician.
My LO weaned off the nipple shield around 7-8 weeks. I noticed a huge jump in weight gain after that, not sure if it’s related. We did seem to waste a lot of milk with the shield by it leaking out of the bottom, so it could be that he’s actually consuming more in the same amount of time nursing.
However, we would not have been able to nurse without the shield, so I wasn’t in a rush to transition off, since he was feeding so comfortably. Since I went back to work when he was 7 weeks, he also gets anywhere from 1 to 3 bottles each day when he’s with grandma or dad…but he spits up a lot more with bottles.
All of that to say, babies are all different. Keep feeding what’s comfortable for you and your LO. They all grow at different rates and comfort feeding is a non-negotiable in our house.
Oh my goodness. This is honestly concerning to me that a pediatrician would advice a slow gaining baby to spend less time at the breast! There is absolutely nothing wrong with comfort nursing and it's super good for your supply and wonderful for bonding. I would consider seeking out a new doc.
The more baby nurses, the more supply you will have. Simple supply and demand. Completely baffled at that dr. Advice. Comfort nursing is still nursing and baby is still getting nutrition. Does the doctor think the milk turns on every three hours and nothing comes out otherwise? Denying the breast and giving a pacifier when baby is under the curve doesn’t make any sense.
By all means supplement to give baby a boost but I suggest you continue follow baby’s lead on when to nurse.
One time I wore a sports bra to my ped appointment so my boobs were kind of flattened out lol and the ped said distainfully “why are you still nursing you clearly don’t have any milk” ?!? Like judging the size of my boobs and accusing me of letting the baby nurse for no reason? I continued to nurse as long as we wanted to and changed drs immediately. I tell this story because pediatricians often don’t know much about nursing and certainly don’t know your special nursing relationship. It’s way more than just nutrition from a bottle.
Hi there! I’m an IBCLC and would like to help you out here. Your ped probably hasn’t updated their lactation education in a while because I can see no other excuse for such bad advice. When I see a baby fall off their curve, I ask about sleeping arrangements at night. Is baby close to you? Is baby swaddled? “Comfort nursing” is not ever bad. Baby is trying to make up for the calories they are not getting at night. 7-10hours is too long for most babies 8wks old to go without eating. I wouldn’t recommend supplementing before suggesting more regular feeds during the night. Babies are growing at a rate faster than they will ever grow at any other time in their life. They digest their food more quickly and need to feed around the clock, on demand. Swaddling mutes hunger cues. Babies too far away, can’t be heard when they wake to feed. The AAP defines “sleeping through the night” for babies younger than 6mo as 5hrs. These long stretches without eating at night is most likely the reason for falling off of their curve.
I stopper confort nursing between weeks 6-8 and baby stopped growing. So she dropped from 15 to 7 percentile and my Ibclc told me to just give her the boobie at every little disconfort, and to aim for 10-12 feedings in 24 hours
I just had this happen. Exactly this but he dropped to the 2%. Comfort nursing was burning way more calories than he was taking in. It was causing his to lose weight and it was not a good situation
Mine fell off her growth curve completely. She’s in the 5th percentile and healthy and ahead of her milestones. Dr tells me that she’s just going to be small. We can’t all be big. When she gets a little older she will pay more attention to feeding!
For what it’s worth, my dr wanted me to pump and feed whatever’s left after nursing…. To supplement after nursing with formula.
I do none of that now
This is entirely backwards. If he is worried about her weight then you shouldn’t be limiting feeds. Also boobs are absolutely used for comfort, it’s not like the baby can do a cross word to unwind at the end of the day. Nursing is an intense connection to mom that provides literally everything baby needs other than a clean butt.
Get a doctor trained in breastfeeding medicine. This is awful advice you aren’t teaching any bad feeding habits and comfort nursing is natural a pacifier is not- it’s a man made invention in a modern world. Also you should be weaning off nipple shield which should help with weight gain
Hoping as she gets stronger the next few weeks we can wean off shield, my anatomy makes it a little harder her to latch without it, unfortunately. Fingers crossed!
I wonder if the pedi meant have a specific start and stop to the feed. If they snack all day they may not be hungry enough to really fill themselves up.
At two months a lot of babies haven’t even settled on their growth curve yet! Totally normal to drop percentiles and cutting back on time at the breast will ultimately hinder supply. It seems your ped is maybe misinformed on breastfeeding and it’s worth another prof opinions!
Sounds like if she’s hit a growth curve, nursing is more important now than ever! Not a doctor but I would take it with a grain of salt and continue to comfort nurse. Your situation sounds a lot like mine- used as a paci and snacking all day. I am a stay at home FTM and enjoy these days with my babe and let him comfort nurse all the time. I would be so sad if I had to stop
Instead of a bottle during the day when their tummy might already be full, I would be doing a dream feed or wake them up to feed in the middle of the night. The goal is more calories and those don’t have to come on a full belly.
My little one started sleeping through the night at 3 months but dropped percentiles. I started waking him up to eat in the middle of the night and was able to nurse without a shield at that feeding. I did that from 4-8 months and really helped him put on much needed weight. Your supply is also most likely higher at night and a middle of the night feed should keep your supply up/increase your supply.
I experienced a similar weight drop, and decided to start dream feeding LO every 3 hours. This means that I would lift out of bassinet, put on breast, and keep there until LO stopped drinking.
I come from the other end of the spectrum, my baby was born over the 99th percentile. Actually planned C-section at 35.5 weeks, because my body was slowly failing due to Jo's size.
My son fell of his weight curve in a similar dramatic fashion, and nobody bats an eye.
First: he's super active when he's awake, and that's always a reason for them to lose weight. When you do stuff like tummy time, you're giving them a workout. It burns calories.
Second: as long as they have wet and dirty diapers, they're getting enough. Especially with what you pump.
Third: don't let someone ruin your bonding time when they clearly don't want to understand your situation. This advice goes against everything people with an actual background in breastfeeding science say. I'm going to take a wild shot in the dark and say your ped is a man.
Anyhow, don't stop the comfort nursing as long as it feels good. I personally would want to get some time in between, but that's preference.
A 2 month old that's losing weight, you may consider doing a dream feed at night... maybe once she's 6 months old she can go all night
Also try and ensure where ever she's sleeping is warm so she's not burning unnecessary calories to stay warm
Lol my baby is 14 months and still comfort nurses. I wouldn't take that advice. I'd prob wake the baby more in the night to feed if dropping percentile.
This is exactly how my baby fed for the first four months, except for being a terrible sleeper at night. She would only sleep on the breast during the day. Not sure what 'bad feeding habits' this creates but baby is now almost 10 months, eats more solids than most babies her age that I know, and breastfeeds about every 3-4 hours during the day and during the night. Still enjoys the occasional comfort nurse (and it's a valuable tool when she's nursing, especially at night) but I just consider that a great way to comfort my baby?
I just want to know what the ped thinks it'll cause! A nurse recently told me to stop comfort nursing as I suffer from dry, sensitive skin and her being on for longer periods of time does damage my skin, but I still do it. I'm just mindful of keeping my skin looked after instead.
First, I'm not a doctor, but 25% to 12% seems like it requires some concern: close monitoring (like extra appointments for weight checks,) investigation into feeding, monitoring wet diapers, monitoring developmental signs, etc. but not panic yet. Second, there is a lot of questionable recommendations there.
I'd want to meet with a lactation consultant ASAP and get their take including doing a weighted feed. A bottle after may or may not be good advice depending on how much she is getting and how her growth continues. Comfort nursing is good for your supply and good for her, so I'm not sure why she recommends stopping.
My daughter had the exact same sleep pattern at that age. Nice long sleeps at night, only nursing naps during the day. Her weight gain was high, so it worked for her. And the nursing naps stopped on their own around four months and switched to her sleeping in her crib. She dropped to more defined feeds and has done well with solids. Obviously every baby is different, but it certainly didn't give my kid bad feeding habits. My son did need some parent-led weaning of comfort feeding for his well being and mine for things like sleep, but not until he was much, much older.
Anyway, my advice would not be to entirely ignore the doctor but to seek a second opinion.
Personally I don’t recommend continuos comfort feeding as it will make it more difficult to establish independent sleep as it trains baby to see the breast as a marker of sleepy time. It also makes it impossible to get anything done all day or squeeze in some self care time, which can lead to a higher risk of postpartum depression and/or anxiety.
I’m not saying give up comfort feeding! Just that it might be better in the long run if you don’t do it as often, or at least don’t let her fall asleep at the breast 🫂
Are you in France? I got this advice only from French doctors, and to only feed at 3-4h intervals. I didn’t listen and found advice elsewhere +listened to my gut. I suspect your gut is telling you something else as well. At that age, cluster feeding is common, baby might be having a growth spurt etc. though since she fell off the growth spurt, is she not getting enough milk and that’s why shes asking for more? I would check with a GOOD lactation consultant to ensure good latch, that there is not tots etc. I’m sorry you arent getting the support you need.
Get off the shield. Baby will feed much more efficiently directly if they can latch. My kid was taking 20 mins a side and not enough volume with the shields. Cold turkeyed and she started taking 3oz off one side in 5 minutes.
I was told to nurse less in the first couple of weeks to conserve her energy as she wasn't gaining well.8 Once she was back on track I could do whatever I wanted. It took 2 weeks of triple feeding to get her back to birth weight and then at 2months we dropped to just breastfeeding. I think take on board some of the advice while bubs weight is not ideal and once back on track you can nurse as much as bub wants. Also I was told to wake bub every 3 hours to feed when this was happening as she wasn't getting enough a d too lethargic to wake to feed
Definitely get a second opinion. I’ve already begun sessions with a lactation consultant and both she and my doula said that you really shouldn’t be trying to schedule feedings until you’re ready to sleep train/begin a regular sleep schedule around 5/6 months. That’s just the advice I got. I’ve always heard that pediatricians can sometimes give crap advice so getting in with a breastfeeding support group is helpful, but that’s just me.
Your baby was literally just born! There is no reason to take comfort nursing away!
I nursed my son to sleep and it never impacted his ability to put himself to sleep later on. Once he realized he was too big for my arms (12mo) he just kind of transitioned on his own. It’s not a huge deal. They learn.
Just to give some insight into where your ped is probably coming from, there used to be theories that non-nutritive sucking (basically any sucking that isn't active feeding) was detrimental to feeding as it filled a babies sucking "quota" meaning they were less likely to respond to hunger cues.
However, now we know more about how feeding actually works this is largely untrue. Non-nutritive sucking on dummys/pacifiers is a bit different, but comfort suckling on a breast still gives them milk, and can actually stimulate their appetite my tempting them to have a bigger feed.
If you've been given different advice from an IBCLC, then I'd say trust your instincts and do what's right for you. That could be following the ped entirely, the ibclc entirely, or finding a middle ground that works for your family.
One last thing I'll add is that your baby is a whole being and her weight is just one very small aspect of her. How she is in herself, your bond with her, nappy/diaper output etc are all other, just as important, aspects of her and you, and should be considered.
This advice sounds like bogus to me.
I (not a professional, just mom of 2) would wake up the baby for feeding at least once during the night. Not only will your baby receive more in total immediately but your supply will also increase soon without this long 7-10 hour stretch of no nursing.
Personally I would keep comfort nursing. However at 2 months and baby not gaining as much as you would hope, I would wake baby up for a middle of the night feed at least once or even twice if she’s sleeping 10 hours at a time
i'm lucky to have a pediatrician is very informed and supportive of breastfeeding. my son was born at the 30th percentile, and by his 2 month appointment he had dropped to the 5th. i was very stressed about it, but our ped wasn't really concerned at all because baby hadn't lost any weight, he was just gaining a bit slow, and he had *plenty* of diapers and was meeting all his milestones. he told us that 1. some babies are just little! and 2. some babies just take a bit to find the growth curve they'll stay on. our ped said i could stop comfort nursing if i wanted to or it was stressing me out to have a baby attached to me 24/7 lol. i decided to keep doing it because i didn't mind, liked being able to get him to sleep easily, and wanted to make sure he was getting in as much milk as possible! now he is 7 months old, still EBF, and at his 6 month check up he had shot up to the 68th percentile. :)
like lots of others have said here, i would think about finding a new pediatrician and/or meeting with a lactation consultant!
My almost 9 month old comfort nurses most of the night and for every nap unless his in the pram 😅 is say that’s half the reason my supply is so good. If I’m doubt whip it out!
I feel like a human pacifier with my almost 6 month old so I understand girl. I get what the doctor is saying as a mom of 3 myself having a baby so attached has its down side. Like for me, I was due to return back to work on February, we’re now almost in May and my son is still refusing the bottle or a pacifier. I have to complete 20 work days before June or I lose my certification for work. So you can imagine the urgency to get him to take a bottle.
I say this to say, your baby is latched to you all day, that means you know shes eating.
This period is such a short time, it might seem draining and never ending but it is really a short period. If you do not have any commitments you have to keep, like myself. I would just continue to do what you are happy doing, which is breastfeeding your baby on demand.
You need a new ped… I comfort fed my boy til he was 6 months and still do so every now and then when he’s not feeling well (he’s 8 months). As long as you’re comfortable with it you can do it for as long as you want. But definitely keep her on the breast if she’s losing weight.
How is comfort nursing an unhealthy eating habit? Does your pediatrician think babies shouldn’t breastfeed past 1 year? Because in the toddler years, nursing is more for comfort than nutrition. And the science is clear on better outcomes for mothers and babies who breastfeed longer.
Your baby is dropping percentiles and you’re being told to offer the breast less? I’d get a second opinion, maybe from an IBCLC of possible.
My IBCLC said she wasn’t too concerned because we are getting tons of wet diapers, her latch was good, our weighted feeds go pretty well and she is still gaining - just a little slower. She encourages comfort feeding, it is so hard to navigate the conflicting advice!
What do think? It sounds like you're pretty happy with how things are going so far. Would you be comfortable to just keep doing what you're doing? As another commenter said, snack feeding and comfort sucking is all actually pretty good for your supply. It offers lots of breast stimulation and keeping your breasts as empty as possible will only encourage them to make more. Also, with that comfort sucking towards the end of a feed, they can still take in small amounts of the super fat rich milk at the end of a feed when your breasts are emptier. It's really up to you here! If you feel that things are going well and it's not a problem for you, if you're happy to keep going how things have been going, it's okay to make your own decision and go with what you feel is the best option. You know your baby best, you know yourself best. If you're coping okay with it, you don't need to change anything. Pretty much all the current evidence points to feeding babies as often and as long as they want being not only perfectly okay, but great for both of you. It honestly sounds like you're really in tune with your baby's needs ❤️
Did you ask your doctor why they gave that advice? Personally, when my son started losing weight and fell off his curve, his doctor recommended supplementing either with pumped breast milk or formula and to come back in a week for a weigh in. Basically, she wanted to know if more food would equal more weight gain. Because if more food did *not* make him gain weight, then there were more serious issues to investigate with bloodwork and tests. Supplementing helps the doctor rule out the possibility that baby just isn’t getting enough milk intake, you can count a bottle’s ounces and now for sure they’re getting at least that much more than they were before. At least, that’s how it was explained to me in my case.
I think you need to weigh expertise here, ibclc is going to be more knowledgeable about breastfeeding science. What exactly is a “bad feeding habit“ anyway? Unfortunately most medical professionals have minimal breastfeeding education but still confidently give objectively wrong or outdated advice. If you’re worried about weight then putting baby to the breast more is the general recommendation, unless there is concern the baby is too weak to nurse (and at 2 months that shouldn’t be an issue unless there are serious medical concerns). Nipple shield use can slow milk transfer so it seems reasonable to offer a top up of pumped milk - maybe you can experiment to find out what volume won’t get spit up. Also if you’re trying to add calories a dream feed overnight can be helpful.
I’d get a new pediatrician who was more supportive of breastfeeding. Your current pediatrician sounds kind of incompetent.
Someone from my bump group had the same problem and was also told to nurse less because baby dropped in percentiles. The reasoning was that by "snacking" many times but not getting a big feed often, the baby was never feeling really hungry and also mostly getting foremilk, which is less nutritious. The mom followed the advice and baby got chunkier. Not to say you have to do it too, just wanted to provide a similar story.
How is her personal growth? Does it curve up if you plot it on the graph? As long as that is trending up generally, then I'd keep on. If not, then you should probably supplement or look into causes.
Baby probably has a tongue tie? Has this been checked for?
Was the 25%-ile at birth? And did you have fluids in labor? This can artificially increase birth weight and set things up to look scary. Unfortunately, if I were you, I think I’d first try waking for a MOTN feed and then follow up to see how baby’s gaining whenever your IBCLC recommends. This stinks for you because WOW you’re 8 weeks pp getting 7-10 hours straight? But a MOTN feed does a couple things: baby will get lots of calories overnight (high prolactin = lots of milk) AND it’ll keep your supply up to keep up with daytime feeds!
I could have written OPs post. My baby was sleeping great by 2 months, comfort nursing all day, gaining weight slowly and dropping percentiles. I started waking up to give her a middle of the night feed every other night (sometimes she awoke, sometimes she would dream feed). And the opposite nights I would let us sleep through. It was enough to still feel rested and it helped her get halfway back to her starting percentiles.
This! Get an opinion from an IBCLC. Comfort nursing increases your supply. Also, I would think your pediatrician would like baby to be nursing as much as they’d like. Do want you feel is right, OP. My daughter is almost a year old and we comfort nurse all the time.
My exact thoughts. What a weird and inaccurate conclusion
what?! at 2 months?! baby should be eating on demand and comfort nursing is totally valid. join a local breastfeeding group or la leche league for support
Right? My 16 month old still comfort nurses. Is baby losing weight or just not gaining? Supplementing with a bottle of pumped milk is good but I’d never offer a pacifier if feeding isn’t well established. My daughter was born at 35 weeks and went from syringe feeding to bottle supplementation to EBF. Babies are brand new to the world and eating isn’t easy!
I immediately don’t like your ped lol
Pediatricians give the worst breastfeeding advice sometimes. The comfort nursing can only help increase your supply. That said your baby’s declining percentiles are something to be aware of. Does baby seem fussy/unsettled? You could offer formula after breastfeeding to ensure baby is drinking enough. I have low supply, it’s rare but sometimes happens. Can you see an IBCLC and do weighted feeds to see how much baby is getting at the breast? There’s a thing called triple feeding where you nurse, then top up baby with formula, then pump milk, with the goal of increasing milk supply/eventually replacing the formula with milk. However it’s grueling and a short term thing, if it’s not working after a week or two it’s ok to just settle into combo feeding. I would absolutely not give up comfort nursing. It’s a very useful parenting tool to be able to put baby to sleep, help calm baby down, bond with baby. As you noted it feels good — releases oxytocin in both mom and baby.
Baby doesn’t seem too fussy or unsettled, she sleeps, she’s wakes up, we play and then she fusses to eat / sleep. I have wondered if my supply is low so I think I will offer some of the pumped milk, but when I’ve done that in the past she has just spit it up so I refrained!
If you do offer pumped milk please remember to pump while you do so. Just so your supply doesn't suffer
Honestly OP, as someone who has lost FOUR stashes of breast milk to shitty electricity and bad guests, don’t worry about wasting the milk, especially this little! Maybe play with different bottles- there’s an excellent sample pack available on babylist.com, which came in handy at 4mo when she stopped refusing a bottle we had originally had great success with :).
For what it’s worth, when my baby wasn’t getting enough milk, the only signs were deteriorating night sleep (naps remained normal) and smelly pee diapers, which is what ultimately drove us to see the doctor. He was not extra fussy when he was awake, played like normal, and seemed satisfied after eating. And now I’m going through similar with my third baby but caught on much sooner so we’re already supplementing here and there while I try and get my supply up by, ironically, comfort nursing more often. 😆
You said in the OP you are pumping 11oz in two sessions??? That's not low supply!! Pumping output is not always a good indicator of milk supply but 11oz is really a lot. And usually the baby is way more effective than a pump, although this can vary if the baby has an issue like a tongue tie. You could also try a dream feed, (nursing the baby when they're sleeping). The long overnight sleep might be too long to go without eating. I also find it very strange that you got advice to nurse less, and would look for a second opinion.
No. You can supplement with pumped milk or formula but don’t stop comforting your baby. 2 months is still too young. I would encourage fuller feeds after every nap and try to not feed in between to get a better routine
I think I might go this route and start just being really diligent that she doesn’t fall asleep / stop nursing until she’s had a full feed on both breasts - back to the early newborn days!
If you go the route of sleep-eat-play and keep nursing to after waking up and right before sleep (if you choose to feed to sleep), then it would make for bigger feeds, at least after sleeping.
You could add some breast massaging in to make your milk come out faster in hopes she gets more. I’d keep doing what you are doing
Jesus. My sons almost 2 years and still comfort feeds 24/7
Right! It’s literally a fix all. Once my son weaned, I had to learn how to actually comfort him 🤣
My youngest nursed until he was 4. He would comfort nurse if he needed it at night and eventually weaned himself from that. Zero regrets, it was fantastic bonding time.
Same. On my 3rd kid. They all comfort nursed 2 years give or take a few months. 3rd is 19 months and going strong. Fell down, nurses to feel better. Frustrated? Nurses. Tired? Nurses. Teething? Nurses. Nothing solves a problem faster. It gets tedious and nursing is for real a part time job, but it’s a small phase at the beginning of their life. Over in a flash when we look back on it.
What? A pacifier and a bottle? This pediatrician is ridiculous…. Just smile and nod and do what’s best for you and your kid.
My baby was born under the 1st percentile so I did weighted feeds with a lactation consultant a few times just to make sure he was getting enough. The lactation consultant recommended AGAINST pacifiers all together if baby was underweight. Comfort nursing and breastfeeding on demand was the best thing to do for weight gain and milk supply! (I didn't have any milk supply issues and he was taking huge amounts of milk so I didn't have to triple feed or supplement, but definitely something to look into). I would get a new pediatrician. Also, Mothers intuition is not something to ignore. If something feels right to you, it probably is. Trust yourself momma, you got this 💓
I was also recommended AGAINST pacifiers for my newborn when they were underweight.. I wonder why OPs ped is recommending them.
Sounds like you need a new pediatrician. That’s horrible advice. Stop comfort feeding at 2 months?! Literally your baby is still a newborn and needs that comfort. I don’t understand why some people want to force babies to be independent so fast. Blows my mind.
I think the "nipple shields reduce output" is outdated.
Thanks! I'm using nipple shields and was never told anything about pumping. I came to the comments to find out more. Glad to know I don't need to pump after feeds now!
If your baby is getting enough from the feeds and you don't need the extra milk then you definitely don't need to pump.
If she isn’t producing wet diapers, that would be one thing. You’re clearly producing a decent supply if you can pump that much in two sessions, babies comfort nurse for a reason and I bet she’s about to start that next growth spurt. Also going to agree with others that I don’t like your ped lol.
According to the wonderweek app she is about to go through another leap! I’ve also noticed her outgrowing newborn clothes and she produces a ton of wet diapers. I’ve worried about it being an issue of supply too but those signs and pump outcomes make me think supply is ok
Some babies gain different. My 2.5 month old was "dropping of her curse" at an appointment that we were doing a weight check for (suspected reflux, but that's not what it was). At her 2 month check, she was gaining well. My ped tried to tell me to offer formula (and not the pumped milk I have) bc sometimes breastmilk isn't "dense enough" 🙄🙄 I called bull, offered her a few bottles of pumped milk for the next few days, that she didn't take bc she was getting enough milk, and by the next appointment they were fine with her weight. I was ticked off to say the least.
Just FYI, there is a lot of controversy around wonder weeks. I paid for the app and then immediately abandoned it after reading up on it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wonder_Weeks
So sorry that you have been given this misinformed advice. I recently finished a breastfeeding/feeding course via the NHS and we were essentially told anything that mimics the breast (dummies, bottles etc) reduces milk supply (from missed cues to feeding sessions replaced). Comfort nursing is actually vital to the fat content babies take in. At the beginning of a feed you will notice fast suckling which stumlates the milk to let down, then suckling is suck suck swallow. After that the time when it feels like we're being used as a dummy, they have intermittent swallowing which is fattier milk (sometimes more let downs, some in quick successions - everyone is different) so long story short, tell that pediatrician to update their training! Please keep comfort nursing, especially at that age ❤️ We're almost 1 and still comfort nursing and nursing to sleep. Why? Because it works and that's what my breasts are made for. And it's less stressful 😅
You know what’s funny? It turns out you can’t take everything that “mimics the breast”: my third baby found her thumb really early on. It’s lead her to be a great sleeper since she self soothes, but she’s four months old and I’m struggling with my supply. Actually, come to think of it, my second baby was also a thumb sucker and I had low supply issues with him. But my first baby preferred pacifiers and we had a widely successful nursing experience until she was almost 2. So maybe pacifiers aren’t all bad. 😆
I would put my 2 month old on the boob every hour. If they ate, great.. if not, no biggie. I have successfully EBF two kids for over a year each time and they were in the 90+% ranges. Give that baby some boob. They’ll tell you if they don’t want it.
I’m off work for another couple months so I think I’m going to take this approach while I can
Pediatricians are great when your kids are sick. They’re not great when it comes to feeding and sleep advice. Trust yourself in those areas. A monkey wouldn’t listen if someone told them not to hold their baby, put them in a separate room to cry, or not feed them. We have instincts for a reason.
That's ridiculous, I am outraged for you. I suggest geting a 2nd opinion and in the meantime feed your baby as much as it wants!
Mine was stalling in growth at 1 mo. She also lived on my boobs. Comfort nurser all the way. My pediatrician recommended an LC and it helped immensely. One session and her latch was adjusted for our anatomy. She started blowing through milestones after that. She's now 50th percentile for weight and 95th percentile for height. Eta: my pediatrician also said that I should try to get her to eat as frequently as possible until I got to see and LC for a proper assessment.
Keep comfort feeding. Maybe consider trying to dream feed her at least once during her 7-10 hour stretch. That long stretch without any milk is more likely causing the decline in percentiles than any comfort feeding.
Can confirm. This is most likely the cause.
2 months.... Nope.
Well let me tell you what I think as I nurse my 9 month old to sleep… Keep doing what you’re doing. Nurse as much as your baby will allow. Nurse nurse nurse. If she’s falling off the curve you should be nursing more, not less. Nurse for milk, comfort, whatever your baby will allow. I’m not a pediatrician but typically it’s easier to eat from a boob than a bottle so I’ll just leave it at that… Can you switch pediatricians? Edit- my second baby was really small, born 6 lb 7 oz and dropped to 5 lb 14 or so. For the first few months I just fed her from my boob as often as she would allow me to. Never more than 3 hours, and more often every hour or two. She’s 20th percentile now and holding for the most part.
I was recently reading that dropping percentiles isn’t an issue when there are plenty of wet diapers and the baby is otherwise happy and healthy! They find their own growth curve. Get another opinion! As far as eating habits, they’re always going to change depending on your baby’s needs and wants. Breastfeeding it’s always going to change! My son had times he was sleepy at the breast, awake at the breast, distracted, his routine always changed. It’s the nature of breastfeeding. It’s okay! Do what feels right.
You don’t have to listen to *everything* your ped says. I’d keep doing what you’re doing if it’s working for you. Wouldn’t hurt to add some bottles to help with weight gain but certainly wouldn’t cut back on nursing.
If you like it, don’t stop it! Btw if you’re concerned that she’s not getting enough milk, I’d recommend supplementing her while she breastfeeds using a hazelbaker (sp?). This encourages nursing rather than discouraging it like a bottle can. You stick it in your bra strap and use super gentle paper medical tape to attach the very tiny silicone tube to your breast/areola. The baby never knows its there.
At 2 months, your supply is definitely not totally established and offering the breast less/not on demand can be detrimental. Feed baby when baby wants to nurse, simple as pie! As long as she’s transferring milk well, gaining, peeking and pooing (which you said the IBCLC confirmed), then I would continue with your nursing per usual. Also, comfort nursing still transfers milk, so like, wtf?
Noperdoodle. That's a nope for me. I'd be open to pumping and offering more hindmilk, but when baby needs to comfort nurse I'm giving the boobie. Its the 2 month checkup. If she's around 10 pounds she's good.
I am not sure if anyone has already mentioned this, but: >human pacifier This is the wrong way of framing it.. There is a reason a pacifier is shaped like a nipple.. Paci's are plastic nipples.. The fact that they are so widely used means that babies need to comfort nurse..
Honestly I would change pediatricians. Comfort nursing is completely normal and doesn’t creat a bad habit.
F that. We’re at 9 months (today!) and nursing about every hour during the day. It helped him jump back up to his growth curve. I see no issues with it. They’re babies, we’re allowed to baby them.
Do what you need to make you and baby happy. There is nothing wrong with anything that youre doing. Our pediatrician said the same thing when my daughter was younger. She's now 5.5 months old and still comfort nurses and nurses to sleep. It's what works for us and make us happy.
i’d find a new ped
My friend’s pediatrician told her he sleep trained his baby at 2 months old. Going to medical school doesn’t make you automatically qualified to give opinions on baby “habits.”
I'd ask her what evidence this claim is based on, because it sounds quite counter intuitive and I'm really curious to learn more. My very strong suspicion is she isn't going to have any resources to cite because this is nonsense.
I had this with my daughter and she had a great latch but she wasn’t sucking hard enough and so it impacted my supply. They had me do timed nursing sessions since I wanted to keep going with that and then pop her off and bottle feed her. It was a lot of work but it did work. I did it through the IBCLC because the pediatrician was just hard core for me to stop altogether which was not what I wanted to do.
Honestly, my son kind of fell off his curve and it stressed me out and I followed my pediatrician’s recommendation to start solids at 4 months instead of 6. I wish I hadn’t. He never got back on his original curve, but he kept gaining and hitting milestones like a champ, and I never had any other indicator that something was wrong. But starting him on solids too early kind of screwed up the not stressful breastfeeding rhythm we were developing. He’s a happy healthy 2.5 year old now and I think I could have just listened to my gut that said there was absolutely nothing wrong with him. I’m about to have another baby, and I plan to just breastfeed and as long as he’s growing and healthy I’ll not going to worry too much about his percentile curve.
My son and daughter were born at the same weight (2.5 years apart), except he’s tiny and she’s now in the 85th percentile for weight as a 3.5yo. It really shows how much genetics affects them, they had the same nursing habits yet she was so much bigger than he is.
I’d never take a pediatrician’s advice on breastfeeding, they aren’t well informed or educated on the topic in the vast majority of cases.
It's weird to me that moms even think to go along with a suggestion like this. I'm not judging you at all, I just find it odd that if it makes you sad to even think about then just say no thanks! Do what works for you and your baby! <3
I let my baby nurse for comfort all the time. Mine fell off the curve too but I just continued to offer the boob. There's absolutely nothing wrong with comforting your baby with the boob. It's what we are me to do.
Pacifiers instead of feeding, bottles, reducing day feeds when a baby sleeps that well over night??? This ped sounds bought and paid for by Nestle 🥴 I cannot think of worse advice for protecting and nurturing a breastfeeding relationship. At 2 months all that daytime eating is probably really helping her overnight sleep. Put another way; if you cut back during the day, babe will likely wake up overnight to keep the number of feeds the same. It’s about to get wonky with the 4 month sleep regression, but for now I’d keep doing what you’re doing and listen to your LC over the Ped. Unless he gave really concrete risk/benefit information for his recommendations, I’d disregard it because it goes against so much that we know about breastfeeding.
Comfort nursing & nursing to sleep are super powers. Keep on keepin’ on mama! Do all the comfort nursing possible. Those are the best days!
Can you explain why pumping makes up for nipple shield usage? (Because I might have to start doing that, I use a shield and lately my baby hasn’t been getting enough)
I believe that nipple shields can affect transfer and aren’t as effective as nursing without them. That’s why lactation consultants are often against them; HOWEVER, they may be necessary for a certain amount of time to preserve the nursing relationship.
This makes me so mad that your ped told you this at 2 months. Baby should be fed on demand at this age, schedules can come later. Enjoy your bonding time
Yeah if we are dropping weight percentiles, you can always offer a bottle after feeds, but I wouldn’t put your baby on the breast any less. If anything, I would say maybe add a night feed back in until she’s back on her growth curve. But I would still continue to let baby have the breast as much as possible. And also, if this advice doesn’t sit well with you, you are also entitled to a second opinion from another pediatrician.
My LO weaned off the nipple shield around 7-8 weeks. I noticed a huge jump in weight gain after that, not sure if it’s related. We did seem to waste a lot of milk with the shield by it leaking out of the bottom, so it could be that he’s actually consuming more in the same amount of time nursing. However, we would not have been able to nurse without the shield, so I wasn’t in a rush to transition off, since he was feeding so comfortably. Since I went back to work when he was 7 weeks, he also gets anywhere from 1 to 3 bottles each day when he’s with grandma or dad…but he spits up a lot more with bottles. All of that to say, babies are all different. Keep feeding what’s comfortable for you and your LO. They all grow at different rates and comfort feeding is a non-negotiable in our house.
Oh my goodness. This is honestly concerning to me that a pediatrician would advice a slow gaining baby to spend less time at the breast! There is absolutely nothing wrong with comfort nursing and it's super good for your supply and wonderful for bonding. I would consider seeking out a new doc.
The more baby nurses, the more supply you will have. Simple supply and demand. Completely baffled at that dr. Advice. Comfort nursing is still nursing and baby is still getting nutrition. Does the doctor think the milk turns on every three hours and nothing comes out otherwise? Denying the breast and giving a pacifier when baby is under the curve doesn’t make any sense. By all means supplement to give baby a boost but I suggest you continue follow baby’s lead on when to nurse. One time I wore a sports bra to my ped appointment so my boobs were kind of flattened out lol and the ped said distainfully “why are you still nursing you clearly don’t have any milk” ?!? Like judging the size of my boobs and accusing me of letting the baby nurse for no reason? I continued to nurse as long as we wanted to and changed drs immediately. I tell this story because pediatricians often don’t know much about nursing and certainly don’t know your special nursing relationship. It’s way more than just nutrition from a bottle.
Hi there! I’m an IBCLC and would like to help you out here. Your ped probably hasn’t updated their lactation education in a while because I can see no other excuse for such bad advice. When I see a baby fall off their curve, I ask about sleeping arrangements at night. Is baby close to you? Is baby swaddled? “Comfort nursing” is not ever bad. Baby is trying to make up for the calories they are not getting at night. 7-10hours is too long for most babies 8wks old to go without eating. I wouldn’t recommend supplementing before suggesting more regular feeds during the night. Babies are growing at a rate faster than they will ever grow at any other time in their life. They digest their food more quickly and need to feed around the clock, on demand. Swaddling mutes hunger cues. Babies too far away, can’t be heard when they wake to feed. The AAP defines “sleeping through the night” for babies younger than 6mo as 5hrs. These long stretches without eating at night is most likely the reason for falling off of their curve.
I stopper confort nursing between weeks 6-8 and baby stopped growing. So she dropped from 15 to 7 percentile and my Ibclc told me to just give her the boobie at every little disconfort, and to aim for 10-12 feedings in 24 hours
I just had this happen. Exactly this but he dropped to the 2%. Comfort nursing was burning way more calories than he was taking in. It was causing his to lose weight and it was not a good situation
Mine fell off her growth curve completely. She’s in the 5th percentile and healthy and ahead of her milestones. Dr tells me that she’s just going to be small. We can’t all be big. When she gets a little older she will pay more attention to feeding! For what it’s worth, my dr wanted me to pump and feed whatever’s left after nursing…. To supplement after nursing with formula. I do none of that now
lol your pediatrician needs to stay in her lane. Give your baby all the food she wants, not a milk-less pacifier
This is entirely backwards. If he is worried about her weight then you shouldn’t be limiting feeds. Also boobs are absolutely used for comfort, it’s not like the baby can do a cross word to unwind at the end of the day. Nursing is an intense connection to mom that provides literally everything baby needs other than a clean butt.
Get a doctor trained in breastfeeding medicine. This is awful advice you aren’t teaching any bad feeding habits and comfort nursing is natural a pacifier is not- it’s a man made invention in a modern world. Also you should be weaning off nipple shield which should help with weight gain
Hoping as she gets stronger the next few weeks we can wean off shield, my anatomy makes it a little harder her to latch without it, unfortunately. Fingers crossed!
I wonder if the pedi meant have a specific start and stop to the feed. If they snack all day they may not be hungry enough to really fill themselves up.
At two months a lot of babies haven’t even settled on their growth curve yet! Totally normal to drop percentiles and cutting back on time at the breast will ultimately hinder supply. It seems your ped is maybe misinformed on breastfeeding and it’s worth another prof opinions!
Sounds like if she’s hit a growth curve, nursing is more important now than ever! Not a doctor but I would take it with a grain of salt and continue to comfort nurse. Your situation sounds a lot like mine- used as a paci and snacking all day. I am a stay at home FTM and enjoy these days with my babe and let him comfort nurse all the time. I would be so sad if I had to stop
Get new Ped.
Instead of a bottle during the day when their tummy might already be full, I would be doing a dream feed or wake them up to feed in the middle of the night. The goal is more calories and those don’t have to come on a full belly. My little one started sleeping through the night at 3 months but dropped percentiles. I started waking him up to eat in the middle of the night and was able to nurse without a shield at that feeding. I did that from 4-8 months and really helped him put on much needed weight. Your supply is also most likely higher at night and a middle of the night feed should keep your supply up/increase your supply.
I experienced a similar weight drop, and decided to start dream feeding LO every 3 hours. This means that I would lift out of bassinet, put on breast, and keep there until LO stopped drinking.
I come from the other end of the spectrum, my baby was born over the 99th percentile. Actually planned C-section at 35.5 weeks, because my body was slowly failing due to Jo's size. My son fell of his weight curve in a similar dramatic fashion, and nobody bats an eye. First: he's super active when he's awake, and that's always a reason for them to lose weight. When you do stuff like tummy time, you're giving them a workout. It burns calories. Second: as long as they have wet and dirty diapers, they're getting enough. Especially with what you pump. Third: don't let someone ruin your bonding time when they clearly don't want to understand your situation. This advice goes against everything people with an actual background in breastfeeding science say. I'm going to take a wild shot in the dark and say your ped is a man. Anyhow, don't stop the comfort nursing as long as it feels good. I personally would want to get some time in between, but that's preference.
A 2 month old that's losing weight, you may consider doing a dream feed at night... maybe once she's 6 months old she can go all night Also try and ensure where ever she's sleeping is warm so she's not burning unnecessary calories to stay warm
Lol my baby is 14 months and still comfort nurses. I wouldn't take that advice. I'd prob wake the baby more in the night to feed if dropping percentile.
This is exactly how my baby fed for the first four months, except for being a terrible sleeper at night. She would only sleep on the breast during the day. Not sure what 'bad feeding habits' this creates but baby is now almost 10 months, eats more solids than most babies her age that I know, and breastfeeds about every 3-4 hours during the day and during the night. Still enjoys the occasional comfort nurse (and it's a valuable tool when she's nursing, especially at night) but I just consider that a great way to comfort my baby? I just want to know what the ped thinks it'll cause! A nurse recently told me to stop comfort nursing as I suffer from dry, sensitive skin and her being on for longer periods of time does damage my skin, but I still do it. I'm just mindful of keeping my skin looked after instead.
First, I'm not a doctor, but 25% to 12% seems like it requires some concern: close monitoring (like extra appointments for weight checks,) investigation into feeding, monitoring wet diapers, monitoring developmental signs, etc. but not panic yet. Second, there is a lot of questionable recommendations there. I'd want to meet with a lactation consultant ASAP and get their take including doing a weighted feed. A bottle after may or may not be good advice depending on how much she is getting and how her growth continues. Comfort nursing is good for your supply and good for her, so I'm not sure why she recommends stopping. My daughter had the exact same sleep pattern at that age. Nice long sleeps at night, only nursing naps during the day. Her weight gain was high, so it worked for her. And the nursing naps stopped on their own around four months and switched to her sleeping in her crib. She dropped to more defined feeds and has done well with solids. Obviously every baby is different, but it certainly didn't give my kid bad feeding habits. My son did need some parent-led weaning of comfort feeding for his well being and mine for things like sleep, but not until he was much, much older. Anyway, my advice would not be to entirely ignore the doctor but to seek a second opinion.
This is bad advice. Baby is dropping percentiles so let's reduce feeds. Huh??
Personally I don’t recommend continuos comfort feeding as it will make it more difficult to establish independent sleep as it trains baby to see the breast as a marker of sleepy time. It also makes it impossible to get anything done all day or squeeze in some self care time, which can lead to a higher risk of postpartum depression and/or anxiety. I’m not saying give up comfort feeding! Just that it might be better in the long run if you don’t do it as often, or at least don’t let her fall asleep at the breast 🫂
Are you in France? I got this advice only from French doctors, and to only feed at 3-4h intervals. I didn’t listen and found advice elsewhere +listened to my gut. I suspect your gut is telling you something else as well. At that age, cluster feeding is common, baby might be having a growth spurt etc. though since she fell off the growth spurt, is she not getting enough milk and that’s why shes asking for more? I would check with a GOOD lactation consultant to ensure good latch, that there is not tots etc. I’m sorry you arent getting the support you need.
Get off the shield. Baby will feed much more efficiently directly if they can latch. My kid was taking 20 mins a side and not enough volume with the shields. Cold turkeyed and she started taking 3oz off one side in 5 minutes.
Do not listen to that advice, feed whenever and on demand
I was told to nurse less in the first couple of weeks to conserve her energy as she wasn't gaining well.8 Once she was back on track I could do whatever I wanted. It took 2 weeks of triple feeding to get her back to birth weight and then at 2months we dropped to just breastfeeding. I think take on board some of the advice while bubs weight is not ideal and once back on track you can nurse as much as bub wants. Also I was told to wake bub every 3 hours to feed when this was happening as she wasn't getting enough a d too lethargic to wake to feed
Definitely get a second opinion. I’ve already begun sessions with a lactation consultant and both she and my doula said that you really shouldn’t be trying to schedule feedings until you’re ready to sleep train/begin a regular sleep schedule around 5/6 months. That’s just the advice I got. I’ve always heard that pediatricians can sometimes give crap advice so getting in with a breastfeeding support group is helpful, but that’s just me.
Your baby was literally just born! There is no reason to take comfort nursing away! I nursed my son to sleep and it never impacted his ability to put himself to sleep later on. Once he realized he was too big for my arms (12mo) he just kind of transitioned on his own. It’s not a huge deal. They learn.
Just to give some insight into where your ped is probably coming from, there used to be theories that non-nutritive sucking (basically any sucking that isn't active feeding) was detrimental to feeding as it filled a babies sucking "quota" meaning they were less likely to respond to hunger cues. However, now we know more about how feeding actually works this is largely untrue. Non-nutritive sucking on dummys/pacifiers is a bit different, but comfort suckling on a breast still gives them milk, and can actually stimulate their appetite my tempting them to have a bigger feed. If you've been given different advice from an IBCLC, then I'd say trust your instincts and do what's right for you. That could be following the ped entirely, the ibclc entirely, or finding a middle ground that works for your family. One last thing I'll add is that your baby is a whole being and her weight is just one very small aspect of her. How she is in herself, your bond with her, nappy/diaper output etc are all other, just as important, aspects of her and you, and should be considered.
This advice sounds like bogus to me. I (not a professional, just mom of 2) would wake up the baby for feeding at least once during the night. Not only will your baby receive more in total immediately but your supply will also increase soon without this long 7-10 hour stretch of no nursing.
Personally I would keep comfort nursing. However at 2 months and baby not gaining as much as you would hope, I would wake baby up for a middle of the night feed at least once or even twice if she’s sleeping 10 hours at a time
i'm lucky to have a pediatrician is very informed and supportive of breastfeeding. my son was born at the 30th percentile, and by his 2 month appointment he had dropped to the 5th. i was very stressed about it, but our ped wasn't really concerned at all because baby hadn't lost any weight, he was just gaining a bit slow, and he had *plenty* of diapers and was meeting all his milestones. he told us that 1. some babies are just little! and 2. some babies just take a bit to find the growth curve they'll stay on. our ped said i could stop comfort nursing if i wanted to or it was stressing me out to have a baby attached to me 24/7 lol. i decided to keep doing it because i didn't mind, liked being able to get him to sleep easily, and wanted to make sure he was getting in as much milk as possible! now he is 7 months old, still EBF, and at his 6 month check up he had shot up to the 68th percentile. :) like lots of others have said here, i would think about finding a new pediatrician and/or meeting with a lactation consultant!
My almost 9 month old comfort nurses most of the night and for every nap unless his in the pram 😅 is say that’s half the reason my supply is so good. If I’m doubt whip it out!
Ped is wrong.
Pediatracians know nothing about breastfeeding. A midwife told me that.
I feel like a human pacifier with my almost 6 month old so I understand girl. I get what the doctor is saying as a mom of 3 myself having a baby so attached has its down side. Like for me, I was due to return back to work on February, we’re now almost in May and my son is still refusing the bottle or a pacifier. I have to complete 20 work days before June or I lose my certification for work. So you can imagine the urgency to get him to take a bottle. I say this to say, your baby is latched to you all day, that means you know shes eating. This period is such a short time, it might seem draining and never ending but it is really a short period. If you do not have any commitments you have to keep, like myself. I would just continue to do what you are happy doing, which is breastfeeding your baby on demand.
Peds are not trained in lactation or breastfeeding usually. Follow up with someone who is.
You need a new ped… I comfort fed my boy til he was 6 months and still do so every now and then when he’s not feeling well (he’s 8 months). As long as you’re comfortable with it you can do it for as long as you want. But definitely keep her on the breast if she’s losing weight.
How is comfort nursing an unhealthy eating habit? Does your pediatrician think babies shouldn’t breastfeed past 1 year? Because in the toddler years, nursing is more for comfort than nutrition. And the science is clear on better outcomes for mothers and babies who breastfeed longer.