X Close Editor

Submitted by: Baby Help Line

Title

Comment
Hi Leslie! Being 12 weeks old, your daughter is still in her most intense growth period. Babies' growth starts to slow down after the age of 3 months. Before that, they grow increadibly fast, while at the same time have quite small stomachs. So they need to eat often! In addition to that, before the age of around 6 months, babies have periodical growth spurts, when they grow even faster and need more food. (They have growth spurts after that too, but they are usually not as evident.) These growth spurts are more obvious in some babies than in others. During the spurts, some breastfed babies really want to eat all the time. It is quite tough for the mom, but if you take say 2 days during which you feed your daughter every other hour around the clock, your supply of breast milk will increase to meet her demands more quickly. Most likely, you daughter will then have a period when she is more content and feeds less often, simply because she gets the food she needs. Your daughter is really "doing her job", when requiring to eat often and for a long time period. Her job is to make sure that your supply of milk meets her needs, and by eating more often, she will make your supply increase. So don't give her formula unless she is not gaining weight at all as she should! You are doing a great job breastfeeding her and within a month or two, she will not eat as often any longer. There are <a href="http://www.easybabylife.com/breastfeeding-benefits.html">so many health benefits from breastfeeding,</a> both for you and your child. So hang in there! Get as much help as you can when she is not feeding, to give yourself a chance to rest. Also make sure she really empties every brest when feeding in the morning; that's when your milk is the fattest and the most filling. I really wish you good luck! /Paula

Cancel Delete Delete & Ban

Updating Comments page...

X Close Editor

Submitted by: Anonymous

Title

Comment
My baby was like yours and I almost gave up... Now she's five months old and things are a lot better. Don't give up.

Cancel Delete Delete & Ban

Updating Comments page...

X Close Editor

Submitted by: Melissa Lee

Title

Comment
My little girl was the same way but she did it from the time she was born. Both of her older brothers had no trouble and her weight gain seemed much slower than it should have been, so we put her on formula. Within one day of formula feeding, she started gaining weight better and slowed down on how often she wanted to eat. So the 2 biggest things to consider is if your baby has just started wanting to feed all the time or has been doing ever since birth as well as if she seems to be gaining weight just fine. If it has just started and weight gain seems fine then most likely it is just a growth spurt and will level out very soon. If on the other hand she is not gaining weight like she should be and/or has been doing the same thing since birth then it is possible that she is not getting some nutrient that she needs.

Cancel Delete Delete & Ban

Updating Comments page...