7 month old baby getting distracted while feeding.
Hi guys just wondering if anyone has some ideas on how to keep baby on the breast long enough to empty it/ reach the hindmilk (anything short of gluing him will be tried! Hehe). He has always been a bit fussy, had a nursing strike at 4 months for a few weeks. Its not really nipple/teat confusion as he has always been limited to one bottle per day (on newborn teat) and usually prefers the breast. He is just really nosy and any noise at all will have him looking around the room. Its very hard to get him to relatch (he often won't at all). He doesn't like waiting for the second letdown, which usually takes about 10 mins to come. If I let him end the feed he ends up hungry way before he should be and starts to snack feed.
I usually hav to take him into the bedroom for a feed and it has to be completely silent! Problem is I have a 3 year old so although his nanny can take him away during feeds to entertain him, that doesnt apply when we go away or if its her day off. My baby loves to watch his big brother so he just won't feed when he's around. Anyone have any ideas? I've tried giving him a rattle to play with when he's feeding which works for a while, then he either drops it or puts it in his mouth. My next step is to get some string and put some shiny toys or beads on it and tie it to my bra while he's feeding! :)
Re: 7 month old baby getting distracted while feeding.
Hi there, All my kids did this around that age and Kaelan who is 7 months now is also doing this. I don't know if it helps but i was going to say if he's hungry enough he'll feed and not get distracted. I haven't had to use formula, and when he does pull on and off i figure he's really not that hungry so i take him off and give him a bit more time.
Re: 7 month old baby getting distracted while feeding.
I thought that maybe he wasn't hungry too, but I notice that if I leave it and try again he usually isn't interested. On the times that he does take it (because he is genuinely hungry) he ends up snack feeding. I've always had to fight against his snack feeding tendencies, and make him have a big feed with a decent gap between feeds. Have you been able to continue breastfeeding through this stage in the past? I weaned my first son from the breast at 8 months but really want to keep feeding Carden for much longer.
Re: 7 month old baby getting distracted while feeding.
Yes, i breastfeed both my eldest two children for about 13 months....and can't say i had too much problem with them being distracted. They wont stave themselves and i'm incline to think that if they are not interest when you put them on try again later. Being breastfeed they will take what they need even if only a little bit, i guess that's demand feeding. Depends how you do it - whether you want a 4 hourly feeding schedule or let them take the lead.
For myself i let them take the lead, some days they take more some days less, and at 7 months they are on solids so take that into consideration as well. If you feel he's snacking hold off for a bit longer between feeds but they can also empty the breast fairly quickly at this age so a feed wont be lasting for 20 mins or so like it did when he was younger.
Re: 7 month old baby getting distracted while feeding.
I always check the breast after to see if he has reached the hindmilk - he probably empties it about 2 out of 10 feeds - over about 45 minutes. With my first son he demand fed, and was pretty good at sleeping through the night, because he didn't sleep a wink during the day! With my second son we started out demand feeding but had to get him on a routine because I went back to work. In order to keep breastfeeding I have had to structure his feeds (and make sure they are fast). Thats the problem really, I cant muck around letting him off and on the breast all day because I'm working. oh well, i will just keep at it. It's good to hear that you fed them until 13 months - there is hope for us yet! :) thanks for your help.
Re: 7 month old baby getting distracted while feeding.
Yes, that is a problem when you are working. Breastfeeding can be time consuming sometimes......my son is probably having 3-4 feeds per day at the moment. Sometimes it's more when he's cranky with teething etc. I hope you get through this phase and he settles down for you....good luck Julie
Re: 7 month old baby getting distracted while feeding.
hi, thats what happened with me, levi decided that everything was more interesting than feeding and we couldnt go out, and he'd wake all night hungry for a feed. so i had to swtich to bottle. i hope u have better luck than i did.
Re: 7 month old baby getting distracted while feeding.
Yeh that's what I'm worried about - I really want to keep feeding him but he's being such a monkey! I want him to feed until he weans himself (hopefully not later than 18 months though)!
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