Two questions

[latech]

1. Baby (16 days old) feeds great through the night...eats every 3-3 1/2 hours. However, during the day he likes to snack. He never eats enough to get really full so he's feeding every hour-two hours which gets exhausting for me. I try to make him eat more, but he just won't do it. Any ideas?

2. Kind of random, but is anyone else starving all the time? I know breastfeeding requires you to eat more calories, but gee I feel like I'm always hungry. It's a change from when I was pregnant b/c I could barely eat with him pushing up on my stomach. I've thankfully lost all my pregnancy weight, but I'm so scared I'm going to gain b/c I feel like I'm eating a lot!

[lismom2]

Here is a list that is really helpful for new moms and frequent breastfeeding. Your lo sounds like he is nursing the normal amount of time for a 16 day old :) Take heart, it does start to spread out in time!

I was hungry all the time when nursing a newborn as well... and THIRSTY! Don't worry, your body needs the calories and you shouldn't gain :)

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/frequent-nursing.html

[Newmom!]

I was always hungry, give in to your hunger, just make the options healthier more often than not. I have been nursing for 13 mo now, and I am just starting to not feel so hungry all the time.

As far as frequent nursing, let him do it, for a while longer at least. It sounds like he is your only child so you do have time (kind of :-) ) to let him have his way. As he gets better about day vs night and gets more interested in watching what is around him he will begin to increase the interval between feedings. Some children do feed frequently for a while, but all grow out of the need.

Do make sure that you have a good latch, suckle, and such so that he is getting the most out of each nursing session.

Just try to "change your attitude" about it. Mentally structure your day knowing you will have to sit down to nurse every 1-2 hours. It will still be exhausting, and you will not get to any of the housework you want to do (and no one does, that is okay, your job is to care for baby, not house), but knowing it is in the plan and resolving to be okay with it will help somewhat.

[TweetingMama]

Sounds like you are doing a fantastic job and the ladies who've responded are right. Baby will nurse frequently during the day. It sounds like baby is on target. I remember going through the same thing just 12 short months ago. I know it's exhausting, but if you're able to stick it out you'll be okay. I promise. If you're interested, I wrote a blog post the other day about the "Twelve Steps to Twelve Months of Breastfeeding Success". These key steps really helped me to continue breastfeeding over the last twelve months. If you'd like to read it, you can find it here:

http://liveandloveoutloud.com/archives/1966

Best of luck to you and congratulations on the new baby. Just remember, you've already succeeded! Every single day you breastfeed your child is a victory in itself. Go mama!

Kristi