I have BFed 2 kids and am in the process of BFing my 3rd (who is 7 weeks) and have always covered up when BIL is home or if we're out and baby needs to eat... With my first two it was NEVER a problem. This time around it's REALLY odd bc if I have her covered up, at some point she almsot always acts like it's coming to fast for her and I have to stop and burp her after about 5 minutes. ONLY when she's covered up though, and more often on the right side than the left.

Also, I cannot feed her for more than 10-15 minutes (depending on how fast it's coming out) at any given time or she will puke everything up and be hungry again. SO we often get the cluster feeding thing going on. Her main cluster feedings are twice a day, but they can go on for a good 2-2 1/2 hours! (Eat for 10 minutes, rest for 5 the entire time!) Right away in the morning and then in the afternoon she's fine, but mid-morning and late evening she eats and eats and eats. Is there anything I can do to help this? Or do I just have to deal with it bc she can't handle more than 10 mins at a time?

I'm not trying to complain, but ds and dd #1 were SO easy! Every 3 hours on the dot for 20 mins (although ds started out going for an hour every time until after his surgery!)

Any ideas?
 

I don’t know how to stop her from eating so fast while covered up. But I know my right side always felt fuller and Ds would choke when the milk let down because it was more then he was use to and more then the left side. and when ever someone else was there and I had to keep covered I would try and feed him on the left side because it was more comfortable and it was even easier to keep him covered up with my right hand because I’m right handed.

As for the cluster feeding I don’t know if this will help but I read that if you don’t limit the length of your baby's feedings to a predetermined number of minutes on each side, and allow your baby to finish the first breast before switching to the other side. This gives baby an opportunity to fill up on the high-fat hind milk but If you switch your baby to the second side too soon, he'll fill up on the watery foremilk, which will make his tummy feel full but not full for as long as the high fat milk.

just goes to show you how different each child is ---

some kids are simply more efficient eaters. Its not that they can't eat as much, just that they get their fill faster. It could also be that your body has managed to become more efficient too so the combination is a doozy.

you can help with the 'too fast' gulping by hand expressing into a cloth diaper for just a little bit first to help get the edge off and then latch her on. Sometimes those first few gulps get those air bubbles in when the milk is coming too fast and it makes for a prematurely full baby (with lots of gas).

No need for cluster feeding. Just stick with a schedule no matter what it is. If she needs to eat every 2 hours, then that's her schedule. Every 3 hours is a luxury for a whole lotta BFing moms. So consider yourself lucky and just establish the 2 hour feeding schedule. don't worry about the foremilk and hind milk - that'll work itself out if you just establish a routine (that satisfies her of course) and your body compensates accordingly.


btw - my DD was a 20 minute eater. My DS was a 4 minute feeder. He would get overfull after only 4 minutes. Needless to say, he wasn't satisfied with that little of sucking and he required a pacifier to help satisfy that 'need' without overfilling. I also didn't have much of a choice so it was a feeding schedule of one breast at each feeding. The body compensates....