wet diapers - Rhonda

[Guest guest]

> She is five months (tomorrow) and this nursing pattern is recent,

> she has been acting like she is staving, although she is not

> fussy really just seems hungry.she usually wants to nurse about

> every 2-2 1/2 hours, and she usually takes both breasts, gets

> done on one and leaves the other (half full).

Has anyone suggested pouring an ounce or two of water onto a dry diaper

and comparing yet? It's entirely possible that I missed that suggestion

(I've been in-between hard drives lately). You could try pouring an

ounce or two onto a dry diaper, waiting several minutes before checking,

and comparing the test diaper with a wet one from your baby. (If you

don't have a measuring cup or medicine cup that shows ounces, 2 ounces

is 1/4 cup.)

Most breastfed babies take in somewhere between 2-2.5 ounces per pound

of baby in a 24-hour period, and should urinate less than that. If your

baby weighs 15 pounds, she may only be taking in 30-37 ounces of

breastmilk each day (and night).

Depending on how often you normally check diapers, and how often your

baby nurses, 2 ounces might not be an accurate test. Do you hear her

swallowing (sounds like " kah " ) in those 15 minutes that she's willing to

nurse? You might also be interested in trying " switch nursing " where

you start out on the fullest breast just long enough to relieve the

fullness (about when the fast suck-swallow ends) and then switch to the

other side. When she slows down again, let her nurse a few more

minutes, then switch back to the other side until she's full or ends the

nursing session. This might be helpful in evening out your supply, and

ensuring that she's getting enough liquid since the initial flow of milk

is primarily water.

> She will nurse for about 15 min and then 45 min later want to

> again on one breast only. If I seem to be rambling incoherently

> its because she had me up every hour on the dot last night

> wanting to nurse.

Since you wrote that she's nursing so frequently (every 45 minutes), she

may not be satisfying her thirst when she nurses in bursts.

Until this passes, co-sleeping may help you get more rest if you can nod

off while she nurses. At 5 months of age, she may also be able to latch

herself on during the night, too, without waking you!

> She has started a cold but her nose isn't stuffy at all.

It may also be something as simple as having a little post nasal drip

that irritates her throat, and your breastmilk is the most soothing

thing on her throat at this time, and she just can't seem to get

enough.

I hope you keep us posted on the progress. This is really interesting

to me to learn what's going on with your sweet baby girl!!