Non-nutritive sucking during feeding?
We're new parents, so a lot of "simple" questions.
Our boy does a lot of non-nutritive sucking during feedings. His pattern is usually
10 minute feed (or occasionally 10 minute non-nutritive sucking)
10 minute non-nutritive sucking, or just having the nipple in his mouth
10 minute power through sucking where he really gets his food.
Is this "normal"? Is this hurtful? The pediatrician said he should just feed for half hour, or he ends up burning more calories than he gets from the food. WE sometimes extend to 35 and he finishes all.
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You didn't answer our questions, so I'll give a rather general answer:
For very young or premature babies, nursing can be quite exhausting. This may mean that they will actively "drink" for a short while, then take a small break ( nipple in mouth, sucking or not), then start over. Sometimes, they will even fall asleep during the meal.
For breastfed babies, this matches the maternal let-down reflex (the milk flow), which comes in "waves". Many babies will "use" the reduced flow for a break, then start sucking harder and thus trigger a new milk wave.
Remember, not all babies are created equal: My firstborn took "forever" to drink (up to 45 minutes, but then he drank "until the cup floweth over"), my second was usually done in minutes (we dubbed her "the hoover").
So what would be my advice?
Relax. This is perhaps the most valuable piece of advice one can give new parents. I can't give you medical advice, but I will tell you, what I'd do (and did):
Take our time. If my baby needs 35 minutes, why take the bottle or the breast away after 30? Many pediatricians have a tendency to "interfere". Nursing time is a great time to relax together, to bond and to cuddle. Especially for the recuperating mother it ensures the necessary breaks. And find something to do, if necessary: read, make a phone call, close your eyes after a short night...
Roughly (!) monitor growth and weight gain. If baby is doing fine, she is not burning too many calories. She might be hungry sooner, she might be a bit more tired, because she took so long to nurse, but so what?
If she's not developing well, then I'd find a way to get more calories into her or talk to our pediatrician again.
So, answering myself in case someone else bumps into this.
We found that it was more nipple-tongue placement. As new parents, we weren't super conscious of their tongues yet. Their tongue was blocking the hole in the nipple. As we placed the bottle in and out of their mouth, occasionally we'd get tongue blockage, occasionally free flow.
Now we're aware of the tongue placement, and make sure we clear it, and reseat the nipple in case of "no bubbles in the bottle".
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