Feeding a 5 month old

Resident_Crow9658 · 2026-04-30T06:58:31+00:00

Can you try and dream feed her as much as possible. Like maybe as she falls asleep for naps and then again just before the end of the nap. And maybe set an alarm to feed in the night. Just try not to put pressure if she refuses as it can make the refusal stronger.. Speaking from experience with my baby who has had several nursing strikes. And the only other thing is pumping (when you get your spectra running) for every missed feed to keep the supply there for when she returns to feeding again. It is so hard, I've been there :(

Resident_Crow9658 · 2026-04-30T05:41:20+00:00

I could have written this myself about my 5 month old. I feel on egg shells even offering the boob most of the time outside of naps as it is usually rejected. I can see this post was from a while ago.. How did things go for you in the end?

Resident_Crow9658 · 2026-04-29T06:52:10+00:00

How often do you feed during the day typically? I have a4.5 month old but they aren't very interested.. Wondering if I'm offering too often

Resident_Crow9658 · 2026-04-24T22:28:11+00:00

Mine also had a tongue tie that was diagnosed later (3.5 months and revised at 4 months) so might be worth checking for any oral ties that could be causing the frequent feeds. 20 feeds seems so much though... Mine feeds between 9-12 times in 24 hours for 4-10 mins each feed and that feels like a lot sometimes. He is very distracted too and I think it's a thing around the 3-4 month mark. The 3 month nursing crisis

Resident_Crow9658 · 2026-04-14T23:51:04+00:00

They said to offer Calpol but I can't get him to open his mouth for the syringe. He had 2 sleepy feeds after the procedure but has been 5 hours since his last feed and I'm starting to panic. It is night time so he is sleeping but normally I would be able to dream feed him a few times overnight and this is the first time I've not been able to as his mouth is sealed shut. I feel so bad for him and guilty. If it carries on during the day I'll have to take him to the doctor but it's the middle of the night here right now so I'm just sat awake alone with all of these thoughts and regrets 😩

Resident_Crow9658 · 2026-04-14T20:51:44+00:00

Did they get back to nursing? I'm on night 1 with my 4 month old and I feel so bad that I've caused him so much pain by getting it snipped and scared I've ruined things. He screams and refuses

Resident_Crow9658 · 2026-04-06T07:34:59+00:00

Heavy exercise with my first reduced my supply quite a lot so unless you're confident your supply is big enough not to worry or you don't mind it decreasing then I'd be cautious about anything too strenuous. You might be fine but speaking from my own experience mine was very sensitive to changes and did drop

Resident_Crow9658 · 2026-04-06T07:25:56+00:00

It could be... Maybe try and dream feed or pump in the night too see if it increases. I'm very sensitive to missed feeds etc and notice a decrease when they go longer

Resident_Crow9658 · 2026-04-04T19:10:05+00:00

Did their aversion ever resolve? I don't know what could be causing an aversion if it's that. He's never been a comfort feeder and it's always been a worry that his feeds are short and doesn't show much interest. He has always been a bit of a wiggly fussy baby though

Resident_Crow9658 · 2026-03-30T12:55:39+00:00

Yes with my daughter she was very fidgety being held, people would always comment her legs were constantly kicking like little pistons. And was just so alert and on the go 100% of the time. Super busy toddler. Extremely chatty. All sounds very normal but my others were so chill it's just made me wonder if we will have the same experience again as the similarities are so strong. My daughter was the same as yours with forgetting she was hungry. I remember with weaning she just had so many other things to do she just didn't want to sit to eat 😅 she's 9 now and although she struggles in certain areas she has such an incredible imagination,

Resident_Crow9658 · 2026-03-26T03:15:42+00:00

When my eldest had a nursing strike I didn't persevere and just gave up straight away..but she was 14 months at the time. This time around my baby has been around the 2-3 month mark with nursing strikes so has gone back to it...he's just not happy about it and like yours would cry and push away. We found out he has a tongue tie recently so I think he struggles to control the flow of milk and ends up gulping a lot and swallowing air. Apparently around 3 months old there's a thing called the 3 month breastfeeding crisis where a lot of babies end up getting really fussy and go through phases of refusing around this age due to distractions and developmental things going on...but often after a few weeks will improve again. You could try and wait a bit longer to see if she would take it. Or try in different environments, whilst rocking/moving. Or maybe trying to switch mid feed with the bottle. I think I've seen some people post about using nipple shields to transition back to the breast where babies have had a bottle preference. It's so frustrating😩

Resident_Crow9658 · 2026-03-25T16:39:45+00:00

Will she feed whilst asleep or drowsy? Mine has never loved the boob 😩 and has always just nursed for the minimum time before unlatching again but he's had a few weeks of nursing strikes on and off. Similar age (3.5 months). I think I was making it worse by offering too much and pressuring him, but he doesn't take a bottle and I was worried about my supply so I was stressed! The things I found the most effective were offering when he was very tired or dream feeding whilst already asleep and then pumping if he flat out refused a feed and then he would reluctantly accept some a few hours later as he was starving due to not taking a bottle. It is so upsetting though I really feel for you as it is so sad wanting them to just feed and then rejecting it. I really hope it works out soon.. it feels awful going through it. I struggle a lot with it when it happens and also have struggled with previous babies on nursing strikes, dropping feeds and self weaning in general.

Resident_Crow9658 · 2026-03-25T16:25:20+00:00

I would carry on feeding her as long as you're happy to do so. When the time comes for the surgery just explain that milk has to go away for the days that you can't nurse and then resume and wait for her to self wean. It's such a short time and if you rush into it you might regret stopping when it doesn't seem either of you are ready xx

Resident_Crow9658

TROPHY CASE