Is she ready? Not nursing enough

DD has been showing signs that she wants to eat for like a month (she's just now 4 1/2 months). We don't want to start her on solids until she's at least 6 months but here lately she will only nurse like 5 minutes at a time like 4-5 times a day. She nurses for a little longer when we're laying in bed putting her down for a nap or the night. Yet any time I eat something she reaches for my fork and screams when I tell her no and don't give her any. I'm just worried she's not eating enough. I self-weaned completely at 9 months and I'm afraid that's what she's trying to do already =/

A baby isn't going to self-wean before 12 months. Sometimes a baby will go on a nursing strike (common around 9 months) and there are suggestions for dealing with that if it happens again. At 4 months she's probably just becoming more distractable and aware of her surroundings. Have you tried different nursing positions? Sometimes allowing them to be able to see around while nursing helps. It might also help to try nursing in a quiet dark room so there isn't anything else to pay attention to. Pump if you can to keep your supply up. Let her nurse as frequently as she wants to, especially if she isn't feeding for as long right now. Here are some other suggestions. Good luck!  

http://kellymom.com/bf/concerns/child/back-to-breast/

Sounds like my daughter she nursed just like that, she started to get teeth very soon after she started that. She will be 11 months old on Friday and still nursing just fine she just is a quick eater and dosnt nurse very long.

Quoting **christina**:" Sounds like my daughter she nursed just like that, she started to get teeth very soon after she started ... [snip!] ... that. She will be 11 months old on Friday and still nursing just fine she just is a quick eater and dosnt nurse very long."

I didn't think about that possibility. That's a very good point, it might be because of teething pain.

OP, if it's because of teething you could try giving her something cold to chew on, orajel, or teething tablets before she nurses.

dont give a teething baby oragel it hardens their gums and will drag the teething process out. my mom used it on my brother and his teeth were growing up buthis gums werent cutting and it was extremely painful for him she ended up taking him to the ER cuz he was inconsolable and they had to break his gums using a tongue depressor and pressing really hard. they told her baby oragel was the cause as for the BFing stuff im right there with you DD is 4 months on sat and she cries every time i eat cuz she wants some lol. im starting her on solids because thats a sign she is ready.

oops double post

Quoting kirsten anita:" dont give a teething baby oragel it hardens their gums and will drag the teething process out. my mom ... [snip!] ... on sat and she cries every time i eat cuz she wants some lol. im starting her on solids because thats a sign she is ready. "

I've used orajel with all my kids without any issues. There are other ways to deal with teething though if the OP doesn't want to use orajel.

These are the signs of readiness for solids and there are some very good reasons to wait until 6 months to introduce them. I can post them if you are interested OP.  


What do the experts say?


Health experts and breastfeeding experts agree that it’s best to wait until your baby is around six months old before offering solid foods. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the World Health Organization, and many other health organizations recommend that babies be exclusively breastfed (no cereal, juice or other foods) for the first 6 months of life. I’m not going into the many health benefits of delaying solids here; see Why Delay Solids? for more information.

Developmental signs that baby is ready for solids


Solids readiness depends on both the maturity of baby’s digestive tract and baby’s developmental readiness for solids. Although the maturity of baby’s digestive system is not something that we can readily observe, research indicates that 6 months appears to be ideal for avoiding the allergies and other health risks of too-early solids. After this point, different babies are ready for solids at different times — developmental readiness for solids cannot be determined using a calendar. Most babies are developmentally ready for solids somewhere between 6 and 8 months.
Signs that indicate baby is developmentally ready for solids include:

• Baby can sit up well without support.
• Baby has lost the tongue-thrust reflex and does not automatically push solids out of his mouth with his tongue.
• Baby is ready and willing to chew.
• Baby is developing a “pincer” grasp, where he picks up food or other objects between thumb and forefinger. Using the fingers and scraping the food into the palm of the hand (palmar grasp) does not substitute for pincer grasp development.
• Baby is eager to participate in mealtime and may try to grab food and put it in his mouth.

...Make sure you look at all the signs of solids readiness as a whole, because increased nursing alone is not likely to be an accurate guide to baby’s readiness.http://kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/solids-when/

Quoting Crystal Mom of 4:" I've used orajel with all my kids without any issues. There are other ways to deal with teething though ... [snip!] ... alone is not likely to be an accurate guide to baby’s readiness.http://kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/solids-when/"

We really want to wait until 6+ months because we've researched it some and talked to her pedi about it. I know that's all she needs right now, it just worries me that she's not getting enough. The only time she nurses for like 10+ minutes is when I'm laying in bed putting her to sleep. She's been having issues lately with it. She started by pinching/scratching my boobs while nursing and now she just doesn't want to nurse. She has been teething but we haven't used orajel. Yesterday we gave her some baby tylenol, a teething ring, and then laid her down for a nap (thankfully slept for like 3 hours). I just don't want her getting malnourished, she's already a skinny baby.