A bit of advice with my 2 day old!

[NoTeaForMe]

My 2nd daughter was born on Tuesday, breast feeding never really went smoothly with my first and I'm intent on getting it right this time! My milk is starting to come in now, I have the tell tale tingles and my boobs are getting firmer. The latch isn't quite right yet, but I'm working on it and it does seem to be getting a bit better already!

She had been feeding quite regularly and for around 15mins, sometimes on both sides twice. However, today she's fed around once every hour and a half or so, and only had one side and fed for literally 30 seconds to a minute. You can hear the milk pouring into her so she is definitely taking some in-but then she's done and doesn't want any more!

Is this ok? Should I be trying to get her to have more? So far she's not a comfort sucker and will only put the nipple in her mouth if she wants milk, she takes what she wants and can't be encouraged at another time.

[NoTeaForMe]

Thanks!

[sweetninnocent]

Congratulations on your new arrival!! I'm new to this as only had my first DS 5 months ago, but I have learnt that there is no rule book!! I breastfed my son until just recently and found that each day his routine would change! I would panic if he didnt feed at the same times, or worry if he went longer between feeds but now I realise that he fed when he was hungry and thats it! I couldn't force him to feed and he gained weight steadily so happy days! Try not to overthink breastfeeding and just go with what your baby and body is telling you! :)

[Doretaball]

Congratulations.

Both my girls were very quick feeders. Even at 6m, only feeding for 5 or so minutes at a time.

If she seems satisfied after a feed, I'm sure she's getting enough. Don't forget they only have tiny tummies.

Youll soon see how shes doing when you get her weighed. Mind you, I'd even take that with a pinch of salt. Dd1 didn't put on weight as quickly as the health visitors wanted. In hindsight, I think she was just massive at birth (98th) and was just settling in to her natural position on the weight cart (50th) and she's been there ever since.

Good luck

[RedKites]

Congratulations! It is good she is feeding regularly - hopefully this will help you avoid getting too engorged as your milk comes in. How have her nappies been? There is a good guide here on what to expect.

[Xenia]

Yes, just keep putting her there. She'll soon let you know if she wants to be picked up and to feed. My milk seemed to take double the number of days at which most people's come in. I never had milk at 2 days just colostrum.

[NoTeaForMe]

Thanks all, she's definitely content after a feed. She's upset, feeds and is then happy/sleeping! You can hear the milk guzzling into her and she has come off coughing a few times, and then she won't go back on. I guess she has to really get used to all of this-plus it was a really speedy birth and I wonder if she's shocked a bit. Her breathing has been a bit rapid and after a few tests at the hospital they decided she's just a bit shocked! Guess she's sleeping lots to get over it!

[NoTeaForMe]

How often should a tiny newborn feed? Or are they so tiny they're not at that point yet?

I'm so determined it will work this time that I'm getting obsessed!

[RedKites]

Lots of information on the early days on Kellymom. It says a newborn should feed at least 10-12 times in 24 hours. For the first 24-48 hours new babies can sometimes be a bit sleepy, but I think your DD is older than that now? And if she is asking to be fed more often than that, it's generally a good sign, she's just helping establish your milk supply. How have her nappies been? Until she gets weighed, they can be a good guide as to how the feeding is going.

[NoTeaForMe]

Thanks, it looks like she's maybe feeding roughly enough then. But, each feed only lasts 4-5 minutes and she's not the going on the other side straight away. So is she actually having enough? She's content when she comes off. But will she just be getting foremilk and not hindmilk, or is that not settled in yet anyway? I don't really know how it works!

She's having wet nappies and her poo is getting to be that milky poo rather than the meconium, so that's a good sign.

[RedKites]

If she's coming off content, and you're offering the other side but she doesn't want it, then that all sounds positive to me. Length of feed doesn't tell you much- my DS2 fed similarly quickly when he was born, but has done absolutely fine weight-wise. In our case, I've got a fast letdown, and he is very efficient, plus he didn't really get comfort sucking for a long time although he will occasionally feed to sleep for naps now. If you're concerned, you can keep watching for early hunger cues and offer her feeds- you can't over feed her. Is a MW coming to weigh her in the next day or two?

[NoTeaForMe]

She had her 5 day check tomorrow so we'll see how her weight is then. She's feeding roughly every hour now, for around 6 mins, with the odd feed longer-longest been 15 mins and that was a one off!

She's definitely getting something, nappies are fine.

[Cordial]

Total novice reporting in dd1 is 6 days feeds for 18 mins on the right but only ever 6 on the left !!! Where the let down seems much much faster. I am coming to the conclusion that either it's too early to tell a pattern or that BF is just unpredictable doesn't stop me worrying

[NoTeaForMe]

See my first baby fed for ages on both sides from the beginning, but she was a faffer- on/off/ on/off etc so maybe this one is more efficient! Her latch is better by far! or maybe I've just totally forgotten as I stopped breastfeeding my 1st daughter over 2 years ago!

[RedKites]

How are things going?

[NoTeaForMe]

Thanks for asking, she barely lost any weight so that's amazing! Very happy with that, and I was feeling quite proud of the two of us! She's feeding for a bit longer now, but it's getting a bit rougher though to be honest. It's hurting more and more and she's getting a bit faffier, clamping down, coming off etc etc. I can't help but feel disappointed and that this will all go the same as last time!

[redwellybluewelly]

Get thee to a breastfeeding counsellor! We don't have LLL here but the Breastfeeding Support Network were worth their weight in solid gold. Their helpline is brilliant.

I hope that things improve, I struggled at the beginning as did DC1 and any day now I'm about to do it all over again. Do you have any lanisoh nipple cream?

[RedKites]

Firstly well done to you both on the hardly losing any weight!

However, if it's hurting more and more, something isn't quite right. How do you think her latch is now? Is there any local breastfeeding support you can access? Nevertheless, I don't know what happened with BFing your first, but there is no reason to think this can't be sorted, and potentially quite quickly. You may just need a little tweak to your positioning or how you latch her on. Like the PP has said, the telephone helplines can be really helpful - I believe the NCT one is open til midnight if you want to speak to someone tonight. Hope you get it sorted quickly.

[NoTeaForMe]

I have so much lansinoh cream on that she come off shining and greasy! Ha!

I think some of the problem yesterday was that we had visitors and I was trying to feed discreetly and probably didn't get the latch quite right. I don't know why I didnt throw my big muslin over me and just get on with it! It was fine again in the night. Her latch is a bit hit and miss but generally it's better. I think I'll try and get to a breastfeeding support group this week while my husband is still on paternity leave to have our toddler! Easier to go and get it checked without a toddler in tow!

Thankyou for all your help so far!

[RedKites]

I'm glad the feeding went better again overnight. And going to the support group this week sounds very sensible to me - even if they just tell you it all looks great, that would hopefully encourage you, and you'll know where to go if you do need more support later on.