BF ADVICE -Tiktok? Timing feeds

[squizita]

I have been offering my breast more frequently - about every hour or hour and a half - rather than every 2-3 hours, to my 9 week dd to encourage her to grow (she is only putting on 3 1/2 oz per week and is currently 9 lb 9 oz or so... a little diddy thing).
I am now wondering whether this is a false economy causing her to eat less at each feed (I do notice that she only takes 1 side often now, before it was always two - and I know that's no good for supply).

Even waiting 2 hours she is never crying with hunger- when I offer more frequently it's pre emptive iyswim.

Should I continue like this or wait for hunger cues?

[Heels99]

hi, I haven't heard of tiktok but my dds were premature and under 4lbs and by 8-9 weeks were being fed 3-4 hours rather than every hour. Not sure that feeding more often means they take more?

[squizita]

Yeah I know they say feed feed feed BUT I find she's less efficient and even when I compress pulls away sooner than when I feed every 2 hr. My supply is good and several people have described the latch and suck as ok so I'm not sure whether to just feed on demand rather than offer more frequently.

[squizita]

...when hungry she is efficient and strong as a feeder. No worries there. A midwife said "gosh I can see the breast deflating!" Once when checking!

[FannyFifer]

My DS would feed every hour, DD though was 3-4 hours & a fast & efficient feeder, no messing.
I would feed on demand but not let it go over 3-4 hours if she doesn't look for a feed.
DD was a dinky wee thing as well.

[TheOriginalWinkly]

As I understand it (from The Womanly Art Of Breastfeeding by LLL), if you leave it a while between feeds you get a lot of thinner, more watery milk at the start of feeds. More frequent feeding means she gets to the rich fatty milk faster, so she's satisfied sooner and taking in the more calorific part of the feed. So keep offering as frequently as she'll feed to build her up.

[squizita]

Fanny Yes that is my gut instinct too. Bar nights (she wakes twice) I suspect she'd ask every 2 hours and feed well. She's very vocal/expressive!

[squizita]

Original does it need to be hourly in a 9 week old though? Who produces lots of wet and dirty nappies etc?
Just to make it clear: I'm feeding beyond demand and she pulls away and fusses: I get 2-3 min feeds and one sided feeds ( which essentially is block feeding and can reduce supply - a concern for me). It's not like when she genuinely clusters and is eager.

[tiktok]

Squizita, she may take less at each feed. That's ok. Overall, though, more frequent feeding increases the volume taken - do the maths :). 15 feeds of two oz are more than 8 feeds of 3 oz (figures plucked from air).

What you can't do is to 'make' a baby take more than she actually needs. But you are enabling her to take more if she wants it.

Maybe your little one is absolutely fine being little :) some babies are naturally slow growers.

[squizita]

Thanks. :) I am secure she's eating plenty: her nappy is heavy almost whenever I check with a big daily poo.
The HV saw her feed and said she was fine.

I think I'll continue to feed often but look for the earliest hunger clues.

Is it ok if she takes 1 side then refuses the other? Obviously when she does that I offer the other side next time.

[squizita]

Heavy nappies AND a poo nappy i mean. Obviously I change her many times a day not once!

[TheOriginalWinkly]

My DD quite often only takes one side, and she has always been a fan of very frequent but short feeds (almost 5 months now, born and stayed at 75th centile, fwiw)

[squizita]

Oh phew if it doesn't affect supply that's a relief. Actually quite nice having a short and sweet 1 side feed - glug glug job done, burp and back to play/sleep.

Just relieved I'm breastfeeding. .. This offering just in case would be a major hassle with bottle warming!

[MsBug]

Dd was teeny and I was advised to feed her every three hours as a minimum. This worked for us and she gradually went up through the centiles and now she's a proper little chunk

Is she following her centiles more or less? If so maybe she is just supposed to be small and you don't need to worry.

[squizita]

She's dropped a centile recently. Actually since I started tracking feeds more! Hence my fear I messed it up.
Hv says it may be nothing but they're monitoring her. She also thought I was worrying a lot, told me to go with the flow ... um mm I'm like "but what is the flow?" Lol.

When she was teeny I fed as and when and she held her line very well.

I'm back to front - establishing feeding was relatively easy ... then she doesn't gain once she's stronger and bigger.

[tiktok]

I can't remember previous details but if your baby has dropped a centile why are they concerned? Why are you concerned? Seems sensible to go with flow if that's all that is 'wrong' ie nothing :)

[MsBug]

I was told to only worry if dd dropped two centiles or more. It sounds like your dd is just small but perfectly formed.

[squizita]

Tiktok they think plotted on the graph it shows the start of a "downward trend" (though checking fortnightly means there will be more dots going down than a monthly graph iyswim?).
I'm slightly concerned because the Hv had to modify the graph as it looked worse than it was how her assistant plotted it (the assistant weighs and sends you to the Hv if deemed necessary ) and the scales fluctuated a bit higher:the assistant took the lowest score but then it rose to 4.4 kg.

But nevertheless I too can see her follow the 25th percentile till week 6 then "drift" downwards to just below the 9th at 9 weeks.

[LuannDelaney]

I only did this with my eldest, my next two children were bf without being measured, they are 6 and 8 now. And normal, if a bit nicer than anybody else's dc.

[tiktok]

Still not seeing the grounds for concern. A gradual drift down is how babies move down centiles - more worrying would be a sudden drop. I think it's reasonable to ensure you return for weighing, and to ensure you're making it easy for your dd to feed often, but none of what you are saying sounds unusual or abnormal at the moment :)

[Mamab33]

Advice I was given was to feed every 3 hrs or early upon demand. Ensure that one side is fully drained before offering other side...even if that means one side per feed. Means they get lots of calorific hind milk. My supply is plentiful and dc is gaining really well. One breast can get pretty full waiting for next feed though. You are doing well.

[squizita]

Got the GP 8 week check up (late) today.

Will ask her to check tongue tie and oral thrush just in case it's something like that.
She was given a basic tongue tie check at birth but I understand these things can hardly show and reduce efficiency rather than causing the expected pain/big issues.

She's asked for 2 feeds this morning already. One mostly right, one mostly left. Will make sure she drains the 1st side each time till she's satisfied.

Thanks!

[tiktok]

:( :( Sorry, Mamb, that advice is out of date and plain wrong. The breast does not need to be drained in order for the baby to get the calorific hindmilk, at the expense of more frequent acceptance of both sides. For most women and babies, it is fine to do this, as the breastmilk production line will cope...but if we are discussing ways to maximise breastmilk production and intake, it is the opposite of what should be done.

For the vast majority of babies, all that mothers need to is to follow what the baby is 'telling' them. In the first weeks, that is likely to be frequent feeds, with the baby taking both breasts most times, with periods of cluster 'back and forth' feeding. No need to time the length of feeds. No need to keep the baby on 'to get the hindmilk'....this sorts itself out quite nicely without the mother trying to drain anything :)

The times when any sort of engineering of the process is beneficial would be in cases where the baby is not thriving, when milk production is fragile or low, or in cases of problematic over-supply where the baby is overwhelmed with the milk and the flow.

squizita, I still don't think you have a problem with milk supply on the evidence here :) and if you keep your baby on one side until it 'drains' (how will you know it is drained.....?) it's likely your baby and your supply will withstand this and your baby will continue to thrive. But from what I read here, I can't see that you would have to do this :)

[tiktok]

squizita, just seen your other thread. It seems a real shame that you are certain there is something wrong with your baby's growth....I think this prob goes back to the early days when you had something of a struggle, and it may take a while for you to see the bigger picture.

Everyone is confirming that there is nothing in your posts to suggest there is something wrong. Your HV is not especially concerned. But you are convinced there is, I think :(

Asking the doc to measure head, length and check for other ailments may help you, or it may not. It may only make you think there is something 'hidden' ('cos it is almost certain her head etc is normal). Would it help to speak to someone in real life about your worries?

[squizita]

Tiktok yeah I think I am very anxious. Although my DD has always been pretty healthy and 'got' breast feeding almost straight away, the midwives were worried at first because of my medical history (though one openly told me more worried about my plumbing and stress than baby!! ).
I had recurrent miscarriage and then a suspected malignant thyroid lump (it's benign- got the letter yesterday, just remembered THANK GOODNESS - being such a negative nelly I forgot that bit of very good news).

...it's resulted in me being very alert and worried about things which other people would brush off. Because over the last few years 'little things' have tended to be the start of quite concerning things IYSWIM.

I probably need to remember the 30+ years before that when little things stayed as non issues. And the fact my family is short and slim and my nickname at school was "titch" and "ankle biter" because I was about the 4th percentile or something. The only way I suffered was on school trips to Thorpe Park when they wouldn't let me on the best rides till I was about 15 LOL.

[MsBug]

squizita I was just like you when dd was a newborn, worrying about every oz, and convinced I was doing everything wrong. I think lots of first time mums are the same. It's about a lack of confidence that we are capable of caring for our babies. And it's not always helped by Health Visitors who can (IME) obsess over centile lines rather than looking at the baby.

If I could go back two years I would tell myself to just relax and enjoy my baby!