At wit's end with growth spurts/oversupply - please help

[musicmaiden]

My exclusively bf son is a month old. He has generally been feeding very well up to now and has put on 3lb from his birthweight of 8lb, which is a bit of a shock and a bit of a worry to me!

Late last week he started demanding feeds constantly. I figured it was a growth spurt and just caved in to feeding him all day. Was very frazzled and exhausted by the time DH came home but got through it and we had a lovely weekend of pretty normal feed/sleep/play ratio.

Today is now 10.40 and he has wanted to feed all the time again this morning. What's more last night I noticed for the first time my milk was spurting and he was coughing and fussing at the nipple as if he couldn't cope with letdown. So I think all the growth spurt feeding has caused oversupply - and I thought I was doing the right thing!

I always feed him one side only until he drops off the nipple and he rarely wants the other so am not restricting him to time on the breast in any way so don't think it's just a foremilk imbalance... I've tried Infacol and keeping him to one breast only per feed this morning but it's not helping him settle.

I just don't know what to do - I am due to go to an NCT postnatal course in an hour and have friends for dinner tonight and he won't settle - I'm worried I'm in for a hellish day. I am also worried he is putting on TOO much weight even though I have read you can't overfeed a bf baby.

Please help, I'm a bit tearful...

[IwishIwasmoreorganised]

First of all well done - it sounds like you're doing a brilliant job feeding a hungry boy!

I can sympathise - both of my ds's were on 98th centile within a couple of weeks of being born!

My advice would just to be keep feeding to demand. As for him not coping with the letdown, have youe tried really slumping in your chair for the first bit of the feed so that your nipple is almost pointing up and so slowing the flow? Its ounds daft but it worked for me!

As for NCT - go if you feel up to it. Everyone will should understand and dinner tonight - can your DH stop off at M+S on his way home and pick something up to throw in the oven?

Stick at it - your're doing great.

xx

[tiktok]

musicmaiden - this is usually easily fixed. Check 'oversupply' in the archives

[Builde]

Do not worry about the weight gain...babies can't be overweight. They really can't!

If they are putting on lots of weight then they are probably going to be tall children.

My oldest daughter became a huge baby on just Breastmilk. (Actually, she did look very plump!) and now, aged 5, she is just right, although very tall.

I am just so glad that I did breastfeed her because I know that all the weight gain was from the right stuff.

Now, with my second daughter (who is a tiny blip!), I had problems feeding from one side. Not real problems, it was just a bit uncomfortable for both of us. I am sure that it took over a month to get it right.

If you are producing too much milk, try expressing a bit off before feeding (just with a hand) and then it will spurt a bit less.

Good luck with today!

[musicmaiden]

Thanks v much IwishIwasmoreorganised, very reassuring. How old are your DSs now? I take it the feeding evened out eventually and they are not 20 stone now?

Shamelessly bumping in case the evening crowd has any further help?

xx

[musicmaiden]

Thank you to the rest of you who posted while I was typing with one hand while the boy was on the boob again!

I am nearly 6 foot tall so am sure he will be a tall child - he is already pretty long. The weight gain alarmed me a bit because my NCT friends' babies are all going 3 hours between feeds and all look so tiny compared to him. He is like a little tank.

Why is it that bf babies can't be overfed whereas ff babies can?

The constant feeding is just so EXHAUSTING.

[LiegeAndLief]

I've had oversupply/over active letdown problems with both dc. Ds was a real problem because he had relux and couldn't cope with the let down when he was little, so I would unlatch him and stick a muslin on my breast until the worst was over! I also fed only from one breast at a time for 3-4 hours, no matter how many feeds he had in that time, which I think was recommended by kellymom and helped with the oversupply.

Don't worry about the weight gain. Ds shot up the centiles on a near vertical line and also looked like a tank. He was a very podgy toddler but is now 3 and has slimmed down completely. Some babies just grow that way.

And people over to dinner with a 1 month old baby? I am in awe. My dd is 3 months old and I spend my evenings slumped on the sofa with a baby attached to my breast in a fug of exhaustion. Am sure your friends will not mind popping in the chippy on their way over

[IwishIwasmoreorganised]

DS1 is just 4 and really quite slim now, ds2 is only 16 months and so he's still a bit of a porker as he's only been walkng for 1 month (neither of them break any records for their developmental milestones either but hey get there in the end!)