To ask for help with my newborn?

[Bibby26]

Google is proving unhelpful but then I’m not sure what to google!

DD is 3 weeks old, she is mixed BF and formula because I have a low supply which I am working on and will hopefully increase

DD has not slept after any feeds today which is unusual

I don’t know if she is just confused, this morning DP gave her formula before he went to work and then I BF her all day, this afternoon she went for a 1.5 hour nap on me and woke wanting crying for a feed again. DP fed her formula when he came home and she still won’t settle to sleep. She is still rooting and showing all signs she is still hungry but has had 120ml of formula and was on the boob an hour before this.

Usually her feeds would be morning, noon and afternoon BF then before bed and night time formula. After her bed formula feed she usually shows signs of hunger still but will settle

Could she potentially be being confused by the mixed feeding? I don’t understand why today she just doesn’t appear to be full after any feeding. Normally at some point she will come off the breast full and after formula she will be full and sleep.

It may be as simple as increasing the formula amount but 120ml is already a lot for her age

Sorry it’s so long, didn’t want to drip feed but I’ve probably still missed something

She's not confused. She's having a growth spurt or trying to increase your supply by demanding more feeds. Feed her every time she shows signs of hunger at this age.

It sounds like she is cluster feeding, which is totally normal at this age.

My DS did this at around the same age and was feeding alllllll night long. It was so tiring and intense at points, but it does get better!

Usually her feeds would be morning, noon and afternoon BF then before bed and night time formula. After her bed formula feed she usually shows signs of hunger still but will settle

At that age DS needed fed every 2 hours

Yeah, as PPs have said, when DD was that little i was lucky to go 2 hours between feeds. They're growing so much, it is vital you feed every time they seem hungry. Put her on the boob every time too, even if you end up topping up with formula, as rhat will help boost supply.

Yeah she should be feeding every 3 hours at that stage - breastfeed at every opportunity, baby is trying to increase your supply.

Just feed her when she wants feeding.

Sorry I’ve broken down the time frames of feeding just to summarise between BF and formula, she feeds about every 3 hours

I’m just concerned because she finishes a bottle of formula but still seems hungry. So id just be constantly feeding her. Should I just keep going until she is full?

I presume you can’t over feed a newborn?

You can't overfeed her. Let her keep going until she pulls away.

Keep offering her the breast, once she is finished you can always top up with formula. But offer her the breast first every time. She is trying to help you increase your supply, keep feeding her. If she has had too much she will just vomit the excess up

Just keep going. She'll let you know when she's had enough. You can't over feed BF babies.

If you're trying to boost your supply this cluster feeding will help massively, so as PP have said, cut the formula and replace with breastfeeds.

It took me about 5/6 weeks to get fully established and DS was feeding so regularly until (and beyond!) this point so persevere- you can do it!

You definitely can't over feed a bf baby. At this age there were days/weeks when ds literally fed constantly. He would want feeding every hour at least! It will help your supply so much if you feed as often as you can!

Ask your HV if you are concerned. They may not be doing face to face contacts at the moment but will be more than happy to speak to you over the phone.

Your baby is cluster feeding it's very normal and to be expected. They have growth spurts even at this young age. If she is rooting then offer her the breast. By doing this your supply will increase inline with your baby's requirements.

She is cluster feeding to increase your supply so you have enough milk for her tomorrow. This is a crucial time to up and establish your supply. Get on the sofa, bed with snacks, plenty of drinks, TV remote and your phone then feed, feed, feed.

Cluster feeding. Basically at this age for about a week mine fed constantly from about five in the evening until midnight. Just go with it and let baby do what it wants

At 3 weeks I think my baby spent the vast majority of her time attached to my boob. Definitely didn’t go 3 hour stretches, or even close. It sounds like she’s cluster feeding, if you’re reporting supply issues the best thing for you is let her on your breast as much as you like. The only proven way to increase milk supply is by extracting it in the first place - the more she feeds the more milk you will supply.

You can also contact by phone breast feeding support groups La Leche and NCT. They are also online to give advice too. Goodluck it's hard work in the first few weeks as you just think you might have a routine and the baby then starts to demand more and you are back to square one.

It is definitely cluster feeding. If you can, breastfeed as much as possible and try not to give formula top ups. She is having a growth spurt and will feed for what feels like the whole day. It doesnt last for too long - about 24 hours, but can be exhausting for the mum. If you want to bf, this is where you improve your supply. It's like shes writing a shopping list for the food she will need going forward. In the next day or so your boobs will catch up. Build yourself a nest and stay there, sleep as much as you can and get your dh to bring you food. I will always advocate a mums choice on how to feed without judgement. Normally I would say at this point that if you want to switch to ff then it's fine. But with the supermarkets running low on baby milk I'd throw everything youve got into bf right now. Read up on clusterfeeding too. Its completely, totally normal. Its exhausting, but will pass and make bf easier.

If fact thinking about it, given the general state of the world, put yourselves to bed for a few days and just stay in bed and allow feeding whenever baby wants. Thus is by far the best way to increase supply

In some cultures the expectations is that the mother and baby will go to bed for 40 days to allow feeding and rest. There’s a recognition that for the first period you need to do nothing other than feed

Feed feed feed! The more you put your baby to the breast, the more your supply will increase. At 3 weeks you should basically feel like a milk machine 24/7. Cluster feeding is very normal. Don't forget babies also bf for comfort and to bond. There's nothing wrong with you or her- just keep feeding and lots of skin to skin! Keep going, you're doing a great job!

Btw - you have clearly done a great job with bf and reducing top ups. The fact that you are mix feeding but she is clusterfeeding proves this. You can do it

Thanks so much for the advice all! I have to formula top up at the moment because she lost too much weight because of my supply and we go to clinic at the hospital

My HV is actually why I’m concerned, she said I didn’t want to go the other way and over feed her with the formula (and she didn’t mean it in a “because you want to BF her more way” she meant the weight)

My youngest dd would have 4oz of expressed milk in the evening and still have a quick bf top up once she was done!

You absolutely can't over breastfeed a baby. Maybe she wants to feed for comfort, breastfeeding satisfies a a hell of a lot more than just hunger.
If she wants to breastfeed, feed her. It will help your supply and at 3 weeks old she has absolutely no concept of time, all she knows is if she's hungry / unsettled etc. The HV is talking rubbish if she's saying to limit her feeding! At 3 weeks!

Phew! Thank you so much! I’m sure the hospital told me as much but I’ve just been thrown into a tizzy since! One minute I’m worried I’m starving her because I can’t physically see my supply improving and the next I’m worried I’m over feeding her and will give her some other health issue!