My baby's feeding pattern has changed

[MistyBxx]

I exclusively breastfeed my 1 month old dd and for the first couple of weeks she would feed solidly for about 30-40 minutes on each boob. Then at approximately 2 weeks old, the wind kicked in 😖 she really struggles to burp (or I struggle to get her to burp I should say) she fidgets and squeaks and doesn't go down to sleep at all, but what's concerning me is she is ready for food, makes all the cues, I feed her and she dozes off after 5-10 minutes! I then find it even harder to wind her as she's floppy and/or asleep and I have to wake her up to try and get her to carry on feeding as I know she's not getting to the "hind" milk as she doesn't feed for long enough! Or if she does go down, she wakes soon after crying for more food and this can go on all night. She's putting on plenty of weight and has lots of wet and dirty nappies but over the last week and couple of days, she's just fed so much less than normal. She doesn't seem unwell at all, I can tell she has wind though and gripey tummy aches, I'm just wondering if anyone can suggest why she doesn't feed for so long any more and if I should speak to someone about it, I can't help being worried as she seemed to feed for so long the first couple of weeks x

It’s pretty normal for them to settle a bit. The first few weeks are all about building up your supply. If she’s feeding less, is she bright and alert at times? Have a read of Breastfeeding your newborn; what to expect in the early weeks.

Also, feeding in the night for 5 minutes is totally normal. I wouldn’t wake her to wind her or to try to get her to take more milk. There is a lot of misinformation about the fore/hind milk thing. Unless you experiencing feeding problems, like very slow weight gain, I wouldn’t worry about it. My last baby only ever fed for 5 minutes at a time. Your DD could just have become more efficient at getting the milk out.

Are you getting out to a Breastfeeding Support Group? It sounds like it might be worth going along, having a and talking through your concerns

Oh thanks for that. Really interesting article. I literally obsess about breastfeeding, I'm constantly second guessing myself and I try to tell myself that her weight gain is good and she has plenty of wet and dirty nappies so she must be getting enough, but perhaps going to a bf group would benefit me, I'm going to look into that x

A Bfing Support Group is good especially if you don’t know anyone else who is Bfing even if it’s only to have a and a chat