Breast fed 2 week old DD not feeding much at night

[MuffinsMummy]

Hi

My DD is 2 weeks old. She feeds fairly often during the day but at night she is only waking twice at most and then she isn't taking very much.

Is this going to affect my milk supply?

Thanks

Not at all. Your body will produce milk to suit her feeding pattern and demand. Make the most of it and have a rest!

Congratulation BTW!

I think it depends. How much is she feeding in the day? What do you class as 'night' e.g. if she feeds at 5am is that still night? Does she then feed lots in the morning - or cluster feed before bed? Do you feel your supply is good?

Not all BF babies are up all night! My DC3 is 2 weeks old and he seems tosleep 7 - 7 at the moment, feeding at 10 then one or two feeds til morning. The other two never did this! However he then feeds all day long ...

I'm a bit paranoid about breast feeding as DD2 wasn't putting on weight very well so I gave up after 3 weeks!

Thanks for replying

Oh no, don't give up! Mine were never particularly wakeful at night (twas fab!). See if she'll feed more often in the day if you're worried.

No one can answer your question for sure without more info, muffinsmummy - two night feeds are well within normal but not if the night feeds are at 5 pm and 6 am :) :)

Only way to be sure if a baby is getting what she needs is not to time feeds (which is very misleading - short feeds can be as productive as long ones :) ) but to look at and assess the baby.

Is her weight gain normal? Is she producing plenty of wees and, at this age, at least 2 poos a day? Is she looking like a healthy, alert baby when awake and feeding?

Milk supply should be fine if she is feeding across the 24 hours, with no long gaps - and twice at night (the real night) will not mean long gaps.

Some babies sleep well from the beginning. Providing day time intake is good and there's plenty of wet and dirty nappies, this is generally fine.

If you're overly concerned you could try and offer a dream feed (feeding while baby is asleep) but this isn't strictly necessary.

tiktok speaketh sense

2 night feeds is blessedly normal, but keep an eye on weight gain overall

She was nearly 9lbs when born and lost 650g which i think is about 1lb 4oz ish! She put that back on by 11 days which the midwife said is quite quick. DD2 only put on 6oz in 3 weeks but then she is still quite small now.

She has wet and dirty nappies during the day but my breasts don't feel very full. I haven't successfully breast fed before so not sure what to expect.

Thanks you have all made me feel better.

All that sounds fine, muffinsmummy. State of the breasts is not significant.

If it makes you feel better, my breasts very quickly turned in to floppy dog ears

that's reassuring, re: breast size/shape - I was worried about that too.

hi - my DD only has one night feed and she is 3.5 weeks, typical pattern is a massive cluster feed from 6-9pm on and off, then a 2am feed and then 6am feed. I am counting myself lucky, apart from the fact the cluster feed means I have no freedoom in the eveings ;-)

Muffins - My DD1 was very hungry and piled on the weight. I look at photo's taken when she was six months old and I look like Dolly Parton.. She is still tall for her age (age 7, in age 9 clothes). DD2 and DD3 were bigger at birth but not as hungry and weight gain much more gradual. They're still completely different build to DD1 - average height and verging on skinny. My boobs weren't as big with either of them (after initial engorgement passed anyway).

Just trying to say that they're all different. And that a bigger birth weight doesn't necessarily translate into a bigger child. If DD is content and alert, pooing and peeing, then I don't think you've get anything to worry about.

My 1 week old dd is feeding only a couple of times a "night" as well (e.g. 2am and 5am and then nothing till 8am), and it's only for about 15/20 mins each time.

I've been a bit concerned too OP, and dd1 was ff after the first week so I've next to no experience. But she feeds a LOT from 11am-ish till 3pm and in the evening, last night I couldn't put her down from 6pm till midnight! She has gained a little weight in her first week and is v healthy overall, so I'm starting to relax about her sleepiness (and hope it'll continue )

Your dd's weight gain sounds good to me, not that I'm an expert - that's a lot of weight to put on in only 11 days, even if she lost it originally.

Oh and my boobs don't feel all that full either, which has been a relief as they were horrendously engorged last time. I was a bit worried about this too, but she seems satisfied and I love seeing her milk moustache when she comes off the boob. They do fill up though and ache when it's time for a feed. I hardly leak either...maybe we should stop worrying and count ourselves lucky!

Petisa - that sounds exactly like me. My breasts feel "normal" and then about the time she wants a feed they get quite tender. I also haven't leaked much mainly at night.

The last day or so she has been dribbling milk while she has been feeding so I can see she is def getting some so has put my mind to rest a bit. I think she sleeps so well because she is in with me every night not ideal but so much easier.