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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

BF on demand... does it get easier?

15 replies

legallyblond · 20/10/2010 21:00

My beautiful DD is now 9 days old and so far so good with bf (I am exclusively bf on demand)... she is gaining weight, my nipples are still intact and so far no mastitis.

BUT.... I assume its normal for breaks between feeds to be anything between 40 mins and 3/3 and a half hours...? Its exhuasting at night as she doesn't ever seem to go more than 2 hours. I guess I just want some reassurance that all this is fine and to be expected of a newborn, its just people keep on asking me if she's sleeping though the night ! I just say "of course not! She's a newborn and she's breastfed!"

Also, is it normal for her to often grimace, quite forcible, whith a couple of crying whimpers, sort of after or sometimes in the middle of feeding? I do wind her... I am guessing its just her getting used to milk passing though..?

Plus (sorry - first time mum, can you guess!), how much poseting is normal? Unlti today, she has only had tiny dribbles, but today, she has had two big fountains of sick - all milky and normal looking and she doesn't seem to mind. Ok?#

Finally, she sometimes feeds for 10 mins, then grimaces, then sleeps, then 15 mins later, wants to feed again. Again, i assume normal?

thanks!!!

OP posts:

jkklpu · 20/10/2010 21:03

Totally normal. Ignore any nonsense about sleeping through the night.

FetchezLaVache · 20/10/2010 21:07

Sleeping through the night at 9 days old!! Ha!

Seriously though, sounds like you're doing absolutely brilliantly. And yes, it does get much, much easier! Don't worry too much about is this normal and is that normal- there ain't no such thing- just enjoy it!

HeadFairy · 20/10/2010 21:07

All sounds normal to me. My dd was really windy and I used to wind her all the time and even then she'd struggle to get some wind out. She also did some spectacular posseting, a good foot or two spurt. All it takes is a big bubble of wind behind a feed and it'll all come spurting out. All very dramatic, but totally normal IMO.

If she's posseting too much and she's not gaining weight then the hv or your gp can advise you. I think they suggest Gaviscon infant, but when we tried it with dd it caused her to get terribly constipated as it turns the stomach contents solid to stop them coming back up again. It's not something I'd try unless my child was really not thriving because of too much posseting.

As for the night feeding thing, oh yes, it's all normal. You will develop a thick skin about all those "is she sleeping through yet?" comments, and the people who tell you their baby was sleeping through at 4 weeks/3 days/5 minutes. DD is still not sleeping through at 9.5 months, DS slept through from 10 weeks. They're all different and they all do different things.

Original poster

legallyblond · 20/10/2010 21:18

thank you all...

and excuse the typos! one handed as feeding - of course!

The main thing is that she seems to be thriving.. so I don't actually mind any of it really. Its just that poepl (I assume those who are used to bottle feeding) seem suprised when I say that she feeds A LOT and with no routine. I shall continue to ignore!

and I do hate the grimacing... its just annoying to see discomfirt and not be able to do much, even if it only lasts a minute or so!

Thanks again

OP posts:

Alibabaandthe40nappies · 20/10/2010 21:23

All normal - I am of your intact nipples because mine certainly weren't at that stage! You must have got positioning absolutely spot on, well done :)

Yes don't worry about the posseting, it looks like gallons but it won't be anything like a whole feed coming up. The only reason to worry would be if she started to show signs of dehydration, but if she is thriving and lots of wet and dirty nappies then she is getting loads of milk.

BerryScaryJuice · 20/10/2010 21:25

Who on earth is asking you whether your baby is sleeping through at 9 days old?!?!?! They must be mental. You sound like you are doing a wonderful job . Hang in there. It does get easier (if only because you get used to it )

bundlebelly · 20/10/2010 21:30

Agree with all above, you are doing a fantastic job, your baby is thriving. It is hard at first, but will get easier. These early days go quickly, enjoy this close time and don't listen to any nonsense about sleeping through, you will be asked it for the next year. It is just people making conversation. It is all normal.

RJandA · 20/10/2010 22:10

No one has a routine when their baby is 9 days old, not even FFers, or if they do then IMHO they are not listening to their baby. Truth is your LO hasn't got a clue what is going on yet! People just forget what it's like.

Sounds like you are doing brilliantly, well done.

SpecterBooAlot · 20/10/2010 22:28

Ignore, ignore, ignore.

You're doing fantastically, and you're both so new to this, anyone expecting anything from you is simply mad. A baby who was sleeping through at nine days would be a medical concern, frankly!

And anyone who says their baby is sleeping through is probably lying anyway [hwink]

Congrats, and keep up the fantastic work - it does get easier! :)

gaelicsheep · 20/10/2010 22:34

"No one has a routine when their baby is 9 days old, not even FFers, or if they do then IMHO they are not listening to their baby."

I do know of people who put their baby in a four hourly feeding routine from day one and just ignored any crying. They probably ignored crying at night as well. If they're the types asking if she's sleeping through the night then doubly ignore!

Well done you with the breastfeeding. And it is so so common for them to fall asleep over a feed at that age - really annoying, but very common. WRT to the possetting, I would keep an eye on her weight gain and if it's fine then don't worry. It could be you have a slight oversupply issue while things are getting established and your DD just doesn't know when to stop.

SpecterBooAlot · 20/10/2010 22:42

God the idea of ignoring a newborn baby crying makes me shudder. Horrible, just horrible :(

Guacamole · 20/10/2010 22:44

All sounds totally normal... My DS is now 6 months and I am still feeding on demand but he's kind of discovered his own routine and feeds are now 3-5 hourly. It suddenly clicked for me at around 10 weeks and breastfeeding became so easy, although we have little hiccups around growth spurt times.
He possetted fairly frequently and every now and then would possett quite violently.
With regard to the grimacing... My DS would fuss, cry, whimper but this I believe was due to frustration, it took him a while to learn what to do as well.
Incidentally, he has still not slept through!
As others have said, you're doing well and you should be proud of yourself!

madamefreckle · 20/10/2010 22:55

Sounds like you are off to a fine start! Well done. I certainly didn't find it so easy to begin with. After a few weeks we fell into a fairly consistent 3 hour pattern. Sometimes dd would fuss an hour or so after she'd had a good feed and I would think I needed to feed again but I think she actually just had wind and I wasn't very good at working out what she needed.

If you are finding the nights exhausting, do you feed lying down? With dd I co-slept for the first 2 months as it was the only way I could get any decent sleep. Now at 4 months she is very happy in her own cot but sometimes after night feeds (usually at say 11pm and 4am) I drift off to sleep and she ends up staying in with me.

Original poster

legallyblond · 21/10/2010 15:30

Thanks again everyone... v reassuring. I am ignoring all the "is she sleeping alright? Is she in a routine yet?" nonsense...

Feel v encouraged as we just had the health visitor round for the 10 day check. My not so little girl has gone from 8lb 4oz to 8lb 12 oz in just 10 days!!!!!!! and grown a cm!

I must be doing something right!

Thanks again - I think I will just keep on doing what I am doing... BF totally on demand, as it so obviously suits her! I can't really tell yet when she has wind etc, but I guess she'll learn to tell me better and I'll learn to read her better soon.

Nipples still intact.... really praying this means they'll stay that way!

My new worry is that she'll suddenly develop colic at 3 weeks... talk about irrational!

OP posts:

lovechoc · 21/10/2010 15:56

all totally normal IMO. DS2 is now 12 weeks and it is hard work still (he's still up for feeds at 1am and 4am approx).

One of my close friends has had a baby recently and she gave up breastfeeding within a few days which I feel really sad about. What frustrates me is that the NHS promote breastfeeding in a bad way - they romaticise it as if it's the easiest thing in the world to do!!

For some it takes loads of practice and I'd say OP you seem to be getting on fab! It is draining and you will be up a lot during the night for a while yet (if you excl BF) but I think it's worth it if you are able to persevere.:)

And please ignore these people who keep asking 'is she sleeping through yet?'. I am still getting this and it's always the same answer!

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