3 week old feeding for varied and extended periods

[sedgiebaby]

Sorry this is one of my clueless new mum questions. I just don't know what is normal or to be expected.

My baby fed for 3 + hours just now, not dozing in between but rather enthusiastically throughout getting worked up when stopping for winding/nappy change.

I have lots of milk, I'm confident about the latch, she isn't tounge-tied, she is not sicky. I am suffering with blocked ducts a bit of an oversupply (I don't mind long feeds for that as it gets uncomfortable quickly)and struggle to wind her sometimes, apart from that all seems well. Other times she will feed for an hour - 1.5 hours and settle well. Then it will be 2 or 3 like today. Any thoughts please

Sounds perfectly normal Sedgiebaby, just try to go with the flow as it were [hgrin]

Are you massaging for the blocked ducts?

I had an oversupply at first with DC1 but it calmed down after a few weeks.

3 weeks is still very early days and very few babies will be predictable at this age, no matter what the baby books will lead you to believe.

sounds like the 3 week growth spurt to me!

Congratulations!

I agree with Ineedsomesleep and just wanted to advise that you also look in to growth spurts as these can worry some women and hcp's never seem to mention them (ime at these times older generations are understandably quick to suggest low supply as a problem, due to their experiences of being advised to feed to a routine). Growth spurts can mean mammoth feeding sessions, but they don't last for ever. Iirc there are quite a few in the first few weeks.

My supply took a few weeks to settle and then I still had a spurting let down for some time [hblush] though I was breast pad free by 6m [hsmile]

I can't help re blocked ducts I'm afraid.

Thank you, I have been so anxious because I'm such a novice and so keenly aware of that!

I just read up on 3 wk growth spurts and it sounds very familiar, not just the regular prolonged feeding and short periods of sleep but also, the fact that I'm suddenly very hungry and her fussing at the breast as if the milk wasn't coming fast enough (she hadn't done this before)

Yes, agree that it is normal at this stage and could easily be down to a growth spurt. Just keep letting the baby take the lead, it will gradually get easier.

Yes agree with the others, sounds normal.

I found winding difficult until ds could hold up his head a little - about 5/6 weeks, so hopefully that should get easier for you soon.

(Don't worry about seeming clueless. I have learnt a million things about babies from MN in the last few months, often from lurking on threads like this. Who knows where we would be if I'd just had to rely on the health visitor!)