Help me get my mojo with BF!

[meepymeepmeep]

I am starting to feel a bit trapped with breastfeeding - my DS never really sleeps during the day so I don't get to put him down to express milk so feel like I can't get ever get even a small break. Some days he has a good 2.5 - 3 hours between feeds and other days its 30 mins - perhaps I am misreading cues? Either way I just don't seem able to put him down.

I chose to breastfeed for all the health reasons but also because I thought I would be able to be out and about more easily as its all ready to go all of the time - no faffing with bottles but it feels at the moment like the opposite.

So tell me how do you do it - how do you just get on with the day or am I expecting too much too soon? I feel a bit at the end of my tether to be honest. DS is 7 weeks.

He is still so little. Things do calm down, they really do, but it takes time to establish supply and by feeding frequently and when he wants it, you are making sure you make enough milk and he will take what he needs and when. He knows what he is doing, so be led by him.

Mind you, I always used feeding as the first solution to crying, as it always seemed to work!

Seriously though, things will get easier, and he'll start going longer between feeds. Just try to let other things go for a while, housework etc and enjoy some daytime tv.

Can you feed when out and about? Or get a sling? You could try going to baby groups and feeding while there, to begin with, although if you go out you might find they don't need feeding for a bit longer as when you stay in.

The pattern sounds quite normal tbh, I have had my dd napping on me or in the sling for at least 12 weeks, with frequent feeds.

there is also a growth spurt at 6 weeks ish, you might be on the tail end of that.

Do you breastfeed while out? For about the first 5 weeks I really struggled to get to grips with bf and pretty much only fed lying down so couldn't really leave the house for more than about 30 mins! But since I've got the hang of feeding I can do it anywhere, so even though he still feeds pretty often, I don't need to think about whether he'll need feeding before i get home etc as I can just do it.
At 7 weeks you are coming to the end of the toughest bit IME.
Hope you find things easier soon :)

It is tough without much of a break - I'm finding that now with my 4.5 month old as he wants lots of entertaining at the mo. I look forward to feeds as a break where I can sit on the sofa and do nothing! Sadly they don't take very long any more (never thought I'd say that!)

I'm struggling atm too but have realised the issue is that my DD (nearly 6 weeks old) is struggling to nap during the day, so gets overtired and then wants boob for comfort and to help her sleep.

The book 'the no-cry sleep solution' is really helping me fwiw.

Thanks for the replies - I do hope it eases up soon as I really want to keep going - I have gone out with the purpose of feeding to get it 'over and done with' but he then hasn't looked feeding so I haven't been able to give it a go yet. I worry more about how I would feed him in the park etc.

I think part of my problem is that I spend time every morning trying to get him to nap when I know he won't and am then kicking myself that I didn't just take him out in the pram where I know he would sleep! Is it bad of me to not a least try to put him down to sleep or is it ok to let him just sleep on the move?

This is all much harder than I ever thought it was going to be!

I have a Moby wrap but need an hour or so to figure it out! :)

I have a Moby wrap but need an hour or so to figure it out! :)

He's still so tiny, don't get too worried about establishing a nap/feeding routine yet if he's resisting it.

It will get better and a little more predictable, but I found with all of mine that that didn't happen until about 10-12 weeks. Up until then it was pretty much feed as and when, sleep when and where, and just go with the flow!

If you know he'll sleep in the pram then feed, change, wrap him up and go out for a walk. You get some fresh air and a potter round the park, shops or library and he gets a kip which means he's less grumpy. Win win

My DD wasn't having structured naps in a cot / moses at 7 weeks - she was just falling asleep whereever we happened to be. IMO, naps in the Moby or pram are absolutely fine at that age and will stop you driving yourself mad trying to get him to nap in the house. I had a Moby, which was great. The more you use it the easier you'll find it to tie.

Not surprised about how much your DS is feeding at the mo - keep going with it.

To be honest I would find FF would tie me down a lot more - all that hassle with making sure you had the right equipment whereever you were going, what if you ran out when you were away from the house - argh! With BF you are always carrying enough milk and it's instantly ready and at the perfect temperature.

It sounds like the main thing you need to start doing is BF when you are out - is that right? If so, definitely second the idea of going to a baby group and trying to BF there - it's cold to feed in a park at the moment and people at a baby group won't bat an eye if you feed. And you can sit in a corner being a bit private if you prefer. Then you can graduate to feeding in a cafe or other places. Honestly, people really really don't notice - with a 7 week old it just looks like you are cuddling your baby.

Good luck - you are clearly doing brilliantly to get this far and agree with others that it's still early days really.

I didn't bother with naps in the cot until months in - 4 months maybe? Make the most of them sleeping anywhere and being so portable when they're little!

Totally agree with marzipanimal about missing those long feeds - at 5.5 months it's 10 minutes every 3 hours, barely time to have a cuppa!

I also found baby group a great place for practising feeding. Also tried feeding when I was with my DP at first so I could sit in the corner and he was blocking me from view. Once you get the hang of it it's very liberating and you can feed anywhere - parks, trains, buses, pubs, garden walls, the seafront...

mine is 4 months and I still don't have him napping in the cot, he naps where he naps, in the pram, in the car (at the moment he is asleep in the car seat at the back of the house as he fell asleep in the car), on the sofa, on my lap.

Definitely pram to sleep if it means he sleeps!

And you will probably find that he'll feed a bit less often if you go out as he'll sleep or be busy looking at things as well.

You're doing really well and definitely almost over the days when it's all you seem to do :)

Thanks everyone for the replies - some great advice. I really do need to start feeding when out and be proud of BFing and not fret about it- hopefully a in few weeks DS will take a nap of sorts and feeding will slow down. Now if I could get out of the house in less than 4 hours I'd be laughing :)

Go for it! . You'll take a deep breath, start feeding, feel all proud and then wonder why no one has noticed, looked or said anything at all, which is how it should be.

Most definitely take him for a walk! It's not a bad thing to sleep in a pram. They also go for longer without a feed when you're out IME.

You might want to avoid total reliance on the pram (my 7mo is currently asleep in one and has been for 2+ hours!) but you have until 4 months before it will become a problem :)

Oh and I sort of miss the long feeds too! No time to watch box sets now. Ever.

Thank you :)