new baby and breast feeding for first time

[nello]

Hello,

my baby is 3 weeks old and so I have just started upon the daunting adventure of breast feeding. Currently I am living out of Europe and consequently have no help from midwives as to what I should be doing. I have looked at books, but all seem very overwhelming. I don't really know what I should be doing in terms of how often, when, for how long, should she be sleeping between feeds etc etc!

Can anyone give me any advice for where I should be starting with this? I am aiming to feed her about every three hours, but also between if she seems hungry, and as my milk does not seem to have arrived yet i think she could get hungry quite easily.

Any tips/advice from experience would really really be appreciated.

Writing this on no hours sleep as she did not sleep at all last night, so apologies if does not make good sense!

Thanks

Do you really think your milk has not arrived yet? If it hasn't you must have a VERY hungry 3 week old (unless you're also giving bottles of formula). Has your baby's weight been checked?

Aim to feed at least every 3-4 hours in my opinion and on demand. Put the baby on the breast as often as they want it. I seem to remember at this point feeds would last anything from 8-15minutes. Always offer the other breast when the baby pulls off and alternate between breasts for feeding.

oops. 3 days old. sorry, no sleep!

Congratulations on new baby! My DD2 is 10weeks old and currently feeds approx every 2&half-3 hours, however for the first few weeks she fed far more often than this and even now if she is having a growth spurt she wants to feed more often. Without trying to sound nosy did you formula feed for first 3 weeks? I'm no expert on breastfeeding but theres a mum on here called Ticktock I think, who seems really knowledgeable so try searching on her past threads for info. Hope this helps and good luck

Aah sorry X post! 3 days makes more sense than 3 weeks!!

feed her when she starts to stir/root around at this age - this might be anything from one hour to three or so - so feeding on demand essentially. the more you feed early on, the more your breasts are stimulated to make milk.

www.kellymom.com
has good advice

Phew, I was worried for a second.

At 3 days old, they pretty much feed and sleep and feed and sleep with lots of crying in between in my experience. Keep an eye on your milk coming in, it should come in very soon. Mine took ages and we had a bit of a wobble with his weight (lost more than 15% of his birthweight).

So in my opinion, your baby cries offer him the breast if he's hungry he'll take it, he should feed for 5-15minutes (he might fall asleep during feeding), when he pulls off offer him the other breast... When your baby is next hungry (2-4hours usually) offer him the breast you finished off with last time and repeat as necessary.
At this age the more your baby feeds or tries to the quicker your milk should come.
You may find it gets a little painful within the next week or so, I can recommend Lansinoh if you can get hands on it.
Hopefully someone else will post soon with how to recognise a good latch (something I struggled with).

Congratulations!

At 3 days, feed on demand at every peep - 3 hours is the minimum. Aim for at least 10-12 times in 24 hours.

By 3 days my ds was feeding almost constantly and dozing at the breast too. The feeds spaced out to about 2 hourly once my milk came in. Demand feeding is really important at this point though.

Oh, and my ds was feeding for up to an hour or more each time for at least the first month, so don't worry about how long each feed is lasting. Some feeds might be 10 minutes, some an hour.

As the others have said, feed when baby shows interest/roots/cries (although crying us a late hunger sign, baby will most likely root before this). Always let baby come off of it's own accord, even if baby is just 'flutter feeding' at end if feed that's when they're getting the higher fat content in the milk. 10-12 times in 24 hrs normal and often more frequently. Don't time feeds, just let baby determine length. It's all about establishing milk supply at this stage. Lansinoh is indeed a life saver and doesn't have to be wiped off for baby to feed. It can help heal damage done although ultimately if latch is correct there should be no famsge. Having said that a lot of people get pain at first so keep working on the latch of you do.

Oh and huge confratulations!

Excuse spelling mistakes, a few glasses of wine and autocorrect on my phone is not a good mix!

I'll try again- Congratulations!

Thank you so so much. I have just fed her for 15 minutes and she dozed off. I offered her the other breast but she wasn't interested so I have put her down for a little sleep. Let's see how long that lasts! Thank you, it is really reassuring to hear what I should be doing, and realising that i'm not a million miles off!!

Now just rooting for the sleep! I find that she doesn't feed for long and then consequently doesn't sleep for long (or at all!)

That's totally normal at this stage - their stomachs are tiny but they are growing so fast they need lots of little meals.

Work out how to feed lying down. Even if you're not happy co-sleeping ( checklist for safe co-sleeping ) get someone to watch over you when feeding lying down so you can doze.

Agree with japhrimel - it took me a couple of weeks to master feeding lying down, but once I did it changed my life Then it didn't matter so much that the baby wanted to be on/near the breast all night, I just latched him on and dozed off myself!

Congratulations Nello!
Your milk will come in soon. In the meantime the baby will still be getting a small amount of colostrum so don't worry. I've had a very easy ride bfing my 2 dcs - honestly don't know if it was luck or management! Like you I did lots of reading beforehand which tbh I found much more helpful than midwives and HVs. I think the most important thing at this stage is to establish your supply, so stick the baby on your boob at every opportunity. Make sure you are well hydrated and well rested (if possible!) too. Same as japhrimel and rita, feeding lying down changed my life!