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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

please help! hardly any milk during the night

55 replies

nello · 21/03/2011 13:49

hello,

My little girl is now 3 weeks old and I have been trying hard to breast feed her. I am really enjoying it when it is going well and I have lots of milk, but it is awful when I try and feed her and nothing seems to come out of my breasts. last night at 8pm I had so much milk she was having a little party as she was feeding and fed for over an hour in total, emptying one breast and then spending about 15 minutes on the next. At her next feeds though (about 10.30pm and 1.30am) there was hardly any milk and she ended up crying through the whole night, with neither of us getting any sleep.

In the end my partner gave her a bottle of formula as she was so distressed.

I really don't know what what to do. I want to breastfeed so much but when I am not satisfying her it feels awful and I am tempted to just move onto bottle feeding ( i don't want to do this though).

Does anyone have any experience of this and offer me advice as to make sure I have enough milk at each feed?

Thanks very much in advance.

OP posts:

CheeseEnforcementAgency · 21/03/2011 13:52

Usually the more they suck the more is produced. So tonight you'll be overflowing!

Is it possible that there wasn't a good latch and she wasn't able to suck productively?

Hopefully one of the experts will be along soon as I'm at the limit of my knowledge!

otchayaniye · 21/03/2011 13:59

An expert will be along but as I was in this position with my first I'll pass on what a breastfeeding counsellor told me (after I'd torn my hair out with cluster feeding in the evening and convinced I wasn't producing then and that my latch was shit)

It's not particularly useful to think of filling and emptying. You may fill up some of the ducts (hence if you were to express you may get lots out before it seeming to empty) if you'd not fed for a few hours, but the baby draws it out as she feeds. Babies, including bfed ones can often cluster feed in the evening and night (very frustrating sometimes) and seem unsettled then. It's hunger, tiredness, whatever. Not necessarily you 'drying up'.

Just keep feeding. That was how I ever 'cured' any perceived bfeeding problem.

otchayaniye · 21/03/2011 13:59

Can I ask, are you feeding on demand on or a rough schedule?

Original poster

nello · 21/03/2011 14:05

i'm feeding on a rough schedule, 2 hours after every feed is what my doctor has told me, although before this if she wants.

OP posts:

Original poster

nello · 21/03/2011 14:11

also, i don't really understand what is meant by cluster feed!

OP posts:

otchayaniye · 21/03/2011 14:12

I'm not a HCP so please don#t take what I say as gospel, but it can be hugely counterproductive to feed on schedule. They don't know they are on a schedule and can get overwraught when you're not responding and then not latch so well.

Just feed her when she cries. And expect more fussiness and on off feeding at night (invest in a Moby). You're not likely to feel full in the evening doing this, but feeding as and when is the best way to establish a good supply that is suited to your baby.

I don't mean to scare you, but there were a few days where I fed pretty much ALL the time! 18 hours out of 24. But my baby was born at 8 months and only 5 lbs and I was so frantic that if she moved, I fed her!

I'd reckon on more space between feeds at 8 weeks or so. Just go with the flow in the early weeks. It will fly by, honestly.

Please don't get too caught up in the idea of 'filling up' (I could never express as the machine wouldn't replicate suckling and so the only thing that came out was what had built up, which was hardly anything. Did not mean for a second I had no supply). Or foremilk and hindmilk and 'sides' switching.

Good luck, I hear you, I was there too.

RitaMorgan · 21/03/2011 14:15

I'm not quite clear on what happened during the night that makes you think there wasn't enough milk. So she had a good feed at 8pm, then what happened at 10.30pm? Did she refuse the breast, or did she just want to stay on the breast for ages? When she was crying did you try feeding her again?

RitaMorgan · 21/03/2011 14:16

Cluster feed just means the baby wanting to be at the breast for hours, or feeding, coming off but then wanting to feed again very soon after.

otchayaniye · 21/03/2011 14:17

cluster feeding is when you feed for say, twenty or so minutes. Delatch, put bay down or back in the wrap. Cries in five minutes, wanting more. So you feed again. Repeat process from 8pm til 11pm on and off.

Seems as if they haven't been satisfied, but they are simply stimulating you as much as they feel they need to. Establishing a supply. Sometimes they just have a powerful urge to suckle and it just doesn't go away after a designated xxx minute feed.

It is not convenient, it can aggravate any latching pain but it is entirely normal for a newborn. It is not necessarily wind or colic or anything other than a powerful instinct to be on your breast. Don't fight it!

Original poster

nello · 21/03/2011 14:19

thank you. so, after each feed would you put her down to sleep, even when cluster feeding?

OP posts:

japhrimel · 21/03/2011 14:21

You never have no milk as it's produced all the time. It just comes out faster if it's built up because you haven't been feeding.

Feeding on demand works best with breastfeeding TBH.

Oh and just because your baby is crying and a bottle of formula shuts them up, it doesn't mean that they were hungry or that a bottle is the right thing to do. With bottles, if a baby sucks a bit, the milk flows easily into their mouth so they have to then swallow, which creates a vacuum pulling more milk into their mouth. So it's easy for a not very hungry baby to down a bottle without almost meaning to. And if your supply is ever low for what your LO needs, the only way to get it up, is to feed. Adding formula means you will have less milk as your breasts will only produce what is demanded.

RitaMorgan · 21/03/2011 14:22

Is she happy to go down on her own in the night, or does she want to stay with you? My ds would sleep in a moses basket during the day but not at night as a newborn - wanted to be cuddled up right next to me

If she's happy to sleep by herself then let her, but maybe she was crying to stay with you last night rather than for lack of milk?

otchayaniye · 21/03/2011 14:25

I'd worry about sleeping in the night and being awake in the day til farther along. Right now I'd concentrate on keeping her about your person, ready to get her on the breast quickly throughout the evening.

My typical evening was wear her in wrap while eating dinner (sometimes feeding while eating) pop her back in - she may or may not have dozed in th wrap) probably get into bed with ehr on the breast as I watched The Wire/Homicide/films/etc and fed her on and off with her on a Boppy. Til about 11pm generally. That was the witching hour for us, 8pm-11pm

When I sensed that she was rady for a longer sleep I'd put her in the Amby next to my bed (if I'd had a glass or two of wine) or more often than not, kept her in bed. You don't of course have to co sleep to breastfeed, I just did.

Original poster

nello · 21/03/2011 14:25

Ritamorgan - at 10.30pm i woke her to feed like my doctor has said but there seemed to be little milk for her. i find it hard to remember in the mornings hat happened in the night, but i think she then went back to sleep and woke a 1.20 and i tried to feed her, she fed for ages, over an hour i think, but i was so tired i couldn' hold my body up and put her down and then she started crying and so we tried to rock her to sleep and that worked for a little time.

i am finding the sleep depreivation very hard, just in terms of actually holding my body up to feed her in the night.

OP posts:

otchayaniye · 21/03/2011 14:27

Try to master feeding while lying down. It's harder with a newborn but will get easier.

Original poster

nello · 21/03/2011 14:31

last week we sent to the doctor as she was crying so much, they think it is her immature digestive system (lots of wind and explosive poo), and we have some drops to give her which seem to help. the doctor also told me that she was very hungry and told me to offer her formula after every feed incase that i hadn't given her enough milk. is this not right? i really don't know what to beieve any more!

OP posts:

RitaMorgan · 21/03/2011 14:31

Is there a particular reason to wake her, jaundice etc? If not maybe it would be better just to let her sleep.

Feeding for an hour isn't at all unusual for a little baby - I would also practice feeding lying down, then you can lie down with her in the night and doze while she feeds. Once I could do this with ds I didn't feel sleep deprived anymore, even though he fed several times in the night.

Original poster

nello · 21/03/2011 14:32

is there a website to find out how to feed whilst lying down?

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RitaMorgan · 21/03/2011 14:34

No, don't offer formula after every feed as it will reduce your milk supply. Better to offer both breasts at every feed, and if she is still hungry offer the first side again - you can keep switching sides back and forth until she is satisfied. If there is really a problem with her milk intake you could always express and offer your milk as a top-up. No need to give formula when you have working breasts!

RitaMorgan · 21/03/2011 14:35

Breastfeeding lying down here

Original poster

nello · 21/03/2011 14:36

so, how long should i spend on each breast if i cluster feed? how do i know when to change sides? do you think I should just ignore what my doctor says about 2-3 hourly feeds?

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mejon · 21/03/2011 14:37

DD is now 7 weeks and cluster fed almost constantly for the first few weeks. What saved my sanity at night was learning to feed whilst lying down in bed. On the odd occasion I did fall asleep for a short while when feeding but more often than not its an excellent opportunity to switch off and just rest. Saved my back too as being propped up with pillows wasn't very comfortable.

RitaMorgan · 21/03/2011 14:39

Feed on demand, so whenever your baby gives you hunger signals

hunger cues

Let the baby stay on one breast for as long as she wants - when she comes off herself, offer the other side. Sometimes in might be 10 minutes, sometimes an hour, sometimes she'll only want one side, sometimes both (or more!). Watch your baby not the clock.

RitaMorgan · 21/03/2011 14:45

If you feed on demand, your baby will probably want a feed at least every 2-3 hours, probably more often. If it's been 3 hours since her last feed during the day I'd offer a feed. I'd let her sleep longer at night though as long as she feeds once or twice.

Is she gaining weight and producing lots of nappies?

Original poster

nello · 21/03/2011 14:52

thank you. yes, she is gaining weight and lots of dirty nappies. so, with feeding on demand/cluster feeding I just follow her through the day? what do i do when i need to go out? can i just go out after feeding her?

the thing i'm concerned about is that at night time when she feeds she seems to get ed up with my breast and when i squeeze the nipple there doesn't appear to be any milk and she starts crying...does this not mean that I am not producing enough for her? and how would cluster feeding help this, surely i am just giving her my breast to such but not actually satisfying her?

thanks so much by the way, i am so confused with all of this at the moment, this is really helping.

OP posts:

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