How to deal with comfort sucking - worried DS is not getting enough milk in evenings

[PussinJimmyChoos]

DS is 22 days old..he's going through the 3 week growth spurt and has been cluster feeding a lot. Today for example, he's been on and off the breast since 1pm until now.

He's been pretty content to suck, fall asleep, wake up, suck and so on and I've gone with what he wants as I know this is part of building up the supply

However, the last hour he seems very hungry and DH and I are wondering if he's not sucking efficiently due to comfort sucking....his latch is fine and when he wakes in the night after a few hours sleep, he feeds really well with very strong sucks and deep swallows and goes back for a few hours after that. So, he is capable of efficient feeding, but with the cluster feeds in the evening, it seems to start strong, then turn to comfort sucking

DH thinks as soon as I know its comfort sucking to unlatch him but I haven't done this as I know its part of supply building. He has plenty of wet nappies and poos btw

Any advice appreciated

I would just go with the flow and let him comfort suck if you're happy to be a dummy for a bit. It won't stop him being able to feed properly when he is really hungry. It sounds like you've got bfing off to a fantastic start so sit back and enjoy the excuse to be waited on hand and foot. You have a very important job to do .

If you begin to feel you need a break a clean little finger with a short nail can be a great breast substitute for a little while.

Enjoy!

Puss - there is a kind of suckling called 'non-nutritive suckling' i.e. it's not a feeding suckling. This is normal for babies to do and a hungry baby would not suckle in this pattern as it doesn't extract milk in any great quantities (if at all).

It is a part of bfing in as much as nutritive/active suckling is part of bfing. A baby seeking comfort by nursing is a good thing, not something to be curtailed or stopped - it's biologically normal and is part of the function of bfing (food, drink, comfort, body temperature regulation, breathing/heart rate regulation, safety, etc, etc). All nipple stimulation by the baby will help with your supply as skin to skin contact at the nipple releases oxytocin too.

That's not to say you have to sit nursing for hours if you are getting sore or need to go to the loo/stretch you legs/run around screaming - Daddy is just as equipped to hold baby and offer a clean finger for baby to suck if needed. Just unlatch like Al1son suggests - never pull baby off the breast - they don't let go automatically and you will get sore!

Thanks for replies. Was just worried he's not getting to the hind milk at all iyswim

DH took him for a bit last night arond 11pm as I'd had him on me from 1pm and he went apeshit..only calmed down on the boob. He normally feeds from both boobs at 3am but last night he didn't..he just fed from one and was so sleepy that after 20 mins he finished and did not show any interest after that - is it normal for them to have some days where they are not so hungry?

He's comfort sucking now and going mad if I take him off...starting to doubt supply a bit now!

Yes, it's normal for a baby to have days were they take 3 sides a feed and other days where one side is enough. If you are offering and DS is refusing the other side/3rd side/29th side then he has had enough. I'm assuming he is having 6 wet nappies (8 if cloth) a day and pooing yellow/greeny yellow/green liquid/runny poos (not very dark green thick poos)?

When you say 'comfort sucking' what do you mean? Fluttery, tickling suckling, sucking with a suck, suck, suck, suck, suck, suck, pause type of suckling or something else?

I never understand why people are so anti-comfort sucking. Little babies need comfort as well as milk. Obviously it can be draining and limiting for the mother because you've got them attached to you 24x7 - but if you can get your DH and anyone else to help and support you, then it's the best thing you can do. I'm the mother of two rabid comfort-suckers, who are now 3.5 and nearly 2, and lovely, affectionate, independent little boys. IMO that first year of giving them all the milk and comfort they wanted set them up well. I do totally totally understand how exhausting it can feel for you (am about to go through it all again with no. 3) but it passes and you'll be astonished how quickly you are looking back on this time.

Truthsweet yes that is it exactly - "fluttery, tickling suckling, sucking with a suck, suck, suck, suck, suck, suck, pause type of suckling"...it starts of with him sucking like he would for a good feed, and then switches to comfort sucking. He doesn't do this in the night though as he's had a good 2.5 or 3hrs sleep and he's hungry then and I can hear/feel the gulping of him taking the milk (which always makes me ) so there is a definate difference

I just worry that all the comfort sucking in the evening, means he's not getting enough milk to sustain him iyswim?

I'm not anti comfort sucking btw - DH was the one telling me to unlatch if he wasn't sucking properly and I said no, the comfort sucking is just as much part of b'feeding as the normal feeding

Ps Lots of wet nappies and he tends to do his poos in two or three massive clear outs!

Think about how you used to eat (before you had a baby attached to you...). Sometimes you are so hungry and want to wolf down something asap, othertimes you are just enjoying a little snack and take your time.

Its very stressful getting feeding established but try and relax about the 'good feeds'. Its all good, fluttery or not.

He's going mad when you take him off because he wants to be near you. Doesn't last forever.

And don't worry about the hind milk, it does not switch on at a certain time / strength of sucking. The longer he feeds, the more he will get. Sounds like he is doing fine. Just trust him to take what he needs as long as you offer often enough.

I worried about supply loads at the beginning which with hindsight I think was a huge waste of energy on my part.

Indications of poor supply would be things like your baby failing to gain weight, seeming listless or lethargic, pallid skin tone, continuous runny green poos (not the occasional one - and even constant green poos are OK if the baby seems OK otherwise) etc. Indications that your baby is normal and healthy include just wanting to be latched on all the time unfortunately.

If it helps try not to think of the feeding in the evening as being about nutrition. Cluster-feeding may well be your baby's way of coping with the demands of the day. He is too little and over-stimulated and grouchy to just go to sleep but he needs help to relax and being near you provides that. It will start to ease of its own accord in the next few weeks. Very few babies are still doing this after 3-4m. My DD stopped overnight at 8 weeks. We still couldn't get her to go to bed in the evening but she'd sit up on our knees having a little look around or catnapping until about 9:30.

If you need a break for a bit it is worth your DH persevering with learning to comfort your son. I coped with the cluster feeds by demanding a touch-free 30 mins around 9pm. DH would put on rock music (which DD found very calming, other things to try include the hoover, a hairdryer and the washing machine) and jiggle her round the living room. After a while she started to doze in his arms. And it meant I had time to shower and get ready for bed and even have a hot cup of tea before he brought her upstairs for the night shift.