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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

BF a newborn - Do you use a log or other written record?

29 replies

primalero · 12/05/2011 16:08

I have a one week old baby and am BF for the first time. I am keeping track of feeds and nappies using a notebook. Does anyone else do this and what do you use?

OP posts:

COCKadoodledooo · 12/05/2011 16:09

With ds1 I did - just a small diary. Just feeds, never nappies. with ds2 I didn't bother.

madwomanintheattic · 12/05/2011 16:11

didn't bother with any of them tbh. if they cried, i fed them. i knew if it had been ages because my boobs told me so. i had enough to do without writing a record of it as well!

ds1 (dc2) fed every two hours day and night though. for ten months. it was lovely. no, really. i remember it clearly enough without having written proof!

RhinestoneCowgirl · 12/05/2011 16:12

I did with my first as he wasn't feeding well and I was worried. Didn't with second, just fed her at every wriggle to start with and things fell into place from there...

madwomanintheattic · 12/05/2011 16:12

to be fair, scbu kept a record of what bm they fed dd2 (dc3) through her tube. but i didn't bother when she eventually came home. regular weigh-ins were fine.

RightUpMyRue · 12/05/2011 16:13

What for?

catwhiskers10 · 12/05/2011 16:18

I did this with DD. They did it on a chart in the hospital so I just carried on when I came home for about 3 weeks. There was no real need to do it as she was feeding fine and filling plenty of nappies.

CMOTdibbler · 12/05/2011 16:19

No - whats the point ?

Original poster

primalero · 12/05/2011 16:21

Why?
Large weight loss in the first days
Initial problems trying to establish BF
Lack of clear memory of last feed
Interested to see if a feeding pattern arises
I could go on...

OP posts:

RitaMorgan · 12/05/2011 16:22

I tried to for a while in order to see a pattern But ds fed between 8 and 15 times a day for between 5 and 90 minutes, so there wasn't much pattern to see I gave up after a couple of days.

Just feeds at every squeak, offer both sides at every feed, and don't let them go more than 3 hours in the day.

lunafire · 12/05/2011 16:39

I did with my first as we were bottle feeding ebm and the hospital encouraged me to note everything down...but after about a week or 2 at home I stopped bothering.

With #2 (due any day now) I shan't bother apart from noting when he/she does poopy nappies as that's the best indicator of how things are going.

lilham · 12/05/2011 16:43

I do that too but with an app instead. I have my iPod with me to browse mumsnet anyway while feeding :)

CamperFan · 12/05/2011 16:49

Congratulations! I did with DS1 - just feeds, not nappies - and found it recently, which was funny as I am currently feeding DS2. With him I just haven't bothered. Just demand fed. Don't have too much time to think about it/analyze it, but gradually we have fallen into a loose routine anyway. I've had problems feeding both at the beginning, but tbh I don't think keeping a log helped, just gave me something else to stress about. With a one week old it doesn't matter when their last feed was - just feed again if they want it.

Deliaskis · 12/05/2011 16:50

My sister did this with her first. Just to keep track as a new mum and eventually to start to try and make some sense of it.

I am ff now due to feeding issues early on, and still keep a record of what she had. Because of feeding issues I also initially kept a record of nappies and vomit so I could see how things were going but knocked that on the head at about 4 weeks. Am now starting to keep a daytime sleep diary to see if I can spot any patterns/routine forming (12 weeks now).

I understand why people don't bother, but for me it helped after the initial nightmare of feeding issues and weight loss, and now just helps me keep track. We're now on a cocktail of reflux meds so it's useful to see how that is affecting feeds. If you think it would help you then try it. For bf, Dsis just logged time on each side.

MummyOC · 12/05/2011 16:57

I would say if you think a log would be useful to you, then go ahead and start one.

When my dd was born, she was on antibiotics, was treated for jaundice, and was quite a sleepy baby. We were kept in hospital for a week and during that time, I kept a log of times of feeds, how long she fed, which side, amount of bm expressed, and number of wet and dirty nappies. I did it because she wasn't feeding well (was being supplemented with ebm and ff), my milk was slow to come in and because I was so tired, I couldn't trust my memory about her feeding and nappies when asked by neonatal care staff. When we were discharged, I was ebf by then but she was still losing weight so continued log. In fact, i kept it going for about 8 weeks. My dh thought it was becoming more than just a bit of an obsession! But I liked the reassurance of it, particularly with my concern about her weight. It did feel like I'd reached a milestone though when I stopped.

CoteDAzur · 12/05/2011 17:00

I used an iPhone app. It was fantastic, because all I had to do was to touch its screen at the beginning and at the end, and it would keep track of when I fed DS and for how long. I was so out of it with sleep deprivation that if I didn't have a record of when I fed him, I didn't really know how many times he fed in the night, for example.

EvenLessNarkyPuffin · 12/05/2011 17:01

If you feel it helps then do. I didn't. Just don't turn into my friend who still keeps a record of every ml of milk her DS has ever had. He is 2 and has no health issues!

clitorisorclitoraint · 12/05/2011 17:09

Yes, I kept a log in a notebook of every feed, which side etc.

If nothing else it will make a nice keepsake

Mahraih · 12/05/2011 17:51

I did, when DS lost 10% of his birthweight and I was told to feed him more.

But once he started gaining weight, I stopped as it was pretty pointless when no health issues.

CotdeDAzure that iPhone app sounds amazing, what a nifty idea!

Bunbaker · 12/05/2011 17:54

No, I didn't. It never occurred to me to do so. DD was healthy, born at full term, fed every three hours and provided plenty of wet/dirty nappies. She was slow to put weight on at first but neither the midwife or health visitor suggested I keep a written record. The only times a record was kept was when she was in hospital after her tracheostomy.

jandmmum · 12/05/2011 19:33

there's an app for that. I found it useful when dd was not feeding well. it's called baby connect

InvaderZim · 13/05/2011 09:26

There are lots of apps. I ended up choosing Total Baby and it's great, but I didn't use it much because we tracked on paper when there were weight gain issues, so DH could track as well.

DuelingFanjo · 13/05/2011 09:38

I only kept a log of feeds because DS was in hospital for 9 days and when he got home he would go hours without feeding. Someone I know is keeping a log book to see if there's any pattern to her baby's feeds but for a newborn I wonder if that's entirely necessary.

fruitybread · 13/05/2011 11:27

I do understand why someone might do this if they have any issues witrh feeding/weighgtloss, or concerns at all, really - if nothing else, it could be a good aide memoire when you talk to HVs or doctors etc.

I jotted down when and how my DS was feeding when he was about 1 week to around 5 weeks, I think it was. I just couldn't believe how much he was feeding (misled by BF info which made me think I might get 2 hours between feeds etc - ha ha). I was so exhausted and stressed I wanted to make sure what I raised with HV was accurate.

After a certain point, I gave up. It was making me more stressed - I was 'noticing' when DS fed more because I was writing it down, and making it more of an issue. A bit like being on a diet and weighing yourself every day rather than once a week, IYSWIM.

(then he got reflux, I got mastitis, and I started jotting down things again, just to keep track of Infant Gaviscon dosing and which side I was feeding. Round about 6 months, I finally got the carefree 'oh, I just chuck nappies in a bag and head out' BF experience, stopped writing anything down, and now I couldn't tell you how often or when 10 month old DS feeds. Which is great, but it's hard to be relaxed about it all when it's not going well!).

messylittlemonkey · 13/05/2011 11:31

I didn't BF either of my DDs, but DID keep a feeding log with DD1 who was underweight at birth - I just noted down amount and time. I'm sure you won't need to do it forever! As for nappies, wouldn't worry about that, but if it makes you feel more organised then go for it.
Good luck :)

gherkins · 13/05/2011 19:45

I started a feeding log with DD a few days after we got back from hospital. Not out of any concern for her weight, but simply to try and see a pattern to her feeding. For the first 6 weeks or so there was hardly any pattern (demand feeding mainly) but it became very useful when I decided I needed more routine/structure to her day.

She is now 15 weeks and I use it daily! I just write down the time of each feed, and how long she fed for. Then I know that she should not be due another feed until 2.5 hours after the start of the last one. I have a terrible memory so it's good to keep a log of it all.

Also, as a first-time Mum I find it really useful, because when DD starts to cry around 2 hours or so after she last fed, I can confidently say she's hungry, rather than play endless guesswork..

I also log her sleeps - just start and end times of each nap during the day. Then I know that if she cries around 2 hours after she last woke up, chances are she's tired (not hungry).

I am a VERY relaxed person and not normally the type to be this anal but it really helped me structure my day, and now I know exactly when I have a 'window' to pop out and do something, which I know won't be interrupted by DD howling.

Once I started DD on a regular nap and feed routine she also changed OVERNIGHT into a much happier baby, and started sleeping through the night (7pm to 6am) at 9 weeks.

I just use a notepad and leave it out on the kitchen counter. If anyone else takes over baby duties they note feed and sleep times too. Easy peasy!

I think in the early days I spent a lot of time sticking my boob in DD's mouth every time she cried. With hindsight, I think she was actually simply over-tired. If I had been logging sleep and feeds, I wouldn't have made that mistake. Well worth doing in my view.

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