finding hard to keep up with breastfeeding on demand

[becci78]

Hi is anyone out there feeling like i am at the moment? I have breastfeed since i have had my little one who will be 10 weeks old on Monday. We have gone through the mill a bit in 10 weeks! from very sore nipples to us both having thrush to get it all cleared up. we are both doing fine with feeding on demand, but now am starting to feel a bit down as i don't seem to be able to keep up with her feeding. I have tried to express some of my milk off for the past few days so her dad can feed her which has been a relief for me, but she is not letting me express a lot hence not much to feed her with. And last night had to try her on a ready mix formula feed which my husband gave her, and i have to say she looked like she enjoyed it. I feel guilty as not been able to keep up with her but feel a bit relieved as it gave me a break and rest, as after her 1st lot of injections i have not been able to get a good nights sleep from her as she won't settle in her moses basket or cot or if she does it is only for a few hours then wakes for a feed and wont sleep unless she is on me!! Which is nice but cant be doing it every night.

Just need some advice if anyone has gone through the same thing??

Firstly did you give her calpol after her jabs? This helps a lot imo.

Secondly at this stage I just used to sleep with my DC in the bed with me and then they used to feed while I dozed. Put a pillow on the other side of them so they don't roll out. DH used to go and sleep in the spare bad.

Finally I personally always found it more stressful to try and express and in the end I didn't do it anymore. For me it was a relief to take that pressure away. But you seem towant a bit of space/time/sleep? Maybe you should consider mixed feeding. Perhaps an evening feed of formula so you can get an early night?

It can be very tiriing in the early weeks

You've done brilliantly to get this far

Things which helped me were co-sleeping, a sling, and keeping all other activities to a minimum (ie minimal housework, cooking etc)

Try tanking up baby before you put them down so maybe a feed, btah, feed and into bed??

My DD cluster fed of an evening so this can sometimes help babies go longer

I didn't really express as DD wouldn't take a bottle. At 10 weeks I could Feed DD ad then she would be ok for 2 hours so I would rest if I could then

I went through pretty much exactly the same thing at the same time as you. Including the thrush. Took five weeks to shift (5-10 weeks). Also felt that I couldn't keep up. I very nearly gave up around 9-10 weeks. I kept going though and am so glad I did. DS is now nearly 6 months and we are just now reaching the point where he seems to prefer formula from a bottle. I'm a bit as I feel we really went through the mill together and came out the other side. It was a lovely thing from 10 weeks to now (25 weeks). I can't say that is what you should do, but I hope my experience will give you the faith to try a bit longer.

I think at around 10 to 12 weeks they often have a bit of a spurt in growth - watch out for the feet in the babygrIt sounds like you are doing really well, and you are right to be feeding on demand as that will bring up your supply to the level she needs (whereas giving a bottle can affect the supply by bringing it down). Keep telling yourself "this too shall pass"!
Good luck :)

would it help if you considered that you are not feeding on-demand [little emperor] but are cue-feeding [responsive parenting] ?

you are doing so so well, big-up for you

A lot of people mix feed, I think.

I EBF and it was hard. By keep up with her do you mean physically in terms of supply, or emotionally, as in she's always attached and you want some space?

DD is now 8 months and we are still going, it gets so much easier :)

I agree that you might want to think about co-sleeping, I did that for a bit when DD was 6-12 weeks as it meant I got some sleep. Do whatever you need to do to get sleep, and everything is better.

I name each feed - so baby might have breakfast, breakfast no.2, mid morning snack, early lunch, afternoon tea, etc. Somehow it feels more structured than just feed after feed :) Good luck.