Organic Goats Milk Formula,,

[ChaCha]

DS is just over 3 weeks old and I've been breastfeeding him on demand, however, just recently I feel that DS is not getting enough and struggles to feed after being on each breast for at least 30minutes!! Am feeling a little exhausted now, especially during night time feeds and a friend who had similar problems has suggested trying an Organic Goats Milk Forumla as a top up.

Any experiece of this pls? Am trying to perceviere best I can with exclusive breastfeeding but feeling a tad inadequate when DH shows signs of frustration over an hour of feeding....anyone?

If you start topping up now, I really think your breastfeeding won't last long. Babies love to SUCK - they don't necessarily need more food, but they do love that sucking, which is incredibly comforting to them. The only way to tell if they are getting enough milk is by how alert they are, if they wee OK and if they gain weight. If all those things are fine, they are certainly getting enough milk. Small babies are mad for sucking. It's just bliss for them. An hour is not at all unusual to start with. But after that you don't have to give them more milk. You could cauddle him or take him for a walk instead. Those signs of 'frustration' could - and I suspect are - signs of tiredness instead. Why not try taking him for a walk at this stage? I bet he just goes to sleep.

Aloha - Thanks for the advice and quick reply. I'm going to try doing what you've mentioned. In fact, DH has just swaddled him now and he's stopped crying, he's been going frantic towards the end of a feed and I guess when you're already extremely tired it's understandable to just think...okay, I need to try something else now.

A very tired chacha x

oh, chacha. this is completely normal. your little one currently building your supply and needs to suck in order to stimulate it. right now both of you are still learning about breastfeeding. giving any topups will have a negative effect on this. all newborns need to suck for comfort too. it was only 21 days ago that you were cuddling ds for 24hrs a day. life right now is such a shock to him. dh's job is to fetch you food and water and cakes and pick up the remote when it falls off the couch.

search tiktok's posts on here for more advice. keywords with things like 'topups' or 'enough milk' she puts it much better than I do.

Thank you. What encouragement!
Had a look at some posts in the archives all reassuring.

You'll be fine. After an hour, hand him over to dh and have a bath or a cup of tea or a walk around the park - whatever. And if you swaddle ds or take him for a walk or even just cuddle him for a while (ideally this should be done by someone who doesn't smell of milk ) then he will almost certainly sleep. Tiny babies get very tired after 1.5 - 2 hours awake.

If you wanted to give formula for any other reason - like you were fed up with breastfeeding or hated it or something, then I would say that giving the odd bottle would probably be OK, but top-ups, especially when you really want to breastfeed, are a different thing, I think, and can be really disastrous.

Am just wondering...

What about when he has been fed for over an hour, given to DH for a cuddle, starts screaming frantically - is put on breast and Hey Presto! Silence except for mad frantic sucking noise....then frustrated cries minutes later as if he hasn't got enough? At this point, what to do? Hand him back to DH to try and put him to sleep?
Hope i'm making sense. Often though, no frustrated cries and he falls asleep on breast as if he just wanted to suck for the comfort.

Babies are funny critters. They often do things for no apparent reason. They are still adjusting to the world. If you can bear to go on feeding, you might prefer to (more sucking = more milk) and when when you reach the end of your patience, hand him over or put him in a pram and go for a walk. Babies do cry - often a lot - when they are tired.

Chacha - what you describe sounds like normal behaviour for a baby going through a growth spurt. 2-3 weeks is around the time many babies go through one & babies often just seem to want to feed constantly, with many mums feeling like they are not providing enough. You DO have enough, and like a previous poster said, your LO is asking to be fed often because he is trying to built up your supply to cope with his demands. It will get better and the best advice during these growth spurts is to try and rest as much as you can (sleep when he does if you donlt have any other kids) and let everything else go. Make sure your DH does plenty around the house to help, like prepare the meals etc and just concentrate on your DS, preferably in bed with him! These links should help ease your mind:
kellymom, growth spurts page
Kellymom, newborn nursing - what to expect
LLL Growth Spurt FAQ

No offense to your friend, but it would be best to ignore "useful" suggestions like hers & find a local bf group like LLL so you can surround yourself with other bf mums & gain as much knowledge as you can to help with your self confidence. Top-ups are not recommended at this early age as your supply is not yet established. By giving formula your DS will not request as much breastmilk, meaning you will produce less, meaning you will need to supplement more etc etc. As long as he is alert when awake and producing plenty of wet & dirty nappies then you know that he is getting enough milk from you.

It might also be worth showing your DH the kellymom links, just to make sure he is on the same wavelength as you - a dh who is supportive (& a little bit knowledgeable about bf) is invaluable if your are determined to bf.

Hang in there, let yout DS feed when he wants - you sound like your doing fine!

Thank you for your replies DH and I read each one (have since had a supply of yummy sandwiches, drinks and a massage while b/f!!) Thanks again ladies..I do have another question, but will post again. x

hi chacha.
sorry to hear you've been having some probs. FWIW, Ella will suck for ages if I let her. Can you hear him swallowing all the time? As the feed progresses does the sucking slow down & end up like little jaw movements? If thats the case then he might be soothing himself. Also, he'll be having a growth spurt now.
If you think he's using you as a dummy, have you considered trying a dummy? If it settles him then he's full.Is he gaining weight?
Also, I've found a difference between a tired cry & a hungry cry. Did you find that BW yet? The section on sleeping really helped me. I don't worry when she cries to go to sleep. I just swaddle her (what a Godsend)then hold her still in a quiet room, whilst not rocking.(hard to do when carrying a baby) She fights to stay awake but I know if I've solved all the other possible causes its just tiredness. If I put her on the breast, she will still suck but to be soothed, rather than out of hunger.
Good luck. And please don't introduce formula. It will probably reduce your supply. HTH.

Hey! You get a massage Whilst you're bf??? You lucky woman!
Note to self.....Must have a word with dp.

Karma, Hi and thanks...

I do hear him swallowing and just as you said, as the feed progresses the sucking does seem to slow down. I read that when bubs is full he'll just come off by himself but this little guy seems happy to suck for England! Am already using a dummy, was totally against it but DH insisted that we use it when he was just two days old. Now he is trying to stop using it and I am insisting it stays - at times it is an absolute blessing, but that's another story. He was back to birthweight at two weeks I think and produces dirty nappies in abundance so I guess we're okay there. Have asked DH to check the boxes that were put in the attic pre-baby's arrival as I've a feeling BW may have been packed away with my old school stuff that needed storage. We also swaddle, but can I ask why you don't rock her to sleep? Think i've heard that before.

My next worry is this: Today, for example, he is feeding away happily on one boob, for let's say 20 minutes or so, then he does the frantic head movement and it seems to me like there's no more milk, so pop him on other boob where he seems really, really hungry, is getting milk and sucking like mad. This usually suffices but like today for example had to keep popping him from one boob to the other....what is that all about? In the end got a bit fed up and gave him his dummy, put him to sleep and that was that. Am wondering if this is what you mention about just being tired, but he seemed so hungry when he was on the other....hope i'm making sense, with so little time to type seem to just blab on nowadays.
Thanks Karma.

Ella does that head movement too. She seems to want the breast but won't take the nipple into her mouth properly. I've found through trial & error that it usually means either she has a wind pain or she doesn't really want to feed but is tired & wants to sleep but can't switch off. So I wind her & she really is a windy baby! The other thing that settles her in this case is to change her feeding position to the rugby ball hold. I lie her on a pillow rather hold than her in my arms & this often does the trick.

As for the rocking, if he relies on it to get him off to sleep then you have to be prepared to rock him to sleep when he's huge! I'm speaking from experience on that one with my DS. Also with DD she seems to fall asleep quite well with the minimum of fuss & jiggling, IYSWIM.

As for not having enough milk, once you think he's emptied one boob, take him off & try hand expressing & you may find milk is still there. The breast is never really "empty". Towards the end of the feed the milk is definately richer in fats which will help him feel full & satisfied at the end of the feed, hopefully!! I asked my HV & she said to leave her on the first side to make sure she gets as much of this milk as poss. From what I can gather, if babies just get the thinner foremilk at the start of the feed then this can give them colic as well as not actually fill them. Have you visited the kellymom.com website yet? It's fantastic & gives fact-based advice which helps you understand the science of BFing.
Finally, when I had DS I didn't really understand when he just wanted to go to sleep. I thought if he was crying then something must be wrong & I got very frustrated. Now I know that babies DO cry just for the hell of it! It's her way of shutting out the world. Once I realised that it made eveything much more manageable. I'm sure you'll be fine. BTW, BW doesn't have all the answers & you may find it's no help at all but maybe you should read it & use the info that YOU find relevant.