constant feeding in evening and i'm exhausted please help

[littlestressy]

My DS is 3 weeks old tomorrow, he is my first baby. I have been bf since birth. He was a ventouse delivery which i think affects the way he feeds on the left breast, that is never his favourite and my boob and nipple are really sore there.

He likes to have a couple of feeds in the morning, then a lunchtime one then he will happily sleep three hours in afternoon. I am trying to nap during this time but i find it really hard to drop off and just end up lying there awake :(

But he can be at the boob almost constantly in the evening from about 4 or 5pm onwards until about 10pm. Feeding for between 20mins to 1 hour, little break then back on boob again. Last night i didn't get a chance to eat and went to bed shattered. I have been in tears over this and so has my DH (he has been amazing), the worst bit is when he needs feeding at night and can take anything up to 2 hours to feed, wind, feed again and settle. PLus he is really snotty and snuffly and this means he finds it hard to drop off as he struggles to get breath. I am exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally. Really strongly considering giving up bf and switching to formula but is this normal? Has anyone else been through this with a newborn and come out the other side? Please help with some advice. I thought he might just be using me as a dummy so tried a dummy on him last night but he hated it. I can't just leave my baby to cry and get stressed but i'm exhausted.

Health visitor came round today and observed my latch on left boob and said it was good.

I'd second the post about takIng DS to see a osteopathic who specialises in cranial osteopathy, particularly helpful for birth trauma. Really helped my boy with breathing easier and latch etc.

Good luck

breastmilk comes from the blood, not body water. However dehydrated you are your blood volume stays pretty constant.

thanks everyone, just hearing that other people go through this too has really helped me emotionally and i made sure that i had dinner last night.
my mum has come over to give moral support now my dh has gone back to work, she is being great, rocked baby last night so that i could eat my dinner and have a cup of tea!
i tried feeding him last night lying down in bed so that i wasn't exhausted sitting up in bed, not sure i quite got the latch right though (on both sides), i put him next to me nose to nipple then gently pressed on his shoulders to bring him in when he did big mouth but, don't know. I did sleep a bit better last night though, maybe because i was more relaxed an lying down
will look into a breastfeeding nurse/specialist to help me with attachment.
thanks for all your positive help, i will take it one day at a time and just see how i go.

OP - some positions can be better or worse for latching. My baby was a bit hit and miss with laying down when he was tiny.

Eat stuff you can eat with one hand (as per pizza suggestion above)

Saline drops or calpol do a saline spray for babies (which can be used from birth)

Prop up end of moses basket with a few books to help with snuffily-ness

Or with DD (6 weeks) - she was in moses basket last night (propped up) - but for 2 nights before she slept in her reclining bouncy chair thing because of her cold.

I agree with G1nger that lying down feeding isn't easy when baby is tiny. It's been great since baby got bigger (about 3 months on I think). Didn't work at all when he was newborn but he was a bit prem.

Glad you had a better night last night. So important to eat. Got to try look after yourself. very important :)