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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

Been feeding dd for 4 hours and won't settle

21 replies

TabithaChanges · 15/03/2012 05:30

Dd is 5 days old, feeding well I think. Think my latch could be better so worried about transfer esp as one nipple inverted. She seems to feed off both ok , she does pull off and have to go back on a lot. I was engorged so pumped and got about 60 off.

However tonight she fed from 1.30 and is still screaming now. She feeds then sleeps but won't sleep in basket only in arms. Dh has her downstairs now but I know she probably wants milk but have been doing it for 4 hours with half hour off when she slept in basket .

I really want to make it work but I'm not sure whether it's a sleep or bf issue but I haven't even slept properly yet and my toddler will be up at 7 at latest !

Any ideas? I'm trying to get a deeper latch and also thought I could pump to increase supply. Should I give her the extra pumped milk in a bottle or would that be wrong ?

OP posts:

TanteRose · 15/03/2012 06:00

this is so completely and utterly normal! she is only 5 DAYS old. she will want to feed ALL the time, and will not want to sleep anyway apart from very close to you.

She is ordering up the milk so she needs to be close to your breast all the time. Obviously you do need to rest, so you DH can hold her for a while, or you can try to feed her lying down.

It is hard but if you want to breastfeed, you are going to have to go with HER flow for a while.

Can your DH deal with your toddler?

you could give her expressed milk from a spoon or cup.

LovesBeingWearingSkinnyJeans · 15/03/2012 06:12

It could well be her first growth spurt, it will settle down but is hard.

Tigresswoods · 15/03/2012 06:14

No one tells you when you have a baby that there will be a day (probably in the first week) where they seem to feed all day.

Go with it.

Loopymumsy · 15/03/2012 06:19

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

nannyl · 15/03/2012 10:01

DD did the same..... for about 12 hours.... its that first growth spurt and normal.

dont doubt your milk, she is doing as she should / must to get your milk established.

good luck

it gets better

RitaMorgan · 15/03/2012 10:24

I don't think it's a sleep issue or a feeding issue to be honest - newborns are just naturally wired not to sleep away from you, it's a survival instinct.

Have you tried feeding her lying down in bed so you can both doze?

mumnosbest · 15/03/2012 11:08

Definately normal. My DD is 6 wks and I think we're now having our 3rd feeding frenzy/growth spurt (I've been glued to this chair for hours). She also did this in her 1st and 3rd wk. Both times lasted 2 days and were followed by huge increases in weight. I think in the 1st wk, they're still learning about feeling hungry and full too, so just feed little and very often. That might explain the latching on and off during a feed too. My DD did this too. I used to watch and feel proud that she was learning and looked to be practising.
I'd second the idea of feeding laying down, on your side. Some nights I nod off and it's the only sleep I get.
Just a thought on getting DD to sleep in her basket. We used a blanket. Whenever she's sleepy and feeding, we both snuggled under the same blanket. When she fell asleep I move DD and her blanket to the basket. It's nice and warm and must have my smell. We now have 2 blankets so I can wash one.

tiktok · 15/03/2012 11:11

Tabitha, some great posts on this already....you and your baby are normal, and this is exactly what would be expected from a 5 day old baby. No need for pumping.

Just relax and enjoy this time of your baby needing to be close to you and needing frequent feeding. She is 'hard wired' to do this :)

Original poster

TabithaChanges · 15/03/2012 13:11

It doesn't seem to be normal she has lost just over 10% sp have to go hosp and get reweighed in 2 days. I feed her do often I don't know what else to do. I lost 1300 mls of blood after birth , manual placenta removal but was told on discharge my iron was 10 so didn't need iron tablets .

Midwife has just been said I do need iron tabs so sent dh to buy but but late now after 5 days. I bled and retained placenta last time too and only bf for 3 month and then expressed and formula for 3 month really wanted to bf this time but maybe I don't make enough after losing blood ?

OP posts:

mumnosbest · 15/03/2012 13:27

I lost a lot of blood too and stayed on iron. You need to eat lots for blood loss. Does dds colour look ok? My dd1 had slight jaundice and weght loss in wk1, caused by an infection.

tiktok · 15/03/2012 13:45

Tabitha, sorry you have been told to go back to hospital. The behaviour you describe is normal - but of course your baby needs to be transferring milk effectively. The frequent need to be close to you and the frequent feeding are not signs that things are not going well. The signs that breastfeeding is working are unrelated to frequency of feeds and need to be close.

At 5 days, a slightly more than 10 per cent loss in an otherwise healthy term baby is not usually regarded as a sign the baby needs hospital treatment. Most midwives would take it as a sign to observe the baby's feeding at the breast, to make sure milk was being transferred effectively. The baby should be pooing at least 2 soft large yellow poos a day by now and being fed unrestrictedly (ie with no time limits) from both breasts at least at each feeding session, and frequently day and night. If all those signs check out (baby tansferring milk; yellow poos; plenty of feeds on both breasts) then weighing the baby again in a couple of days to ensure the baby has turned the corner should be enough.

Not sure why the midwife has to send you to hospital unless to check your own health. Serious blood loss and low iron and retained placenta all impact on milk production, so it's good this is being considered.

Hope this helps and you find things work out well soon.

MigGril · 15/03/2012 13:48

I bled loads and still fed DS fine. Yes do take iron tables, retained placenta can effect supply so that's probably why you struggles last time.

I would also see if you can get some BF help ASAP, are the midwifes helpfull is there a infant feeding advicer at your hospital you can ask to see. If not one of the helplines is a good place to start. As ovoulsy with a large weight loss you do want to make sure your baby is feeding effectively.

Original poster

TabithaChanges · 15/03/2012 17:51

She can't be getting the milk properly then as she has only pooed once today a d it's still quite dark. She has done wees. I expressed in between feeds and gave her that in a bottle. I know my latch is a bit crap but she doesn't seem to open very wide I have tried to follow the guides online but I don't see how I can get it to happen like that.

I think she is nipple feeding as I am very sore and it is excruciating every time she latches on. I can see on Saturday she will have been starved even more so I will end up giving formula and then once you start giving bottles often they seem to lose interest in bf.

I have tried so hard but it obviously isn't enough. She feeds for 5 minutes then off and fussing then on again so I never seem to have a constant feed as I imagine I should.

I will keep feeding her as much as I can I started feeding at 3 and finished at 4.30 with breaks when she cried and fussed , she is now asleep I also gave about 30 ml breastmilk so should I wake now as 3 hours since I started the process?

OP posts:

nannyl · 15/03/2012 19:22

so sorry you are having a tough time

i would think of the fact she is still sleeping as proof she has had enough and is full = you have given her enough

my baby never poo'd everyday, and often it was once per 5days...

my baby lost lots of weight, and didn't regain her birth weight until 3 weeks
I decided she was fine... my mummy instinct told me she was, and i told my midwife / HV this, and that she would not be having formula, so they shut up about it.

she dropped from over 50th centile to the 9th by 3 months.... she is 6 months now, i had her weighed today and she is back up to just over the 50th (last weigh 5 weeks ago she between 25 / 50, and has slowly crept back after 3m)

in the early days she fed all the time, and even at 6 / 8 weeks still fed 1hr -45mins to 2 hourly max.... each feed lasting 1 hour plus... she rarely poo'd, was never sick, slowly dropped centiles, but is / was fine.... and in the early days would feed non stop for 5+ hours, at some point each day..... i was lucky if i got more than 30mins between feeds...
but it is / was fine / normal, and i have a healthy 6m dd now

Good luck

LovesBeingWearingSkinnyJeans · 15/03/2012 19:36

If you think there is a problem with tge latch get help straight away, I think it can affect how much they get as well as being painful for you. I had to keep taking ds off until he and I did it right otherwise they just learn to keep doing it tge wrong way.

Debs75 · 15/03/2012 19:46

She is only 5 days old she is learning just like you. Calm yourself down and have a baby moon in bed with her. Let her snuggle up to you, she will be missing you of she is on the basket in a different room.
Check your latch at every feed, even if you have to pop her off and try again. It is worth the effort and tiring nights now to establish a good supply and successful breast feeding.
Try not to panic about top ups, you have expressed 60mls so you could always express more and use that as a top up after a breast feed

Iggly · 15/03/2012 19:47

Can you get to a BF group or get a BF counsellor to come and visit you at home and check out the latch?

I had trouble with DD not opening wide and feeding for ages and not settling and turned out she had tongue tie so struggled. It tool s lot of backwards and forwards to get it sorted as most of the HCPs said it was a minor tie but a specialist confirmed it was actually quotes serious one (80%)

Also take iron supplements - maybe spatone or floradix as easier on your tummy and better absorbed, rest up (hard with a toddler I know) and feed feed feed. But do get practical hands on help too.

tiktok · 15/03/2012 23:09

Tabitha, the fact you are sore and your baby's poo is not yet yellow (both new bits of info) do indicate that your bf could be improved - and this might be by making milk transfer more effective. This is prob best done with a face to face meeting with someone who can really observe and assess your feeding - if the midwife came, weighed your baby, and did not observe a feed then she is not doing her job properly and you could ask for another visit perhaps from someone else.

This is early days though and while it's a situation that needs fixing, it's not goodbye to bf - not at all.

tiktok · 17/03/2012 09:03

Tabitha, how are things?

Original poster

TabithaChanges · 17/03/2012 17:53

Hi tiktok was just coming back to update. My lovely dh bought me iron tablets , breastfeeding vits that were £15 and loads of iron rich foods.

My nipples were both so sore from feeding when engorged as I couldn't get her to latch properly and one is inverted anyway. So I started using shields on Thursday which I know can be bad for milk transfer but she seems to latch better and stay on for longer. My nipples are nearly ok ish again so I will try without the shield on my non inverted side tomorrow .

Anyway I have been feeding and feeding and the pain is less so think it was the sore nipples and she weighed 7lb 12 today and was 7lb 8 on thurs so heading the right way . I will go to my local bf group next week for support and help with the issues I have. I have the number of a lovely nct breastfeeding lady too.

She did a big poo today it was dark though not meconium but I think this may be due to the iron supplement ? So haven't had a yellow poo yet. I'm so glad really thought I was going to have to do formula top up. She fed all last night 6pm-1am with little cat naps of ten mins then slept in bed with me 1-7 is that ok or should I wake her?

OP posts:

tiktok · 19/03/2012 15:17

Sorry, just seen this.

I don't know if the iron tabs would affect the colour of your baby's poo, sorry - maybe call the manufacturers and ask (there's prob a no. in the packaging).

The weight sounds fine.

Good idea to stay in close touch with midwife and others.

Hope things continue to go well.

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