first timer and bf....does it get easier?

[NameOfTheNick]

I have a beautiful 4 week old ds.
He is being ebf with one bottle of expressed milk in the night given by dh to try and help me get a little more sleep.
Ds especially in the last week seems to be continually feeding, anywhere from every half hour to every 2 hours during the day and around every 1 1/2 to 2 hour during the night. He seems to sleep a little longer after the bottle of expressed milk at night.l though.
Is this normal for him to seem to be continually attached to my boob?
I can't get anything done, eat or have a wee without him constantly waking for a feed. He is quite a content baby otherwise, fed.on demand, latch and everything has been checked by midwife and hv and he is putting on weight like a trooper.

Does it get better? It is just starting to wear a bit thin that he is always wanting boob, I feel like that is all I do and am worried that this is what its going to be like night and day for.the next few months.
Would expressing enough to be able to give a few bottles throughout the day help any?

Advice and support appreciated!

its perfectly normal as your body is being "trained " to give your baby enough milk-more sucking,more produced

a growth spurt usually hits at 6wks when feels like you are feeding non stop for a day or two then thy happen now and again as baby adjusts supply again.

sounds like yo are doing a sterling job,hang in there

keep easy to grab snacks infridge and to handcereal bars fruit etc and a drinnk beside you when you settle down to feed

over time its amazing what you can learn to do one handed!

Tbh.0, giving an expressed bottle at night CAN have the effect of reducing your supply a but resulting in the need for sucking for longer at other times.

If that is fine with you then that is fine though.

What I felt helped most was going to bed around 8pm and getting up at 8am with DH bringing the baby every feed until midnight and taking away. I woukd then cosleep for the rest of the night.

I would 'control' the feeds by feeding just before I needed some time. I,e if I wanted a shower/to make dinner etc I woukd feed first regardless of whether ir not one was being asked for.

The feeds space themselves out as the baby' stomach gets bigger!

Hth

Hey my lil one is 12 weeks and yes he was like that for the first 6 weeks before settling into more of a routine and doing around 3 hours between a feed. He still only does around 3 hours between feeds during the day but a bit longer at night thank goodness.

It is normal but very hard during the first couple of months. It does get easier. Get in touch with a local breastfeeding support group, most sure start centers run them or try NCT.

He might also just be sucking for comfort, once he is a bit older you could try offering a dummy.

I gave a lot of expressed bottles to lil one but it ddn't make a difference to how long he went between feeds. However if he is just sucking for comfort at least you will know then.

In answer to your question, yes it does get easier!!

I remember having a particular point when ds was 5 weeks old thinking that constant bf-ing was going to be my life FOREVER (not saying that this is what you are saying, was just my thought at the time!) It seemed whenever I wasn't feeding, I was having a quick wee/bath/snack and ds was crying for me to come back.

But it really doesn't last long. You are doing a fantastic job and growth spurts will come and go over the next few months but the gaps between feeds do get longer!

My ds has just self-weaned at 20 months and I can't wait to do it all over again with dc2 (due in october)

Oh and re expressing... I found that by the time I'd spent my "me time" expressing, storing, freezing/defrosting and preparing bottles for DP (he was never confident with warming etc) I'd have rather just fed myself and left the winding/nappy changing to DP. Better use of my time!!

It definitely gets easier. Babies have growth spurts at roughly 3wks, 6wks, 3 months & 6 months and seem to be permanently attached to the boob. The milk supply increases and everything calms down again with bigger gaps between the feeds. It is difficult at the time, but it will pass.

Keep on doing a great job! :)

Thanks.

So the consensus is that its normal and usually.only lasts for the first 6 weeks or so...that's good it gives me something to aim towards!
I was seriously.considering giving ds a couple of bottles of formula yesterday to see if that made any difference because I was either pinned to the soda feeding or having ds starting to grizzle for another feed. It's made harder by it only.being me that can feed him, and there's no let up, only with the one bottle of expressed milk at night given by dh.

It does get easier. My dd2 is 15 weeks and is ebf, though I have had moments when she's been going through growth spurts and constantly attached to the boob that I've wanted to give up. I'm so glad I didn't as I love our time together when I'm feeding her. I also have a 3yo dd who takes up a lot of my time and I just find it allows me to spend some quiet time with both if them, I usually have a free hand so we watch telly together or I read her a story while I'm feeding her sister

It gets easier, I promise
Keep your eyes fixed on the 12 week mark. Baby sleeps longer, drinks more, sleeps longer and milk supply is absolutely steady.
Expressing makes no difference to supply ime. I used to keep 2 bottles ahead of DS as expressed stock to get a few hours sleep in. And continued to produce 200ml every 3 hours for 6 months. When I gave in and switched to food and formula.

Persevere and smile..you shall soon be chasing the LO all over to feed in one location at one time in one hour.

It gets so much easier - in a few weeks time :)

My DS is 5 weeks OP and is feeding exactly as you describe. It does feel a bit like your boobs aren't your own, but it does get better!

DS is my 3rd DC . Well done for persevering and mastering expressing too