Hungry monster

[thing1andthing2]

Please help
Ds is 9 days old (2nd dc). As I type he is taking his 12th feed in 12 hours. Basically I've been up since 12.30am feeding him about once an hour.
He has a slight tongue tie but breastfeeding is now almost pain free, slightly uncomfortable on the right but fine on the left. He's doing lots of wees and poos, 3 nappy changes in the night and 2 this morning for poos.
Is this a growth spurt? Or is it going to be like this Forever? I can't cope with much more of this and look after my toddler as well.
He has slept for 5 hours in a row, once the night before last, and 4 hours a couple of times. But he is so hungry he just feeds feeds feeds all the time he's awake. He'll take one breast for 20 mins or more, come off by himself, and 5 mins later cry for another feed. He weighed 8lb 8oz at birth and had put on 2 oz 5 days later.
Please let me know this is going to be short lived as I am fantasising about bottles and formula.
Thanks

Are you sure he wants milk and not just sleep or attention? Try everything else before you feed him. Can he really be so hungry all the time? If he is and you need a break don't worry it wont last forever and breat is always best.

No really, he just wants boob. He will be distracted for a short while but is making rooting efforts all the time. He's a fairly chilled little chap, but shouts crossly if I ignore his rooting and snorting for more than about 10 or 15 minutes. My DH can keep him going for a bit longer, but not much. As I said, when he does finally go to sleep he will sleep for a few hours and in his Moses basket, but when he wakes up it starts all over.
My dd had a day 10 growth spurt, feeding all round the clock, I wondered if it is this come a day early.
Anyone?

Perfectly normal for a newborn, they are just trying to up your supply. I would not try to distract him as ultimately it will just prolong the constant feeding. The more you put them to the boob at this stage, the quicker your supply will be upped and it will settle down.

Hang on in there, it does get better and I think for us it got better at about week 8. From then on, it was just SO convenient!

It might well be worth getting the tongue tie done, even if it only looks minor - it's hard to tell how they affect feeding from the look of them - some seemingly minor ones cause major problems, some major-looking ones cause no problems. Do not take well-meaning yet (probably) under-informed midwives'/ HVs'/ Doctors' assessments of the tongue tie as gospel.

Thanks. We've got a tongue tie appt on 20th July. Hope they'll snip it but apparently they don't tend to if it doesn't interfere with feeding. I just want to get him weighed again. If he's feeding this much but not gaining then maybe his feeding is not very efficient. On the other hand, if he's gaining shed loads of weight, maybe he's just a really hungry baby! 8 weeks sounds like a long time though... I am mentally heading for 6 weeks with the bf, hope to make it that far and then re-assess. I breastfed my dd for 16 months so didn't anticipate feeling so negative about it this time. It's just there's no time to enjoy my ds because every time he wakes up he's back on the boob!

This is within normal for a newborn - bf is not just about the milk and its ability to satisfy hunger and thirst, but about comfort and closeness and connection.

It does not last forever, and while it does you need support and encouragement :)

Thanks for the replies. Ds slept from 8pm to 2 am last night which was a wonderful rest, I think it was a growth spurt.

Have you thought about getting a dummy? I know some mums think they are the work of the devil, but if you have a baby who needs more 'sucky comfort' than others, they can be an absolute godsend.

Slings are fab too as they let you get on with life whilst baby stays close and feeds when he wants to.

Probably was a growth spurt, and cluster feeding is normal newborn behaviour anyway. My DS had a tongue tie which was snipped at 10 days. theoretically it wasn't "interfering" with feeding as he had regained his birth weight by then. however, his feeding pattern was interfering with my willingness to continue with breastfeeding, and that was something they took into account. Having it snipped did help, but of course like any little baby he still had spells of looooong feeds. At 12 weeks now it has all settled down and he is feeding nicely so hang on in there, it does get better!

World, ds spits out a dummy in disgust as soon as he realises no milk is coming out! I have tried but he's a canny wee thing.

If he won't take the dummy then he probably is hungry after all. Mine loves his dummy for sleep and for comfort sometimes but if he is hungry he is having none of that plastic crap. It's a good way of knowing if he is hungry when I think he ought not to be.