Feeding a big baby, reassurance please?

[Impatientwino]

Just looking for some reassurance that the below is all normal really - first baby so a little clueless!

DS was 9lb 8.5oz at birth. After the usual drop in weight by 3 weeks he had got himself back up to 9lb 14oz so was happy that BF going well. Now is 5 weeks old and is weighing in at 11lb 11oz!! 1 pound a week gain!

He is feeding usually every 2 hours but is doing the odd 3 hours in the night but sometimes like today he fed every hour and as it takes me an hour to feed and wind him it's pretty constant when he's like that!

He poos and wees like a shire horse and ad he is gaining weight I know this is all good but I'm getting a little worried about the number of green poos we are getting

We do get yellow mustard ones but inter mixed with lots of green ones - he has colic and I'm giving him colief in 20ml of expressed milk for this before each feed in a bottle

Expressing wasn't going well but i have been getting better and can now get around 50ml a time so if I get time to do it a few times a day DH has been giving him this in the evening do I can get a bit of a longer sleep which is heavenly! I've only managed this twice though!

He feeds efficiently (I think) around 15 minutes on 1 boob but then is sleepy and won't generally take the second unless I change his nappy to wake him up a bit but to be honest even if he takes the second one he still only goes 2 hours! Therefore at night I have been only offering one plus he takes so long to wind that the whole thing is already taking an hour!

I don't really mInd being chained to the sofa but it's still a pain getting out to do anything so I was just wondering if it's usual for this constant feeding to continue and i just need to suck it up or whether this will get better!

I am a JJ cup so feeding in public is proving difficult - I am using a pillow at home because he is so heavy already and my boobs are so big but this doesn't translate well when out

Sorry for the ramble, I'm very tired and can't think straight - also my phone wont let me scroll up to check what I've written so apologies if its nonsense!

Aside from the colic hours of 7-midnight ish he is a happy contented baby but I just wonder if he is feeding so often because he's not getting enough from me or because he's just a big boy?

neither I'd say! he's feeding so often because he's a new baby and he's getting a good milk supply established. :)

if it reassures you I've a 75th centile chubby boy and know a 91st centile one who are both ebf and quite happy. the babies size really doesn't affect whether you can feed them.

some babies have growth spurts where the feeding will seem very constant till your body adjusts.

if you haven't already seen it www.kellymom.com is a great site.

there are also some lovely ladies on here who are experts unlike me, so keep asking away!

hopefully one of them will be along in the morning to reassure you.

i have to say that all the expressing sounds like an awful lot of work, especially at this early stage when they already feed so often.

at night i feed mine till he falls asleep and very rarely wind him. i offer the other side if he's still awake or when he was tiny (DS2 is 4.5 months now) after a nappy change as he pooed a lot! i think winding may be overrated as an activity. :)

sorry www.kellymom.com.

re feeding out and about - i sometimes feed mine in the car in a car park if i want to be more comfortable - i even take a pillow for stops on long journeys! alternatively you could try supporting him with a rolled up blanket or even a jacket. i believe there are portable nursing pillows, hopefully someone can recommend.

congratulations on your new baby and hope you get some reassurance and good advice here. :)

It sounds like you're both doing brilliantly. I think feeding this often is pretty normal. Enjoy lots of tv and books etc now before your baby starts getting distracted by them in a few months! I don't know much about green poos but I'm sure someone who does will be along soon.

With regard to feeding out and about, I would suggest a laid back position rather than a cradle hold. Lean back in your chair, position your baby with thair legs astride yours and let your torso take their weight. I found that much easier than a cradle hold meaning I could latch my big baby on more easily. It's easiest on a sofa or a rocker but doable on hard chairs too.

Congratulations and best of luck!

Sounds like it is all going very well!

All I wanted to add is that if you go out, you might find he goes a little longer between feeds - I often find that with DS anyway.

If you're not feeling confident about feeding out and about yet, why not go along to a breastfeeding cafe or La Leche League group? You don't need to have a "problem" to go along and it can be very reassuring to feed alongside other mums.

Best of luck!

Green poo could mean teeth, I had a 10lb'er and she started cutting teeth at 6 weeks, I also had a friend who had a similarly sized little boy who was born with a tooth.
My DD had greeny poo every time the teeth were on the move.
As for frequency, sounds like you have a lovely thriving baby who is getting your boobs working properly. I have a lot of sympathy for the feeding out, I too fed in the car, lots of bigger shopping centres do have a feeding room with a slightly more comfortable chair.
You are doing great

I had similar with DS who was on the 91 st centile and never stopped feeding! He is 3 soon and still pretty intense, but he did eventually go longer between feeds! I expressed for him for a while but in all honesty it was easier when I didn't Express and just sat or lay feeding him!

Feeding lying down was a lifesaver for me.

Feeding with huge boobs is no fun but secomd the advice above, go to a bfing group amd you will get used to nursing in public soon enough!

And to give you hope for the future - 11 week old Dd is on the 98th centile and only feeds once most nights between 9 amd 7, so not all big babies feed so often! Hopefully yours will settle soon!

You sound like you're doing a great job and everything is going as it should :) You could mention the green pops to your HV or GP, but if there is nothing else worrying you, green poo sometimes isn't a big problem.

Feeding every two to three hours for an hour or so is a fairly typical pattern for a young baby. Then they have growth spurts a feed more often, and/or for longer, for a few days to a week. Those spurts on top of the already exhausting schedule can seem very very hard.

Keep going, and know that you're doing everything possible to feed your boy well and satisfy his need to be close to you. I think most new mothers are amazed by the feeding patterns of young babies, but I haven't a clue what can be done to prepare them in advance. You just can't understand what it'll feel like in advance, even I you have all the facts about feeding times and durations (which most people don't).

If it helps, most babies (but not all ) start to feed a little faster by about 12 weeks. They might still feed every two to three hours, but when it takes less time for each feed, the schedule seems less relentless :)

Congratulations on your baby :)

Sounds like your doing a fab job and he's doing really well. A others have said he's just displaying newborn behaviour and his size doesn't really come into it. Aster all mums are able to feed twins without a problem.

You refure to the fussy time 7-12 as colic. This could actually be cluster feeding time, could you just sit and feed feed and feed at this time, you may be rewarded with a slightly longer stretch of sleep then.

he's only five Weeks and this will charm down, he's still building up your supply at this age. Your doing a fan job.

As for the out and about bit have you tried practising at home, I associate it can be hard with big boob as I had that challenge to. But it is doable with some practice, try visiting a breastfeeding group and feeding there to give you some me confindances.

Just wanted to encourage you - you sound like you are doing everything right and your baby is thriving. I had a nine and half pound baby and a ten pound baby and I seem to remember basically being chained to the sofa for at least the first eight weeks.
I did find feeding in the car very comfy I think due to the adjustable seat.

Have you tried holding the baby at your side when feeding? I think it is called the rugby ball hold but I found it very useful as I have large boobs. Also I had a dislocated collar bone during one baby's early weeks and this was a very easy position to manage on my own.

Thanks so much for all your advice and reassurance - its good to hear this is all pretty normal and it's kind of you all to take the time to reply to me, it is greatly appreciated.

Re the cluster feeding v colic in the evenings I've been wondering the same - the trouble I find is that after around 6.30 ish whenever I try to feed him his wind pains have started so he comes off and on and doesn't actually take much milk just fights me and then ends up in pain, hungry and over tired. I don't seem to be able to calm him down at all except for a few desperate trips in the car to make him pass out - he then generally sleeps until he is calm enough to feed. DH with a bottle of expressed milk worked for a while last night, well at least it got the milk into him but he was still inconsolable for a few hours.

Have you tried anything like skin to skin contact at this time or taking a bath with your baby. Feeding in a biological nursing position mite help to a he'll be more upright less lily to take in air.

Have a google for some videos.

Oh OP, the car trips in the evenings...thank got I was never stopped. Screamer in the back (or pretty quickly a sleeping cherub) pj's, old slippers, hair on end..... I must have looked a complete nutter but 4 miles up the road, twice round the roundabout and she was out like a light and just like your when she woke she was calm
I think that this is cluster feeding, we used to have very difficult evenings with continual feeding and a lot of 'fussing up' as she couldnt get enough fast enough.
It is just a phase (just like right at the moment when she collapses in tears on the floor every time I ask her to do something she doesnt.... [skeptical]

Oh OP, the car trips in the evenings...thank got I was never stopped. Screamer in the back (or pretty quickly a sleeping cherub) pj's, old slippers, hair on end..... I must have looked a complete nutter but 4 miles up the road, twice round the roundabout and she was out like a light and just like your when she woke she was calm
I think that this is cluster feeding, we used to have very difficult evenings with continual feeding and a lot of 'fussing up' as she couldnt get enough fast enough.
It is just a phase (just like right at the moment when she collapses in tears on the floor every time I ask her to do something she doesnt want to... [hmmm]

Actually I think green poo is most likely to mean oversupply. If you look up oversupply on kellymom there are some suggestions on how to deal with it.

You're doing great by the way :)

You're doing great, well done :) For out and about, its worth finding out where there are feeding rooms in town, and also places like Debenhams, BHS, Coasta and Neros all tend to have very comfy chairs for feeding in, and normally a corner you can find. You do get used to it, even with big boobs! If you're concerned about feeding without a cushion, then take it with you the first time - I know a few mums who have done this, and then as baby starts to hold their own weight a little big more, they find they don't need it.#

It will ease off, this is the early days of parenting, regardless of how you're feeding, I'm afraid!

As previously mentioned, check out oversupply issues indicated by greeny poos - he could be feeding v frequently cos he's not getting more of the fattier hindmilk which could keep him going a bit longer between feeds. It may ease some colic symptoms too.

DS2 was that weight & like you I had a tiddler beforehand so it was quite a shock to the system to be dealing with such a porker! I used to express with dS1 for feeding when out & about as I found it such a faff to feed in public (also large in the nork dept so couldn't do it one-handed). However, with DS2 I am now fine feeding out & about as I find he can get in position better as he's stronger.

I always use a feeding pillow at home for comfort & did use a portable one with DS1 when out but it was a real faff. I bought a Mamascarf nursing cover to try with DS2 & now just use a large muslin tied around my neck with a nursing top so least possible risk of inadvertent exposure.

OP I've got a big baby. Nearly 9lbs when born and at 8 weeks he was 16lbs. Sigh. I've been feeding constantly as he's always hungry if he's not sleeping (which he doesn't do much of either!). I think we have just turned the corner though at nearly 9 weeks as he went without sucking for a whole 20 minutes. Small steps but so important. He was in his cot and too interested in watching his mobile for a whole 20 minutes! I'm so pleased.

I am a J cup and the only thing which I feel comfortable with outside is my bebe au lait cover. My boobs are large, veiny and down to my stomach...not something I want to inflict on anyone else! All I do though is feed when we go out so it's not like I'm doing something anyway. Hope things improve soon.

Op my babies were 9.9lb and 9.5lb respectively both ebf my second struggled in the evening with colic but after about week 8 settled into a lovely routine get your self to a breast feeding group they are fab if u find a nice one good luck and well done

Hi OP, well done and congratulations. It all sounds v normal. I was chained to the sofa for the first 12 weeks! Now at 19 weeks it's much easier and feeds are much quicker.

The green poos could be teeth yy.

Thanks so much all - tips for nursing out I will try and yes I think going to a bf group may be a good move.

I went to my first nct coffee meet yesterday and wasn't sure about feeding so took a bottle of ebf and after I had given him that he screamed for more food so I had to bf him anyway! Good really as I just had to get on with it - wasn't at all comfy without a pillow but not as giant boobs out scaring people/dangling baby as I had anticipated!

During the evenings I'm still offering the boob very frequently while he is screaming but he is too worked up to take it - I tried some skin to skin a bottle with some ebf and then finally a syringe to get some milk in but DH had to take him for a knock out drive again at 10pm which is a pain

His sessions are so hard to watch - he has such horrid wind pains and writhes and screams - his stomach is rock hard and the noises when the poos/farts come in awful - really wet loose stools sounding like explosions - he then calms down for a minute and then is off again

Good to hear it improves after a while poor bugger is really suffering

However, today he has done 2 x 3 hour gaps and as I'm typing this I'm feeding him for the first time since the fun and games circa 10pm so that's over 4 hours! Think the screaming did him in!!

Checked out Kellymom about oversupply, thanks for the tip - it says that until 6 weeks he is still sorting my supply so wondering whether I should wait until next week before tackling it? I do seem to have a lot of milk and it flows really fast.

I was a bit worried his latch has gone a bit shallower than before especially on one boob but it hasn't been painful at all so I just assumed he is taking enough aerola into his mouth? Is this wrong then?

I am suffering with a lopsided boob too! He obviously has a favourite and before I looked online and knew what I was doing I was expressing some off that one trying to make it go down! Oops! I need to try and sort this too!

Thanks all, I feel much better knowing this is pretty normal

Oh and teeth? Already?!

My DD had colic for the first eight weeks- and fussed a lot at the breast. It was...a challenging time...I found skin to skin helped- not in public I might add.. :o and lying down to feed. I also used Colief which I think helped a bit with the wind.

When I'm out, I use a feeding cover as I'm uncomfortable getting my breasts out in public. I bought a Peekabooboo which I find helpful.

It all pays off though OP, feeding is really easy now. Done in fifteen minutes and she has no latching issues. In fact, I just whip out a nipple and she finds it herself.