Can I ask some BF questions please?!

[PaleHousewifeOfCumbriaCounty]

Good morning all,

I hope nobody minds me posting, I've become quite the night lurker during feeds and I see a lot of sensible advice here.

Ok so, I have 5 week old son, EBF since birth, when he spent his first night on the breast and got established nicely. He has never lost weight since birth, only gained, and at last Wednesdays weigh in he was 11lb 3oz. His birth weight was 9lb 1oz so hes always been a big lad. The past week or so hes got really faffy at the breast, reluctant to make a good quality, deep latch, and allowing himself to slip to the nipple end. This is starting to cause me some pain (no cracking or blistering tho). He continues to produce plenty of wet and pooey nappies (yellow seedy type) so he must be taking milk. Last night was a bit of a nightmare, every two hours for a snack, he mustve been on my breast 8 minutes max, with multiple latches needed because he sucks a bit and then just lets go completely. Then he cries and gets in a flap because the boob has 'gone'. He is also a very windy baby (farts all night). At first I considered oversupply, because i get a fairly strong letdown (very weird, uncomfy sensation across both breasts) and after this happens he pulls away. When he pulls away there is at least 4 'jets' of milk flying out of the breast!

Is there something I am missing here? Something that totally stands out?

How many times a day/frequently would a 5 week old feed? (Currently feeding on demand)

How long does a typical feed last?

I only off the one side at each feed, feeding to an empty breast, then off the other breast at the next feed, is this correct?

Will his 'snacking' approach ruin my milk supply?

How can I improve his latch, or have i let him get into bad habits?

I really appreciate any advice you can give, other than the general uncertainty of BF, I am really enjoying the experience and am nowhere near thinking about formula. Many thanks :)

Would be a good idea to go to a bf support group, Pale - these sort of issues are often best seen in a context where you can feel reassured.

Not sure what you mean by 'bad habits' - short frequent feeds are normal in young babies. It's pointless counting how many feeds because some feeds are not really feeds :)

If he is healthy and growing and mainly happy, you can be pretty sure all is well.

At the bf group you could ask about over supply - it could just be you have a generous supply rather than 'too much' and it will settle down.

Normally good practice is to offer both sides each time, but you are doing one side each time and it is working for you, so no need to change. The reason for offering both sides is to ensure adequate production and intake, but you (because of what seems like generous supply) have found you don't need to.

Hope this helps. A call to any of the bf lines would be good too :)

Thank you very much for responding there tiktok - much appreciated. I will definitely try a BF group... Had a much better morning, still on and off but I've found he seems to prefer if I support the weight of the breast a little while he gets the letdown dealt with. I think half the trouble is that I've never seen a baby being BF before my own, my family is all about the formula so I am a bit isolated with it.

Hi Pale - the BF group and helpline idea is a really good one. I don't have anyone in my family who BF, and may 'mum friends' locally either didn't feed or not for very long so it was great for me to go along to one.

It all sounds pretty usual to me. I had a pretty forceful let down which DC1 didn't seem to mind (he was a pig) but DC2 found difficult. I found that lying down slightly at the beginning of the feed helped.

I typically only fed from one side per feed.

DC1 fed about 12 times per day, DC2 about 8 times per day. But that was highly variable. One of the things I love about BF is not having to keep count.

I'd keep an eye on the latch - it'd be best to get someone to look at the latch. If you find a BF group there might be a counsellor who can advise. When my DCs teethed it changed their latch which caused me a bit of nipple bother.

Hello. Agree with previous posters. Just wanted to add that boobs are not only for feeding, they are also comfort and reassurance. As for me, DD2 loves to be against my chest, she needs the smell or warmth or to listen to my heartbeat as I don't even need to undress.

have a look at this

Do you have any of the other symptoms on the list apart from the pain, slipping off the nipple, being windy and getting distressed at feeding?