Looking for Breast Feeding Reassurance

[CuppaSarah]

I know I'm being a bit daft, but I need some reassurance about my breast fed 2week old.

After 3 days DD refused breast so spent just over a week on purely expressed feeds. I got used to keeping track of how much she was taking in, she was even back over her birth weight by tuesday. Now she's back on the breast most of the time, having about 1 bottle feed in the night when we're both too tired to make breast work yet. But I can't help but be a bit paranoid that she's not getting enough milk since I can't track it anymore. She seems absolutly fine and feeds reguarly for a decent amount of time so I'm sure I'm being silly, but she often suckles for a minuite, delatches, then does the same again for about 5 minuites.

So I've got to ask you more experienced ladies. How do you know they're getting enough milk? How long did it take you to feel confident about it?

You're describing perfectly normal behaviour in your baby, Sarah :)

Breastfeeding effectiveness can never be tracked - even if you somehow managed to record your dd's input the way you did before. This is because there is no way of knowing how much volume of milk your baby needs at any one time in fl.oz or mls.....this is likely to differ from feed to feed and from baby to baby and from day to day. So knowing (for example) you baby took X mls at 2 o'clock is no good if your baby actually needed X mls plus 20 or 50 or 80 :)

This is why we don't have calibrations on our breasts or on babies' tums....'cos the info we would get from these calibrations would be useless.

The only babies whose intake really needs tracking are vulnerable, pre-term babies whose weight is causing concern - because these babies sometimes don't take what they need as they are conserving energy to survive.

Is there any way of boosting your confidence? Breastfeeding support group, maybe?

Thankyou tiktok that does put things into perspective really nicely. Thats a good idea too, I think a Breastfeeding support group would probably really help me relax.

Tbh DD was a very sleepy baby at first and wouldn't wake for feeds, so the midwives seemed really worried about her, in my post labour, sleepy haze I worried myself half to death so I think the worry is left over from that.

Just hearing it's normal has put me back at ease(untill she gives me another reason to worry that is )

Ah, the wise tiktok has spoken, you need not worry, your baby sounds perfectly fine to me and I would take all the advice tiktok gives. MN is lucky to have her posting.

I agree, maybe your children's centre does BF support groups? Have a look in your area or phone up your HV and ask them.

Congratulations on your new baby. These early weeks are so special and lovely, sit back and smell the roses.

I always think that I had no way of knowing, on a daily basis anyway, that my body was supplying the right nutrients through the placenta during the pregnancy, but somehow it almost always works, and it usually works with BF too.

My baby is 7 months and I still think that now and again but honestly after about 6 weeks you trust yourself to know. Two questions - us your baby sleeping and are nappies wet. Mind you, mine is a cat napper and so I'm not talking through the night but just napping!

Boobs and babies should come with an empty/full monitor in the side!