Day 10 - what's normal?

[Mummysaysno]

Trying to successfully breast feed my baby...have been mixed feeding due to too much weight loss and nothing coming out when pumping. Anyway, sore boobs better now, baby will latch on nicely, milk finally came in.

Lactation consultant told me I don't have a good flow, and she wouldn't blame me if I gave up, which knocked me a bit as I was feeling like this time I have more milk than previous three children.

Anyway, my problem is baby nurses for ages...literally if I start I will still be nursing three hours later, at which stage, I do have three other children, and can't just let them run wild for hours on end.

I have no idea what is normal? The baby basically never gets full from a feed, just keeps going, falls asleep, I put baby down, baby wakes up and cries, I carry on nursing, baby falls asleep, and so on and so on!

I'm aware of the 20 minute each side thing, and seems some day anything more than 20 minutes is just for comfort, others say keep going for as long as baby needs.

I have no clue how long a baby should feed for? I really have to balance the baby's needs with the needs of my three other children, who also need their Mum to be with them!!

Thanks for reading!!!

Funny thing for lactation consultant to say....

20 minutes each side - who told you that? Rubbish - massively outdated rubbish. It's so hard for mothers to bf when this sort of thing is still doing the rounds :(

Babies of day 10 may not want to be put down. They may need closeness and comfort, and using a sling will help. If you can continue to hold/carry the baby when asleep, and not put down while your baby is in this phase, it might help.

Normal for 10 days would be frequent feeding day and night, weight clearly going upwards, several soft yellow poos each day.

A call to any of the bf helplines would give you a chance to talk this through.

Hope things get easier soon.

Babies can feed for different amounts of time from each other, as well as feeding for different lengths of time from one day to the next. I would say that at 10 days, your baby is still trying to establish your supply - the more she demands the more you generate the next time, roughly speaking.

It is difficult with other children, but I would let her feed as much as she wants for now to help increase and maintain your supply. Can your partner deal with your other children whilst you concentrate on the baby?

I would also suggest speaking to people like the La Leche League for some expert bf advice - there should be a group local to you. There is also the national breastfeeding helpline - 0300 100 0212.

Thanks for the replies. I'm not in the UK so don't have access to the same resources...not helpful I'm in a country with very conservative views on BF which means having to use a cover if I nurse in public....grrrrr!!
Anyway we'll see...I've previously managed to mixed feed for a few months with my other children. Have seen so many different nurses/midwives/BF counsellors/lactation consultants/a breast doctor(!) over the years in three different countries with each attempt to breast feed exclusively and the volume of often contradictory but extremely well meant advice gets v confusing to a sleep deprived mind!!!!