Breast fed baby never satisfied :(

[cookiewuk]

My dd is now 25 days old and is ebf. I have found it incredibly tough, very painful and exhausting. Although the pain is easing now dd doesn't ever seem to be satisfied. She cries constantly if she's not being held or fed. Im at my wits end as I can't get anything done and can't make her happy. She wants feeding every 20 - 60mins during the day and every 2 - 3 hours during the night. She will feed for up to 40mins at a time but doesn't settle afterwards.
I really don't know what to do as I feel awful with her screaming all the time, i just want her to be happy and content. She is gaining weight, a lot actually, but my milk can't be doing her any good. My partner is also getting desperate and is trying to get me to switch to formula. Is this the answer? Please help!

p.s painful is not normal try to find a bf group with someone qualified to help.x

Maybe try a dummy and a sling?? Or just introduce one bottle a day to give you break? I had a similar baby and I started giving one bottle in the evening as my milk had virtually gone by then but he was still hungry (he is 8 now and still hungry!!!).

Nipple shields saved my life (well my nipples at least) and didn't seem to interfere with my supply at all.
Are you sure you are emptying your breasts properly? Apparently getting too much fore milk and not enough hind milk can make babies more windy. It could be causing your breast pain as well.
Try and hold on to the fact that you are doing the hard work now. In a few months' time your ff friend will still be faffing with bottles and it will all be plain sailing for you on day trips, holidays etc.
For what it's worth, my first baby was hard work like yours; the next three were a walk in the park. Well done for persevering, it will all come good soon.

You are doing brilliantly. That's fab weight gain and she's a lucky little girl that you've stuck with it. You are nearly through the hardest bit now. Mine was exactly like this and what saved my sanity was a kari-me wrap sling. I was so focused at first on the notion that he 'should' be sleeping adorably in his Moses basket while I got on with things, but really all he wanted was to be in contact with me and know he was safe - it's a survival instinct when they're very young, and after all, they don't know that they're not going to be eaten by wolves if they're suddenly put down. Once I accepted that he just needed to be cwtched up against me pretty much all the time, I found it much easier - still claustrophobic at times, though. Feeding suddenly made sense and got a lot easier once we got past the six-week mark as well, and by about twelve weeks he was quite happy to be put down occasionally! Every minute of this seems like a lifetime right now when it's new and overwhelming and you probably feel like a human dummy, but it WILL pass, and believe it or not, you will look back on it fondly one day! Have a chat to your midwife about the latch and the pains, and try her in a stretchy wrap to see if that will settle her. And once you're confident that her latch is sorted, try a dummy. They're not the devil. Mine wasn't particularly interested in them but I know lots of very successfully breastfed babies who find them comforting.

Well had her weighed today and she has put 1lb 4oz in 9 days, even the midwife couldn't believe it and checked twice! If she carries on like this she is going to be obese. I was an obese baby and child and can't bare for her to end up the same way. The midwife couldn't give me any advice apart from let her cry and talk to the health visitor :/
Your comments have all reassured me a lot more than she did!
I've ordered a sling which should be here by Friday so will see if that makes a difference. She has a dummy but isn't that keen on it. Im going to try to get along to a support group this week as well.

BF babies are apparently less likely to become obese than FF ones - sounds like she's just had a growth spurt, which would also explain her behaviour!

One week I felt like I did nothing but BF DS, all day and night. I was delirious with sleep deprivation so at the weekend DH did all he could to help me get some sleep - driving him around, walks in pram, sitting up and making sure I didn't squash him by feeding lying down while I slept, etc.

He was 5 weeks old, and in 7 days he put on 1lb 4 1/2 Oz. Then at 6 weeks it all settled down and became the easiest thing in the world, until the 12 week growth spurt when the same thing happened again! We fed until just before his 2nd birthday.

He's now a 50th centile height and weight 4 yo.

Have you got a BF support group nearby? So helpful to chat to other mums going through the same as you, IME.

I bet you anything she'll be more settled for you in the sling. She might hate it at first and you might find it a bit tricky to put on, but do stick with it because it will mean you can walk around, drink tea, etc! It will save your sanity. One other thing, if she's not keen on dummy would she suck your finger or your dp's? Mine wouldn't take a dummy, only a finger...and then found her own finger.
Your midwife told you to let your 3.5 week old baby cry - nice!

sorry quick reply - but pain inside breast/shooting pains could be a symptom of thrush i think? others might know better. I have a snacky/napping baby... it does get easier x

Don't worry about obesity at 25 days! She has loads and loads of growing to do. My DS piled on the weight as a boob-addict newborn - he shot up the charts and went from the 6th to the 91st percentile by about four months and the HV made a huge deal of it - but I just stopped going to baby clinic! He's never been overweight and is now a tall, skinny, active 6-year-old. It all feels overwhelming at this stage, I know. Hopefully the sling will settle her though

Blimey, is letting your baby cry the best the mw could come up with ? Clearly she is lacking in the breastfeeding knowledge department.

Have a look on kellymom. com for info on oversupply and see if any of that fits with your situation. It may not be, but that huge weight gain might indicate so.

The pain you describe could be thrush, again have a look on the Breastfeeding Network website - there is a good page on diagnosing pain and thrush treatment.

Sorry I can't do links.

Aw of course she won't be obese. Ebf DD1 never stopped feeding; she was so chubby she was like a baby seal, proper rolls of fat around her neck and everything. But she was a slim child and is a slim teen.