Feeding

[lindsey86]

Hello

My DD is 15days old and ebf feeding every hour sometimes only going 45mins between feeds.

She will sleep in the day for 1.5 to 2hours then wake for a feed.

About 4pm she is wide awake for playtime which is fine with me.

At night though she has last feed at half 11 an will sleep till 1am, than wakes every hour!!! I have to come down stairs just so husband can sleep for work.

Will expressing breast milk help, I dont want to stop bf as I am enjoying the bond!

Any advice?

The first few weeks are really hard. She has to feed so often to boost your supply. What is happening sounds normal. She won't feed like this forever. They say the first 3 weeks are the hardest and then it gets easier after 6.

Try and get some sleep when she naps, no one will judge you for an afternoon nap with a little one. Have you considered co sleeping. It would ensure that you can sleep while feeding, so you can get some rest. Unicef have a guide on how to do it safely.

Expressing won't help. Expressing should be used for when you can't be round your child or if she is too sick to feed. At the moment it will just be another thing for you to do.

Thank you

I am sleeping when she is sleeping which is helping a little as I feel like a zombie.

I will look into co sleeping.

I agree - completely normal and it will get better!

It sounds like she's sleeping for longer periods in the day than at night. You can help reverse this by making day fun and night boring - so at nighttime keep the lights low, no interaction, maybe watch tv via ipad/phone with headphones, and you can start going longer between nappy changes (if they're only wet!) to minimise disturbance. During the day keep it bright and noisy and try get out in the daylight.

DD is almost 6 weeks and we're EBF - it does get better at around 3 weeks and think it's getting easier again now too. I won't use the dreaded R word, but you do start to fall into a loose pattern as you get to know your baby.

Grab sleep whenever you can and keep eating! I was astounded at the breastfeeding hunger, although this gets better too.

This soundscape what we went through. My son is now 7 weeks, and things are much less exhausting. He fed hourly during the day for a while, and also at night, but that tailed off first (thankfully, the longer sleeps are welcome).

At this point, your baby is establishing your supply by feeding frequently. At 15 days, she might also be going through a growth spurt phase. Things will settle down, and while it's exhausting and feels endless, you will get through it soon. Make sure you're being well looked after, and eating/drinking lots too.