First time mum with breastfeeding qus- please help if you can!

[MrsHY1]

Hello
Am mum to a gorgeous little girl who is 5 weeks old today. Over the past week I've made a couple of observations that have confused me a bit and am hoping someone might be able to help.

1. My daughter now seems content to go for 3-4 hrs between her daytime feeds, but at night, apart from perhaps one block of 3 hrs she tends to want to feed every 1.5 to 2 hrs. My wondered at first if I was feeding her when in fact she was between sleep cycles etc but last night made sure to observe rooting before feeding. Also her little legs start to try and propel her up the bed (we are co-sleeping). On the plus side, at nighttime it's almost as if she's dream feeding as she doesn't open her little eyes and falls asleep quickly between feeds (maybe too quickly though- last night I encouraged her to take the other breast at each feed but it didn't seem to make a huge amount of difference).
2. also in the past 1-2 weeks I've found it really hard to judge during the day whether she's getting enough of a feed. In the early days she did the classic 'bob off' the boob (which she still does at night) but during the day she doesn't fall asleep after a feed and will sort of halfheartedly suck after a while/ if offered the other boob and/or get 'latch lazy' which I've taken as a sign she's had enough. Sometimes she also does this kind of rabid/ slurpy feeding/ bobs off and on the nipple really fussily but I've taken that as over tiredness (I've checked the boobs still have milk in and they do- plus I'm expressing well each morning so am presuming this isn't a supply issue.

I'm prone to over-analysing everything and not going with the flow terribly well but any/all thoughts welcome!

Hi. This all sounds pretty normal to my experience. The sucking can be to encourage your milk supply to increase as baby gets bigger and is also a comfort thing. My daughter always fed more at night than during the day until she got a bit older and it sorted itself out. During growth spurts she would revert to feeding hourly and then would find her own rhythm again.

Yes - I agree. Nothing in your post indicates anything wrong or unusual - 5 weeks is very much still at the heart of newborn-ness, when you and your baby are just getting used to the whole new thing :)

Nothing to worry about, analyse, or understand - everything you say is just what babies do :)

Thanks guys, you're the best

All sounds normal - you may even find that night feeds increase a little around growth spurts.

Have a glass of wine and a big piece of chocolate cake for doing so well!

DD used to latch on at night for a couple of minutes - I think for comfort more than anything else. If you are cosleeping, as you gain confidence you won't even wake up for some feeds, and you will find your confidence increasing as you get more sleep.

If she's feeding quite infrequently during the day then she is probably making up for it at night. I'd try offering more frequently in the day time.

I agree lots of choccie cake is essential

Awwwwww....makes me feel all nostalgic. I do 't frequent this board now as DS now 4 but read your post and remembered it being just like that. I miss the baby stage......

Btw all sounds normal IME. Well done!