Breast feeding, colic and dummies

[Bananice]

Hi there
DD is three weeks old and is starting to show signs of colic in the evenings. From 5:30 onwards she is very hard to settle, cries and arches her back and doesn't want to sleep. It doesn't help that the house is v busy at that time of night: DS (22 mo) is having dinner, my mother is usually around helping out and it is pretty chaotic! She sleeps and feeds very well during the day (has put on 600g from her birthweight) and has mild reflux symptoms. So my question is, what to do at this time of night? She spills and has wind when she cries at this time so I'm reluctant to feed her as don't want to make it worse. But how do I know it's not cluster feeding? The last couple of nights I've sat with her swaddled in a dark room with white noise and a dummy, which has calmed her right down. But I'm very committed to breast feeding her and don't want this to affect my supply if she is actually wanting to cluster feed and the dummy is stopping this...any advice?

Sorry for the essay !

Baranice, I am not sure why you are reluctant to feed her....I never quite understand when people link this with making the baby more windy. It sounds like normal behaviour for a three week old - I don't think the swaddling etc etc will work consistently if she is wanting to cluster feed. She 's three weeks old, and if feeding and comforting her helps her stay happy then just do it :)

Tiktok - thank you: as a long time lurker on these boards I'd hoped you would reply! Will keep on feeding her then - I wasn't feeling confident in the dummy use but my mother had been telling me i was causing the colic-like behaviour with overfeeding... Will ignore her and carry on'

Sometimes, mothers with a very generous supply which overwhelms the baby causing colic-like crying are helped by deliberately reducing their supply by 'block feeding' (feeding on one side only for periods of so many hours)...but three weeks is a bit too young to be sure you have this level of over-supply. Maybe revisit the situation if it persists, despite feeding responsively, when she wants to feed, in a few weeks.

Hope things settle soon.

I don't think you are over feeding her :)

Thank you!!