Help! I can't stop tracking.

[ClearlyMoo]

Basic history - baby tongue tied. Horrific feeding issues/ took 7 weeks to regain 18oz lost in first 3 days. I got mastitis then abscess took months to recover DD gaining weight well now. Feeds 2h30-3h a day (down from 6-8hrs before TTD).

I started tracking because two friends did and I love my phone and bought the app. Then it came into it's own with all the issues and I knew exactly what's going on. But its become an obsession/OCD type thing. Like right now whilst I'm typing this my DD has latched and I haven't pressed "start" on the app so I won't be tracking it accurately. She 24 weeks and we are going to start BLW soon.

I don't need to track anymore do I? I should stop shouldn't I?

Otherwise I'll be tracking every mouthful of food forever. Plan to do BLW which is good for letting them have what they like and being relaxed about it. I need to let go.

Shall I go cold turkey or just keep a note?

Any suggestions/your own stories of when you stopped tracking very welcome.

Thanks

Oh goodness, you'd wake her up and 'get her time up'. Ok, I can see that's quite severe anxiety. And, if she wasn't hungry, she was probably taking weeny amounts those times too.

How are you feeling today? Do you feel that you need any more real life support? I can understand the HV''s saying that you can keep weighing if you like, but are you sure it's helping and not hindering at this stage? If you find it helpful to keep weighing, obviously they are happy for you to go ahead. But do try and bear in mind that your baby is an age where both sleep and weight can bounce around all over the place. Neither is a straight line of progression

Penguins. Only when she was on my lap after a feed, I'd just talk to her to rouse her then she'd re latch and take a bit more. Until I posted on the thread I didn't really see it as an issue. There were days when she didn't feed as much and would be too asleep to get extra in so I just let her go to bed on 1.5hrs feed instead of 2.5hrs etc. So it wasn't rigid. Just a target amount... It had gradually come down from 8hrs...

I haven't talked to HV about the tracking. As far as RL help, I hadn't really seen it as an "issue" til I decided it might be better to stop. My DH knows about it and agrees that it might be better to stop. He doesn't know that you're not supposed to weigh fortnightly... I was weighing DD weekly until she was 3.5months!

I don't have any other anxiety/OCD issues.

Id have a chat with the HV about it all when you next have DD weighed. Be completely honest and tell her exactly how anxious the tracking/not tracking is making you feel. She might be able to reassure you better than we can over the Internet . The likelihood is that when you wake/rouse her to take more milk she's so sleepy she doesn't actually take any anyway. Babies feed much more quickly/efficiently the older they get. By 6 months my DD's breastfeeds were less than 5 mins a time (probably a total of about 35 mins a day)!

Wow GotToBe that's good to know -35mins!! I know all babies are different but perhaps my LO is getting more efficient too. I contacted a local BF counsellor and she reassured me that I won't starve my daughter if I don't track her feeds. We are into fourth full day of not tracking, and after a bit of a wobble about it last night I'm feeling fine about not tracking this morning! Thanks all

I found I just checked the clock...? Normal clock. Seen a hungry cue, flick eyes at clock, ah yup 10am bang on again!

Kids still like it now, 4 and 2. I like to think we are free and easy but the same things happen at almost exact time whether or not intended. Just a routine.

Just wanted to say well done getting to day 4 :) hope that's not patronising. I can understand after what you went through with her feeding in the beginning that it would be difficult to stop.

And to second what gottobe said by the time my DS was 6 months he was also super efficient and very similar probably a total of 30mins give or take.

Well I haven't tracked for a week! Whoop! We started BLW today! Going absolutely fine without recording feeds... Thanks for your support ladies!