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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

BF, am I doing something wrong?

20 replies

Beebs15 · 14/03/2015 18:41

Hi all

My dd initially lost weight and was 'failing to thrive' according to my midwife. I was eager for her to have breast milk so I expressed for 7 weeks and supplemented with a bottle when my supply was low.

She has finally put on weight and I have stopped expressing and am I just bfing, however she feeds EVERY hour in the day and every 2 hours at night. She will also only fall asleep if I nurse her.

Am I doing something wrong? She will feed for 20 mins and still want more an hour later. I'm scared that I'm not doing it right and she will start to lose weight again. Sad

Help and advice would be really appreciated Smile

OP posts:
DeladionInch · 14/03/2015 18:45

She wouldn't suck if she wasn't hungry. Have a look at www.kellymom.com for relevant articles, but it sounds like you're doing an amazing job under very tough circumstances

WeeMadArthur · 14/03/2015 19:18

Sounds like my greedy DS, always seemed to be on a growth spurt. It does seem intense at the time but if she is following her percentile weight wise then she is getting enough milk. Some babies just feed a lot and the expectation of feeding every four hours is for formula fed babies (and the push for that time spacing seems to have more to do with giving the mum time to get her chores done than anything to do with infant nutrition). It should get easier once she gets to 6 months and you start introducing solids (and someone else can do some of the feeds).

catherinemm · 14/03/2015 19:35

Don't think you are doing anything wrong - she's probably helping you to get your supply up as you make more milk the more they feed. It will get easier!! Agree kellymom is agreed resource

catherinemm · 14/03/2015 19:36

I mean great resource

juniorcakeoff · 14/03/2015 19:49

Although 4 hours is not very likely and cluster feeding is common, it sounds like OP would quite like a few gaps per day of 2ish hours which is fairly usual at 8 weeks, no? (I mean from start of one feed to start of the next). It doesn't always help for people to say how normal constant feeding is when OP is giving a history where the baby has not fed well. IME when things are going well there are short phases like this and decent phases where you get some breaks

OP have you been in touch with a la leche league or NCT breastfeeding person? It may be that you can improve baby's latch so she can increase your supply more effectively. The main thing you need to bear in mind that you are not doing anything wrong, your baby is still learning to feed after a tricky start and you have shown great perserverance. There is no substitute for showing someone well trained how your baby feeds in real life. Some HVs and midwives are well trained and experienced, but some offer contradictory information so a LLL or NCT person might be best. No website can look at your babies latch and for a first time Mum, all the information can be really confusing.

BadPenny · 14/03/2015 19:52

If there is anywhere you can go to get hands on help, I agree with the PP that that would be best... sounds like you've been doing a great job but could do with real life support as there could be something that could be suggested to help your baby feed more efficiently (e.g. breast compressions or just tips on effective attachment).

Well done for keeping things going!

Original poster
Beebs15 · 14/03/2015 20:39

Thank you so much for all your responses. It's a relief to be reassured.

I will hunt down my nearest LLL and Kellymom is brilliant - I wish I had found it earlier.

DD is sometimes sick or brings up milk whilst feeding, does that mean she's full?

OP posts:
DeladionInch · 15/03/2015 12:39

Are you near a sure start or children's centre? They often have bf support groups

catherinemm · 15/03/2015 14:34

I don't know of being sick means she is full but a I think vomitting a lot can indicate issues with reflux, though I only know this via people whose babies had reflux. Peer supporters like la lech league will be able to provide better support / diagnosis so I agree with other posters to seek out your local la leche league or similar group (often based at children's centres). In your original post you also mentioned always feeding to sleep - I think that's totally normal for a breast fed baby and I used as the main way to get both my kids to sleep. Some people / books will tell you to avoid doing it but it's really normal and I think nature intended. Whatever people say it doesn't mean your child will always need feeding to sleep!

blankfornames · 15/03/2015 19:51

Hi Beebs, Im really interested in people's responses as Im in a very similiar situation to you with my DS of 3 weeks. He seems to latch fine to one breast but the other is really painful.
Really good advice here. Thanks ladies!

DeladionInch · 15/03/2015 20:12

Blank I had that when ds was teeny. He was fine on the right, didn't much like the left. I could trick him by holding him in the rugby ball position on the left, worth a try for you?

Mariposa10 · 15/03/2015 20:56

Sounds like you're doing fine to me. My nine week old has always wanted to feed pretty much every hour or so. He's now nearly 10 weeks and it's starting to space out a little. He's putting weight on and has plenty of wet nappies. I've always just been happy to feed when he seems hungry.

If she starts to fall asleep after 10 or so minutes change her nappy or remove clothing to wake her up and try again so that she's on the breast for a bit longer.

FloJo151 · 15/03/2015 21:07

Would agree to try and get to a bf support group asap.
Has she always fed every hour in day/2hours at night? how long has it been since you switched to just bf?

Do you mean you were bf her and then expressing and only topping up of you felt she needed it? Or exclusively expressing and bottle feeding her the ebm and then topping up with a ff in necessary?

If you were supplementing quite a bit it might be that she is feeding this often to get your supply back up to where she needs it.

There is a growth spurt around 6/7 weeks so its poss it could be this, some growth spurts go on for 1 day, some a few days and some a week or so.

Only falling asleep when bf is normal at this stage.
Also its good to think of bf like how we drink/eat. Sometimes we just want a quick cuppa, sometimes a light meal and sometimes a 3 course meal!!!!

Bf varies hugely between women/babies and 'normal' is different for everyone. This frequent feeding could be 'normal' or its poss that there may be an underlying issue, especially as she lost weight early on. Out of interest how much did she weigh a birth and how much did she lose?
Has she been checked for a tongue tie? Some midwives are really good at spotting these but sometimes they are really ticky to spot especially if its a posterior tie. This would be another good reason to go along to a bf group preferably one that a lactation consultant attends.

Have you tried ringing the bf helplines or finding a bf facebook page that's for the area you live in.

sorry for the long post!!! But just want to say you've done brilliantly so far so well done. :)

BonzoDooDah · 15/03/2015 21:34

Sounds like you need to speak with someone just to get some moral support. Ask them also to check for tongue tie as this can make it hard to feed and baby can get tired so break off before full. Good luck and well done for persevering even through the hard times.

PrimroseEverdeen · 15/03/2015 21:39

Sounds normal to me, especially if she is putting weight on. Can you chat to Midwife/health visitor to put your mind at rest?

Original poster
Beebs15 · 16/03/2015 12:48

Thank you so much for all your amazing responses.

Just to clarify I was exclusively expressing and then supplement. She's been exclusively bf for two weeks. Although expressing was time consuming it was comforting to know how much she was consuming.

I have spoken to LLL and I have an appointment with my Midwife next week. I think I just needed to get reassurance and support which I have received from all of you in abundance.

OP posts:
FloJo151 · 17/03/2015 16:38

Great that you are getting rl support. It sounds as if she is just upping your supply then. The feeding should/might space out a bit over the next few weeks. Well done for getting this far and hopefully with continued support you can continue your bfing journey :)

BonzoDooDah · 20/03/2015 21:43

Ah good - good luck with your appointment and hopefully all will be settled down by then

Micah · 20/03/2015 21:51

Mine didn;t start to space out until 12 weeks, until then it felt constant!

Not having a clue about babies I reckoned as long as I wasn't going insane I'd just go with it. A dummy helped a little when I really needed a break (toilet, food!) , as mine were suckers :). Otherwise I left them on the breast, as I found that less bother than trying to latch and unlatch.

Keep an eye on wet nappies, poo, activity, and general health and you'll be fine.

littlesupersparks · 20/03/2015 21:58

My eldest son was just like this. I was fine with it... Until people kept commenting about it, saying he couldn't possibly be hungry again etc... It's within normal parameters definitely x

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