Help with on demand im going insane!

[lozzy1982]

Hi ladies really need your advice.

My baba is 4 weeks old on sunday, and when he was born he developed jaundice. I always knew i was gonna breast feed and managed ok from the start. Because of the jaundice i was encouraged to feed on demand and am still doing this. Its now driving me mad though!!! I feel like all day baba is hanging off my boobs. Theres no routine, the feeding is random, and more like snacking for him than big feeds, so the feed be does only fills
Him long enough for a short snooze, so have no time to even eat myself before hes awake again and wanting more.
Ive introduced 1 formula feed at night to help us get a bit more sleep as was literally waking every hour which i couldnt cope with.
Anyone else had this and any ideas on how to make them gaps in feeding a little longer? Even to every 2 hours would be great right now!

Would it help if you thought of it as responsive feeding, cue feeding,rather than demand. A long time since my bfing days but changing my thoughts to the baby giving me feeding cues, and responding to them really helped me to settle into the mêlée of feed feed feed. Rather than feeling he was demanding, Emperor-Style. Iyswim.

Oh, I have assumed latch is okay and no TT, sorry.

My dd is 9 months now and feeds a lot less now but I think in the early days it's normal for them to feed loads. Assuming there are no problems with latch or tongue tie like Mango said. It always helped me to remember just how tiny their stomachs are and how quickly the milk runs through them. Also sometimes they suck for comfort not so much for a feed.

If he's falling asleep when you don't think he's had enough milk have you tried either switching sides to wake him up, or stroking his cheek to encourage him to suck.

Also feeding on demand is encouraged for everyone now (in the uk at least). I think the idea of spacing out feeds is a bit outdated.

I member being happy if I'd managed a shower in between feeds in the early days

Regular feeding like this is normal I think. And normal to fall asleep during every feed. Can you strip him down to keep him from getting too comfortable? Do you change his nappy and try the other boob?

I found DD fed less if we were out and about. If I sat with her on my knee she'd want milk all day long.

Also, re: eating, get yourself a plate of one handed foods before you sit down to feed. Quiche and crudités, pasties with ketchup, a banana, some cake ... Whatever. Don't waste precious getting out of the house time eating!

Time!

Yeah it starts put like that. Just when you think you're going crazy you realise it's 2 hour apart ... then maybe 3 or 4 months it's 2-3 hours. Then you realise they're only feeding twice a night and it's predictable.
Then they teeth or get a cold and you remember what it's like again!

Hang on in there.

Then they teeth or get a cold and you remember what it's like again!

So true!

My 5 week old is like this and it's driving me nuts!

He had a tongue tie snipped a few days ago and latch still isn't considtently ok.
We do get a decent amount of sleep at night and a longish nap in the afternoon but otherwise it's 10 minutes here and there.

I've been mixed feeding because of the tongue tie so his weight gain is good but it's so demoralising when he takes a full bottle after feeding for over an hour!

Are you offering both sides at every feed? I found offering both sides (you can go back to the first side again if he'll take it) to ensure a really good feed, swaddle, dummy and then into a swing or sling would give you a decent break between feeds.

We were like this for the first few month. I found having sandwiches and snacks ready in the fridge and a good boxset. Going out to baby groups helped as I felt if I was going to spend all morning bf I may as well do it chatting with a cuppa. She's now 7 months and goes a few hours between feeds and sometimes sleeps through!

I'm now doing on demand feeding with DC2 - also did it with DC1. Things might improve a little for you around 6 weeks (although there might also be a growth spurt then so you'll feel permanently attached again). But things should steadily improve as baby gets older, can take more milk and starts to get interested in other things. From what you've said it is possible that you're plonking baby on the boob when he actually wants something else. The baby whisperer book talks all about different cries and that baby might be hot / cold / bored / tired... and not hungry. Tbh I never got on with the routine in the baby whisperer book (or any book) but I do get what is meant by different cries. Sort of. Anyway I'm slightly wittering here thanks to sleep deprivation! What I'm trying to say is could you try doing something else with baby rather than feeding first? Try walking around to give him a change of Scene? Try cuddling? Try playing (shaking a toy or something)? Even if this only keeps him happy for five or ten minutes and then you end up feeding him anyway you'll have delayed the feed a bit and then he may feed properly if you see what I mean? I'm not trying to suggest you go against on demand it's just that he may be demanding something else? And if there is a bit more of a gap than ten minutes between feeds then he might have a better feed next time. They can get into a habit of grazing which is very difficult to cope with. And I think you'd be wise to experiment with alternative ideas rather than get so fed up you give up breastfeeding totally. I also do recommend the waking up strategies. My dc2 had prolonged jaundice and was v sleepy in the day (not at night Ffs! ) and I'd be stripping her off to cool her down and tickling her and blowing on her to try to make sure she fed properly. Anyway good luck!!!

Also I decided if I didn't eat I wouldn't be producing good quality milk. So I learnt to eat fast but I will make baby wait if I need to eat!!