should i switch to bottle

[bustifer]

Hello,
Help I need advice!!!! My 10 week old is feeding every hour during the day. He was 9lbs 6 oz at birth and while he has always fed well he feeds extremely frequently and in the past 4 days it has been hourly. When I express which is not often given the frequency of his feeds I am only getting 1/2 to 2 oz. I have actually stopped expressing.
I just would like to know if his feeds start to stretch a little and when it is this likley to happen. This is further complicated by the fact that I will be returning to work in early Feb and do not intend to breast feed after that time.
So in essence do I start bottles now or perservere?

Sounds like he's having a growth spurt - agree that stopping expressing for the mo is a good plan.

Are you returning to work full time? Can I ask why you don't intend bfeeding at all after you do - not being threatening, just wondered if you knew it was possible to do it some of the time? I work (nearly) full time - and will be full time after Christmas - and I feel that bfeeding helps me reconnect with DS2 when I'm at home with him.

Well done for keeping going with such a frequent feeder! Do you feed him every time he cries? Are you sure it's always hunger? Is he windy?

He may well be having a growth spurt, but I don't think they tend to last longer than a few days, just long enough for your milk supply to adjust. A BFC may contradict me, I speak from my own experience here, but I would have tought that after 4 days your supply would be matching his extra needs and he should be feeding less frequently again. But you do saythat he was a frequent feeder even before this. My babies (including current 7w ds2) tend to feed 3-3.5hourly, and were also big at birth.

What happens if you try to extend the gap between feeds? Perhaps by using a dummy, or by getting someone else to hold and distract him? When ds1 slipped into frequent feedign that was what I did, trying to delay feeding him for 10-20m from when he asked to feed. Never let him get distressed though. If you can do this, the feed is likely to be bigger, more satisfying, with the knock-on effect of extending the gap before the next feed.

Hi B

DS was 8lb 5 at birth and at 10-12 weeks he was bfding for 20 mins a time every 90 mins. I was also expressing 6-8 oz every day on top.

I felt like mother earth and was exhausted. DH was trying to encourage me to move to formula and I was adamant that me and ds would work it out together. It was a week of hard work but it wortked out. DS was having a mega growth spurt. he hit 95% on the weight chart and stayed there!

I'd say persevere. I set myself silly easily achivable targets ('get to 6 wks, get him to double his lowest weight, get him to double his birth weight, see how it is at 3 mths' etc) by 16lbs 10 There was no going back. We carried on til 13 mths and I felt so proud that it was all my own work.

You can stop when you go back to work or mix feed. The choice is yours, just don't look too far ahead. You and your DS will work it out nearer the time. See if there are some breast feeding supporters in your area who will offer advice/assistance/support. Your HV should know of any.

All the best with it.

Hunker,
I will be returning to work full time and thought that going to formula would improve his routine. This is probably because he is such a frequent feeder and I can't envisage that changing in the foreseeable future.

Pretty,

I asked a HV about stretching feeds that extra 10-20 mins and she was pretty horrified. I do try to feed him early so he does not get too distressed but he can go from looking a little hungry to extremely distressed in a matter of minutes.
I may be confusing hungry with wind at times but 3 weeks back his weight gain was only 4 1/2 0z and the HV was a little worried.

Unpopular advice I am sure, but I would try seeing if he would drink any milk from a bottle after you have breastfeed him - topping him up - if he has been feeding every hour during the day for 4 days! All that feeding is very hard work for you!

in 2 months time your baby will be 2x older and a different baby. don't worry about what you will do about work just yet. 4oz may not be a lot but was your baby weighed on the same scales? at this age, having a big poo just before being weighed or needing one before being weighed can make a big difference between weights. look at the trend your baby is making over several weighings on his growth chart, not at one weigh.

i went back to work at 20 wks and expressed at work and continued to bf exclusively till my dd turned 6 months. she was a frequent feeder too. it worked out fine. you can seek advice nearer the time when you need it.

Thanks everyone this is great advice and more importantly very encouraging. DH is very supportive and we have both been discussing the whole situation and we are going to prservere. and take it one day at a time instead of looking too far ahead

HV . Unforunately HVs are notriously poor with reastfeeding advice. Thoughof cors yors may be good. (Sorry,keyboard s acting up.) Crtainly n th early days you would'ntdelay feeds and you woud be concerned about weight gaincompared to brth weight, but by now he has probably found his proper position on thecharts and is old enough to tolerate some maniuplation of his feeding pttern.

To get good advice from a rerliabl sourc, I suggest you contct the NCT Breastfeding advice line. I'm sure the other bfing associations will also have advice lines.

Thanks Pretty,
I think I will start to go to the local support group which meet once a month.
I am definitley going to continue BF for present and not express at the moment. This will mean giving occassional formula as I may need to leave DS with the grandparents especially coming up to xmas. I think I need to stop thinking about things and just get on with it, not overanalysing. As I said before one day at a time (like the well known song).