the all-evening feedfest - how long will this go on for?

[twocatsonthebed]

DD is 7 weeks, and all is pretty well with breast-feeding, after a slightly rocky start. But the evenings are beginning to grind me down. She doesn't just cluster feed every couple of hours, I am feeding almost constantly between about 7pm and 11pm, sometimes later. And if I take her off, she howls. It's pretty draining, and my nipples are gnawed raw by the end of a long evening.

I'm coping at the moment by expressing during the day, so I get a bit of a break while DH gives her a bottle of EBM. But how long can I expect this to go on for? And when will she start having an early evening bedtime rather than dropping off at the same time as us? I'd like to know there wsa some kind of light at the end of the tunnel...

first, well done for getting this far - you sound like you're doing a fab job .

Cluster feeding is said to peter out at 3-4 months and definitely won't last forever - meanwhile this page is pretty good for information and ideas.

Might also be worth jiggling your day a bit so you can have an early dinner (ie before dd kicks off) then resign youself to being glued to the sofa for the evening - get some good DVDs and/or novels and ensure DH is primed to bring you drinks and snacks.

Not sure what to suggest for the sore nipples, but if you use something like Lansinoh you could cream them up before the evening rush starts to give them a bit of protection...

oh god twocats , i remember it well! my dd was exactly the same!but there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel!

the good news is that by about 9 weeks she settled down, fed a lot between about 4.30 and 6.00 but then bath, feed and bed by 7 and suddenly, our evenings were our own again. and i finally got to eat my dinner before 10pm!!

i have to say, it had a lot to do with when she found her thumb too.

good luck, you sound like you're doing brilliantly

twocat - if you are very committed to continue with bf, you will see that it DOES get easier. Excuse the cliche that "all babies are different", but yes as a general rule a lot of bf babies do exactly as you say, esp. in the evenings. My DS was a rubbish sleeper too, so it did need alot of patience and perseverance for us to keep going with bf.

Please be reasuured that it does get better. Also formula fed babies are not any easier (I am not saying this from my own experience, but from observing and hearing about ff babies). They are not all angels who sleep through from day one. Also they TEND to get sick more often that bf babies, which isn't great for the parents or the baby.

Bf babies do calm down, and they do eventually sleep through the night, my beautiful little monster did ! He is now 2.5 yo, still bf, and has been sleeping through for a very very long time. In fact I can no longer rememeber the tiring days of DH and I walking him up and down the room, all day and all night and baby being at my breast all the time ! It is a far far distant memory !

Good luck.

hi twocats,

dd3 is 13 weeks old and still doing what you've described! It is completely wearing me down, esp with the other 2 to get to bed , baths stories etc. even if I go to bed earlier and stay in bed with her she doesn't drop off until midnight most nights. I'm going to start giving her a bottle of formula every night I've decided just after the other 2 go to bed and see if that makes a difference. I'm exhausesd from it!
so no real advice from me sorry but hope it gets better foryou v v soon!

and before anyone pounces on me for suggesting formula - I bf dd1 and dd2 until they were 15 months and 13 months respectively and will do so with dd3 as well, but I know from experience that this bottle of formula at night will make my life easier
good luck

hana - it's good mix feedig worked for you. It doesn't work for everyone though and with 2cat having a 7 week old baby I don't think it is a great idea.

Sorry, but MOST bf experts I know of would advise against introducing formula to a 7 week old. Some doctors or hv's may advise it if there is a CLINICAL need for it, but with 2cat's baby it seems to be that mummy is tired and exhausted, neither mummy or baby are ill thank goodness.

I also don't think dummies are a great idea for a 7 week old. Both formula and dummies MAY interfere with supply.

only took 11 min
was giving my experience which was asked for

hana - I wasn't waiting in the shadows ready to pounce !

I was giving contradictory advice to yours which I believe one is entitled to do, esp. as EXCLUSIVE bf of a baby is a health issue not just something one does for the heck of it.

Also 2cat never mentioned the possibility of introducing formula, which if she had, may have made your posts relevant.

hello, cluster feeding is so common, I posted \link{ www.mumsnet.com/Talk?topicid=1364&threadid=180845#3737998\here} once about changing your attitude to it, may help.

Stick with it, both mine settled down at about the 9-12 week mark (from my hazy memory).

xx

here

Thankyou everyone. I'm not completely in the depths of despair, but it is good to know that it will end at some point! Although this may be too late to save my arse from being exactly the shape of my nursing chair...

2cats - lol about the nursing chair arse !! -

I had to lie down to bf DS for months and months due to horrible pelvic pain after his birth. I got very sore shoulders and elbows, esp. during growth spurts !

He is a toddler now and practically sits on his head to bf sometimes, so he is the one doing the acrobatics now, not me thank goodness