hind milk - is he getting any??

[kateyp]

sorry about spelling in advance - typing one handed as feeding!!

ok - ds2 now 4 weeks old. had a growth spurt around 3 weeks and fed constantly - fine, i was prepared for that. now he will happily feed for over an hour on the one side (sucking and gulping) and when stopped happily go straight back on...(hand expressing at this point does still produce some milk). most he will ever be settled for is 2 hours. often he will go less than an hour between feeds.
I co-sleep with him, and it seems that lately he will feed for a short time every hour and a half. I don't mind this so much (with ds1 I couldn't bf laying down so was exhausted at this stage - actually feel human presently as getting sleep - all be it light - whilst feeding and inbetween instead of having to sit up etc)
I am just worried that he isn't getting any hind milk and that is why he isn't settled for very long.
But then the other part of me says to keep going as he is gaining weight, pooing/weeing fine and generally OK.
He will take a dummy at times (I know I'm not meant to but it helps when the DS1 age 2 is rioting about the place and I have to do some crowd control!!)
So - should I be encouraging longer gaps between feeds and more efficient feeds? Is it that he isn't feeding very efficiently - the latch seems fine now, although he never seems to get a huge amount of breast in his mouth (but it doesn't hurt and it 'looks' right).

Any advice greatly appreciated!

my 5 month old ds was exactly the same for a while (sorry no caps but i'm typing one-handed too lol). rowan's better now as he only wakes once a night n feeds like a good'un but for a while he was just taking short feeds at night n using me as a dummy. i solved it by persevering with sitting up for a few nights in a row n making sure he took a proper feed then settling him back in his own bed (wasn't easy tho' as i've got a 2 yr old dd n i spent a few days going round like a zombie lol). it does sound as tho' he's getting enough tho', esp during the day n maybe using you mostly for comfort at night.

katey - this is normal behaviour in a baby of this age (though not all babies do it). Hindmilk and foremilk sort themselves out - really. Babies who are gaining weight and are fine and who are content with frequent access to the breast are getting what they need. You are coping just fine with this demanding stage, from what you say - managing to 'feel human' is great

Trying to change the normal behaviour of a four-week-old is harder work than going with the flow - he is happy, you are happy and managing ok, and the only thing I would suggest is making sure you get a bit of a break from both children every so often...even half an hour while someone takes them to the park (you having fed the baby and put him in the pram) will help you

Thank you - that is reassuring!
This breast feeding lark isn't as straight forward as folk make out is it?!
BUT - getting easier I think (until the next hiccup!!)

Thank you again,
Kate
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