could i have a few tips/hints for b/feeding please

[hermykne]

Just a few questions for b/feeding mums, my ds is now 3wks, big baby at birth 11lb2 and steadily gaining. Few queries re the feeding that I cant remember from my dd!
How long would a feed normally take for you (considering his size any opinions welcome), my ds goes for about 5/7mins stops and maybe comes back for more 20mins later and then maybe again. I cant get him to stay on for longer (his position is good). My letdown is quite rapid and I hear him gulping it down and he usually gets his wind up pretty ok. He seldom feeds from both breasts, usually one and maybe some from the other if he has had a long sleep.
He can sometimes get cross whilst feeding and kinda erratic, pulls away, cries, roars and latches on again and then fusses again. Do any of you have this problem, this for me lengthens the whole feed, thus 3 (or 21/2 generally) hours comes around again pretty quick!
When they pull away from the breast and cry is that wind or something else?

I am introducing the bottle with expressed milk so I can have a bit of time with my dd. I?m hoping to give him a last feed at night and the occasionally afternoon bottle. I am introducing the bottle presently, but how long does it take for them to get the hang of it (I know I am very impatient and every baby is different) and does this seem familiar to anyone - they wrestle with the teeth before getting a sucking motion going only to lose it some seconds later.would 2oz be sufficent - he hasnt taken a full 20z yet from the bottle.

I spoke with a la leche league person who recommended feeding off the one breast over a 2 hr period and to express manually the intial let down, as mine is pretty fast, to reduce the amount of wind he gets. So I am kinda doing that.

And one final question ? I have a voracious appetite ? is that common?
Oh I know those first weeks feeding are not consistent but when do they become consistent?

appetite is v common- mine was horrendous and i needed food there and then.dd 6 1/2 months now so that has improved. my dd fed constantly- or so it seemed in the beginning. I now think a lot of that was comfort. spose it's not so easy to allow that the second time is it as elder child also in need of mum. it does get better- try not to get impatient- these things take time.
Feed with expressed milk excellent idea- wish I had- dd won't go near a bottle now and I'm back in work in 2 weeks- anyway my mum's going to feed her out of a cup so that problem solved.
At 3 weeks my dd wasn't feeding from both sides- in fact she only occasionaly does now.
Be aware that my expressing you aren't allowing your body to regulate milk production and I'd have thought that it was better to get into a routine before expressing- only my opinion and as I said before I've only got the one baby. Even though it's an excellent idea I wouldn't start it quite so young. Also try to get someone else to bottle feed so he can't smell milk on you and prefer that. Another tip I was given is to hold the baby up a bit- not as if you're going to b/f. If you put him in the b/f position he'll automatically turn his head and root.
Remember that most babies will take what they need- my dh used to freak cos we didn't know how much milk dd was getting. midwife said she was gaining weight so all ok. anyway got to go dd just bumped herself. good luck

My ds is 2.5 weeks and much the same. Will feed for 5 or 10 minutes and then stop or go to sleep, then come back 1/2 hour later. He only ever feeds from one side at a time. That seems like plenty for the time being. I think they only need both sides when they're older and needing the equivalent of a full bottle per feed. It does make it feel like you're feeding all the time doesn't it? I'm expressing for one night feed too and sometimes one other to give my nips a bit of a rest as it's quite sore still. He's gaining weight so I'm not worried but I am lookiing forward to longer feeds with longer gaps & hoping that a couple of bottles might encourage that. Let's hope it gets easier soon.

Hi - what a big baby ... Congratulations!! Re him pulling off and fussing, it sounds like he might be getting your milk just a bit too quickly which is causing him to pull off. This would be why the LLL Counsellor advised you to hand express some first just to get letdown going. As he gets bigger he'll be able to handle the flow better. My DS2 did the same thing and it settled down after maybe 6w or so - once my supply got regulated. You could try different feeding positions - lying down is sometimes good cos it lets the milk pool in the side of their cheek rather than hitting the back of their throat. Or if you're sitting up, try propping him up facing you to feed sitting up - the only time I managed this was when the midwife set us up but it worked a treat ... I couldn't get his position right after that but you might have more luck.

Also, with length of feeds, DS1 used to feed for 30/40 mins (slowcoach!), DS2 on the other hand was like your DS and usually finished in less than 10 mins. As long as he's gaining weight, has lots of wet and soiled nappies, then I would just advise that you keep up the good work! No advice re expressing.

HTH.

great stuff gals, thank you.
mamemin thought that about the expressing - boobs will get confused and not getting a chance to fill up so that i know the difference between full and empty to gauge what he has taken. sponge no doubt we'll bump into each other as tie goes on!
millie thanks for the tips re posisitioning
it just takes a bit of time.

my DD (now 6 weeks) was doing that fussing thing - latching on and sucking hard then pulling off and fussing like mad. The HV suggested it was wind - apparently some babies will act hungry when they have wind. I now give her two chances when she is like that and then stop and walk around winding her - or lay her down and take her nappy off. She either drops off or takes the fdeed properly in about 30 mins or so. Failing that the HV suggested infacol.

I think i make the mistake of trying to feed her when she isn't hungry quite a lot

Hi,
My DD now 12 weeks fusses at the breat quite a lot. I notice its at feeds where i feed her instead of waiting until shes hungry e.g I think she should be hungry. When shes hungry and wants the feed she doesnt fuss. She also fusses towards the end of a feed. I assume this is because she doesnt really want anymore but doesnt know how to come off.
Since birth shes only ever fed for 5-10 minutes and only on one breast. I have recently started to offer the other breast just encase she wanted a drink again.
I started expressing after 2 weeks but only started giving ebm at 4 weeks. She took the bottle ok but sometimes tries to chew the teat instead of suck, to get around this I used to let her suck my finger first and then pop the teat in. I started giving 2ozs but we are now up to 6ozs.
Were currently feeding every 3-3.5hrs.

HTH

My little girl only ever fed from one breast at each feed, if he won't take from the second one then he doesn't need it. I also had problems with over-fast let down from one side, and dd would feed for an age from that side first thing in the morning then throw it all back up (yeah, nice). Expressing from that side first thing in the morning definitely helped my daughter's fussiness when taking that first feed, and she never threw up after feeding again. I also found that, for the first six weeks, dd was fussy about feeding, pulled herself off and got cross, it turned out to be because she wasn't using her tongue properly to suck, that sorted itself out at about 6 weeks.