BF and five day old baby......on and off the boob for over an hour every feed and not sure what to do.

[daisyboo]

My DD is five days old. She got her feeding off to a flying start in hospital, and has been feeding for over an hour on the one boob before coming off herself, but over the last day and a half, she latches on, sucks like a demon for 15 mins, then falls asleep and unlatches herself. She sleeps for about 15 mins, then wakes up demanding more, feeds another 15 mins, sleeps and then sometimes wants more fifteen minutes later. This can go on for well over an hour, sometimes longer if her snoozes are a bit longer.

I don't think she is emptying the boob, so I have been putting her back on the same boob every time, but not sure whether this is the right thing to do. The advice I was given with my DS, now 5 was feed on one till he's had enough and then swap to the other one, however I have been told this time that it's important that the boob is emptied before switching boobs. How do I know if the first boob is empty? Can I assume that as she is happy to go back on the same boob and sucks for ages that she is still getting something?

My boobs aren't getting particularly engorged either.....is this a good thing or a bad thing at this stage?

BTW, she sleeps for anything from 3 hours to four and a half hours between feeds.

Sorry this is a bit long, but any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[mylittleimps]

daisbyboo
glad to hear this and good luck

[mylittleimps]

tiktok, my ds's slept for longer and MW and HV happy as everything else fine, if he slept for 6 hours i did wake him, which happended often. only giving my experience!

[daisyboo]

Thanks for all the advice guys.....

I used nipple shields to feed through the night last night to give my poor nips a bit of a break, and then my MW came this morning and she has helped me with my latch. DD is feeding much better (pain-free even without the shields)....about 20 mins then takes a bit more from the other side, and that's all. MW thinks she just wasn't getting it to flow properly as her latch was a bit wrong and that's why she was taking ages and why I was getting sore.

I feel much more confident now that she is getting all she needs.

MW also said that engorgement can often be much less noticeable with subsequent babies (she's my 2nd, but DS didn't BF well at all) as your body is more efficient at milk production having done it before.

[theUrbanDryad]

dasiy - my ds was exactly the same. think it's very normal, tbh. i could never remember which side i fed last from either, despite trying to organise myself with a hairband on my wrist (forgot to change it after the feed! ) i found it didn't make a difference, as ds was always a hungry boy and would feed for up to an hour and a half in a 2 hour cycle!!

congratulations on the birth of your baby girl btw

[tiktok]

mylittleimps. the OP's baby is 5 days old - what you say about long sleeps does not apply to a very young baby.

[suis]

My DS was similar to this. Best advice is just keep going with what you are doing and it should even out a bit more soon.

DS keep nodding off too, so I would strip him off a bit to keep him more awake, and have a nappy change when he was looking drowsy which woke him back up a bit to take some more.

I also had a CS too. It did take best part of a week for my milk to come in properly and even then I didn't really get engorged unless DS has a particularly long time.

[mylittleimps]

perhaps your dd has become more efficient in feeding. a baby that latches on properly can fill up with feed in 15mins, feeding shouldn't take hours! and so i would say it is more normal for a baby to feed for 10/15mins each side. baby will feed more strongly on the first side each feed.

i fed both sides each feed and then started the next feed on the side which i had finished the last feed on (clear as mud?!) this way too you should avoid painful breasts.

trying winding her inbetween sides which will wake her up and she'll be ready for the 2nd side.

if she is gaining, alert when awake, not dehydrated and feeding well then i wouldn't be too concerned that she is sleeping for this length of time. it can be normal, if it very hot then it might be wise to wake her and offer extra feeds.

[tiktok]

No need to squeeze to indicate when to swap sides....I have heard of midwives' strange advice, but this is particularly odd!

It is absolutely not important to 'empty the breast' before switching. You can't do it, anyway.

Daisyboo the pattern and behaviour you describe is normal, except if she often sleeps 4.5 hours, it would be good to give her the opportunity to feed before this length of time has passed.

I hope the midwife you;re seeing is helpful to you and can explain all this.

[daisyboo]

I did have a c-section, but my milk started coming in late day two/into day three.

[daisyboo]

Sometimes I get some milk if I squeeze, sometimes I dont. I do try to keep her awake, but when she wants to sleep...well lets just say she is one determined little lady! I've also tried to get her to take the boob in her half asleep state, but she just puckers up and refuses to open her mouth, so I have to sit there and wait for her to decide she's still hungry.

A milk monster is exactly what I've been calling her!

Thankfully I do manage a bit of sleep in between feeds, so I'm not feeling too bad or exhausted.

Thanks for the advice!

[berolina]

The feeding pattern you describe - repeated short/shortish feeds over quite long stretches of time - is actually quite natural. She is building up supply. The breast never actually gets 'emptied' as such, there is always something there. I think in your case I would change sides after the (first or) second feeding bout, and the next time start on the other breast.

I would perhaps try and get her feeding a little more frequently - maybe try and wake her after 3 hours. Although as your feeding sessions are pretty long this might not be a supply problem.

I had very little engorgement. I did have a couple of weeks of quite frequent leaking, but that is not necessarily a sign of anything either.

[coleyboy]

Oh, and have you had a c-section? If so, sometimes milk comes in a bit later (mine was day 5) so you won't have felt engorged yet.

[coleyboy]

I never became engorged with ds as he was a milk monster and my boobs never had a chance to become engorged, so I don't think that it anythig to worry about.

If you are feeding on demand and swapping boobs throughout the day (albeit, (if like me) haphazardly as I could never remember what side I last fed on!) I really shouldn't worry.

It sounds like you're doing well to me.

Oh, and maybe try some tactics to keep dd awake for a bit longer when feeding? (taking layers of clothes off, storking her palm, tickling her feet!)

[Notyummy]

I was told to give around the nip a gentle squeeze...if milk flowed/squirted, then boob was not 'empty' (apparently they never get properly empty, just well-drained!). If only a dribble, then well drained and time to switch. I think it was about the 5-7 days mark when I got rock hard boobs, so it may be quite normal.

HTH

[daisyboo]

bump....please!!