Huge dilemna time!

[octo]

ds3 is now 11 weeks old and have bf since birth - has had the odd bottle of formula when been out but apart from that bf. In the last few weeks he has been feeding every 1-2 hours in the day and 2 hours at night. I thought it was a growth spurt but he has only put on 5oz in two weeks and until then he was putting on 1lb a fortnight - I know the rate of growth changes but thought with the amount of feeding he would have put on loads. I have even given him hungry baby milk for some of his feeds to fill him up but makes no difference. I don't think that the odd bottle is affecting my milk as he feeds so often anyway.

I have come up with a number of solutions and am trying to choose one:

1. carry on as we are and stick it out - I really want to carry on bf
2. mix feed - but may lose my bf supply
3. bf and wean earlier

My main question really is -

Is it better to bf and give them food earlier than 6 months or to switch to formula? I would really like to carry on as we are until 6 months but something has to change.

I am eating more to try to increase my supply and the quality of milk. I eat lots anyway but am planning to introduce more snacks into my diet!

I would like your honest view about what you would do.
Thanks

12 weeks is a nightmare time - they feed n feed n feed and it doesn't seem to do a lot.

I really really urge you to keep on with just b/f no weaning until the 6 months.

It really doesn't give them any calories, and just takes away tummy room for milk.

Once you get past the next couple of weeks it does get easier again.

Just (as far as you can) devote your time for the next couple of weeks to eatin and feeding - it will be worth it

Flame

x

Hi, octo....I can't see what there is to be concerned about with your baby, sorry. His weight gain is normal, presumably - very few babies continue gaining at the rate of 1lb a fortnight, and we expect babies' weight to slow down, especially if they are bf (from about 3 mths is when the gap between bf babies' growth and ff fed babies' growth starts to show).

You say you really want to carry on bf - just do so

Mix feeding will impact on your breastmilk supply, and weaning before 6 mths is not necessary, nor will it give you the best health outcomes for you or your baby. It may also impact on your supply.

Please don't bother worrying about eating more yourself - it will have no impact at all on the quantity or quality of your milk, and anyone or any book that suggests this is the case does not understand about bf. If you want to snack, snack - but not because of your milk

Oh yes - my devoting time to eating was purely for the ravenous hunger I get from breastfeeding POV, not to benefit the milk

Thanks flame/tiktok - I am shocked about the food intake thing and supply - everyone has said should have more calories for the milk.

How could I get him to feed for longer and if I offer both breasts will I have enough milk in time for the next feed?

Offering both breasts, and then offering the first one again if he'll have it will up your supply as your body will respond by making more milk. You're making milk as you feed so you never really get "empty".

Don't fall into the trap of thinking that just because this is the way it is this week, it'll be the same next week or the week after. Hard for us first timers not to be like that but really things will change and there's no point in looking ahead to weaning at this point .

I think I better namechange again - somehow DrNickRiviera doesn't seem appropriate for giving breast feeding advice and cheerleading!

agree with flame and tiktok. 12 weeks was awful for us. stick with it, and it does get better. i found that ds had a growth spurt every 4 weeks or so, and still - at almost 6 months and just started to blw - feeds every 3 hours, even at night. feed on demand and your supply will keep up.

Octo, you don't need to get him to do anything! He is doing just fine as he is. In a few days he may change without you doing anything about it. Offer both breasts by all means - have you not been doing so already? Nothing wrong with not doing so if the baby is happy and healthy and seems to only want one side, but most people prob do offer both breasts.

The frequency of feeding is what drives the supply.

The more often you feed the more milk there is.

It has zero to do with what you eat - see kellymom.com for more on the irrelevance of your diet.

you mean i don't need those extra 500 calories? bum. that'll be why i haven't lost the baby weight then. nobody tell dh, ok? him popping out to the shops for a bar of Galaxy in the pouring rain was one of the highlights of the past 6 months!

Urban, many women do feel a bit more peckish at the start of bf, and bf does use up calories....but you certainly don't need to count 'em. Eat according to appetite. If you don't, and delilb go hungry, the breastfeeding and breastmilk won't suffer, but you might.

Sorry if that's bad news

Hi Octo

I was worried about having enough for the next feed and bf consultant told me that within 30 mins you will be full again. DD would have both sides and go back to the first again some evenings (cluster feeding) before she would go to sleep, especially around 12 weeks.

Ignore the books that say a growth spurt lasts a couple of days. It is different for each child and with dd she would feed for England for upto 10 days before setting down again for a few weeks.

Octo, we went through this with DS at about 11/12 weeks too. Keep going with what you are doing. I personally stopped the regular weigh ins so I looked at his health & development rather than obsessing over his weight gain, which I was doing & driving myself bonkers with it!
As everyone has said- it does get better.

UrbanDryad - Lots of women I have spoken to say they haven't lost the weight until they either stopped b/feeding (and then it just fell off) or after about 6 months

12 weeks thing was knackering - and timed to coincide with our first holiday, thanks a lot. Stick with it, things will suddenly get a lot easier again after a few days.

Thanks for all your support - am going to keep at it until the end of the school holidays as a target!