Feeding with eyes shut?!

[melaniespeaking]

I am posting messages everywhere today, so am obvioulsy feeling a little nervy/sleep deprived, but

DD is now 8 weeks, and she never seems to feed for a long time, mainly 8 mins or less.

She is quite a sleepy feeder.

She oftern shuts her eyes, does that mean she is just sucking, or can they feed when they look like they are asleep.

She is managing to go 3 hours between feeds.

I just am feeling like I wish I could see how much she takes, but am b/feeding.

My husband tried a bottle of expressed at 10.30pm at night, which she took for 3/4 days, but now completely refuses it, so also feel quite despondent that I may be b/feeding for the rest of my life.

Sorry to whinge!! Yours in breast pads - melaniespeaking!

I used to be able to hear the gulping sound when feeding my sons! They weren't very discrete feeders Also, I think that if you can see their ears wiggling, it's a sign they're feeding properly. Yes, they can feed with their eyes shut - I always took it as a sign of contentment and missed it when they got old enough to look around whilst feeding and try to stick their fingers up my nose.

If your DDs going 3 hours between feeds, she's probably feeding fine. Is she gaining weight nicely? Happy & content between feeds? I had quick feeders - generally over and done with in 15 minutes maximum - and they fed every 3 hours in the day and piled on weight. My HV was always pleased with their weight so I never worried*

If you want expert advice, give the NCT breasfeeding helpline a call on 0870 444 8708. you can speak to a trained breastfeeding counsellor and talk through your concerns. She may be able to put you in touch with a local counsellor who could watch you feeding and help you face to face. Assuming you're in the UK!

Hope this helps!

*OK, of course I worried... it's a mother's job!

I knew you may ask about the weight thing, and for one reason and another I haven't had dd weighed for 4 weeks, so although I am positive she is putting on weight, I think you are right just getting her weighed would answer a lot of my queries.

It is nice to think that she is so contented she is mummy milk heaven when she is feeding that she keeps her eyes shut - I think I'll bare this in mind and just to with the flow a bit more - something i find very hard to do - thanks soupdragon!

I would second the weighing thing. If she's gaining between 4 & 8oz a week she's doing well. At this age, I got ds weighed every week - going to the clinic gave a focus to my day! Of course, after about 4 months I stopped and went again only recently, at 8.5 months! Getting her weighed will stop any worries you may have, and you can just relax and enjoy it. Please perservere with the bottle - 2 of my friends who introduced it at 6 - 8 weeks, dropped it out of laziness, or christmas, or holidays, or the faff of expressing a few weeks later, and haven't been able to reintroduce it. The books say this is an ideal age to introduce 1 bottle a day - so keep at it. If she's hungry, she'll take it. If she doesn't take it then, try it at a hungry feed - 1st thing, maybe? Then you'll still get your lie in

Ways to check your baby is getting what she needs at this age: appropriate weight gain (4-8 ounces a week is a lot for some - plenty of healthy babies gain less than that), wet nappies, contented behaviour.

Looking at the clock won't help you work out what she's getting - some babies eat more, or less, quickly, than others. It would be like calorie counting by timing you sitting at the table!

Plenty of babies close their eyes when feeding.

You don't need to know how much she's getting If this was important, nature would have given us transparent breasts with calibrations on them

Babies' intakes vary, anyway; that's ok! It's just human to vary in all sorts of ways.

It all sounds normal to me.