Newborn continuously feeding for over 3 hours at night

[Rebelwithallthecause]

I’m in tears, I’m in pain.baby is less than 4 days old and is continuously feeding.
In the last 3 hours has only dropped off to sleep once for 5 minutes max before waking for more

This can’t be normal?

What should I be doing? Am I doing something wrong?

Day 3/4 is the absolute worst. Hormonally you are all over the place and baby is cluster feeding so you can’t rest! Of course it all feels too much! It is absolutely normal. Please refer to @TheDIsiilusionedAnarchist ’s post for what to look put for. Hopefully baby has settled for a good sleep now (I find the usually have a good sleep 5ish-8ish). Call your community midwives this morning and insist on a feeding assessment if you are still worried. Do you have your day 5 appointment today or it it tomorrow?

I was just coming on to suggest lansinoh but see you have already ordered some. They do sell it in supermarket/boots pharmacy so maybe try and get some sooner, it will be much easier to get a good latch without the shields.

Keep going, feeding is really erratic to start with but does settle down, baby just needs to build up your supply and their own sucking. Rest as much as you can in the day, just relaxing with baby, and when the midwife comes ask her to check the latch....don’t worry too much about baby weight loss at this stage, most newborns lose some the first few days and then start piling it back on.

I’m not a bf expert as only did it for a few weeks, but DD was like this in the early days. It was totally exhausting. A midwife suggested a dummy, which I reluctantly tried, and it helped massively! She still cried if she was hungry, but she was able to get comfort from sucking the dummy. It didn’t affect bf at all.

DS2 was born on 17/05 and I forgot how hard it is in the first week. He seems to sleep much longer between feeds when he's being held (rather than in cot), so after a big feed I hand him to my other half and go to bed for an hour or so.

If breastfeeding is hurting, this could be normal or you could need to check your latch. If your nipple comes out looking a bit flat (like the end of a lipstick) then the latch is shallow. Have a look online for tips on how to get a nice deep latch (i have to squash my boob and shove it in his mouth like a hamburger).

With my first, I ended up using nipple shields and I couldn't wean him off them till 5 months. They are a faff when you're out and about (less a probleem now I suppose) but they can also can affect milk transfer, so I'd use them as a last resort - in my case it was the shields or formula so I'm glad I made the decision I did. We ended up feeding for 20 months.

I breastfed all four of my babies and honestly it's completely normal for them to want to be at the breast all the time in the early days, It makes them feel really safe and secure. Someone suggested you try pumping to see how much milk you can get out, but there's really no need to do this. I was never able to extract milk with a pump but my babies all gained weight and fed well. I know it's really hard at this stage but it sounds like you are doing a great job! Hope you manage to get some rest X

You doing great, what you have described is all normal..you will need the nipple balm or cream to apply after every feed..your baby is working hard on upping your supply that's why s/he is nursing so much..all these feeds are a signals to your body that milk is needed and needs to be made..it's all very normal and you doing fantastic..
Will it get easier? Yes it will..your nipples will toughen up and your milk supply will establish..in the meantime have rest when you can and look after yourself too with some good food and coffee

Just wanted to join in with others to say it’s normal, and does get better. The third and fourth nights were the absolute worst for me. I cried most of the night and it was so painful then. It gradually got easier (especially once her tongue tie was snipped) although she did still cluster feed for long periods up until about 12 weeks. Thankfully it became earlier evening rather than the middle of the night! After that it was the easiest thing in the world. Lansinoh is fab.

I’d maybe think about getting another opinion on whether it is worth having the tongue tie snipped in case that is adding to the pain.

Expressing will give absolutely no indication of your supply and is the last thing anyone feels like doing with sore nipples and little sleep. Some babies do only feed for 30-40 minutes. Some go much longer.

You are doing a brilliant job

Can you manage to dial in to zoom La leche League meeting - there are two available tomorrow or three on Tuesday? They are all online and will have an experienced Leader (what LLL calls a breastfeeding counsellor) who can check your positioning and attachment, and loads of other mums who have been through the same thing. You can find them at www.laleche.org.uk/find-lll-support-group/

She stayed asleep until 7:20!
So I managed some sleep.
She went straight on breast when she woke and stayed there for 30 mins. Now being held by DH so I can stretch my legs a bit.

Day 5 weigh in is tomorrow morning.

I’m going to stay just focusing on feeding and sleeping all today.

I’ve bought loads of snacks in preparation for being hungry but I still have not much of an appetite. Maybe because of the surgery. I’m making sure I eat still though and have plenty of water.

Midwife said she was only to sleep in Moses basket or cot but she just does not sleep until touching me or being held and it’s making me paranoid

Latch wise - she definitely has a strong latch, nipple definitely comes out the right shape after. But still more sore when she feeds now than when she was first born.

Lanisoh coming tomorrow

I breastfed 4 and never got away without cracked and bleeding nipples at end of week 1. They are being "toughened up". But they do heal quickly. With #1 my aim was to get to 6 weeks. Somehow around 4-6 weeks it all just fell into place and by the time my goal of 6 weeks came, I was feeding pain free and went on to feed all mine for at least a year each.

One thing - if you intend using a bottle sometimes or mixed feeding, you need to introduce that before ten weeks and use one regularly afterwards or you may get refusal.

I also had no pain at first. In fact i noticed my nipple bleeding before I actually had any pain! I’m assuming it was the painkillers after my c-section, but they were certainly having no effect by day 4. A big deep breath as she latched used to help me through it, and that pain won’t always be there.

Mine fed like this for the first month at least. I watched do much Netflix! It is completely normally and it's outrageous that that sort of information isn't common knowledge to new parents. If I hadn't done a similar post after having my daughter I probably would've given up on feeding.

I’m going to stay just focusing on feeding and sleeping all today.

That’s perfect.

And if you think there is any risk you might fall asleep with the baby, then do set up a safe sleeping area. Much more risky on a sofa than in a safely set up bed. And so many newborns refuse to sleep unless cuddled, it’s entirely normal.

P.9 of this UNICEF leaflet shows the safet rules for setting up a co-sleeping space: www.unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/08/Caring-for-your-baby-at-night-web.pdf

With my first, I remember crying at the thought of having DD latch on again and the crying even more on reading the sterilised and formula instructions, not being able to understand them in my sleep deprived state and realising I'd just have to feed her after all. That day (day 7) was a bit of a turning point as, after getting through that feed, none of them were ever as painful, by a few days later my nipples had hardened up and we had a pain free and easy bf experience until she was about 15mths (actually, she did bite me once when she was about 9mths & teething).
It was also around this stage that I just realised what a newborn having no understanding of day & night meant and that I just had to go with it. Before she was born, I'd set up an area for myself in the sitting room and had done similar in DD's bedroom but had somehow overlooked our bedroom! There was no way I was going to get up and walk along the landing to DD's bedroom several times in the middle of the night so got myself sorted out in our room. We got another DVD player (this is going back a few years), got a side table with a bottle of water, some fruit & biscuits & things so that I could better handle night feeds. DH often ended up in the spare room but it worked.

Oh, and sometimes I'd just have a day in bed with DD when, as you've suggested, we just slept & fed all day. This carried on until she was at least 6 months if we'd had an "exciting" day (spent the day visiting friends or relatives for example) and she'd snacked rather than fed properly or her naps had been out of kilter.

As PP said baby will constantly feed in the early days to stimulate milk flow. This is completely normal but in a sleep deprived state you may think that baby isn't getting enough and worry about your supply. This usually isn't the case. Focus today on feeding the baby all day in bed and have DH bring you snacks and drinks. Establishing breastfeeding is hard in the first few weeks but it gets easier.

My DS was 6lb 11oz when he was born and his mouth was so little he struggled to get deep latch and it was sore. I used nipple shields in order for my nipples to heal and it helped so much.

Also as PP said, pumping out milk to see how much you produce is incorrect advice. Your baby is much better at drawing out the milk than a pump so you may pump very little and send you into an unnecessary panic!

Another piece of advice I was given was to not give up on a bad day. I promise stick with it and it will get better ☺️

Totally normal behaviour for a newborn - should be a little better now your milk is coming in. I'm a Mum of 8 and have breastfed them all - still feeding number 8 at 3.5 yrs. Even with no 8 the nipples had to toughen up a bit and when he went through a growth spurt and cluster fed for hours they'd get sore. Sounds like you've got off to a great start. Breastfeeding is supply and demand. Nursing stimulates milk production - lucky for us mums - particularly at night!!! At night is when most prolactin (milk production hormone) is released.

Noticed Last night that my right boob is a bit lumpy around the nipple.
Im making sure she feeds off that side and I’ve tried massaging it out but it’s just not going.
She’s not happy about it either as I guess it’s getting in the way of latching nicely

Should I be trying hot compress or cold compress? Anything else?

Get a nappy and fill it with very warm water and pop it in your bra so your breast is in it as the baby's bottom would be if that makes sense. Leave it for as long as you can and take it off just before feeding, that can help any blockages get moving. So pleased you're going to prioritise sleep and feeding today! Very sensible! Also pleased you've had more good advice from the other posters.

During the engorgement stage expressing some milk off (works well in The shower) can help the uncomfortable feeling and help baby latch. Also, when you get the "let down" I always find letting milk from the breast baby isn't feeding from flow onto a muslin or towel also helped relieve the over full discomfort. Some people like to catch that milk in a vessel so it can be cup or bottle fed to baby but I've never bother to do that.

Midwife said she was only to sleep in Moses basket or cot but she just does not sleep until touching me or being held and it’s making me paranoid

Your midwife should have directed you to the Lullaby Trust Safe Co-Sleeping guidelines rather than making unrealistic rules.

Heat helps milk flow, as does massage. Also changing the angle she approaches the breast can help to unblock ducts. If the bf supporter will do a video call, do try this as small,adjustments in latch can help enormously with the soreness.

I agree with @Bienentrinkwasser, I safely Co slept with all of mine, and it allowed me to get a good night's rest and still be able to function the next day! A newborn is used to being inside of your womb, listening to your heart beat and your breathing and your voice. Expecting them to go from that environment to sleeping alone in a cot or moses basket is unrealistic IMO!

OP- if you are breastfeeding this is completely normal! Please don’t think baby is using you as a pacifier or you don’t have enough milk.
The reason baby is sucking all the time is to make mike milk for the next days! The more he/ she sucks the more you will make. Their instinct is to root and suck all the time esp at 4 days old! This is the time your milk is coming in and the sucking is sometimes constant. I used to sit there for 6 hours sometimes with baby attached.
Use nipple cream lots and lots between switching breasts. Drink water. Make sure you eat. Check the latch is correct. Sometimes breastfeeding is painful at first - I used to count to 10 when first latched and scrunch my toes up. If it still hurt after 10 then take off and relatch.
So many mothers think they don’t have enough milk because baby is sucking all the time and always rooting. This is normal!

I have no professional advice only my own experience. It was really hard for me the first 6 weeks. I could have cried every time he latched, I used nipple shields on and off when the pain got unbearable. Around 2 months it got easier and now there is no pain and baby feeds around 4/5 times a day and 1/2 during the night. It gets easier, much easier and I dare say I actually like breastfeeding now.