15 week dd2, bf not settled between feeds anymore. Finding it a nightmare with dd1 to deal with too. Any advice??

[laceylocket]

Just looking for a direction at the moment. Am feeling a bit lost as to what to do really!! Failed to bf dd1 so really want to get as far as poss with dd2. Always found bf quite tricky with my demanding dd1 to deal with and entertain, but at least dd2 used to sleep well between feeds. But not any more, she hardly sleeps at all in the day and will only go about 1.5-2 hrs between feeds now. Her weight gain has only been 16oz between 11 and 15 weeks (though she is still where she was on the chart- between 9th and 25%). Bf is taking too long and I am quite a shy public feeder. I ended up expressing this morning and she gulped down 5oz, was quicker than feeding directly. I really do want to bf though!! Has anyone else been in similar position, I am confident that I have enough milk but only if I just sit and feed her all day! Shoukd I add in a bit of formula (was thinking lunchtime feed to get her to sleep) or hang on for another few weeks and attempt solids?

Hi laceylocket. I don't have a lot of advice to offer as I'm debating bringing in a bottle too (especially as ds3 only gained 4oz over the last 2 weeks).

Obviously I don't know if you are a regular poster elsewhere but on this thread we are all PN with los roughly the same age as your dd. We're a friendly bunch and it's handy to have someone to work through these things with, and there's usually someone who can help.

Thanks for replying. I am off out tonight, a rare thing!! I will definitely have a look at the June thread tomorrow. If anyone else has any thoughts to share, they would be great to come back to later . I know this is such a common problem, which helps, but still don't know what to do!!

I don't know whether this will help or not, but I have read (Baby Whisperer) that between 3 and 4 months, they go through a major growth spurt, which often leads to more frequent feeding, like you say. But actually they need to be feeding less regularly - every 4 hours - as their tummies are bigger now, and if full, can sustain them longer. This means you need to try and increase the gaps between feeds so they take more on. DD2 may be unsettled as she's snacking and not feeling full. It can only be done slowly though (an extra 15 mins between feeds every few days), but you may find your DD2 more settled once she takes bigger feeds. I guess a big bottle of formula might help space the feeds out for you. I managed to space my DDs feeds out but only started from 3 hourly feeds, so it may be hard work to stop DD2 snacking and getting back on big satisfying feeds. I also mixed fed DD and giving bottles of formula or EBM helped as you know how much they are having. If you have expressed 5oz they I don't think milk supply is the problem- more like a growth spurt.