2 week old breastfed baby won't stop crying

[Eaglebird]

Please can anyone help?
My 2 week old DS is breastfed. He started grizzling for a feed around 7.30pm so I put him to the breast. At 8.30pm he was still sucking. When he started to doze off I put him in his cot, as I usually do, and he started crying again.
I put him back to the breast, and he started sucking contentedly again. As soon as he dozed off and I put him down to sleep he started crying.
I have now had him at my breast, and trying to put him down to sleep for 2 and 3 quarter hours. He is currently in his cot crying like mad.
I don't know if he is getting enough milk to satisfy him. He is clean, as I've just changed his nappy, and his room is at the correct temperature. I just can't get him to stop crying, unless I put him to the breast.
I'm absolutely shattered and am in tears myself due to lack of sleep. I just don;t know what to do.
I have tried to express some milk with my pump, but have only managed to barely cover the bottom of the pump bottle. Not sure if this is because my breasts are now empty due to DS continual feeding, or that I'm not making any milk.
DP is at work on night shift, so I'm alone with DS, and am desperate for anyone to offer any suggestions as to what I should do.

He may be feeding for comfort rather than anything else, my DS was similar esp in the evenings, he was quite happy sucking away but I ended up getting very sore. Hes bound to be getting enough milk if hes growing and having lots of wet nappies, I could never express very much eiother even when i'd been feeding for months.
With my DS this phase was short lived and didn't happen evey night, you could try a dummy if you want to and see if it is the sucking he needs, or he might suck on your finger as least your boobs will have break!
Babaies tend to have a bit of a growth spurt at around 3 wks aswell so t could be that. If you can, I would advise just to go with it as far as possible, this won't last forever.
The more he feeds the more milk you will make, things always seem much worse when your tired, on your own and , for me, when it was night time.This stage will pass I promise!

Hi Eagle

Someone more knowledgeable may be along in a minute but I can only share my own experiences.

When my DS was a similar age (2/3 weeks) he went through a massive growth spurt and fed pretty much 24/7 for a few days. I was v worried that I didn't have enough milk and that he was hungry (I didn't know about MN then!) but it did settle down in a few days.

Cluster feeding in the evenings is totally normal -- at this age my LO would be on the boob all evening until I went to bed around midnight.

I would not give a dummy at this age as he needs to suck to get your milk supply up to feed his growth spurt.

Co-sleeping is a great way of getting more rest while being able to BF on demand at night.

I feel for you. Babies can sometimes be very determined. Has he been falling asleep on the breast at all in the last day or so and got used to suckling? Could it help to give you a rest if you lie down with him to feed - that way you can dose if you need to. I would imagine he is satisfied if he has been on the breast. I think you will still be making milk - I am not an expert but have had 2 babes and they both went through this at about 2-3 weeks. I think I would be tempted to take him in my bed and lie down to feed. Hear for an ear if you need one!!

Also, like Layla, I have never managed to get much out when expressing (and have been BF for 9 months now!). Babies are much more efficient at getting milk out than pumps.

It is a tough time esp. when you are still knackered from the birth, but it will pass very soon.

How are you feeling now?

ooops - here for an ear - basic spelling mistake....Back of the class for me

IME this is very normal when babies are so small. I dont htink it has much to do with milk but more to do with comfort, cuddles and warmth.
With DS2 I didnt put him down to sleep in his cot until he was about 3-4 months old. He slept on me, or next to me on the sofa, when he was tiny and then we'd put him in his carrycot in the same room as us when he was a bit older. I think they like to be cuddled up to their parents when they are tiny, not alone in a big and relatively cold cot.
I wouldn't bother expressing either - too much hassle and can interfer with your supply in the early weeks. Perhaps just let him suckle and lots of cuddles and consider offering a dummy too, as that can help with a sucky baby.

Eaglebird, I think your experience is fairly normal - even down to being in tears.

Although it's awful at the time, and feels never-ending, in a few weeks time when you look back you'll realise that this stage does actually pass quite quickly. That's 20/20 hindsight for you!

I used to feed in bed - and sometimes I could doze a bit while baby fed.

Good point about feeding in bed. I think in the first weeks/months it is much easier if you sleep with your baby, that way you can rest too and it really seems to help settle them to sleep.

Oh eaglebird - I've been there!
Both of mine didn't settle in the evenings for the first few weeks - they just wanted to feed and grizzle! (I b/f both of them, and neither ever took bottles much)

We got through it much better with dd by:
a) repeating that most impportant of all parenting phrases 'its a phase, it's a phase'
b) just lived in a darkened front room on the sofa in the evenings - dd just fed when/as she wanted, we watched TV (sound down very low), but she was in the dark so learning night/day (hopefully!) - we sat on the sofa with her/walked round - and brought moses basket into the room & settled her in there when we could - but didn't worry about it too much if not
c) bursting into tears occassionally [smile[
Mine settled down about 4/5/6 weeks ish ... it WILL get better!

Early days and we all know how it feels.
The constant suckliung is important to get your supply up and running. Don't be fooled (like so many women0 into thinking that constant sucking means there is nothing there.The more he sucks the more milk your body is primed to produce.A beautiful symbiotic example of supply and demand.

Keep him close,take it easy and make sure absolutely everything else is delegated to other people.

Could you ask anyone to keep you company in the evenings when your dp is working nights? You'll still have to manage the loneliest part of the night yourself, but it might help if you haven't spent 3 desperate hours alone before even going to bed.

Just for the next couple of weeks, you understand. I'm not suggesting that this will be forever.

can you take him to bed with you and feed him lying down so you can both doze off together? don't worry - you don't ever run out of milk, it just gets 'richer'. will he sleep on you or does he need to feed? i just wondered if the problem is really that he wants a cuddle and doesn't like going in his cot? i had to sleep with dd lying on top of me for the first few weeks.

Echoing the sentiments below. These phases feel sooooo long, but it's only two week since your ds was safe and warm inside you, getting food 24/7. We used to snuggle up on the settee in the dark and feed throughout evenings too (with Ceefax page 888 on - the subtitles - so that we could keep the sound low!)

Did you have an assisted delivery? Our ds1 became very colicky a few weeks older than your ds, and eventually we found our way to a cranial osteopath. Wish I'd found them weeks before. They are particularly recommended after assisted deliveries - venteuse or forceps - as their technique of very gentle head 'massage' - (it's so gentle that it can't really be called massage, more a sort of holding) can be very helpful for restless babies, who can apparently have headaches and have some difficulty feeding as a result of the birth. If he doesn't settle eventually, I would thoroughly recommend it. He was a different child after just two treatments.

Best of luck!

Sounds just like my DD1, by 10 days I was at the end of my tether. I bought a dummy and it was like a miracle, she became so much happier and contented and so did I. I don't know why I was surprised, she was born with strange little sores on the side of each hand which the midwife told me were sucking sores from sucking inutero. She just wanted to suck all the time.

I never found it confusing knowing when she needed a feed, if she was hungry then the dummy didn't satisfy her or stop her crying for more than a couple of minutes (I was demand feeding although I think the dummy helped her to fall into a fairly predictable routine quite quickly as I stopped trying to feed her all the time to stop her screaming and therefore found I was just feeding her when she was hungry). My milk supply continued to be abundant and plentiful and she certainly never had any form of nipple confusion. At around 3 months she found her thumb, spat out the dummy and even now (rising 3) is rarely without the thumb jammed in her mouth (drives me mad). With DD2 I offered a dummy from about day 3, but unlike DD1 she wasn't that interested, although I still found it a help at nap and bed time. She also dropped it for her thumb by 3 months.

Anyway, a dummy might not be the answer, it certainly isn't for everyone, but I can't help thinking it's worth a try. Some babies just do like to suck ALL the time.

Wow this brings back memories.

The most important thing to tell you is that it is a phase (possibly growth spurt related) and will pass.

I would swaddle the baby and let her feed as much as she needs. Try to get comfy - take some magazines to bed or lie on the sofa with her so you can watch tv. Let your nipples airdry so that you don't get sore. Make sure she is well winded after a feed. My DD got colic, which made her want to feed MORE for the comfort of sucking, which made her more colicky. Infacol worked a treat.

I just thought it might be because he likes the warmth of your skin, try putting a hot water bottle in his cot so it warms it up, then lean forward with him very slowly while you put him down and take the hotwater bottle out, then stand up slowly and see if he wakes. Just a thought.

Thanks for your replies.
I had 120ml of expressed milk in the fridge, which I expressed over the course of the day. I gave him 60ml of that and he guzzled it down, so I suspect he has been hungry all along.
After drinking the 60ml, he kept turning to my breast as if trying to get more milk. I've managed to pacify him for the moment with a dummy, as I'd like to save the remaning 60ml of expressed milk for his next feed, in case I need to top him up with this expressed milk.
What a worry. I feel like I'm not making enough milk to fill him up. If i can manage to get him to sleep for a bit, I will try to use my pump again. I'm hoping that will stimulate my breasts to make a bit more milk. I'm so tired though, and I think the stress of this evening may be affecting my milk production. I'm tempted to buy some formula just in case, but DP has the car for work tonight, so I can't get to the 24 hour supermrket.
I think I will have him in bed with me tonight, as it will be easier to feed him, and I can pacify him easier too - so thanks for that suggestion.
Notquitegrownup, it's interesting you mention assisted delivery as he was delivered by forceps. But today is the only nightmare day I've had with him since he was born. He had a 'greedy' day a couple of days ago, where he wanted to feed every couple of hours. The midwife said it was probably due to a growth spurt. If the problem continues I may take him to an osteopath. I saw one about my neck once and was very impressed with the results.
I'm just hoping DS will settle and sleep for a bit soon.

Eagle, listen to me.
LISTEN
The way to make more milk is to feed him often.This is how breastfeeding works.
A lot of people mess it up by trying to stretch a baby to last between feeds (thinking their body needs time to make more milk) or introducing formula or loads of EBM.)
EBM is fine but the pumping shouldn't take place of regular feeds and frankly,as it is such early days, you might be better off just concentrating on b/feeding.Don't make life more complicated than it has to be!

And you mention him turning to your breast.
Well he knows what he wants.
Let him feed!!!

Hope you have a better night. Try to enjoy these snuggly nights of feeding, they don't last long! Forget about formula, your bound to be making enough for him but BF is hard work and takes its toll on you.x

congratulations on your little one. HE is an expert eating machine and he WILL be able to get milk out even when you can hardly pump any. All the feeding he is doing in this "big eat" will boost your supply a treat. ds1 used to do this every 2-3 weeks - lasted 24-48 hours. ds2 hardly did it at all, but it happens.
hope you get some sleep soon - it is a bit of a draining experience in more ways than one...

Listen to moondog and others. please don't faff with expressing. it is just more work at this stage. just feed him straight from the tap.

breastfeeding is not just about food. it is about comfort. he wants to be next to you, attached to you. it is normal. as he grows some more, he will need that less and less.

co-sleeping will make it easier for you and your baby. here is a link which answers some FAQ about cosleeping and has some fab links at the bottom if you want more info.

As all the others have said Eaglebird, you just need to feed him as often as he wants, that is the only way to get breastfeeding working well, not expressing/topping up, that is just myth! Just because he wants to feed lots, and guzzles milk from a bottle, doesn't mean you dont have enough milk, the baby is simply stimulating your supply. Babies often guzzle from a bottle as it much easier to get the milk than from actual breastfeeding.
It is VERY tiring in the first weeks but it goes so quickly and it is much easier to feed as often as he asks rather than worry about expressing/faffing with pumps, bottles and sterilisers.
You have had some good advice here, I really hope you feel able to take it on board.
Try and go with the flow - breastfeeding is much much easier if you don't clock watch. Enojoy the closeness and cuddles with your LO.
www.kellymom.com/ is a very useful site for info on breastfeeding.