Baby constantly feeding, help!!

[Jerykk]

DS is 4 weeks old as of yesterday and I am a FTM. He constantly wants to BF all the time during the day. It feels like cluster feeding but everywhere online says this should only last a couple of days at a time yet DS has been doing it since birth.

I’ve started giving him a bottle before bed to get a longer stretch of sleep. But then he wakes up after this sleep and wants to clusterfeed again.

My health visitor weighed him last week and he had gained 4.5 ounces in a week. She isn’t coming again until next week which I think is making me a bit nervous that he’s not getting enough or I’m not making enough milk.

DS also fights naps during the day and will only feed to sleep. Any advice welcomed greatly- weaning to a bottle is constantly on my mind to give better peace of mind. Thanks!

This is completely normal. He is establishing your supply. It’s really hard, I’m sorry you are struggling. It may last a few more months I’m afraid. His tummy is absolutely tiny so you will definitely be feeding him enough.

Congratulations on your new baby!

Oh I feel your pain, my baby did this in the first few weeks and it was absolutely brutal. I really wanted to quit BF at this point but I’m glad I didn’t as he came through it at roughly 6 weeks. I don’t really have any advice apart from get us much help as you can. Does giving him a bottle give you a longer gap between feeds? We found that for us it did, and it was our circuit breaker for when I was about to lose it. Sending lots of love

Congratulations and well done for breastfeeding. Your baby is quite normal and your milk supply will improve. Giving a bottle (if not your breast milk in it) is the only thing I would query as anything which reduces his demand on your breast is counterproductive.
Think of it as a demand and supply situation. The more he demands the more your body will supply.

This is normal

Its totally normal and is no indication of you not producing enough milk. Please don't stop BFing if its not what you want.

My 3rd baby is 6 weeks and for the first 3 weeks she slept all day and fed ALL night. It was brutal. Couldn't sleep when she did as I also have a 2 and 3 year old. Then all of a sudden things settled down and she's having great sleeps at night.

I did introduce a dummy because she was also comfort sucking but then because I have quite a big supply she was getting too much milk and being sick. This was different from cluster feeding because the pattern was a good feed and then she'd feed for a minute, fuss, be sick (a LOT) repeat. She'd just keep doing that over and over. Eventually I realised that she wanted the comfort but didnt need the milk and was too full to keep it down. Now I use a dummy to calm down those fussy bits (the dummy took persistence and encouragement) and when she's calm go back to feeding.

I wouldn't recommend this if your little one is happily feeding though as cluster feeding is so important in the early days.

Since its your first then take the chance to get snuggled up on the sofa where you are comfy with lots of snacks and water to hand and some good boxsets (Offspring on Netflix has been my saviour). Yes its frustrating that you can't get anything else done but try to forget about everything else and enjoy the cuddles. It will pass.

And if you have to refill your glass or go to the loo etc and there is noone to hold them then pop them down somewhere safe and don't stress if they cry while you get sorted. It is only a minute or two and it won't hurt them.

Good luck!

My DD (now 12w) is the same OP, although she has calmed down a bit now. I was convinced I was doing something wrong, or that there was some kind of problem, but all the Drs and midwives have said the same, that it's completely normal and that as long as weight gain is ok, we don't need to worry. It's incredibly frustrating though. All I did for the first few weeks was sit on the sofa and feed. It's felt really unfair at times as I'm not really enjoyed maternity leave despite having a quick physical recovery. It is getting better, slowly.

We supplemented with a bottle at the beginning on the advice of a paediatrician, but it didn't last long as it didn't seem to make much difference.

Sorry you're going through this too. Hang in there - you're doing everything right!