Help for 1st time breastfeeder please!!

[sushistar]

Hiya, I wonder if anyone can help me? My 1st baby is 2 weeks old today. We've taken to breastfeeding like ducks to water, but now he wants to feed ALL THE TIME - sometimes for 4+ hours, with just little 10 min breaks before he's crying for more food. I think he's getting plenty of milk (lots of wet and dirty nappies) and I leave him on the breast until he falls off all drunk-looking and dribbling. But then almost straight away he wakes up and starts rooting, sucking his hands etc and looking for MORE! I've been feeding on demand because everything I read said that would make sure I was making enough milk for him, but I'm wondering now if I'm doing something wrong? Is it normal for a 2 week old to want to feed for 4 hours solid? At nights I just leave him on the breast all night so I can get some sleep - luckily bf hasn't been to difficult for us so I can fall asleep on my side while he sucks, but I'm getting worried I'm doing something wrong. :0(

sushistar, I actually found bfing like this for ds1 but not for ds2. My theory is that when I had ds1 my breasts had to learn to make a milk supply whereas on ds2 they had already had practice and he didn't have to suck so long to get the same effect. Your ds is very young, too, it does settle down after the first 6-8 weeks or so. Well done, you sound like you're doing a great job!

Hi Sushi, No one tells you how much they feed in those early days do they? It was a complete shock to me! Your baby's feeding sounds absolutely normal to me, i remember similar with DS who is now 7 months old. They do soon start to feed less (bar a few growth spurts) so you won't feel like a friesian cow for much longer, just put your feet up and watch TV or read a magazine whilst DP fethches you tea and cake - very important to keep your strength up you see!

Well done on getting on so well with the BF!

You're doing brilliantly and remember that the sucking is for comfort as much as food.Also lots of sucking does NOT mean there isn't enough milk, rather, it stimulates breasts to produce mpore.

If you really cant take any more and know that he is full, then pass him to dh and go for a walk or a bath. I found if I were there,then the baby wanted me. be careful with this though. You must feel confident that he has had enough.

Sushistar - I had this with my DS where he was feeding so often that I was convinced he wasn't getting enough food. I ended up taking him to the local baby clinic to be weighed and he'd put on loads of weight He's 11 weeks now, and still feeds a lot but nowhere near the amount he did was he was 2/3 weeks old - HTH

Thanks so much for all the reassurance guys! I think it's as much about my attitude as his feeding - it's a big adjustment. But I feel a bit saner today - he's fed as much but I have resigned myself to it.

That's true Sushi.You have to be sort of Zen and accepting and go with it. Don't fight it.

I found this hard as I am someone who has to be doing something every hour of the day.Looking back on it though, i am so glad I breastfed as it forced me to sit and enjoy my babies and hold them close.

i am so manic that were i a bottlefeeded i suspect I would have delegated loads of it and got on with defrosting the fridge or ironing teatowels or something similalry foolish. [hmm[

lol at milk bingeing

congrats on your new baby

all sounds perfectly normal to me
go with the flow and bf on demand, don't look at the clock [ or throw the clock away]

and dont listen to relative that say is that baby feeding again !!

your doing a great job
keep up the good work