Newborn feeding constantly - is this normal?

[bumbleweed]

My ds is a week old now and he wants to breast-feed constantly. He feeds a bit then falls asleep on the boob. But then if I put him down or hand him to dh he starts to fuss and root until it builds up to a cry. Only time he settles not on boob is in sling with me walking round. I want to demand feed rather than hold off but feeling really drained today and would really like a bath! Also my bits are still really sore so want to sit down rather than walk around.

Anyone else had this - does it last long?

bumbleweed you may find that it just last for a few days as it a growth spurt. i used to walk my daughter around in pushchair otherwise she would always trick you into thinking that they were hungry but just wanted to be held etc. i even tried a dummy with her but she wasnt interested and it soon past. by the time she got to about a month i would not feed her until two hours had past otherwise she would constantly want to be on the boob and barely fed anyway. see how the next few days go...

Its perfectly normal, You feel like a milk machine!! it will settle and you will get into a routine it just takes a bit of time. He is only a week old, personally I would make sure you try to grab time for a bath, maybe your partner can have cuddles while you have a bath?
IT DOES GET EASIER.

bumbleweed, sure lots of people will come on here and say wise things.. it does take a while to work out what is a "i need feeding now" cry and what other cries mean. I only have one ds and of course all babies are different but if he is feeding well he probably really needs a feed every couple of hours. But the first few weeks are always going to feel draining/overwhelming/finding your feet. I was quite into routine rather than demand feeding but even so i think the first couple of weeks i fed him when he seemed hungry (admittedly not all the time!).
Would also advocate a dummy although many wouldn't til you are settled with bf. I was totally against using one but really it saved me - when your LO just wants to suckle it gives your boobs a break! Sorry your bits hurt, i remember that well - have a bath witl lavender oil and milk in, really helps the healing - honest. All the best, it will get better

It is very normal, and will settle down in a few weeks. My advice is roll with it and don't fight it. If your ds is hungry or wants a cuddle, he's hungry or wants a cuddle, so trying to resist it or 'not giving in' will leave you stressed and ds stressed - hope this makes sense!

Get your dp to take him out for a walk in the pram while you have a bath. That way you can relax for a while rather than constantly having an ear out for your ds.

Oh, and congratulations on your lo - the best christmas present you could have!

Hey, my ds is 2 weeks and it's exactly the same! He's giving hungry signals ALL the time, and has been since day 2. I started a thread on it here [www.mumsnet.com/Talk/1364/441519?pg=1] and got lots of good advice. It's really draining, isn't it? But I guess I've sort of resigned myself to it now, and feed him when he wants even if it means the whole afternoon and evening on the sofa. One thing I found helpful was sometimes giving him to my dh to take out in the car/pram, so I couldn't hear the screams, and taking 20 moins for myself for a bath or whatever. I had to keep telling myself that the crying didn't mean anything bad, that I KNEW he'd been fed so he wasn't going to starve if I took 20 mins off! I'm really hoping it doesn't last forever, but I'm feeling more peaceful about it now. A couple of days ago I thought I'd go nuts! But the general consensus seems to be it's a phase they go through and it'll pass. Lets hope so!

Very very normal.

Congratulations!

thank you all for your messages - sushitar I saw your thread and read it thoroughly after I had posted and realised my query was identical!

had a much better day - was happy to sit with dh or my mum in between feeds

also worked out he wont take a good long feed when too hot - so stripped him down a bit when I wanted him to feed properly

bumbleweed, remember right now his little belly is tiny, that's why he takes little and often, the only reson you'll sometimes find formula babies differ is when they are fed structurely ratehr than on demand, if you give baby X amount of ounces every X amount of hours you stretch their stomach so they last longer (albeit artificially) Ds was the same, then after a week or two settled into mroe of a routine, then fed all day for about 2 days during his growth spurt at 6weeks, bear that in mind if you notice he isn't coming off in a few weeks!