Hi, I posted here a little while ago and got loads of advice and reassurance so here I am with some more queries. I do go to a breastfeeding peer support group but I missed it this week.
DS is just over 3mo and is bigger than DD was when she was 6mo. I only BF her til she was about 12w.
At home, DS tends to feed roughly 2hrly so I tend to offer the breast about this often when out too if he's awake and unhappy. However he usually is a nightmare - latches for a minute then pulls off then latches then cries and milk is going everywhere, he's wriggling (he weighs over 6kg now and my core is still screwed from pregnancy so I'm getting back pain), my breast and nipple are flapping about in front of everyone...I find it so stressful and embarrassing. Do I just take him straight off if he doesn't settle within a min or two? But how do I know when he's hungry/when to offer again?
At home, he feeds ok unless he's overtired in the daytime when he does the fussing/crying thing but settles after a few mins if I pat and sing to him or walk around whilst feeding if desperate. I don't want to do this latter in public though as feel so exposed. However he hardly naps and he frequently wants to spend all afternoon attached to the breast. I sat down with him at about 1pm and ice barely moved in that time. He drinks, falls asleep for about 10 mins, wakes up and roots, latches back on for a couple of mins, falls asleep...I've tried putting him down but then he just cries and eventually screams and gets all worked up and nothing soothes him except putting him back on. Is it still normal for a 3mo to do this for hours and hours on end every day although it's only if we are at home? If so when does it stop?! Im finding it so depressing tbh.
Final thing is I'm not sure how to hold him to feed anymore? He's got so big and I hold him in cradle but then his bum/hips/legs are just hanging down off me and I worry it's not comfy for him with no support there? Ice tried koala but he just doesn't seem to get it and won't latch upright. He will if I recline back with him on his front on my tummy but this makes my shoulders/elbow etc ache after awhile supporting his head and also I'd feel too exposed to feed like that in public as I basically just lift my whole top up to do it.
Sorry for the really long post, really struggling with my mental health atm so thank you to anyone who takes the time to read.