bf 4 wk old - i've ran out - need quick advice!

[kelbel]

ds is doing great with bf and gained roughly a pound a week. th last few days he seems to be more hungry on a night and tonight i've got to the point where there is nothing left for him! he is constantly searching and therefor won't settle. I have a small amount frozen breat milk but havn't gone down this road of bottles etc yet - should i try? if this carries on don't think i'd have enought to express - should i consider formula to top up? bit clueless as 1st timer.

you have not run out of breast milk! that is just not possible

what is much more likely is that your little one is having a growth spurt and wants to feed more, which is fine, as it is the best way for your supply to increase to meet his demands.

more feeding at night, when there is more prolactin, IIRC, will help your supply increase

formula will fill your baby, but might also stop your supply building adequately

there is a growth spurt at 4 weeks, and he will get enough eventually, honest!. don't worry, just keep feeding as before, and also don't worry when he suddedenly starts sleeping loads more than usual in a few days.

Please don't consider the formula yet- your LO is most likely experiencing a growth spurt and as such your body will be gearing up to make the extra millk he needs. A pound a week is brilliant and as long as he has wet nappies and is alert then there is no concern.

of course, if the situation is distressing you then you are free to use formula as you wish; but from your post I can't see anyr eason why you should be feeling you should give any.

Keep feeding little and often- the extra milk will be available for your LO and he will be fine. The mroe your LO suckles and feeds the quicker it will be resolved.

And of course it goes without saying- rest lots, eat well and drink lots of fluid!

Congrats on your baby, and on doing so well with the BF.

Hi kelbel, a pound a week - you should be patting yourself on the back! AFAIK breasts are never 'empty' - suspect the rooting around is cluster feeding. Lots of 'em do this in the evenings, no idea why but is very, very common. And does not mean there is anything wrong at all. Just feed him whenever he wants - he's probably having a growth spurt and is suckling more to create more milk - more stimulation = more milk.

Btw, if you do try to express, don't panic if you don't get huge amounts - the amount you can express does not relate to the amount you produce when a baby is feeding directly. It's less stimulating than actual b/f so production is slower.

Disclaimer - I am not an expert, just a mother who has been there.

you haven't run out it's a growth spurt .. breasts never truly empty although they may feel as though they do

skin to skin and feed as often as he wants .. the more he feeds the more you'll produce

oh and it's witching hours anyway (normally from 5 till 10 IME)

meaning they cluster feed from 5 to 10 (or thereabouts) as they're learning to tank up for the night .. it's a biological imperative .. go with the flow if you can

Just keep feeding him , even if you think nothing is coming out! Snuggle up together in bed if you are happy doing that.

He's trying to increase your supply and tomorrow you may well be bursting at the seams.

DS did this once a week for the first 8 weeks or so. Always on a Thursday!

thanks for quick responses. i just mean ran out at that time. he's content for a while then starts twisting and pulls away and cries. i then give him the other and he does same again, content for a while then there seems to be nothing for him. the mw gave us a syringe a fe weeks ago so could try given him the breast milk through this as a top up.
Senora - hope he does sleep more - only sleeps on us day and night at the moment, hates being put down, really trying to get him in moses basket

Kelbel

Congratulations on the birth of your DS and for doing really well with the BF, a pound a week is fantastic!

My DS is 3 wks old and often behaves similarly - is feeding then his faces goes red and he twists and gets upset. Sometimes I've winded him at this point and it's been a lot of trapped wind (often I need to lie him on his back and gently bring his knees up to his tummy to release the wind). He also does this when I think he's comfort suckling but there's milk coming out. If I think it's this I let him have a wee suckle on my clean pinky finger and he goes to sleep.

Like everyone has said, the milk never runs out. The flow will be different but the more he suckles the more he stimulates milk production and it's continuous.

Kelbel, this really rang a bell - for a while with my daughter I remember switching every two mins or so for what felt like hours! It didn't last, she did settle, and was exclusively breastfed for 6 months. If you need to take a break, hand him over to your partner, have a warm bath, and come back to feed. I learnt to love the 5-10 marathon, and fed her till she could feed no more and conked out. Good luck, and well done for getting this far.

i really didn't want to turn to formula - so thanks for the replies - encouragement from people who've been there really helps. i've been really enjoying it and really spurred on by his weight gain as i was told he was a wee 6lb9 born so now doesn't look tiny anymore. i was just worried he wasn't getting enough, these breasts are wonderful things!

don't agree with syringe idea .. stick with the skin to skin and bf .. it sounds like your baby knows what's what .. let the baby lead the way and trust in your instincts

I had this with my second, she just wanted to be on the breast every 30 mins
Thankfully we rode it out, the next day was much better, it was just a growth spurt

you are doing great and as others have said you will not have run out of milk

I had one like this for a while, it does settle down have faith you are doing brilliantly so far.

I used to put DD1 down to sleep at 8pm, get in bed wth DD2, put on a film or watch telly and just sit and feed her, DP would bring tea and toast but it felt really lovely just lying in bed watching TV feeding a baby. This stage doesn't last long. Just let him feed as often as he wants.

Kelbel, I have just got through the twisting/pulling off thing and it really isn't that you don't have any milk

I found that DS did it when he was going through a growth spurt but also when he was tired and trying to settle himself off to sleep but getting frustrated because there wasn't that big glut of milk as he had been sucking for a long time.

Can you see if he will settle to sleep from rocking or in your bed with you.

You are doing really well, feel proud of yourself

You're doing brilliantly. As has already been said it's probably a growth spurt. Keep feeding him. Lots of skin to skin and no need at all for a syringe! Especially not if your wee man is gaining the way he is.

Batten down the hatches. Don't make big plans. Sleep when he sleeps.

I had cluster feeding and switching manically (usually when he was tired or grouchy) and it will get better. The best way for your supply to increase is to feed feed feed (even if it feels like there's nothing there!)

Agree with all the others its prob just a grwoth spurt/cluster feeding and very normal.
The twisting might well be wind, try winding him over your shoudler. It might be too that he is frustrated, that your milk is coming either quite fast or quite slow, it takes small babies a while to get the hang of feeding IME. Just feed him as often as he wants and for as long as he wants and have lots of lovely skin to skin with him, maybe cuddled up in bed.

Is some good info here
www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/baby/fussy-while-nursing.html

HTH

how are you doing now kelbel?

thanks for all advice, we're doing good. Got him weighed again on monday n he's now 9lb1 so i'm over the moon. He is still feeding every hour if he's awake - which is most of the time! but on the rare occasions that he sleep on me or anyone else for a few hours then I get a break! he's slowly getting there with being put down too. Suppose i was feeling a bit clostrophobic (bad spelling)! as he is feeding all th time and also won't be put down day or night.