growth spurt?? advice / moral support needed please

[chiefcookandbottlewasher]

i am breastfeeding my dd, 6 days old today. So far she has taken to it really well, no problems latching on, a little bit snoozy on the breast but getting some decent periods of sleep between feeds.

Since yesterday however, she has fed almost constantly round the clock with hysterical crying the minute she comes off the breast (she does this voluntarily but just wants to go back on immediately). She snatches small sleeps in between feeds.

My milk came in over Sunday/Monday and ironically the initial nipple cracking that i had has now healed and i have no discomfort when feedng. My main concern is that dd may not be getting all she needs from me, but last night after a solid 3 and a half hours swapping between one breast and the other i gave in and fed her some formula. she took about 30ml and promptly threw most of that back up so she appears to be filling up on my milk, its just that she can't get enough! Also, where initially my breasts were swollen and felt quite hard, they have now softened again and are comfortable. I take this as another sign that dd is getting plenty from them. I have checked that she is not suffering from wind, she does not just want to suck on a finger or dummy for comfort, has regular nappy changes etc.

My husband is concerned that dd is missing out on something and this is why she wants to feed all the time, also that i am getting only snatched five and ten minute bursts of sleep. He is trying to persuade me to switch to bottle feedng. I am determined to carry on feeding dd myself, can live wth the sleep deprivation (as long as its only short-term), and am hoping that this is merely a growth spurt and will soon pass. Can anyone advise / reassure me that I am doing the right thing? Would be really helpful to know that others out there have been through the same thing.

Hey chief how are you doing? Ds spaced his feeds to every 3 hour last night, hope he keeps it up!!

wow must be something in the water (or milk?!) Dd fed at midnight, 3, 7 and 1130 this morning. Can't believe how much i needed the sleep and how much better i feel now! Braved the cold and took her out for a walk for the first time yesterday, too. Sure the fresh air must help. As i type, she's snoring in her moses basket where she's been since 2 o'clock, so fingers crossed i can get an hour in myself now. Good luck for tonight!!

Thanks - and the same to you!

Thought it was too good to be true...

Fed at 9.40, then half a bottle of EBM (I managed to express about 4.5oz!!) at 11.30, then he woke again at around 1am but gave him back his dummy and he went to sleep again, gave him rest of bottle and some boob at 2.15am, then boob again at 4.30am. Was evil mummy and got him up at 6.30 as I could hear he was stirring and had just done a poo (very loud squirty noises ).
Going to feed him soon, as he'll probably be getting hungry again!

Hi you two,

Glad you are both getting some sleep, even if it is not every night. Basically those good nights get more frequent as time goes by but sometimes it just creeps up slowly. It's such early days yet, remember the magical six weeks everyone talks about for establishing bfing?? Seems a long time in reality eh??

Turtle, have you managed to get your latch checked out yet? I agree with Tiktok about postioning, it's just that as a thrush sufferer this time around alarm bells do start ringing so always get people to check out the possibility. Anyway, white nipple ends after a feed are a giveaway and also very painful shooting/burning pains inside the boob for up to an hour after a feed.

(Aside to Tiktok) - interesting about the hormones as I did have SPD with this pregnancy but thought it had sorted itself out. Maybe it was hanging around and running showed it up? Hmmmm. Don't want to stop bfing but also really want to start running again.

Thanks Laundry lover!

Didn't get in touch with bfc, but Dh helped me check latch and it looks fine. Feeding is painless on the left, but stingy on the right, and after feeding both boobs hurt regardless what one ds has fed on, right one is worse than left. Massaging the breast seems to relieve the pain some what. Going to ring BFC this afternoon, as I can't get to the bfing group due to visitors.

Ouch Turtle. When I had thrush teh pain used to keep me awake at night and it would only go away if I pressed on my boobs really hard - sound familiar? A bfc would be able to sort out positioning issues from any thrush issues so let's see what she thinks eh?

Where are you BTW? Do you have a Surestart bfing prog nearby for instance?

Laundrylover, yes that sounds very familiar!
It was the surestart group I was supposed to be going to today, my HV recommended I go along (apparently isn't many that go!).

Have spoken to BFC, and she is (like me) is on the fence about whether or not it is thrush. However she also suggested it could be Reynaud's. Now this does seem very likely as I do suffer from poor circulation and having had a look on a Reynaud's website I exhibit the symptons. She was asking me about how my nipples look, I said they look fine - though when my nipple comes out of baby's mouth it is always white, I thought this was normal but apparently it isn't and is typical of Reynaud's. So have to keep warm and get some heatpads and see if that helps. I am going to make an appointment with my GP.

That's interesting about the Reynaulds eh? White nipples are also a sign of thrush tho!! See how you go with your GP....not always very sympathetic or knowledgable so hope you get lucky.

That's interesting about the Reynaulds eh? White nipples are also a sign of thrush tho!! See how you go with your GP....not always very sympathetic or knowledgable so hope you get lucky.

Just found this thread and can I say well done and try to stick at breastfeeding, it really IS the best thing you can do for your baby, pretty good for you too to get your body back on track and you don't have to worry about yukky germs. It really does take about 30-40 mins to begin with as takes about 25 mins to get to the richer hind milk (the food bit after the drink bit).

I found my baby fed constantly in the evenings and HV said was cluster feeding and likely colic, or maybe your baby jsut gets the most pleasure of her day by sucking.

If you thinks she's had enough and has a clean nappy, whip her out in the pram even just to the local shops for 20 mins she should sleep and the fresh air will keep your eyes open.

If you want to express doing it in the morning when you are fit to burst b4 the 7am feed then give to your partner for 10.30pm feed you get a bit of sleep b4 the 1-2am feed can be good.

Thing is, it is YOUR BABY try to stick at b feeding but if it's not for you, it is your choice, but once you stop it can be hard to go back. Take a cardigan and you can feed anywhere and no-one can tell what you are doing apart from the loud sucking noises if anything like what my bub would do!

good advice carrelou, thanks! Am slowly starting to regain my sanity here thanks to a couple of relatively good night's sleep - last night dd went down at midnight, slept til 5, then back down at 6 and woke again at 10 this morning! I am also feeding constantly after about 5/6 pm until about midnight, kerrymom website was really helpful in explaining about cluster feeding and getting me to understand that its not me neccessarily doing anything wrong. If it means she's gearing up for a good long sleep, i can cope with spending a few hours plonked in front of the telly at night with a hungry lo!

turtle, if you don't get much sympathy from your dr is there a breastfeeding clinic or similar near to you? we have one here, only an hour a week but might be more understanding and a bit more geared towards your needs? my problem now is that lo is getting quite sicky once she's fed so need to work on my winding technique! any tips gratefully received!!

so glad your finding it easier

Hope you had a good night again, Chief!
I was going to go to the bfing group on Monday but I had visitors.
LL - I've had the whit nipple thing ever since I ds was born! Basically it comes out of his mouth very pale then slowly goes pink. I just assumed this was normal tbh, it's only when I mentioned it to the BFC that she suggested Reynauds.
I have noticed boobs don't hurt when bfing lying down, I think because the bed helps keep them warm - i.e. less of them exposed to air.
I'll let you know how I get on at the GPs this morning.

GP checked me over - he doesn't think it is thrush, and he thinks that it may not be Reynauds causing the pain (though he thinks I have it). He thinks it might be blocked milk ducts as when he palpitated my breast I commented they felt tender on the underside.
Going to bring it up again when I have my post natal check in a couple of weeks, got a few things to do to relieve the discomfort.

Hi ladies - came onto here to search for answers afer a difficult night with 2 week old DD. Feel much better after reading posts as DD was on and off breasts between 10pm and 3am last night - along with nappy changes, winding, trying to resettle etc... It feels very lonely (even though DH was up and helping too). I had wondered whether to get some formula as a last resort but HV today said that this is pretty much to be expected as she was only 6lb 6oz then lost weight, so it's good that she's feeding so much. I couldn't believe that she was getting ANYTHING after such a long time but HV said that it's her way of stimulating milk production.

It's so helpful to know that other people are in the same situation and to stick with it (although I do wish she could do this during the day rather than at night!!)

Here's to hungry babies!

hi lazyhen, really good to know its not just you isn't it? We're at the two-week mark today and for the last 24 hrs dd has been feeding almost non-stop! This time around, at least i have a clue why its happening and i won't give in to the dreaded formula! I'm shattered, but just hoping that in a day or two i'll be able to catch up on some sleep...

Our daughter is 13 days old tand can feed for
up to 4 hours pretty non stop, aofte in afternoons

midwife not worried and says to continue to demand feed

on average in daya she feeds forn hour every other hour, apparently just a sucky ahungry baby but i am shattered! know its 2 hourly feeds but cos duration i only get an hour "off", this is our first baby, is this normal ?

in last 48 hours she seems calmer at nights, more 3 hourly but still hour at time?

I have discovered that website mentioned earlier kellymom.com has really helpful advice and seems to say we are doing the right thing by giving the babies what they want when they want it. So pamelat I think that 'normal' is whatever your baby demands it to be!

Wow I wish this thread had been around when I first started breastfeeding last November! Kellymom is a fab website and has made me much much more relaxed about evening cluster feeding and feeding every 2 hours - basically made me realise that frequent feeding is NORMAL (in spite of everyone being at how often DS feeds).

Anyway sounds like you are all doing a great job. After 9 weeks I can honestly say that I really enjoy breastfeeding! The LO is a ridiculous weight so he is thriving (again in spite of what people around me were saying). I have started to express some milk in case I need to go out on the odd occassion and I find the sterilising etc a real ball-ache so I am glad I stuck with bf (although I realise that it doesn't work out for everyone).

Good night last night!

10pm last feed downstairs (been feeding on and off all evening)
10:45pm put him down to sleep
12:30am - DH gives him EBM
1am - put him down to sleep
He stirs several times, give him back his dummy and he falls asleep again
3:40am he wakes again, think eek! It's been hours since he last fed! He then spent 20 mins on each breast.
4.30am back to sleep, sadly due to weather, I couldn't sleep! Ds then woke up again just before 6am, our normal getting up time.

One thing I've learnt from my postnatal club is that every baby is different. Just because one baby who is the same age as yours sleeps through doesn't mean yours will!!

lol turtle at babies being different! This is baby 4 and all my others slept from about 3 months old she is nearly 9 months and doesnt sleep through!

hey turtle sounds like things are getting better there? A mixed night for me, dd settled by 11 then woke at 330 for a feed. Spent an hour feeding, chenged her etc, then just as she was settling she projectile vomited the lot all over herself and her moses basket! So we started all over again, changed clothes etc fed for about 10 mins til she fell asleep and by the time the whole thing was over it was 6o'clock. However, she then slept through some of the loudest thunder i've ever heard at about 8 this morning and is still snoring now so at least i've been able to catch up on another couple of hours kip.

ref the spitting up - am trying everything i can to get rid of any air when she's feeding, am winding half way through as well as after feeds, keeping her upright after feeding etc etc. but can't seem to do anything to ease it. Anyone got any tips? it mostly happens in the morning when she hasn't fed for a bit, so am also trying to slow her down a bit as it may be that she's getting too much too quickly? i know its a normal thing for babies to be a bit sicky and it doesn't seem to bother her but it would be useful to know if anyone has any ways of dealing with it?

pamelat, glad you came, is yours a Jan 17th baby? mine too! only two weeks down the line and it feels like they've been here forever doesn't it?

Soremummy - case in point

Chief - don't jinx me now
we'll have to see how he goes tonight! Got some friends visiting this afternoon, think'll have an early lunch as he is asleep.
Ds did the whole vomit everywhere thing yesterday, I was half way through changing him when he vomited all over himself, so had to finish changing him, strip him down, get the top to toe wash and wash him - it was even in his hair (and he has such a lot of hair [preen]). Have a look on my profile!