Waking up in pools of milk - last few days

[pamelat]

I am breast feeding my 4 week old baby, she is constantly feeding this last week. She genuinely seems to want to feed all day, which I have found very difficult (she used to b 2 hourly until this week) Anyway I seem to have spent all day for the last 3 days feeding her, my husband gives her a formula feed at 11ish and I wake at 2 and 5 ish to feed her (night time still has some kind of pattern, unlike the days!) I am finding that by 6/7am when she is back to feed again, I am covered in pools of milk. I have had to wash the bedding each day

I am a bit worried that this milk was meant for her (thus her over stimulating me in the day?)

x

Don't worry - she will still be getting what she needs from you. In the early days with my three I always woke in a pool of milk! Have you got a night time nursing bra?

not a night time one no, how are they different?

Also receiving lots ofn conflaicting advice agaainst demand feeding?

Just a practical tip re the wet bedding. My dd2 is 6 mths and still feeds on demand so some nights she doesn't have much milk. For night time I use disposable breastpads - Tommee Tippee. They are expensive but have a sticky back and stay in place fairly well. My washable breast pads move around and aren't absorbent enough at night, so I often end up soaked. (although they are great for day time)

Also try sleeping with a towel under your top half it may help save you having to wash the sheet.

i woke leaking overnight unless i wore breast pads and they stayed put. (so pretty much every night then, they always moved)

wonder if you are leaking because of overflow from dh ff at 10 pm, although there's not much logic to that theory if you feed at 2pm.

have you tried expressing? (dh could give that in a bottle)

my mother used the term demand feeding as if i was poisoning ds! it worked for us, on a supply and demand basis, but ds cried lots, so i didn't just feed him when he cried, and would try to settle him other ways if he had just fed. (and then fed him if that failed!)

am no expert though. hope this helps.

Why have you introduced the formula feed, just out of interest?

Some women do leak a lot during the night. There may be a technical reason why, but I dont know it

I used to leak until DS was about 18 months.

FWIW, if the milk is there, you may as well give to her instead of formula (express it if you are after a break or DH wants to be involved).

Oh - demand feeding is fine. Great in fact. Promotes good supply, keeps baby happy. It doesnt set up bad habits. Winning method all round

Re the conflicting advice you are receiving. I have no real answers other than to say most people that know about these things (bf counsellors etc) will advocate feeding on demand especially while the baby is still so young and you are establishing your supply.

You may well get well meaning relatives for example telling you that because the baby asks for frequent feeds this means she is not getting enough. Healthy babies generally feed frequently if they are b/fed on demand. Who is giving you conflicting advice?

It can be very tiring at this stage - I remember the excitement of having a newbie had started to wear off and the tiredness can be overwhelming. However, as the baby gets bigger the feeds usually start to be a bit quicker and slighly less frequent.

it's normal I think - at least it was normal for me. Your breasts are just responding to her enthusiastic daytime feeding by upping the supply!

I slept on a doubled up towel for the first three months as I hated breast-pads.

Just a thought - you might find that changing the formula feed to a breast feed helps with the wetting?

Also meant to say that a 4 week old (or a baby of any age really) doesn't just b/feed when hungry. Sometimes she may want a drink, other times a full feed, other times comfort. I just let my dd2 get on with it really. A few times she would be quite demanding for the breast, then the following day come down with a cold (caught from her older sister) so I would realise she was probably thirsty/had a sore throat.

One problem with trying to put her in a strict routine (if that is what other people suggest) is that the baby cannot tell the time and does not understand that she should drink lots at 7am (for example) because there will be NO MORE until 10.30am! I tell myself this during the night - my dd2 does not realise it is 4am and I would prefer to sleep.

what's the conflicting advice you are getting about demand feeding?

I seriously wouldn't worry about trying for a routine at this stage - they are so tiny at this age and your body is still working out how much they need, so it will take a bit of time while you both adjust. Things will sort themselves out naturally.

More advice may not help, but I recall being told that you need to feed at night as your body responds really well to night feeds and helps to make more milk both night and day - so perhaps you are just making more milk at night at the mo?

Anyway, I'd second the advice re disposable breast pads - I used lansinoh which are expensive but great. When you are in 'full flow' leakage into the breast pads will make them feel really heavy, but they NEVER leaked into clothes/bedding.

Oh, and good luck with demand feeding! I did it too, its a pita sometimes but I never regretted decision to do so (ds3 is 16 months and weaning himself off me, sob!)

night time feeding bras have the drop cup function like ordinary nursing bras but they are much less structured - provides some support and a place to keep your breastpads! Was a lifesaver for me - I tended to leak from the opposite one to the one I was feeding on and ended up soaked all round! And I could sleep in it without feeling like I was still dressed! Mothercare do them - I found mine a godsend tbh - was so fed up with soaking everything!!!

Hi all, thanks -am finding my day time nursing bra uncomfortable in the evenings - will try to get out to get a night time one.

Introduced formula feed as my milk supply was low by 10/11pm and the formula feed meant that I can go off to bed at 9 ish (handing responsibility over to my husband until the 2am feed). I should express but I tried twice in the earlier days and didnt have much success, was a bit disheartened about the volume I expressed (only 20ml) but I will try again - it just upset me a bit and I found it hard work..

It's very common not to get much when you first start expressing so don't be disheartened. It's not for everybody, true, but if you'd like to do it, it's worth trying to incorporate a regular pumping session into your day, about the same time every day (perhaps after your lo has fed in the morning) and before too long you should find you get more. And 20ml isn't so bad after 4 weeks of bf! You can save up any little bits you get and add them together to make up a bigger feed. lots of info on here

Can really recommend this night time bra here

Sleep on a towel. and you will probably find in a few nights/weeks that your boobs may adjust and not leak so much - if at all.

Don't worry about expressing volumes, it's no reflection of how much milk you are producing. It's a reflection of how good the machine is positioned and how good it is at accessing your milk.