Am i doing this right?? (Could be long!)

[blondiep14]

Right, i am exclusively breastfeeding my son who is 4 weeks old on Wednesday.

He has put on almost 2lbs since birth so am happy he is getting enough milk, but people keep asking me if i'm keeping up with him ok - does this mean your milk can run out??

I didn't really look in to breastfeeding as i kind of thought i wouldn't do it, just because everyone i know seems to have such problems with it so sorry for any dumb questions!

i think DS has colic as in the evenings he is pretty inconsolable with what appears to be a tummy ache, HV agrees, giving him infacol before feeds.
Am i causing this by feeding him wrong? I wonder because often he has 'rests' in between feeding and stops suckling so maybe he is taking in air?

Also, at nights he tends to go 1.5 hours between feeds, maybe 2.5 max - i have been told he should be going longer, but i can't ignore him. Am i 'making a rod for my own back'?

Also, i am wondering about introducing a formula bottle in a few weeks, maybe one at night so DP can help out, and very ocassionally one in the day so i can go out.
We have a wedding to go to in May and it is no children so i will need someone else to feed him in between me running backwards & forwards to him!

Sorry this is so long - thanks for reading & any replies!

blondie, you are doing great, but could prob do with a boost of confidence

Your milk cannot run out - as long as you are feeding often, you will make milk in response to your baby's needs. That's biology! People run out of milk , that is, stop making it, or stop making enough, if they introduce bottles, and this always has a risk. Some people can get away with the odd bottle and some can't.

If your baby is ok as long as he is feeding in the evening, on or close to your breast, and is only upset when you try to remove him, then this isn't colic or wind - it's jut a normal baby who loves feeding and being close to you

Resting in the middle of feeds is normal - all humans of whatever age pace their intake like this.

His night time feeding is nornal, too. By responding to his need for comfort and food, you are laying a solid foundation not just for his physical and nutritional health, but his healthy emotional and psychological balance. Ignoring a young baby's needs is unkind and consistently ignoring them can, we now know, have long-term effects.

My personal feeling is that it is unreasonable for brides and grooms to expect nursing babes-in-arms to be part of the 'no children' rule. But if you decide to go without your baby, at 3-4 mths he is certainly going to need something, either expressed breastmilk or formula, but you don't need to sort this out just yet

Hi blondie
I think at 4 weeks roughly 2 hours between feeds is normal at night - hopefully in a couple of weeks that will have increased a bit, but iirc at 4 weeks I was still sleeping on the sofa and feeding DS half asleep whenever he woke, on and off all night. Very quickly turned into me going to bed and waking a certain number of times (usually 3) for feeds.

Thanks Tiktok - i was really happy with everything but suddenly just worry i am doing something wrong!

I am seriously considering not going to the wedding at all, it is only in with a slim chance as it's DP's best friend ( you would thin they would cut me some slack wouldn't you?).

Bub screams at night whether near me or not unfortunately (usually same time every night, and can happen just after a feed, hence me worrying) but does sometimes appear he wants feeding again - for comfort i'm sure as he starts manically sucking his hand.
Have been worried feeding him when he is like this will give him more wind and make him worse tho?

He is four weeks old, feeding every couple of hours is normal.

Your milk produces as much as you use, so no, you aren't running out.

If you're exclusively breastfeeding it might be better to start expressing some milk so you can use that for DP's help/when you go out etc.
It's much better to try not to introduce formula unless necessary because of the gut, it's better to give only breastmilk for the first 6 months so as to get all the goodness from it, so if you can express, I'd suggest that.

But in a few weeks your milk will be quite established so it won't really be an issue giving the occasional bottle.

Hunkers blog and www.kellymom.com have some good info on.

The bloody NCT seem to have changed their website and moved the info on babies gut and exclusively breastfeeding but I'll try and find it for you.

Well done for feeding so far and congratulations on the brith of your baby.

Aren't people strange?

BF seems to be going well for you, so you must be pleased about that. So here comes people to rain on your parade. "Keeping up"? Not heard that one. I don't think it's just going to stop - feed when he wants as much as he wants and supply adjusts accordingly.

Colic, I don't think anyone knows what causes it. I don't think it's likely to be what you're doing. See if you can work out what soothes him, do that. Might be massage, rocking, laying on you...in my book, whatever it takes is what should happen!

Making a rod for your own back. . Don't worry about your own rods! Whoever told you he should be going longer obviously never told your son. And would he have listened? I doubt it. They do what they do. And you're right not to ignore. That's in the mummy contract (you did read that, didn't you?)

If you introduce formula, you may very well affect your supply. As the supply adjusts to what is needed, if that need is met elsewhere then supply dwindles accordingly.

The wedding - no idea the best way there.

Good luck. You seem to be doing the right thing without researching, you must be a natural!

Thanks everyone.

It doesn't help i'm a natural worrier i guess.

Have to go back to work in October so am already worrying about that!

I really do not feel happy about expressing tho i should try it i suppose, i didn't think i would be happy breastfeeding.

The mummy contract , i missed the subclauses about guilt and worrying i think!!

The other thing i forgot to say was that bub gets violent hiccups after feeding (most, but not all times) and often only takes one boob. Is all this ok too?

i agree with what everyone else has said, just remeber all babies are different, my ds1 put himself in a 4 hour routine with 10hours sleep at night by 5weeks!!! ds2 is now 7weeks and feeding every 2-3hours day and night!!

hiccups are fine, my ds2 is terrible for them, apparantly its just another way of getting rid of wind!

if baby has come off boob by himself then you offer the other side and he doesn't want it, hes just filled up on one boob, my ds1 never fed on both sides, just make sure next feed he has the side he didn't have before iykwim

if you do decide to express personally i would reccomend an electric pump, i know people who've got on fine with manual pumps but i hardly got anything with the one i had before i got an electric one!!

you doing a fab job and deserve a big pat on the back for trying, and sticking with breastfeeding!

Re breastpumps, I found the tommee tipee manual one quite good, it's half price at tescos too (£12ish). You feel a bit daft at first but its worth giving it a go esp in light of this wedding.
my son gets hiccups all the time too! Just started going abit longer at night (4,5 hrs once even 6 hrs!!) but I'd never ignore him if he was hungry, I just bring him into bed and feed lying down. He is 8 weeks old but at 4 weeks he was waking every 2 or 3 hrs.
General grumpiness is the norm late evening, he appears hungry but just gets upset no matter what.

I've tried to give him a bottle the odd time but IME this has made no difference at all to how long he'll sleep for and if he's windy it just makes him worse.

He used to just take one side at each feed but now he's often taking both

MN is a great source of info, and if you trust your instincts too you wont go far wrong!!

sorry - one more thing , he seems to be prone to trapped wind as he scrubches himself up & cries & goes red in the face. this comes/goes in waves - anything i can do to help?

he poohs s a lot so i dont think its constipation...

for the wind you could try either lying him on his tummy across your lap and rubbing his back or holding him shis back is upright and completely straight

hth
x