Can I extend time between feeds

[Pumpkindoodles]

Baby is 5 weeks old and has fed every hour pretty much since we got home from the hospital, except the early days when she would cluster feed all night
She is gaining plenty of weight and
I thought my supply should be established by now, I expected feeding to start to slow down after a month but there’s no sign of that. Can I stretch the time between feeds? I’m exhausted from being up all night and it makes it difficult to do things and get out the house during the day with my older dc because I have to stop to feed all the time

Try feeding more at each feed and she might be able to go longer between them.

You could try...
Breast compressions to keep the flow faster
Keep her awake if she's falling asleep during the feed, eg tickle her feet and talk to her if she's dropping off

But if she's hungry, she's hungry tbh. It'll get better when she gets older!

She’s not cluster feeding anymore. She just eats every hour all day and night as her general routine. When she has cluster fed in the past it’s more frequent and only lasts a couple of hours / days. I don’t think that’s what’s happening. And from what I can tell it’s more average for them to feed every 2-3 hours by 5 weeks old.
I’m obviously feeding on demand, but I’d like the demand to allow me more than a few minutes sleep at a time if possible.

Thank you I’ll try this

I feel like a broken record on these threads but ... please get your latch checked by a breastfeeding specialist. There may be some ways to tweak your latch so your baby gets more milk at a feed - the consistent frequency suggests to me that they are not getting enough in a feed to be satisfied for longer.

I think my expectations are reasonable based on those around me and my midwife and Google, but fair enough.

Thank you, she is gaining weight faster than average which made me think she was getting enough? What do you think?
I’ll go to my local breast feeding support group though and ask about latch

A poor latch doesn't always mean lack of weight gain, or pain for the mother, and if your supply is abundant (in these early weeks while it is hormonally driven), babies can just gain nicely without putting in the hard work. If this is the case many mums don't realise it's non optimal until their baby is 3 months ish and by then it is MUCH harder to correct, and the mum's supply is likely to be impacted.

I've supported many mums in similar situations, if this is what's going on here, it's fixable but might need a little extra effort for a week or so!

Can I ask how you hold her during feeds? Is her head tipped back (big gap between her lower jaw and throat) or more angled down (chin pushed in towards her chest)?

Also - how long did you feed older DC for?

I only expressed for a few weeks due to circumstances at the time with older dc

this is really helpful thank you, I’ve occasionally wondered about her latch, but as she is gaining so well I assumed it was fine. Anytime I’ve spoken to the HV or midwife they’ve said feeding is ‘obviously’ going fine since she’s gaining so well, so again I thought I must be wrong about latch. I’ve got Non of the typical bad latch things like pain but sometimes she won’t open her mouth very wide. I’m now worried I’m going to have messed up my long term supply!!

You have not messed up long term!!

You have around 3 weeks to really get your supply up. I talk about it as creating the size of your tank - there may be times over your BF journey that your baby feeds less and it won't need to be full, but there will be growth spurts/illnesses/other things when your baby will need more, so it's important in the early weeks to get them to feed effectively to build the biggest tank!

HVs/MWs just want to see the weight gain and as long as baby is happy, they are! And you've been comfortable, so that's good!

I wonder if you are cradling her in the way we think of when we imagine someone BFing, so her head in the crook of your elbow, and able to see the corners of her mouth? If so, have a google of the cross cradle hold and start there!

I've literally just started a thread with the same issue! Yes newborns can go 2-4 hours I have friends whose babies regularly do and mine does sometimes..she just likes as a rule to feed more often.
I can't offer much advice as I have a similar problem but wanted to offer some solidarity..!

Thank you @JRTfan have you tried anything that’s been successful? I’m booked next week with a breast feeding support person so I’m hoping to get some advice then. I tried expressing to see if I could just give her lots of milk that way and be sure she’s getting enough, but she just drinks it then wants more anyway. I’m starting to think she’s just a hungry baby and I’ll just need to wait until she’s not growing as much.

@Pumpkindoodles nothing I can say I've done in particular no but today we have had a day of long sleeps after a really good night (went 3 hours between feeds) yesterday tho was a grumpy/hungry day so I guess it's just rolling with the bad days and enjoying the good at the moment!

Yes you can. When I had 1 in school, 1 half days in nursery and a toddler I had to time feeds round school and nursery runs, I worked a routine out before he was born then tweaked feeds day by day until he fitted what I needed. It meant waking him early morning at the beginning to fill him up before I got the others up. It’s not a popular view but you do what works for the whole family not just the new one.

@Velvetbee she screams and screams though when she decides she wants to feed. And that happens every hour, no matter how long I feed her for, or breast compressions or anything like that. I don’t know how to make that fit? Genuinely your routine sounds great so any tips would be great

@JRTfan amazing! Congratulations! How old is she now? I wonder just as they get older if that’s enough? Is she a big baby?

DS had Tongue Tie and was pretty much feeding 24/7 but as he was gaining weight, nobody was bothered. I'd definitely read the symptoms in the link and see if any are familiar.

As a PP said, going to your local BFing Support Group is always a good idea as is trying Breast Compressions.

This advice from Kellymom is aimed at feeding sleepy babies but I wonder if folowing sone of it may encourage her to take more on one feed?

And you can always feed her, change her and get DH/DP to take her out for a big walk to see if she will sleep

@Pumpkindoodles thanks but today has been an every hour, grizzly, 5 minute frustrating feed day and it's my bday so we were out for the day.
Not big no she was 6lb 5 at birth but went down to 5lb 8 due to complications with me. She's about 10lb now at 6 weeks. Gone from 9th to 25th centile so think she's catching up.

Just something to think about...but she might be feeding more due to pain. My LO was a bit like that but had reflux, the milk helps sooth the pain.

Or tongue tie - get her re-checked.

Daft question, but I assume you’ve tried a dummy?

Noooooo don't if you want to avoid nipple confusion