Does very large baby (10lb 8oz) need additional bf

[lima90]

My son is 3 days old and was 10lb 8oz at birth. It was a natural birth and all was well when he was born although it may have been slightly traumatic as he was a struggle to get out. Midwives at hospital all commented that he would be very demanding to feed and need lots of extra feeds. I have very sensitive skin and small nipples so I know that I need to build things up slowly - my nipples are already so sore and latching on is toe curling.
He sleeps well and last 2 nights has gone for stretches of 5 hours and still not woken screaming for a feed. Often during the day however after 1.5 to 2hrs he is very fractious and chews on his hands etc. but I think these are quite common things for babies to do anyway. I am generally trying to feed every 3 hours. He will eventually fall asleep though. I am worried if I keep feeding my nipples will get so sore that I will have to give up but equally I don't want to deny him milk that he needs.
Has anyone else got experience of feeding big babies?

I'd just feed him when he seems hungry - no need to wait for three hours. DS wasn't a big baby (though he shot up to 91st centile after a week) and he fed 2 hourly from the beginning for months. If you are getting 5 hour stretches at night that is great!

Re the soreness, are you using Lansinoh or another nipple cream? Is your latch OK?

First, the big questions. Has he been weighed? Is he producing lots of wet and dirty nappies?

The bigger they are, in theory, the less often they need to feed.

That being said, it's early days, and you should be trying to feed on demand, not trying to space things out, particularly if he's sleeping for a decent while at night.

Have you had your latch checked by a BFC? There may be things you can do to make it hurt less. Midwives are (often) quite ignorant about bf.

if you have sore nipples is well worth talking to a bf counsellor to see whether you can do some re-positioning. otherwise it might get worse and the last thing you want to be doing is worrying about feeding because it hurts.

five hours might be a bit long to go at night this early too, but again this is something to ask a trained counsellor.

i will go and look for numbers.

My ds was over 11 lbs and at this stage he was feeding for quite lengthy periods of time. I fed on demand. He also used to sleep for 5 hours or so without waking. I agree about checking your latch if it is hurting that much.

I found as he got bigger he became a very efficient eater and would feed much quicker than his much smaller sister used to.

I second what EP says, I found the first eight weeks agony and my DD was feeding probably every couple of hours sometimes more frequently. Don't try and hold off but do get some proper Bfing support because once it starts to work for you the timings issue will be irrelevant. (PS I didn't get any support hence why it took so long, don't leave it give your local NCT a call)

BTW, The chewing hands thing is a classic hungry sign.

Frequency of feeds shouldn't make your nipples sore. His latch might not be quite right. Have you a good midwife or hv with breastfeeding knowledge? Do you have a local breastfeeding cafe or clinic? You could phone a breastfeeding counsellor for help. Lansinoh nipple cream is wonderful in the meantime.

DD wasn't huge at birth but soon shot up. I exclusively fed her for 7 months and she was off the charts, 24lb when she had her first taste of solids. She fed every two hours for those 7 months. I was not sore and obviously had enough milk.

here with suggestions for calling.

Has your milk come in yet? You might find that once it does the nipple issue will resolve with a bit of lansinoh and fresh air.

Congratulations on your lovely big boy

I think 1.5 to 2 hours between feeds during the day is pretty normal when bf. It is also quite normal for babies to just want to feed because they like sucking and being near you. Re: latching on, it can be tough in the early days - its really worth checking that you have a good latch. I am so grateful to the nurse who insisted on checking my latch before I left hospital.

The other side of the coin is that as NQC says the bigger babies can theoretically go longer between feeds because they have bigger tummies. If this happens at night thats great.

Lansinoh is a life-saver, I applied it religiously before every feed whether I was sore or not.

If I was you I think I would be feeding more often than every 3 hours - certainly with DD and with my friends babies every 1.5 - 2 hours seemed to be the order of the day when they were very small. This will get your milk supply up so will be a good thing in the long run.

The one thing I did do was be very wary of feeding for too long as I'm sure this can make you sore. When I thought DD had had enough and was just sucking for comfort/snoozing I would put her down. I had friends whose babies were latched on for 1.5 hours out of every 2 so it's no surprise their nips got a bit painful.

With all this there are millions of opinions as to what to do for the best. Talk to BF councillor as suggested, I also found these books very helpful:

here

and

here

I recently had a big baby and fed him on demand (still am at 20 weeks). TBH I am not feeding him any more often than I did with dd who was much smaller and I've never had any problems/pain regardless of how often I feed him so please don't worry about the likelihood of this increasing if you feed more often.
I do think that if you feel he is hungry before he gets to 3 hours after his last feed then you should feed him. Chewing of hands etc is common for most babies but is also a sign of hunger- his tummy is still very small and needs regular filling up; my ds still feeds every 2hours or so at times.
If you are worried about latch then please contact a professional urgently.

I would be expecting to feed more often than every three hours in the early weeks, regardless of the size of the baby. I didn't find much difference feeding DS (10lb 5oz) and DD (8lb 15oz), but neither of them would have gone three hours between feeds in the early days/weeks.

See a bf counsellor and get practical advice on your latch to minimise any discomfort.

My DH was 10lbs 12oz and I fed on demand - sometimes long gaps between feeds, sometimes very, very short. I would second all the advice to see a bf counsellor - you need to check the latch and get be assured by someone in the know that the size of your baby is no barrier to breastfeeding.

Good luck. I love big babies! Bet you feel proud!