Does a big baby make a difference?

[BorgLady]

I'm so excited to be able to post somewhere other than the pregnancy forum!!

DS is just over 2wks old and has been exclusively breastfed. While I was in hospital, one of the mws warned me that because he was big (9lbs2oz birthweight)he would need feeding a lot.

He wakes 3-4 times in the night for feeds, but during the day, he feeds all the time. The past few days, it seems as though if he's not at the breast, he's crying and rooting. If he's out in his pram he cries constantly, even when picked up and cuddled.

I am pretty sure he is getting enough milk at feeds, as he dozes and eventually falls off the nipple looking sated with milk in his mouth, it's just that five minutes later, he's crying and rooting again.

What is starting to annoy me is DP's implication that by demand feeding, I'm somehow spoiling him. FGS, DS is 2 weeks old! He's been listening to someone at work too, who told him that we should be giving DS supplementary water so that he won't get a tummy ache.

Please reassure me that I'm doing the right things!

Thank you!

Milk hasn't really been squirting out yet, the way I imagine it would need to to express efficiently. Expressing a feed's worth with the drops I can pump out manually would take forever, so I think I'll wait.

Thanks again for the advice.

in a few weeks you will be expressing one while holding bottle under other as it runs out too.

haha

hang on in there. still early days but your doing well not giving up

Borglady - that's so sweet about missing him when he was asleep.
And great name - Edward is my ds's middle name

Well, I have been BF for 13 wks now and I still cant get more than a few drops after expressing for ages and have never leaked! Am I an oddity?

mine have all been big

10lb4, 11lb1 and 9lb14

you are doing really well and like all new babies they need fed a lot and often

I started expressing in the mornings but I waited until I had it all established

am now bfing 10 day old dc3 (the 9lb14oz one ) and even though she'd my 3rd am still not sure about it all - please keep asking and keep going - you're doing great

My DD was 9lb 7 oz and in the first few weeks was feeding every hour, so I reckon the bigger the hungrier

pudding25, no you are just really efficient!

Don't think I can add anything to the thread that hasn't been said. Just keep up what you are doing. Your body is made just perfect for looking after your baby.

My best advice I can give to a new mother/M2B is don't expect any sort of pattern with a BF baby and don't be shocked if you have long periods of feeding. Even when you think your babe is comfort sucking it's a really important part of the process, just let him have unhindered access to the breast (obviously there are times you can't drop everything, like you need to go to the loo and in the car, but as far as you can) and your body will do the rest.

My DD was 8lbs 12oz and my DS 10lbs 1oz. I think big babies are fab (might be a bit biased) and I reckon they are easier to feed, as they take so much more in at one time but YMMV

blueshoes we can agree to differ I have found with both dds that they fell asleep before being full and woke minutes later to want want feeding again. I found it exhausting. On the early expressing front, I did (for supply boost, not to feed the milk iyswim) and it made a huge difference. At first I didn't get much but it soon got better and once I had a bigger supply than she needed she fed far better. IME

borg just wanted to say that I have been exactly where you currently are and it does get better! Ds now 8wks, he was 9lb 13oz at birth and fed constantly during the day although has always been better at night. It was/is really tiring and frustrating too as its very hard to get anything done around the house. It helped when I accepted that I would be spending large amounts of time on the sofa. Ignoring the books is also valuable especially as at times I cannot believe he is still hungry.

My dh wanting to share the burden suggested ff but to date we are still exclusively bf I was advised that intro ff would affect establishing a good supply.

At 8 wks ds still feeds more than the books say but the gaps in between are much longer and he is really delightful when he is playing on his mat or smiling and cooing at us. Stick with it if you can it won't last too long.

I had a big baby too and she wanted feeding almost every hour for the first three weeks - then settled down to every 2 hours; she's now pretty constant at every 2.5 hours (at 18 weeks). Stick with it and trust your instincts - and your baby's instincts, too. And don't believe the baby books - most breastfed babies can't go 3 hours at such a young age. Good luck!

I had a big baby too and she wanted feeding almost every hour for the first three weeks - then settled down to every 2 hours; she's now pretty constant at every 2.5 hours (at 18 weeks). Stick with it and trust your instincts - and your baby's instincts, too. And don't believe the baby books - most breastfed babies can't go 3 hours at such a young age. Good luck!

frans, that's normal for newborn babies, so you would probably have the same if you hadn't had a big baby.