Anyone got experience of BF a large newborn (98th centile)

[milfAKAmonkeymonkeymoomoo]

DS was nearly 10lbs at birth ten days ago, finding that he feeds like demon and I can't eat/drink enough to stop me feeling exhausted. Getting dizzy and shakey spells. He is growing beautifully, only loss 4oz in the first week and is now over his birth weight.

Any coping strategies/advice/encouraging stories welcome!

BTW he is my second DC and I BF DD for 15mths.

Hi, my daughter was 9lb 14.5oz and I breastfed her until she was six months. It was exhausting but I think it is the same no matter what size your baby is. Plus at 10 days old you are still getting over the birth etc. My advice would be to not expect to much from yourself. Its ok to be knackered!!! Make sure you eat loads of carbs. You will both benefit from perservering I promise.

Hi, my daughter was 9lb 14.5oz and I breastfed her until she was six months. It was exhausting but I think it is the same no matter what size your baby is. Plus at 10 days old you are still getting over the birth etc. My advice would be to not expect to much from yourself. Its ok to be knackered!!! Make sure you eat loads of carbs. You will both benefit from perservering I promise.

Yes, I had a 99th percentile DS. I was starving the whole time, but it settled down very quickly, I think he was on the 50th percentile within a few months. He just came out freakily big

yes. it was tiring but i think that was just as much because she was my first and it was all quite shocking.

she was 8 days overdue and eventually settled on about 50th centile. not sure where she's at now aged 2.5.

DD was 98th centile (but on the girls' chart). She fed soooo much and I was tried and hungry but I used it as an excuse to stay in bed and recline on the sofa while DH cooked etc. It soon got better. And on a bright note I lost weight very, very quickly.

Are you sure you're not anaemic or anything? Don't underestimate the exhaustion of giving birth either - even if it went as well or better than your first birth, it's still physically exhausting, and now you have 2 children to care for!

DS was 9lb 9oz at birth, and I found my BF experience was much the same as other people. The only reason I suffered more was because of horrendous birth, PPH etc. One thing I did do was make a big tuck box for the night, full of biscuits, dried fruit, a sandwich etc. And this was on top of 3 big square meals a day. As long as you're feeding constantly, I reckon it's completely reasonable to need to eat constantly! I know everyone says that diet doesn't affect milk supply, but it will definitely affect how you feel.

hi
My DS was 9lb15 at birth in May and also fed like a maniac for the first couple of weeks (including his first night in this world where I literally didn't get a wink of sleep!) It did settle down quickly though although was then having to express madly as was producing more milk than he wanted.
As LJ29 says, don't forget you're not at physical peak anyway after the birth so as you start to be stronger and his feeds settle down you'll find things much easier I'm sure. You're obviously a pro anyway as you fed your DD for so long. If possible get other people to cook you some wholesome meals (my parents came over with some fab home cooked stuff which was great)and just snack and drink as often as you can. Good luck!

Keep going, you know you can do it! My DS2 was on the 91st and everyone, from nurses at the hospital, Health visitors, family and DH all insisted that I would have to bottle feed him. It was so upsetting but I refused to do so, and much to everyone's annoyance he thrived on BFing even though I was exhausted. Trust your instincts.

my ds was 91st centile (9.3lb) and fed all the time at first - he never even lost weight after delivery

I stuffed my face at first when bf-ing him, I was sooooooo starving

I bf him for 2.5 years

Congratulations on the arrival of your DS!

I was also exhausted to start with, but pps right that biggun's aren't necessarily more hungry/more tiring to feed. As he's your second I'm guessing you've got much less time to nap etc. Is there anyone you can ask to take your DD to do some fun things while you kip?

PPs also spot on re: looking after yourself! I had a pact with my DP - he looked after me, I fed the baby, end of story. He used to stash bottles of water, cereal bars etc around the house where I usually fed before going to work. He also made me sandwiches for the middle of the night (my rumbling stomach used to wake us all up).

As you'll know from your first DC, it does take a while for your body to both get over the birth and to adjust to the added calorific demands of BFing, but it does happen. Be easy on yourself, won't you!

good luck

Well done. Both mine were 98th centile babies...and I'm just a short arse! B/F DD until she was 28 months (self weaning just never occured to her!) and DS now at 20months for night time. Hang in there...make sure you get a bit of rest and eat and drink well. They will settle down and you will produce plenty...just an initial push for a few weeks!Don't forget, people B/F twins and even triplets (though frankly they need to polish their halos!). On the positive side you will find the weight starts to drop off you, your babies will be super clever and probably very tall and if you hang a bell round your neck and start mooing you can change your name to Bluebell!!!!!!

Really echo what others say about eating & drinking lots.If you're struggling to get enough food fluid in try shakes, smoothies that can double as both fluid & food.
Its still really early days so your body will be recovering from the birth but you may want to ask the doc to check your iron levels? Especially if you had a pph or hard birth.

Yes. Three of them ( (10lb 4, 9 lb 6 and 10lb 4). First time round I struggled and gave in to top-up bottles first time as advised by HV . Second and third time I didn't. But I ate like a horse and ended up putting one quite a bit of weight for the first few months after they were born.

DS2 was 9lb 11oz.

I was knackered after the birth even though it was quite quick and uncomplicated. So don't underestimate how that can affect you.

Like Mij says. You look after the baby, your dp looks after you. I didn't lift a finger around the house for two weeks after the birth.

For about a month after the birth I was ravenous, especially in the morning (I put that down to Not eating for 12 hours from dinner until breakfast, so I had to make up for it!). Now my lo is 7 weeks old I'm not as hungry as I was, so I'm not snacking like I was, but when it comes to meal times my food doesn't touch the sides!

Tips:

Leave all house chores to your dp wherever possible.
Snack and drink as much as you feel you need too.
Have bottles of water around the house and by your bed.
Make stacks of sandwiches in advance, so you can even grab something to eat while your lo is feeding.

DD was 10lb 11oz, and stayed on 99.6th centile until about 7 mo - think she's about 97 for height and weight now. She did feed A Lot, and I pretty much subsisted on chocolate muffins while losing a lot of weight. However, I'd get the dizzy/shaky spells checked out - you do need (as someone said) to ensure you're not anaemic, and try to eat things like porridge for slow, steady release of energy to keep your blood sugar levels up. He's prob having/had a major growth spurt too - I think you'll find things will settle down.

ds2 was 11lb 11oz and 60cm long, bf til 6 months when i started some heavy grade meds. i was much thirstier and a fair bit hungrier than with ds1 at 6lb13. really had to drink loads, and had to eat frequently, more than i had to eat loads. needed calories onboard every two hours or started fading and feeling ratty. i ended up with a fair number of rich drinks, as easier to manage. you know, shakes, smoothies, hot choc. i even needed snacks/rich drinks in the night/early monring right up until i weaned him off the breast.

was ok though. worst of it all was when he was newborn and and sucha size and so strong...like latching a 3 month old on untempered niiples. my knees go weak remembering that pain.

Could you be low in Iron? I was when dd was born and had to take iron tablets, before I found out I often felt dizzy and weak.

DD was 9.9 lbs and I just ate lots of carbs to keep me going and fruit and veg when ever I got the chance. DD was bf untill 14months.

Hope things get better and try to get a doctors app to get checked out.

Hellyberry - blimey, what a big baby! did you have a VB, do you mind me asking? and did you know he's be so huge beforehand?

my DD was born on 99.9% on girls chart, eas nearly 10lbs too. I did notice I was more hungry and tired than with her brothers (9lbs and 9lbs 4oz) so I ate loads (flapjack and porrige were great) and drank plenty and rested as much as I could. I was also Anaemic so took spatone everyday with some orange juice (didn't want iron tablets), made a real difference and I felt much better within days.

I am still BFing her now and she is 9.5 months old, she has gradually dropped through the centile lines and is around the 75th now

My dd was on 98th centile too, am still bf her at 10 months. It was hard at first but I don't think it was any worse than if she'd been smaller, I just ate loaaaads! Had mad binges on cheese and cake each afternoon, definitely helped with energy levels in those first few months ! And I'm still losing weight and feeling fine despite dd teething and keeping me up all night...

Wow what a quick response

Don't think I am anaemic as my iron levels were good throughout pregnancy and only lost 100ml (i.e. barely anything during the birth) of blood during/after birth (with DD I lost a pint and felt very weak for ages). Think it is a blood sugar issue coupled with tiredness, trying not to over do it and leave all the chores to DH!

If I eat constantly and rest I don't feel too bad, just seem to be eating all the time! Determined not to top up with formula and hope that from all your experiences it will settle soon.

HV turned up this afternoon - DS has put on nearly 1lb in a week

Oh my birth was very quick - 2.5hrs as opposed to DD who took 28hrs to arrive so do feel more shocked from that too.

I exclusively breastfed my 12lb 4oz baby until 5 months when he decided to eat my banana one day!

He did feed every 2-3 hours for what seemed like forever! I had a c-section after labour so I was knackered for about 6 weeks anyway so I couldn't say whether the breastfeeding would have made me more tired. And in the first couple of weeks dh often prepared a snack for me while I was feeding.

DS was over 11 lbs. He fed a lot, especially in the evenings.

My tip is to eat cake at 4 pm as apparently the mw told me that helps give you more milk in the evening/night!