Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Almost constant breastfeeding ten day old

17 replies

ltrue · 23/11/2008 23:26

My ds is ten days old and it took a few days to establish breastfeeding. In desperation in hospital I gave him formula and EBM as he was hungry. The midwives said he was a a 'lazy and reluctant' feeder, but five or six days ago it seemed to click into place and he latched on. But now it's from the sublime to the ridiculous and he is literally chained to my breasts. He is permanently hungry, and the upside of course is that he is thriving, putting on weight and filling his nappies. The community midwife suggests it will calm down and he is stimulating my milk supply.
But I am at my wits end as the bfeeding is almost constant. He will fall asleep at my breast after an hour or more feeding, but ten minutes later will be demanding to be fed again....and again! Has anyone else ht this, and does it slow down a bit...? I've expressed some milk so my husband can at least take on one of the night feeds.

OP posts:
policywonk · 23/11/2008 23:39

Well done for persisting with the breastfeeding - it sounds as though you're doing a grand job! This constant nursing is quite common in the early days I'm afraid - it can be a pain but it is only temporary, honest. It will probably calm down in a week or so (and then might well start up again when your DS has a growth spurt). Make sure you're eating enough (just for your own sake - it won't affect your milk), and use it as an excuse to get your husband can wait on you for a bit.

BlackEyedDog · 23/11/2008 23:48

You are doing well. I was in an endless cycle of BF and nappy changing for some weeks. It is very hard work, and took me quite by surprise! Was unwarned about the hard work of bf my newborn. (well, looking back, was probably warned but didn't know quite how hard it would be!). I remember waking to see dp feeding ds with formula one early morning as the baby was desperate and I would NOT wake up for duty.

Oh god, you have my sympathy. It did calm down after a while, weeks or so, maybe three months? It's a blurrr.

Now I would use formula at night - fed by dp, even though the Midwives hated this.

piscesmoon · 23/11/2008 23:54

It gets easier-at least you have a good excuse to do nothing at the moment!

BlackEyedDog · 24/11/2008 00:00

yes but... the house gets dustier and dustier, somebody helpfully buys you a nappybin that sits in the living room (gathering dust) because you have NO idea how it works and wish it would go away...

This is when those cultures that celebrate mums by sending round its women to wait on you hand and foot come in handy...

ltrue · 24/11/2008 00:01

Thanks, it's a relief to know that this is pretty normal! I agree, I had no idea that bfeeding was going to be so challengng...not only to actualy get the hang of - both myself and baby - but to keep up with the relentless pace of it. I also found that I got such mixed messages from medical staff - midwives in the same hospital wing would give conflicting advice which was very confusing.
But I will definitely try the bottle of formula at night route. It sounds like a sensible option and will make it easier to keep up with the bfeeding for as long as possible I hope.

OP posts:
alipalli · 24/11/2008 00:03

Yes I had this and it is normal. DS fed what seemed to be constantly for the first 6 weeks or so and then it slowly eased up a bit. I remember struggling to even make myself a cup of tea at times, now (ds is 5 months) I can't quite remember how ridiculous it was. Take all the help from family and friends that is available; forget about the housework; sleep when the baby sleeps. The best advice I got was not to be tempted to supplement with formula, because this is the best way to keep up with a very demanding LO. It has worked for me although I know others would advocate mixed feeding.

Congratulations BTW

BlackEyedDog · 24/11/2008 00:13

I have to say we were strongly advised against the mixed feeding route. So we didn't (much).

In the same situation again though, I would do it. I think I would be a calmer mum to a small baby, if I had a little more sleep. For me, there was the bf then the snoozing on lap, then nappy, then bf again. Personally, it was hellish for me which is why I say I would consider the mixed route next time.

ltrue · 24/11/2008 00:16

thanks! He is a beautiful litle boy and the important thing I know is that he's happy and thriving. I'm just feeling a bit shellshocked and wondering if I would ever actually get to leave my house again...To top it all I was feeling so tired and stressed out I acidentally put my new breast pump into a sink of soapy water earlier on today......thankfuly a blast with my hairdryer saved the day

OP posts:
tiktok · 24/11/2008 09:43

1true - it can feel overwhelming when you have a baby behaving like this...but it is normal and actually welcome in a baby who had a slow start, because he needs to make up for lost time. His needs to be in your arms and close to you, feeding a lot, are important ways of establishing a relationship on the 'outside' with someone whose taste, voice and smell he is familiar with from being on the 'inside'.

Giving formula at night seems a tempting prospect, as does expressing, but there are downsides which you need to know about before you do them.

Your milk supply is not established, and a bottle of formula or ebm given in order to stretch the time between breastfeeds may have an impact on your supply. There will be people for whom this did not happen, but you cannot tell in advance if you are going to be one of them. You could, of course, express at the time your dh is giving the bottle (your body will 'think' it's the baby and supply will be protected) but that doesn't make much sense if the point of the bottle is to give you a break.

The other downside is that a break of several hours between bf will ensure very uncomfortable breasts for you - it increases the risk of mastitis, too.

At the moment, the best help you can get with the bf (IMO) is to do all the stuff you would do if you weren't feeding - so any housework, cooking, shopping and so on is absolutely not your job . You are doing a wonderful thing, building up your son's trust and confidence in the world as well as nourishing him Anything else is less important.

misdee · 24/11/2008 09:49

agree with tiktok.

dd4 is same age as your ds, and she is pretty much latched on all the time. she has barely stopped feeding since 7am this morning. feeds 30-45mins at a time, stops for 10-20mins in which time i wind her and get myself a fresh drink, then settle back for another feed.

tiktok · 24/11/2008 10:02

There is research to show that giving formula at night does not increase parents' sleep:

See this study

popsycal · 24/11/2008 10:05

Agree it is normal.

And as an aside - tiktok thatnbk you for that link. DH is trying to persuade me to give ds3 a bottle of formula at night.....

popsycal · 24/11/2008 10:06

not that dh is losing any sleep though grrrr

PortAndLemon · 24/11/2008 10:10

It is often like this at the beginning. It's overwhelming and can get on top of you, but it does get easier and less permanently attached, honestly.

purplemonkeydishwasher · 24/11/2008 10:12

Great link Tiktok!

tiktok · 24/11/2008 10:13

I think experience is very variable and individual - that's why we need studies that look at a lot of individuals and work out the whole experience. That study uses 133 parents which is a good number, and they used objective as well as subjective measures of sleep.

What is not accounted for, too, is the attendant labour of bottle feeding - sterilising, making up the powder (if powder is used), buying the formula, and if expressing, the time take in expressing and storing.

Romney · 26/11/2008 18:23

That study may not account for "the attendant labour of bottle feeding" but from personal experience I'd say formula is far quicker, when you take into account how long the baby takes to consume the milk. Formula goes down a lot quicker, and if you prefill bottles from cartons to store in the fridge and warm it up in a bottle warmer, it only takes a couple of minutes to get ready. Nothing like the hours it used to take with powder! I usually doze off until the buzzer goes, saying its ready. You can even put the milk in a freezer box next to your bed for extra convenience. (I think Lindam make a bottle warmer with integral freezer box just for this). More expensive, but well worth it if you find everything getting on top of you or want DH to do a feed.

(Obviously I'm speaking as someone that has no trouble switching between bottles and breastfeeding. Your mileage may vary.)

New posts on this thread. Refresh page