Damnding baby, is She feeding properly?

[googer]

I have a 4 week old baby girl. I'm breast feeding supplemented with a single bottle at night time. The problem I'm having is that she is very demanding on the breast in the evening and I'm finding it hard to cope with such high demand. She can spend long over half an hour on each breast, but then when I think she has finished she will cry for more this can go on for several hours without a break. I'm not using a dummy.

What could be the problem? Could she be using the breast for comfort? I really don't want to use a dummy, what could I do?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

cluster feeding in the evenings v common I'm afrias (DS2 does it as well). Can you relax in front of the telly while she feeds?

yeah its a good job we just had sky fitted! im just worried she doesn't get enough sleep tho? and is it poss that i will run out of milk?

My dd was exactly the same. To begin with we thought she couldn't possibly still be hungry and my dh started the taking her for a drive thing and dummy- didnt work! She still screamed for breast! Eventually I just sat with her and lots of snacks,drinks and pillows and relaxed for entire evenings with her blissfully tucking in.

If you're worried about sleep, hve a look at Eliz. Pantley's No Cry Sleep Solution - she gives some handy facts about sleep patterns and the amount babies need at various ages

re: milk, the more she feeds the more milk you produce - a v cunning supply and demand system . If she's getting windy, try block feeding, i.e. offering one side only for a peroid then another (I find I need to do this in the eve but not during hte day)

sorry for typig - DS2 cluster feeding!

no, you won't run out of milk. themore she feeds the more milk you will make.
it's very common for babies to cluster feed in the evenings, so put your feet up, have a cup of tea and enjoy getting to sit down and cuddle her. this phase is so short-lived!

2manychips- we do have alot of lovely bonding time together and i do enjoy feeding her, how long does this stage seem to last for?

I would say for my lo it was 3/4 wks, although I'm sure they're not all like that! Have you a dh/dp around at this time of day who can wait on you?

I have had two DDs just like yours and am very familiar with the evening cluster feed. The good news (as everyone else has said) is that you're not doing anything wrong. The bad news is that as you're not doing anything wrong that you'll be feeding in the evening for quite a while yet. I settle in in front of the TV with a cup of tea and get DH to wait on me.

well DS2 actually fell asleep at about half seven, I bunged him in his moses basket and he is still asleep! He's nearly 10 weeks. He doesn't consistently sleep in the evenings by any means but we are having the odd evening where he'll happily nod off.