Constant feeding, boobs don't seem to be 'keeping up'?

[Pempe]

My 6 week old has spent the last couple of days absolutely constantly demanding food (I am breastfeeding). I understand that it could be a growth spurt, we had one at 3 weeks, but the difference this time is that my boobs don't seem to be 'keeping up'. Whereas before I had to have a muslin folded into my bra on the side he was not feeding from to stop leakage, and my boobs filled up and looked fuller before feeds, now they are pitifully empty I know that feeding stimulates production, so shouldn't the fact that he is feeding more mean they are bigger?

My worry would be that he is not drinking properly, although his latch his fine, he drinks for about 40 mins each time, and he is having a good number of wet and dirty nappies every day. So, not entirely sure why he's constantly demanding food.

He is a large baby (8lb5oz at birth, 12lb at 6 weeks) and so my paediatrician has recommended that I express milk after a morning feed and offer it to him after the breast at about midnight, to try to get him sleeping longer at night (he only goes about 3 hours absolute max between feeds). I've been doing this for about 5 days now. Could the expressing be affecting my supply?

As a slightly different issue, my paed. said I should not be feeding him on demand, but limiting him to every 4 hours. I can't imagine the noise if I tried to do this...

Any comments, or answers from anyone?

The fact that your paed has advised feeding 4 hourly rather than on demand shows you should take anything he says with a large pinch of salt.

3 hours between feeds is good. At 6 weeks old I really would not be getting worried about that, nights will come eventually.

Some people never leak at all, and as your supply regulates to demand you may well find that you are leaking less and not feeling as full.

It probably is a spurt. By constantly demanding what do you mean? As in constant or just very frequent? Is he still happy after a feed then just wanting it again very soon?

Wet and dirty nappies etc indicate that things are good, as does weight gain. If you were not producing enough then weight gain wouldn't be so good and there is no way he would be going anywhere near 3 hours without complaining.

It is tiring, but it gets better

with the best will in the world , a 6 week old baby needs to feed more than every 4 hours and is not designed to sleep through , or longer at night than in the day.

the best way for your breasts to keep up with demand, is for the supply to be given to your baby as soon as he demands. your breasts are not empty, you just don;t stay engorged as your supply establishes

your baby is far more efficient at removing milk from the breast than a pump

8lb 5 at birth is not massive.

3 hours between feeds at nght at 6 weeks is fine !!

why does your paed think feeding 4 hourly would be(A) better for your breast milk supply and (B) better for your baby ,who is clearly hungrier after 3 hours?

also, cluster feeding and grwoth spurts are normal. it does feel like you are feeding all the time, but your baby also likes being at the breast, close to you, smelling you and hearing your heartbeat and being with you.

I totally disagree with your paed.

6 weeks is tiny and feeding every 4 hours is bonkers - at that age they need as much milk as often as they want it. I don't go 4 hours between having a drink so why anyone would expect a tiny baby to is beyond me. IME babies do want feeding A LOT and it seems like they are on you constantly. Having said that, are you sure he is actively feeding when he is wanting more boob, or is he comfort sucking? My DD3 was such a sucky baby and we ended up giving her a dummy (which I never had for the other 2) as she was wanting to suck me ALL the time.

I don't understand your paed's logic in offering an expressed feed after the breast at midnight. If he has had his fill from the breast, he won't want any more until next time. And 3 hours between feeds for a 6 week old is totally normal. Again IME they don't go longer between feeds at night until much older (I think mine were ?10-12 weeks)

By about 6 weeks breastfeeding is fairly well established so you may well find your boobs are less full feeling, and may leak less. It doesn't mean that you haven't got enough milk, it just means they are more efficient.

Are you seeing a Paed because of another problem with your ds? I ask this as I'm not sure why the Paed is commenting on how long your lo sleeps for and how often you feed him.

6 weeks is a typical time for a growth spurt.

Your lo will feed a lot to up your supply so it keeps up with his growing. So, if you don't demand feed your supply will not meet your ds's demands - iyswim.

Your boobs have got a lot more efficient and used to feeding now, so it is less likely that you will leak (some people never leak). Also soft boobs are a good sign, it means you have a higher percentage of hindmilk (the good high calorie stuff). Also it takes about 24-48 hours for your supply to catch up with the demand.

Being a large baby has nothing to do with how often he is feeding, but it is one of the signs of a healthy baby.

I doubt the expressing is affecting your supply, but 3 hours between feeds at 6 weeks is fantastic!

Looking at the weight gain and the wet and poo nappies, it sounds like you are both doing brilliantly . It sounds like the Paed is trying to fix something that aint broke.

I think I've covered everything! Well done to both of you.

I was going to comment Pempe on your situation but I couldn't have said it any better than all the great advice you've already been getting from everyone except your paed. You're doing great. Keep feeding on demand and this growth spurt will pass. You know your baby better than anyone and the big baby thing is no reason to do anything other than what comes naturally. Your little one will be a lot bigger as he grows and will still only need what you can give him for a long while yet. See not being engorged as a good thing; fewer wet beds and soggy clothes .
And here's me saying I'm not going to comment...

Pempe - 6 weeks is classic growth spurt territory, so he will feed a lot at this age (and it will happen again when he has another spurt). The advice from the others on here is spot on - just keep doing what you're doing and it will settle down.

OP

You could be me, and your DS could be my DS even down the the birth weight (8lb 6oz)
And the weight at 6 weeks (12lb)
He is feeding as much as your DS so IMO is absolutely normal if a bit tiring..his feeding will stimulate your supply.. DS is feeding almost constantly from about 3pm till 9pm on and off, but then sleeps all night and my boobs are mahooosive in the morning

He also will absolutely NOT accept a bottle lol

Paed. is talking complete shit.Baby is tiny with walnut sized stomach.It's perfectly normal to want to feed a lot. As for three hours max, well think how often you go without a drink or a snack?

The more you feed, the more you make.Expressing fine occasionally but if you go for a while without feeding at night, demand on breast is lessened and yuo will produce less then.

I repeat.
Paed. talking shit.They don't know about breastfeeding.

And ask pead, if he goes 4 hours with nothing to eat or drink.
Arse.

ILiketo Thanks for your encouragement Re the paed, I live in Greece and they don't have health visitors out here, just private paediatricians. She (yes, I'm even more ashamed to say it is a she not a he) is supposed to handle all health issues as well as sleeping, feeding etc. I have doubted her advice in the past, so actually tend to ignore what she says (hope she never offers any good advice that I ignore) . However, her saying my baby was too large and eating too much upset me (left the office in tears...)

Stercus it is reassuring to have someone else in (almost) the same position as me, although my DS definitely does not sleep all night....the longest we've had without a feed was actually last night (yay!) he went to bed at 9 and fed at 3.40 cue heeeyooooge boobs this morning

Sidge I'm sure it's not comfort sucking - he's actively feeding, then falls asleep/unlatches but if I try and put him to bed, or in a chair, he wakes and cries. He has a dummy, which he uses a couple of times a day, and if he rejects this, or my finger, or playing, or any other distraction, I put him back to the breast and he feeds again. This can be after a good 40 minutes of feeding and he'll then take another 10 mins, then another 15 etc etc

He told you he was too large and eating too much???

What a bitch!

We can't win, can we? Babies are too big, not enough, eating too much, not enough...

What fantastic advice from everyone.

The other thin is if you feed every 4 hours you will compromise your supply and you won't have enough milk so breastfeeding will fail.

Maybe you ought to ive this paed a wide birth. Do you HAVE to see her? Or why not ive her the URL's for this site and Kellymoms and tell her to get her facts straight.

Lunatic.
Steer clear.
Why do you think you need a paed. to advise on basic matters such as this anyway?
Women have 9and do)manage prefectly well without them.)

i am so glad OP posted this as it was exactly the reason i gave up bfing at 7 weeks with ds. i was hearing all sorts of advice from the 'professionals' that just made me feels as if i wasnt capable of feeding my own son, this time however i am determined to be sucessful at bfing and this thread has given me so much encouragement that i will be doing the right thing by my baby.

GROWTH SPURT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Babies have a MASSIVE growth spurt at 6 weeks and then after a few days, or a week, they cut back again.

Baby-led feeding is the way to go, feed babies when they want to be fed, then your boobs will produce the right amount of milk for your baby!

I despair of health professionals. Do they not read ANY of the research. I would google a load of stuff and send it to her as she obviously doesn't have a clue! She's probably ruining a lot of Mums' breastfeeding

He sounds exactly like my DS wanna swap

Honestly i am glad you posted this, i am doing baby led feeding but until i read this i was wavering and thinking i was going nuts..
breaghsmum... you're not the only one, my HV has been fine and very encouraging, but my DP's family...GRR
None of their has been BF so they look at DS as something of an oddity, and keep mumbling 'not feeding him properly' 'hungry baby formula' 'no "brick" in his belly' mumble mumble

It is hard to ignore when they keep on and on.

So i don't bother visiting them lol

By Sidge; By about 6 weeks breastfeeding is fairly well established so you may well find your boobs are less full feeling, and may leak less. It doesn't mean that you haven't got enough milk, it just means they are more efficient.

Yes, an important point.

breaghsmum I'm glad this has encouraged you - I am feeling much happier about demand-led feeding now. I keep forgetting that DS has only been on the planet about 45 days, so dammit I'll feed him when he wants it. And, after about 4 days of feeding-frenzy, things seem to be calming down.

Having said that, it seems that the growth spurt has helped a bit with his sleeping, last night we had two stretches of 3 hours sleep.

Stercus my DH's family are full of shit too. "Feeding AGAIN, is he?"

Hmm lol think they think all i want to do is embarrass them by getting my norks out

And 'prevent' them from holding their grandson/nephew/ect ....

I may just announce i have become a lactivist and walk round with them out constantly, not like they will know i'm bullshitting hehe

Honestly, when they start, i feel like screaming at them How RUDE commenting on how i choose to feed my baby ffs

What those unhelpful family members seem to forget is that not so long ago your baby was inside you and had 'food' on tap 24/7 via the placenta. Expecting to shift to some arbitrary 3/4/5 hour feeding pattern that was originally devised by someone trying to sell a book is so unrealistic.

Pempe - whereabouts in Greece are you?

I am also in Greece and I can relate to everything you say about the paed and the family. My dh's family know nothing about bf but give their opinions freely. My paed has also said things like yours, and even told me my baby should stop night feeding at 3 months.

Just smile and nod, let her mark the chart in the little blue booklet and say "nai nai, ta katalavaino." Actually, the best expression in Greece is to throw up your hands and say "ti na kanoume, etsi einai o mikros!"

Just to add re expressing - I was also advised to express "to keep the supply up and prepare for the six week growth spurt". It seems to be something they say here in Greece. Take no notice. Why express when you can just latch the baby on?