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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

What do you breastfeeding mums do when you have comfort sucking babys?

29 replies

McDreamy · 20/03/2009 21:04

I am getting a bit sore

OP posts:
hannahlouhoo · 20/03/2009 21:10

well i gave in after a month and gave my son a dummy! That calmed him down, i also found giving him to somone else for a while after feeding, as i think when he came to me he could smell the milk.

how old is your baby?

Original poster
McDreamy · 20/03/2009 21:11

6 weeks.

OP posts:
fishie · 20/03/2009 21:16

mcdreamy it is very normal for 6wo to feed a LOT. it is not normal to be in pain.

how much are you feeding, can you tell us more?

QueenFee · 20/03/2009 21:16

Feeding a lot in the frist weeks is normal it should start to settle down soon. It shouldn't be sore though even if they are pretty much permently attached (I had one of those)
Try and get some advise from a breastfeeding counsellor - they may be able to tweak things for you so it dosn't hurt.
I did give mine dummys as they wanted to suck their thumbs (personal preference) but not till they were about 3/4 months

Mummyfor3 · 20/03/2009 21:20

Dummy here too!

DS3 used to want the breast for litterally hours whithout anything much in the way of swallowing action and I got v fed up after a couple of months. Also at night, or rather wee small hours of the morning, he would "nibble" as it became known in our house for hours and I could not sleep as I found it v tickly .
So, dummy did the trick for that kind of thing.
He is now 1 year and still feeds 3-4x/24 hrs, usually before sleep/naps and gets his dummy when he comes off the boob, which prompts eyes going to half mast and sleepy but awake baby gets put into cot and goes to sleep! Yeah, it is fandabydozy!

BTW, DS1 was dummy addict, who did not stop until dummy fairy came at his 4th birthday and took dummies away, and DS2 never sucked anything, so there. Nipple confusion was never an issue for any of them but I did not offer dummy until more that 2 months old.

HTH

CantSleepWontSleep · 20/03/2009 21:29

At that age, I let them suck. Nothing wrong with wanting a bit of comfort when you've just come out into the world .

NellyTheElephant · 20/03/2009 23:00

DD1 wanted to suck all the time. Like the other posters I gave her a dummy. She was only about 10 days old. It was a revelation. She was happy, I was happy. I never had the slightest trouble knowing when she was hungry - she spat the dummy out and cried, so I fed her. In between she sucked away happily. When she was about 3 or 4 months old she rejected the dummy completely and her thumb has rarely been out of her mouth since (she's now 4). Stopping that's a whole other story..........

Original poster
McDreamy · 20/03/2009 23:07

I am not feeding alot. I don't feel like she is permenantly attached but when she does feed/suck it's for ages. She falls asleep at the breast but if I take her off she'll wake up. I just feel that she finishes feeding quite sometime before she's ready to come off and that she is sucking for comfort - which I don't mind in one way but towards the end it gets a bit sore. When she is feeding I have no discomfort.

OP posts:
LadyOfWaffle · 20/03/2009 23:09

I just settle down in bed/ on sofa and let them. Lanisoh is good for nipples.

Original poster
McDreamy · 20/03/2009 23:12

I have my trusty tube by my side LOW she is fast asleep in my arms now (off the boob) and is just beautiful - time go to bed, thank you for all your advice

OP posts:
nickymorris · 21/03/2009 07:30

I used to pop DS in a ring sling and carry on with doing what ever I wanted to do (walking round B&Q, going places on the bus etc etc) Or I'd try and sleep too - feed lying down and have a nap while they enjoyed themselves!

ChairmumMiaow · 21/03/2009 07:50

About that time I started getting sore nipples - I went to a breastfeeding group and they could see nothing wrong with my latch but said that perhaps as he was on for so long he was getting lazy with his latch. Once I relatched him every so often, it got better.

If you've only got discomfort when she's not feeding, I'd say that's a likely scenario as they often slip back a bit when they fall asleep.

StarlightMcKenzie · 22/03/2009 14:48

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LeonieSoSleepy · 22/03/2009 22:39

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kutilputil · 22/03/2009 22:53

both my boys settled with a muslin cloth...ds2 now 14 weeks often chew on that and settles ok...i did have a similar problem and it was alot due to growth spurts where they are frequently on the breast but seem to not be taking in much, i suppose its a way of increasing the supply. i just use vaseline for the soreness and then gave him a muslin which he still has...well ds1 is 3 years old and carries his to bed!lol, goodluck

kalo12 · 23/03/2009 11:00

god forbid that a six week old should want comfort!!

Mummyfor3 · 23/03/2009 11:45

Oh, kalo, don't be nasty!
I certainly sympathise with the feeling of getting stressed because other things NEED doing (and I not talking about dusting the skirting boards) and baba will just not let go!!
Having said that, slings are v good for on the go Bfing; I got on ok with a Huggababy ring sling. It all gets easier with time and experience, and it took me to DS3 to really get the hang of it, so I am truly not somebody BF came to easily.
McDreamy, best advice I can give you, is go with the flow, deal with today today, and before you know it this problem is over - and you are on to the next one .
But yes, at 6 weeks you can expect a lot bit of comfort sucking. Like I said, I got fed up with it too, but am still Bfing DS3 (1 year yesterday!).

StarlightMcKenzie · 23/03/2009 16:50

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kalo12 · 24/03/2009 15:43

you are right. it was uncalled for and i am sorry. i didn't mean it to sound so harsh, it wasn't meant nastily.

in my defence i've got pnd, just been burgled and clicked on this cos my 13 month still bfs every hour , sometimes more for comfort and i'm completely drained so when i read through and saw six weeks i was a bit 'god , you think thats bad ..' kind of way.

but yes, i am very sorry. infact i remember feeling the same at five weeks with a baby sucking for hours when i was expecting a ten minutes each side scenario.

i think its that they don't tell you how intense bfing is.

sorry xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

ChairmumMiaow · 24/03/2009 15:45

kalo - come and join the extended BFers support thread. Someone there will feel your pain!

StarlightMcKenzie · 24/03/2009 17:23

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trixymalixy · 24/03/2009 17:28

I gave in and gave my DS a dummy.

I had said before I had a baby that there was no way I would give him a dummy, but I was so utterly exhausted with him sucking on me that I gave in. Best invention ever imo!

susie100 · 24/03/2009 17:43

I do sympathise, it gets really sore and I caould not cope with it (in fact I think it would have meant to the end breastfeeding to continue as my nips were starting to crack and bleed)

I used a combination on re-latching, swaddling, and my finger for her to suck on!

neolara · 24/03/2009 17:52

My ds had my little finger in his mouth for the first 6 months of his life as he was desparate to suck. It was pretty silly of me really as there is not much you can do when you have a baby hanging off your hand. At 6 weeks I got him a dummy which he sucked enthusiastically. I got rid of it without any problems at all around 3 months when he found his thumb.

ten10 · 24/03/2009 18:05

I have nothing against dummies but not all sucky babies will take a dummy.

My ds just wouldn't keep it in his mouth he would immediately push it out with his tongue.

instead what worked for us was lying him across my lap on his tummy and popping my finger into his mouth so that the soft pad of my finger touched the top of his mouth.

this would keep him content for ages, and was the only thing that calmed him when he was screaming from colic