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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

bf ds 1wk old .. midwife advise to pump some off to top up ...

19 replies

Shell001 · 23/04/2009 15:23

Hi,

Just wondered if anyone else uses a bottle at such an early stage to top up as ds feeding only 10 15 minutes at time ..

Nipple confusion ? or ok

OP posts:

Sheeta · 23/04/2009 15:28

Why has the midwife suggested that you pump for top-ups?

RoseOfTheOrient · 23/04/2009 15:30

absolutely no need - is he not regaining weight or something? all you need is to feed him whenever he wants. Is he producing wet/dirty nappies?

StarlightMcKenzie · 23/04/2009 15:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Flibbertyjibbet · 23/04/2009 15:37

If he is feeding 10 to 15 mins at a time he will be getting all he needs.
Feeding is hard work for babies that age and some just get tired after 15 mins.

Jojay · 23/04/2009 15:40

Both mine only fed for that length of time in the early days and by the time they were 2 months ish they were down to 5 mins.

Doesn't mean they're not getting enough.

Are there any more problems or is that her only reason? If so, I wouldn't bother.

IwishIwasmoreorganised · 23/04/2009 15:42

If he's having wet and dirty nappies and some periods of being awake then I really wouldn't bother. I don't see what you would achieve apart from a lot of hassle and potentially some nipple confusion.

audreyraines · 23/04/2009 15:56

my ds only ever fed for a max of 10 minutes at a time. i think my milk was fast and that was enough for him. or some babies are just efficient feeders.

has your mw given any reason that he needs more milk? if he is regaining weight and having wet/dirty nappies, you certainly don't need to supplement his feeds in any way.

if there really is a valid reason to try and get ds to take more, then there are other methods such as cup or syringe that are less likely to lead to any nipple confusion.

let us know what your MW is on about!

Original poster

Shell001 · 23/04/2009 16:09

Just to make him go longer between feeds she said ...

he gained 4 ozs this week ..

OP posts:

wastingmyeducation · 23/04/2009 16:13

How often is he feeding?

Alibabaandthe40nappies · 23/04/2009 16:15

He's a week old? And the midwife is talking about getting him to go longer between feeds?

That is bonkers.

You have good weight gain, for this week certainly. What's the overall picture with his weight etc?

audreyraines · 23/04/2009 16:17

my goodness, i'm surprised at your midwife. your ds is 1 week old, and has a tiny stomach and needs to feed often. it's also good for you to feed often to make sure you've got plenty of milk supply in the early days. please don't listen to her, your ds knows what he needs.

audreyraines · 23/04/2009 16:19

i'd say the weight is good too. most babies lose a bit of their birthweight in the first few days and take 1-2 weeks to regain (BF babies that is), so he is doing great to put on weight already. xx

3cutedarlings · 23/04/2009 16:20

load of bollox ignore her silly cow (the MW not you), he has gained weight in his first week FFS, your doing a grand job!!

Reallytired · 23/04/2009 16:22

If you have to give top up, or either expressed milk or formula then you are better to cup feed. It really is best to avoid artifical teets like dummies or bottle teets in the early stages. Cup feeding uses the tongue like breastfeeding and your baby will not experience nipple confusion. The problem with nipple confusion is that the suck needed for a bottle is different to a breast. If your baby gets confused it can make sore nipples worse.

If you need your son to be able to take a bottle then I would wait a couple of weeks and then only have one bottle a day.

Here are some links.

www.breastfeeding.org/articles/cup.html

picture of baby being cup fed

By the way congratulations on your new baby.

I would ignore your midwife. It is nuts to top up a baby who is gaining weight. My daughter who is also a week old has not yet gained her birth wieght, but no one has suggested top ups to me.

BCLass · 23/04/2009 16:24

Absolutely no need to top up in these circumstances!!

It's this kind of rubbish advice that undermines breatfeeding.

You are doing an excellent, excellent job. Have a pat on the back and congratulate yourself.

Then forget what she said and carry on as you were.

Niecie · 23/04/2009 16:28

I don't normally post on these threads and I think that sometimes HV and MW are given a hard time for no good reason but this is just not right!

You can't be expecting a week old baby to go longer between feeds - that is madness! If he wants to feed non-stop all day then that is what he should be allowed to do, now and for many more weeks to come.

You don't need to top up - he gained weight in his first week - based on my own small sample of two that is pretty good going.

Congratulations on your new baby boy too.

tiktok · 23/04/2009 16:32

There's something odd here....a week old baby already gaining weight and feeding for about an average amount of time.....surely there must be more to this story?

Shell001 - are you absolutely positive it was the midwife who told you to do this hassle-some, fiddly and strange thing?

Is there anything else at all going on with your baby's development or health that might make the midwife suggest this?

Are you 100 per cent sure you heard her right?

(My own postnatal brain was terrible!)

I am just a bit concerned that a talkboard should be saying 'don't do this' when we may not have the full story.

At the very least, Shell, you need a better explanation than 'to make him go longer between feeds'.

BCLass · 23/04/2009 16:40

tiktok - I agree, which is why I qualified it with 'in these circumstances' - obviously my advice might be rubbish if those are not the circumstances!

tiktok · 23/04/2009 16:50

It's ok, BClass...as you pointed out, all we have to go on is 3 lines of text!!

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