cluster or colic???

[mrsjuan]

I have been merrily feeding my 3 week old daughter fairly constantly from approx 6 til 10pm for the past week assuming that she was cluster feeding but mother in law has been today and said she thinks it's colic that's making her fussy rather than wanting to feed and that feeding her will make her worse.
How can I tell what it is? I don't want to discount MIL as she has breastfed 2 children herself but I felt that I was doing the right thing.

I'd say it's cluster feeding - my 17-week-old DS was just like that. I'd say not feeding her would make her worse. (She wouldn't feed if she didn't want to.) Hope everything's going well. I found 3 weeks a hard time, nearly gave up but really glad I didn't.

i don't believe in colic and even if you do there is only one remedy... feed on mrsj.

if she wants to feed and is happily feeding i'd say it's just cluster feeding.
i had a colicky baby and he would just scream and scream and scream and NOTHING would stop him. he didn't want to feed, he just cried.

if feeding works then go with it I reckon!

Er.....what's it matter? I don't get it!

'Cluster feeding' is a normal behaviour.

'Colic' is a physical condition.

She could have colic, which is helped by cluster feeding.

But it's much more likely she doesn't have colic, and is just behaving like a normal 3 week old

MIL suggested I tried dummy etc as feeding would make her more windy. She did settle down after a couple of minutes sucking but she would have done that on the breast anyway and at least she would have had some milk. She does tend to take a good feed but is quite sqirmy initially. It has really shaken my confidence - even got out Gina Ford this morning which made me feel even worse!

Aw, mrsjuan

Your baby is normal and healthy and behaving normally and healthily..you are behaving normally and healthily in responding to her in a way that makes you both happy and healthy

What's not to like? Why would a dummy be better than a breast? Why would a routine in a book be better than responding to your own individual baby's needs for love, comfort and milk?

It also normal to be a bit wobbly in confidence, too, especially if you have someone sticking their nose in trying to offer help by telling you you're doing something wrong.

i know, i know - I'm just having a wobble! It's hard cos MIL is only person I have close by in RL to help out and she did BF succesfully herself - I guess everyone's different but it's hard!

but you are breastfeeding successfully too!

my 7 week old would feed till he's sick and still feed contantly from 6-10 if I let him, ending up with him getting miserable and puking and crying with tummy pains

I now let him feed as much as he wants from 6 to 8 but at 8 that's his lot till 10

he's now much happier and settled

I think there is such a thing as a need to suck which is not always a need to feed