baby feeding and crying all evening til early hours of am, boobs full in am but baby asleep: how to even out supply?

[mrsbabookaloo]

Baby is three weeks old and I feel very confused about feeding and my supply and how to improve situation.

I know its early days and things will settle down of their own accord somehow, and I know that I should also expect cluster feeding in evenings, but this is extreme and she seems distressed, and I'm not sure how to help the situation.

She feeds all evening from 6:30ish, til midnight or later: last night 2:30, I am exhausted and take half hour breaks to lie down and sleep while dh tries to settle her, but she will only sleep for 10 mins, and last night she cried the whole time when i took a break.

I had supply issues with dd1, and this time things have been better and she seems to be growing well, but I;m wondering if I still have erratic supply and there's nothing much there in the eve. I hate to think that she is desperately hungry in eve and that's why she can't sleep. My nipples are also getting sore, when I thought I had avoided that problem this time.

When she finally goes to sleep, she'll sleep a good stretch and I let her sleep for 5 hours, even tho I'm supposed to wake her after 3 or 4, so that we can get some sleep.

In the mornings she is sleepy and sleeps after feeds, sometimes I have to wake her for the next one after 2.5-3 hours. My boobs are much fuller in the am; this morning i was dripping, so I don't know if i ought to wake her and feed her more often in the mornings so she gets more milk. This am I decided it was more important for me to catch up on some sleep as i'm feeling pretty low.

So my questions are: could I have supply probs in eve? Should I feed her more in mornings or maybe start pumping and give her that in eves? Is there anything else I can do to even out supply or help her sleep from earlier in the eve?

Sorry this is so long...can anybody advise or encourage me?

I suspect you're more of an expert than I am, as this is your second, and sure another MNer expert will be along in a mo. But honestly this does sound reasonably normal from my limited experience. I suspect it will settle down fairly soon (although weeks feel like years when it's not working, don't they?).

My thoughts were:

Have you tried feeding lying down in bed (with my little one, this way we both dropped off)? Might help you survive this phase.

I'm not surprised you're feeling knackered or if your supply is low with that amount of feeding time! But remember their little tummies are tiny at 3 weeks, so it's fairly unlikely to be that she's feeding all that time just for hunger...

Expressing sounds like it may be a short term option, but everybody told me that the baby feeding was the best way to get your supply settled.

Is it possible that you're finding this particularly worrying because you had probs first time round?

Good luck!

Sounds like you are doing really well, this stage is tiring but you are right really, it will settle down.

I found I regularly woke very full and wet if baby slept for more than about 2 hrs but your milk supply will adjust to what the baby is taking.

Supply problems in the evening is unlikely, the cluster feeding/tanking up for the night is pretty normal and helps to regulate your supply IIRC, so I would avoid expressing to give in the evenings, the frequent feeding is a bit of a pain but it helps program your boobs to make plenty. Clear as mud...

If baby is healthy and feeding well, and you are feeding on demand, it sounds like you are, I don't think you need to wake her for feeds, take the sleep while you can

I would carry on as you are - but do think about feeding lying down so that you get more rest.

The last thing you want to do when you are already knackered is start faffing with expressing and worrying about what your baby is having when. All the cluster feeding is her setting up your supply, things will sort themselves out in another couple of weeks.

Should say that I never did the expressing in this case, but I didn't want to advise you against it not having tried it iyswim. But my supply and ds settled down eventually.

In terms of bedtime, I'm sure you'll remember what you did the first time round once you get a bit more sleep. At around 5-6 weeks, one of the mums from my ante-natal class said that she had tried introducing an earlier bedtime and it had worked, so I gave it a try and it worked (after a fashion, but that's a different thread...) for us too.

You are doing all the right things.

Your DD sounds just like my DD1!

She would scream and yell and be inconsolable from about 7 til 2, then sleep for a good long time.

We never woke her either - she was worn out and so were we - I don't think there's any need to wake them. I mean what for? they will wake when hungry etc.

Also wouldn't bother with expressing etc, it sounds like you have planty of milk and there's no point "evening out supply" artificially when the baby is feeding erratically!

I think you sound like you're doing a great job.

FWIW DD1 stopped with the whole evening screaming thing at around 6 weeks - it gradually tailed off. It won't be like this forever I promise

Hi everyone, thanks for your warm words of support. It really does make me feel better in my tearful state.

I know I probably just need to wait and things will sort themselves out, but I can't swtich my brain off; constantly looking for solutions and action to take. The accepting/take each say as it comes/zen attitude you need for feeding on demand is very much at odds with my personality!

And of course, I'm worried about supply because of last time, and because the blardy health visitor hasn't been to weigh her and reassure me!

"take each DAY as it comes" is what I meant!

Oh MrsB - know just how you feel! Remember that the health visitor weighs in aren't the most important thing in the world, so long as the baby is growing and doing normal baby things try not to worry about it. And bear in mind that where I live (London) HVs almost never visit anybody, and our babies still seem to survive.

Thanks isitme. I'm in London too. Will go to clinic if HV doesn't appear this week.