should i be worried?

[ellliebelle]

dd2 will be 5 weeks tomorrow and so far breastfeeding has been going well, about 10 days ago she was constantly attached to me and often very fussy, some times when i presumed she wanted feeding i decided it was just for comfort as she was very fussy and pulling at my nipple so i just tried rocking her to sleep which didnt work so we gave her a dummy. She seemed to get on with the dummy and it has helped to settle her on several occasions.

The last 2 days she seems to be feeding less and when she is feeding she is fussing more I am now worried that i have made a mistake and that she is taking the dummy when she should actually be feeding and im worried about my supply and my dd's health please advise me I dont know what to do

You should let her suckle wheterh for comfort or feeding as she is trying to establish milk supply. So evcen though she might be seeming to be latched on all the time, its normal. Trust her needs and dont worry about wether its for comfort or not. Comfort is as much of a need as anything else and her suckling is performing a very important function. Your supply will be ok, just relax and let her get on with nursing

Enjoy it (still bfing ds2 21 months but remember the early days arent easy)

the issue I have with letting her feed all day is that i have a 3 year old dd who also needs looking after which is why i gave her a dummy, if she was hungry would she still accept the dummy or would she refuse it. I am worried she doesnt seem to be feeding enough

Have you got a sling? I do understand the whole juggling with older child thing but it really is a phase and it does settle down. I expect your dd1 was similar but because you didnt have the pressures you didnt notice. Also the whole guilt about needing to look after newbaby and still try and give other children same amount of attention is a real shocker. Truth is that newborn needs you completely, where are 3 year old is able to manage a little without constant 1-1.

I would try and feed as often as dd2 wants, and unashamedly use cbeebies, read books to dd1, get out playdoh and sit with dd1 whilst nursing dd2. You might find dd2 will feed more at night than you remember dd1 doing to make up for time in the day. This again will settle. Just takes a while. Dummy can be helpful when a little older, but they are replacement breasts rather than the other way around.

Have you looked on the kellymom.com site. Found that fantastic. Congratulations btw