Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Infant feeding

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

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Endless breastfeeding!

48 replies

mhorne · 22/06/2005 18:52

Hi,I am in need of help. Have a 3 week old DS. Today he started to have a feed at about 3pm, and I have hardly been able to get him off again until now. Is this normal? He lost 8oz of his birth weight in the first couple of weeks and I have had to start giving him a couple of formula bottles to bulk him up (advised by HV.) Can I take this as a good sign that he is trying to feed himself up, or am I doing something wrong?

OP posts:

aloha · 23/06/2005 14:24

I also gave the odd bottle but I have a LOT of milk.

berolina · 23/06/2005 17:25

I'm having an 'endless feeding' day today too! ds (5 weeks) has basically been feeding ALL day, with short breaks - but gets upset and wants to go back on the breast quickly. Today seems particularly hot, so I'm thinking it must be that.

NotQuiteCockney · 23/06/2005 19:22

The other big reason not to supplement with formula is because if you do exclusive breastfeeding, the benefits of breastfeeding, for you and the baby, are much stronger.

NotQuiteCockney · 23/06/2005 19:23

Oh, and even my DS2, who is 9 months tomorrow, and doing pretty well with solids, is breastfeeding loads today. He never stays on for long, but I think he's had a good 8 or so feeds today. He's off his solids, too. I think it's a mix of the heat and his teeth, he just got his second one this week. (Both on top! Looks very odd.)

mandyc66 · 23/06/2005 22:18

As you can see we all think this is normal!!!! The best thing is you have had to sit down and take it easy!! Thats very important to any Mum!
I would keep an eye on his weight though as sometimes they can appear to be feeding but not!

monkeytrousers · 24/06/2005 10:28

I'd agree with everyone, it's very normal. My ds loved his mummyjuice and was feeding constantly for a whole 3 months, maybe even longer. Have you got a nursing cushion? I found it was a lifesaver. We would just cuddle up on the couch, he'd have a bounce, feed and then nap. That was my day for a long long time (hope this isn't putting you off!)

About the poo's he never poo'ed very much from the start and kept piling the weight on. HV said this was normal, some poo alot others don?t'. I was worried the other way round, as he'd put on half a pound in a week sometimes. He's still on the top centile and as me and dad are just average sized we haven?t a clue where he gets it from. (I can sense a few raised eyebrows there...

And Notquitecockney you're in for a treat when you're lo starts testing those new things in his mouth. OMG!

moondog · 24/06/2005 10:31

Again not an endorsed course of action,but with my dd,if I felt she's had enough,I took her off myself(otherwise I'd still be glued to the sofa with her 41/2 years on lol!)I knew she was strong and healthy and putting on weight.

Original poster

mhorne · 24/06/2005 11:20

All good advice given, so i thought I would add an update of this week. My DS has put on 12oz this week! Now whether or not that has anything to do with the endless feeding or the formula feed I don't know and I don't care. I am still undecided about continuing with the bottles. My milk flow certainly doesn't seem to be disappearing, and the bottles aren't replacing a feed they are as well as. He is still only on the 25th centile line so I think I will carry on with the bottles for another week and review it then.

OP posts:

Tipex · 24/06/2005 11:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Pagan · 24/06/2005 11:37

Totally normal. Stick with it coz you're doing great. My DS was exactly the same - a wee feeding machine. He's 5 month now andstill bf a lot but loves his solids too

morningpaper · 24/06/2005 11:45

mhorne: glad that things are looking up!

What about expressing a bottle's worth of your milk and replacing the formula with that? Would that reassure you a bit perhaps?

Remember to make sure that YOU drink loads in this heat too. I'd glug a pint of water before feeds in hot weather.

mcnoodle · 25/06/2005 19:09

My son is 10 days old, and didn't feed for the first five days (gave small amounts of formula with syringe and tried to express - but nothing). Then my milk came in and he worked out how to get it and now I am feeding him all the time. Have just sent DH out with him to walk round the block as have been feeding for over 12 hours with no more than a 15 minute snooze.

I feel like I really tried so hard to get him to feed that I should in some way be grateful that he is now feeding constantly, but I'm not. I have started to feel very resentful and tired and have been crying alot. Was my friends birthday today and I really wanted to go along, just for an hour, but just trying to get out of the house is impossible.

Am on the verge of giving up and giving him a bottle of formula. Please help!

hercules · 25/06/2005 19:16

Speak to a bf counsellor. Try the nct or la leche helpline.
Tbh though it sounds normal.

hercules · 25/06/2005 19:17

Is your positioning ok?

Tipex · 25/06/2005 19:19

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mcnoodle · 25/06/2005 19:32

I get some pain when he latches on, but that fades very quickly. He seems to be feeding - always has a face full of milk! Midwife says his position is ok - but I'm not sure.

Will have glass of wine and phone counsellor tomorrow.

Thanks for advice. I'll be back to let you know how we're getting on.

I really didn't expect it to be this hard...

monkeytrousers · 25/06/2005 23:06

I did have some pain but nipple shields help toughen up. Never a problem with positioning just that initial acclimatization.

monkeygir · 26/06/2005 22:56

My ds is now 6 weeks old and he seemed to constantly feed at 3 weeks too. I was crying and at the point of seriously considering bottles, but i got help from the health visitor (the nursing nurse actually) and went to my local baby cafe. Baby cafe was a great help, esp as speaking to other mums made me realise that we all go through it.

At 6 weeks my ds is again feeding all the time especially in the evenings and won't settle till 9-10pm. The hot weather is part of the reason, but i think he is now having another growth spurt. Expressing does help, as it gives you a break from feeding and your dh can help out. I found the best way was to breastfeed ds on one breast and express at the same time on the other - only way i had the time what with the constant feeding. Might only have got 3oz in total over the whole day, but it allowed dh to do a feed a night.

Am now able to express alot more, but think i have one breast bigger than the other and am trying to get the milk supply the same in both as don't want to be lop sided! Any ideas?

aloha · 26/06/2005 23:49

Mcnoodle, hang on in there! But don't let the breastfeeding totally rule your life. Why didn't you go to the party? Was it because your baby cried when you took him off you? Please, please don't panic just because your baby cries a bit, otherwise you will never leave the house again. Just grit your teeth, say 'I am leaving the house right now" grab baby, lipstick (well it was a party) and a nappy and head out of the door (clutching your wailing baby). I can guarantee, the minute you insert baby into carseat and start moving or insert baby in pram and start pushing, your babe will fall fast asleep. It's amazing. With ds I used to panic totally if he cried - took me ages to leave the house. With dd she goes in the pram and I go. No dithering!
Your baby clearly loves being on the breast. Why not? It's warm, cuddly, reassuring, delicious in every way, but it won't kill him to be in his car seat/pram/dad's arms from time to time while you relax and get out.
The BEST thing about breastfeeding is that you can do it anywhere at any time so it should give you loads of freedom.
And I promise it will get easier and your baby will feed less often and for less time very soon.

mcnoodle · 27/06/2005 17:21

Thanks for your advice aloha. I know I should have just up and left during the marathon feed on Saturday. Time just ran away - the glass of wine helped though. DH and I had a mini glastonbury in our back garden for an hour!

Yesterday was a bit better. We took him out in the afternoon and he slept in the car seat and I got some fresh air and a picnic.

Today he would have fed all day, but again, we plopped him in his car seat and went to buy food, which gave me a break for a couple of hours. He's fed since we got back for about 3 hours, and I started getting upset again, so DH has taken him out in the pram round the block.

I really want to carry on bf but I do worry that my feelings towards him are so extreme. At the end of three hours feeding, I really don't like him all that much, and I feel very trapped by the whole 'motherhood' thing.

It's good to hear that others have experienced similar. I hope things start to change for us soon!

aloha · 27/06/2005 21:40

mcnoodle, to be honest, I think a lot of people think like that even if they aren't breastfeeding. it's a huge adjustment. The answer IMO is to get out as much as you possibly can - do things you enjoy, spend time with friends, have lunch, go to shops, museums and art galleries -whatever you used to like doing before you were a mother. New babies are really portable. Pop him in a pram or in a sling and get out there. You will feel much more human soon, really you will.

rydercup · 27/06/2005 21:55

Hi Mcnoodle - I am here exactly 3 months on with DS2 and have felt sooooo cloe on a number of occasions to 'jacking BF in' - however...everybody is right....it does get soo much better - my little boy was spending about 23 hours a day on the boob - and now feeds in about 20 mins every few hours! And boy can I tell when he is having growth spurts - I think weeks 3 and 6 are part. big spurts!! Hang on in there!

allyco · 27/06/2005 21:57

know how you feel mcnoodle. My little ones would lie and suck away for hours, oblivious to all else. At the time I ofen felt trapped and that I wasn't much enjoying it BUT have posted on different thread this evening because my youngest has just given up on BF all by herself at nearly ten months and I am fairly heartbroken!! It sounds corny but it is true - they are little for such a short time and once it's over it's over so just go with it (oh god,am geting sniffly again. I'm off)

Flip

1 2