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Infant feeding

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

is my 7wk old having a growth spurt or treating me like a dummy

4 replies

Wills · 08/01/2010 18:47

thought i was chilling out about feeding but am finding that she wont let me put her down for the last 36 hours. All the normal things that ensure she goes to sleep have failed and not only does she insist on being next to me but she's also insistant that she's sucking on me. I'm sore and having had a really hard week (my dh is away and I have 3 other kids of which one is autistic) I'm knackered and tearful. I'd thought to give her 1 bottle but will that cause problems to my flow? Is she basically trying to up my quantities of milk or is she simply wanting the comfort of me as a human dummy. How do I know the difference.

OP posts:
bidibidi · 08/01/2010 19:26

I'm not sure that there is a difference between dummy/comfort/wanting more milk.

I mean,your body will respond by making more milk which she will get in subsequent feeds, making her plumper and otherwise helping her to grow. I guess if she turns into an oversize blimp of a baby then you might reasonably conclude she was over-doing it now, but you won't know that until a week or 2 or more have passed.

Is there any phone support you can get to help with soreness, or other support with the other DC (sympathies, I have 4 DC, too, and no/few family/friends to help out).

Batteryhuman · 08/01/2010 19:31

I always found that the increases in demand come at approx 6 week intervals, hence so many mums give up at 6 weeks or 3 months because they "haven't got enough milk" Hopefully she will settle down after a few days.

kathryn2804 · 09/01/2010 23:52

DEFINITELY a growth spurt!! I don't buy the whole 'sucking just for comfort' thing. Even if they arem they're getting breatmilk and being fed! If they weren't hungry/thirsty, they wouldn't do it!

messofthedurbervilles · 10/01/2010 17:28

Hi Wills, don't worry! This is totally normal behaviour for a growing young baby, and whoever told you that she's treating you like a dummy is both misinformed and causing unnecessary worry. At this stage, the priority is to make sure she is fed and that you are both happy!

Go with it and the extra sucking will stimulate your milk supply, then things will settle down. The more you let her lead, the quicker this will happen. To make things easier, could you feed her in bed at night, and in a sling during the day? A BF counsellor can show you how to do both - (safe) feeding in bed is especially important so you can get some sleep.

I worried about this too when my DD was the same age. Some of the books seem obsessed with the idea of getting your baby to go 3 hours and the result was nothing but pointless anxiety for me and a miserable DD. There's just nothing to be gained in trying to make them wait when they are hungry. If you can respond quickly to demands for feeding, then they settle more quickly, and that in turn helps you feel less anxious.

I think you already know that introducing a bottle is likely to create problems with your milk supply - also bear in mind that the last thing you want now is to be getting up in the middle of the night to make bottles!!

The best of luck, and again please don't worry - what you're going through is a normal stage, which will soon be over.

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