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Infant feeding

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

Will i ever fill DS up?

9 replies

Newbeginning1 · 17/01/2010 06:00

Advice needed please....

Anyone would think that DS was starved whilst i was pregnant with how much he's eating now. He's feeding for roughly 2 hours or more to fill him up, is that normal?

He always falls alseep mid feed too but as soon as i put him down he wakes up and is giving all the hunger cues so he goes straight back for a feed. Are there any signs i should look out for that actually DS is full and is sucking for comfort? He does get sleepy but is cheeky and will be nearly off to sleep then be wide awake again so i cant tell when he's nearly off.

Ive tried pacing with him etc to get him to sleep when he's sleepy but he wakes up and tries to find boob again. Am i missing something?

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StealthPolarBear · 17/01/2010 07:29

how old is he?

wrigglershouse · 17/01/2010 10:43

I think it sounds like your baby is quite new. If so this is normal - please come back and say how old so you can get better advice!

Newbeginning1 · 17/01/2010 14:16

Sorry for the delay. DS is nearly 4 weeks old.

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BlameItOnTheBogey · 17/01/2010 14:22

Normal, normal, normal I'm afraid. YOu need to try and keep him awake during feeds - maybe change his nappy in between sides to wake him up and then he might go a bit longer. But to be honest, at this age, every two hours is about right.

BertieBotts · 17/01/2010 14:33

He's not cheeky - he's a baby! I know what you mean though - so frustrating. But do remember he's not doing it on purpose.

Are you open to the idea of co-sleeping at all? I found DS would feed in his sleep on and off all night but I was so tired I just slept through it and it allowed me to do more during the day - although saying that there were days I spent playing "catch up" and just stayed in bed all day with him. It was lovely, if he keeps me awake at night now I have no chance of playing catch up as he wrecks the house

Morloth · 17/01/2010 18:03

I used to strip DS down for feeds, just a vest and nappy so that he wouldn't get too snuggly (only through the day and obviously don't let him be cold). Also would do one side and then get up and change his nappy and have a chat etc before popping him on the otherside, he would usually go to sleep at some time during the second boob and that was fine - would then just wrap him up/put him in sling and do whatever.

Newbeginning1 · 18/01/2010 02:52

Thanks for the advice ladies. We are co sleeping because ootherwise i wouldnt get any rest at all, i was just wanting him to go to sleep in his basket as well.

At this age, the fact that he falls asleep all the time on the boob, is that an issue and a habit i need to break? I'm conscious DS will be away from me at some point in the future to have time wsith his father as we're separated but if DS "needs" boob to fall asleep my ex will have a rough time.

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ticklebucket · 18/01/2010 20:50

In the first couple of months I seemed to spend all day breast feeding. He would stay on the breast for 2 hours sometimes 3, but if I put him in his moses basket he would wake and want more food.

I was told by breastfeeding counsellors and midwives that the baby should not need to feed for more than about an hour and that they should need another feed 2 hours after the start of the first feed. My baby would snooze on the breast seamingly sucking in his sleep. He wouldn't have long sleeps during the day (no more than 10 - 20 minutes) and would be routing immediately after waking. I was told by one breastfeeding counselor that its only in our culture that we expect babies to feed routinely every 2 hours and that in some cultures they stay in slings and feed as they wish.

I was pretty sure that the problem was due to my not producing enough milk. He was very slow putting on wait and eventually I had to supplement with bottles. I found that if I gave a decent top up he would rest properly between feeds eg full hour.

Advice that helped me a bit was to try switch feeding - changing breasts after 5 -10 minutes of no vigorous sucking. Its important to allow the baby time to get the hind milk - so best talk to a breastfeeding counselor about how to manage this. Other tips I used were; to play with his feet and to keep him a bit cool while feeding (so not to cozy)

What was good about it was that he stayed awake to feed better.

I used to find that I couldn't go anywhere as there wasn't enough time to get back before he would want feeding. I soon learnt to feed whilst walking (luckily he was very light!) The thing that really helped was a sling which enabled nursing. I could keep him in the sling and feed if necessary whilst giving my arms a rest. I found that he often came off the breast and slept for a proper length of time in the sling. It wasn't ideal but was a bit of freedom from the sofa.

At night things were a bit better and I found that although it took an hour to feed, it was worth staying awake and then putting him down in the moses basket, as he would actually sleep at night for 3 hours and it gave me a much better rest.

Another thing I was told was that some babies are sucky babies that comfort feed. Apparently this is quite normal at the beginning and at this early stage isn't a problem. If it goes on past 8 weeks you might want to consider using a dummy. My baby wasn't interested in the dummy (probably because he was actually hungry. Its important not to use a dummy too early as you can miss a genuine feeding cue.

Things got better for us after he was about 10 weeks old.

whatever the reason you will work it out soon. It really does gets better and your breasts will soon get proper breaks.

Newbeginning1 · 19/01/2010 21:53

Thanks Ticklebucket.

I'm due to go to a la leche league meeting on friday so fingers crossed they will be able to offer some advice.

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