1 week old - First timer - Advice and tips needed

[mama2moo]

Hi, my dd2 is 1 week old and Im breast feeding her. I didnt breast feed dd1 so this is all new to me.

So far we seem to be doing great. She latches well (sometimes after a few attempts), its no longer painful, my milk has come in and she seems happy and is putting weight on.

Dp does give her a 3oz formula top up at night to give me a chance to sleep - Not easy with a 20mo dd!

My questions are -

When is it worth trying to express? I tried a few days ago and got nothing. I would rather she had expressed then formula at night.

Is demand feeding the best way? I am doing this and she seems to go for hours with nothing and will then feed for 2 hours on and off.

Should you wake them for a feed? Mw suggested doing this every 3 hours?

How do you cover up when you have people around? I have an Aden and Anais muslin but cant get the hang of it - Is it ok to have the baby completly covered?

Thanks for any help you can give me

Congrats on your DD

Expressing - i didn't express so early on (too much of a faff for me) but after the first feed of the day seems to be a good time

demand or cue feeding is great - as soon as your DD starts to root then offer her the breast

i wouldn't let her go for hours without feeding - you may get engorged and you need to really build your supply

i never woke DD for a feed but then she fed a lot and slept very little - 3 hours is the maximum i would leave such a young baby

i did buy a "hooter hider" which i found very useful ...

hiya, didnt want you to go unanswered, my dd is 2.5 but i did bf her for 18 months.
I personally never gave formula as a top up as if you bf your body will realise your baby is hungry and produce more.
i was told to wait 4 weeks before expressing.
i never woke dd up for a feed, was under the impression the ywake if hungry.
i used to wear a bf top under a larger top and feed dd under overtop iyswim or go and sit in the nursery for a bit of quiet.
hth

this sort of thing

i also do the vest under a top thing so i could pull the vest down and cover my tummy and the top up ...

Thanks both. I am hoping to drop the formula feed next week when dp goes back to work. I dont see the point in me giving her a bottle!!

I think I will get a 'hooter hider'!! I am not confident at all in feeding in front of anyone except dp.

express whenever you like! i always found first thing in the morning to be the best time.
That said, personally I wouldn't bother doing it at all, or giving the formula. If you are supplementing with formula or EBM it's worth expressing when you miss the feed... so that your body still knows it needs to make milk. even one bottle a day at this early stage can interfere with supply long term

demand feeding is fabulous, go with it!

waking up- this depends. i personally would do as your MW sayss and wake after 3 (or 4 at a stretch) hours if she hasn't woken naturally. this is only because it is possible to get into a bit of a vicious circle whereby a sleepy baby doesn't take enough milk, not enough milk makes her sleepier, being sleepier means taking even less... and so on.
(though if she is then cluster feeding afterwardss he may be making up for this by herself)

i don't cover up! I just feed. if people want to feel offended by me feding my own baby then they can go somewhere else tbh!
I find though that if you wear a vest top underneath a normal top you can pull the vest down, and your top up and no-one can see a thing.
cardigans are handy too, specially long ones

mama I am currently pregnant with number 3 and have got a pack of these for a tenner from new look. At the moment I wear to cover up my bump when my clothes are getting too short, but I reckon will wear afterwards too to cover up my belly if i lift up my top to feed baby.
Would that work for you do you think? As long as your top is reasonably loose you can pull it down over your boob again once baby is latched on, so the bump band would cover all your lumps and bumps while your top is pulled up!
Does that make sense?
Good luck with baby, sounds like you're doing great, feed baby as often as she asks and keep up the good work!

Yes, it is fine to have the baby completely covered, but it is nice to have the eye contact as well.

If you try feeding in front of a mirror you may find it reassuring to see how little someone else can see - though I appreciate it can all feel a bit daunting to begin with.

Congratulations! The best tip I learnt was sort of in two parts, a) learn how to feed lying down so you can get some sleep or at least rest at the same time, and b) make your bed a safe space so that if you do drop off while feeding baby no accidents happen. It can be very dangerous to fall asleep with the baby on a sofa or chair during the night feeds. With a 20 month old as well though you need all the sleep you can get

hello

I bought lots of cheapish vests in neurtal colours from M&S and cut holes in the nipples. I wear them under normal tops that I can pull down at the neck, so my boob is essentially covered with just room for the nipple to come out so nobody sees anything except my baby. People don't notice I am feeding her even when they are talking to me.

All the best with everything, congratulations.

Thanks all, some fab ideas that I would never of thought of.

I am loving breast feeding and am kicking myself for not even trying it with dd1.

Try a bebe au lait feeding apron - they are ace and allows you eye contact with little one

Try a bebe au lait feeding apron - they are ace and allows you eye contact with little one