2 questions re breastfeeding in the early days

[Southwestwhippet]

DD is 3 weeks. She is my first.

Q1) does the let down get more comfortable as time goes on? at the moment it feels like electric shocks going off in my boobs! Not agony but cetainly not very comfortable.

Q2) my DD will feed voraciously for about 5 to 10 minutes then likes to spend up to half an hour latching and unlatching every 10seconds or so. If I attempt to put boob away she gets most annoyed. She will pull off, have a rest then dive back onto the nipple with very happy expression. Is this normal? After a while it does get rather uncomfortable as she really pulls back to unlatch.

Thanks everyone!

I never had a strong sensation from let down so I can't help on the first question sorry.

Q2 - are you feeding from both breasts at each feed?

hmmmm, not always. Do you think that could be why?

Yes let down will become far less noticeble. Your body is still adjusting to this new situation and will adapt as time goes on.

It is entirely normal for babies to want to feed as you've described. Each baby is different but my DS2 fed exactly like this. When he pulled too much as he unlatched I learned to hook my finger in to break the latch. He soon learned to unlatch in a more civilised fashion!

I would swap sides after that first 5/10 minutes, and then swap back when she's had enough of that side.
Often they like the speed the milk comes at the start of the feed, and you can keep that up by swapping sides.

Thanks everyone, I will try swapping sides more frequently to see if that helps.

It is very cute watching her feed like this but sometimes my poor nipples need a break

I think you've had good advice so far, so won't repeat. Just want to tell you this:

It cannot possibly be overstated how much better it will get for you as time goes on. It does take a while and at the time it feels like forever, but will eventually become second nature to you (and the baby's behaviour improves muchly too just through maturity)

All sounds very normal to me - sounds like you are doing great

At some point in the future the feeding will speed up immeasurably and then you will really miss the chance to sit on the sofa feeding for half an hour [blue]

Thanks everyone - I love sitting on the sofa feeding her. It is totally guilt free laziness as far as I'm concerned. Long may it last LOL

The letdown feeling does go - although I had it the other week during a course much to the trainers amusement as I was getting that zapping feeling during the lesson! What happens when you spend a day away from your baby talking about babies and breastfeeding all day!

I'm not sure I agree with swapping every 10 minutes. I've never done it or been advised to and was told to only do it if I was worried about my milk supply. I was actually told to feed from one side for awhile to help with weight gain (pre-term baby) and because she was having green nappies (which aren't a problem if everything else is OK but it does usually stop it). The baby might be getting restless because it is having a tough time suckling, so switching might be good. However, I would say to try breast compressions once you notice the baby is getting annoyed first; burp and then switch sides. And don't look at the clock, look at the baby.

On another thread, someone mentioned that green poos can be linked to baby getting too much fore-milk in comparison to hind milk. We've had a couple (maybe 3?) green nappies in the last couple of days - all the rest are the usual yellow - so I was wondering if the swapping thing is a good idea as it seems to me that she might end up getting a lot more fore-milk?

What are breast compressions? She doesn't get annoyed generally, it is more as if she is playing really but I might be reading too much into it, she is, after all, only 3 weeks!

going to drop-in HV thingy to get weighed tomorrow (DD, not me ) so might just mention it.

Yes - DS2 had that. I think I suffered from oversupply so he never got to the good stuff. His poo kind of looked a little like spinach!

The health visitor recommended block feeding (just one side for 2 feeds in a row) but this is not recommended unless you're absolutely that this is the problem.

Do you have a local breastfeeding clinic/support group? I found our local one invaluable and the breastfeeding councillor was so supportive - much better than the HV.

It all sounds very complicated I know but it does all settle down - I promise. By 12 weeks I think everything is more or less as it should be. But then what do I know

Try using one side for awhile then. Green pooh on it's own is not a problem but if you're already getting it then I wouldn't recommend swapping.

Here's Dr Jack talking about breast compression.