hungry breast fed baby?

[pamelat]

DS 3 weeks

Have already gone on about how am struggling breast feeding with 2.4 year old DD too

Have just switched to formula feed once a day at 10pm.

Until DS was 10 days old he fed lots but was happy and slept between

Now he feeds lot but is never satisfied except fter 10pm formula feed, and then feeds like an angel in the night ... 2am and 5am ish.

In the day he has just fretted after every feed

Am feeding for about an hour each time, half hour each side.

He is putting weight on but I am exhausted, and more importantly I am worried why he never settles (have posted in sleep too) in the day.

Today he was literally awake from 8am - 4pm feeding and fretting, despite moses basket/dark room/pram/sling/car etc.

I am worried he is hungry

I fed him at 6pm for an hour and he was unhappy so offered formula (never normally at that feed) and he drank 60 ml in about 10 minutes so was obviously starving.

I have read that his being hungry could be because of poor latching on?????

I will ask HV who is due round tomorrow.

Can I ask on here please whether a baby so young (3 weeks) would just drink the formula anyway or whether he would have been genuinely hungry????

it could be a growth spurt and he is demanding extra to boost your supply

maybe but he has been like it for 10 days with the exception of one day where he slept all day except to feed 3 hourly, which was amazing.

kellymom has loads of useful bf info - maybe you can get some ideas from there

He is 3 weeks old, this is not unusual, how much help have you got with your older child?

I would worry about the formula affecting your supply.

My DD is now 4 months and its only in the last month that she has started to develop a pattern and go 3-4 hourly during the day. (5-6 at night). I also have a 2.2 year old.

I underestimated how hard the early weeks would be. Ask for help from everyone and anyone with food/housework/childcare for your older LO. Grabbing sleep instead of anything else is vital. Dont worry about too much tv or the house being a a little messy. (Hard i know but needs must!)

Please dont give up feeding, have faith in your body/boobs. Do you have anyone in real life to talk to about feeding? b(who has bf?) I hope your dp is being supportive in your want to breastfeed.

Where abouts are you? Is there any local groups baby cafe? Ring hv in morning? sometimes it helps to just talk the problem through?

HTH please keep going your doing so well.

I think that unless he was sick afterwards he was probably hungry and the formula filled him up.
My DS was awake a lot in the first few weeks. Because of a poor latch (and inexperienced Mummy ) he wasn't feeding enough. A very helpful HV got me to latch him on properly and he's been much better since. If you've got a good HV ask her to check him latching on when you see her tomorrow.

hv coming tomorrow so will ask for advice

am typing one handed as he feeding again!!!

so hour bf, formula top up and just an hour later bf again

he not been sick, still wide awake but calmer

have had support with lo but not in another week or so. will have one day a week with her in nursery though.

live near nottingham and derby

dd fed constantly too but it was easier then.

Oh, i know its hard at the mo, but it does get so much easier! Promise!

try not to top up with formula its a hard thing to get out of.

can you lay down to feed? i found that helped in the early days in the evening.

try to find your local sure start centre www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Preschooldevelopmentandlearning/NurseriesPlaygroupsReceptionClasses/DG_ 173054
you can take your toddler to baby cafes as well.

wish i was near you to help a bit more.

It could also be the heat making him thirsty and want to feed more? My DS has been having extra feeds for the last few days I think for this reason.

The constant feeding can only be good for your supply. Maybe demand is higher than supply at the mo and it'll take another day or so to catch up.

If he's a bit more chilled out now maybe try to get him to bed when he's finished bf? Or if your DD is in bed you could lie down to feed DS. This is my new favourite position for feeding as I can rest too

hi all, feeding again so excuse typing

had bad night where after waking at 2am he fed every 40 mins for 20 mins, fell to sleep and woke up crying with 10-20 mins

bless him he was so tired after feeding all day that he snacked all night.

in total i have managed 3 hours sleep, a 2 hour block and few snatched minutes after that and dd (who never wakes) woke up twice

lets see what he weighs in couple hours. just want to get through today

DS is 10 weeks and pretty much permanently attached from about 7:30am until 6:30pm (when he sleeps!). I have just gotten very good at feeding while doing other this.

It is a PITA and I am tired but it won't last forever.

IME once you start topping up with formula, you supply drops a little so you give more formula and so on...

It is a total bugger.