Ds2 is nearly 3 weeks old and I'm very keen to bf exclusively. However, I struggled to bf ds1 4 years ago-he was constantly on the boob for the first 3 months but never seemed satisfied- I started giving him a formula top up in the evenings at about 12 wks against my better judgement, and sure enough by 4 months or so ds1 completely refused the breast. So our bf relationship was curtailed early and I felt v guilty about 'failing'. I've since read lots of literature which says that a mother's supply is almost always adequate for her baby, so started bfing ds2 with renewed confidence... However, things are not going swimmingly
Just like ds1, ds2 would spend all day on the boob if he could, but rarely sucks effectively. He's a grazer- he'll go at it for a couple of mins then fall asleep. I tend to take him off and try to wake him up by changing/ burping etc but the same pattern recurs again and again, so that I can be sitting feeding for a couple of hours at a time, but he's still unsatisfied and grizzly at the end. Not much fun for ds1. He has a marked preference for left boob- the right one seems to send him to sleep almost immediately.
I am trying to express at least 3 times a day, but I often get only half an oz - 1oz, and sometimes diddly squat, which frankly just makes me feel more anxious about my supply. I can't realistically express more often than this around the marathon boob sessions, or I'd have no time whatsoever for ds1 not to mention basic personal hygiene!
He was born at 50th centile and lost a fair bit- he's still not regained his birthweight although he did put on 4oz last week. He often misses a day with poo- haven't had a dirty nappy today for example- but produces plenty of wet nappies. All of this adds to my concern that bf is not yet really working. I've never felt engorged, don't leak etc... I know these aren't valid indicators of supply, but combined with the paltry volumes of ebm, I can't help but worry that I'm not giving him what he needs.
Sorry for the mammoth post, but I cd really do with some sound mn advice on this. I'm perfectly prepared to be baby-led, but when this means all-day grazing, unsatisfied baby and slow weight gain, am I doing the right thing? Should I make him wait longer btw feeds so he's really hungry and suckles more vigorously? I should add that he has several v alert awake phases in the day so I don't have serious concerns that he's failing to thrive. I really want to make this work but it's SO difficult! Thanks