Is my month old DD full and satisfied?

[BobinRobin]

So for background we're trying to up BF and rely less on top ups. She was a large baby so never tiny and at immediate risk of significant weight loss but she's not gaining much.
My problem is that there's so much information on the Internet that it's all contradictory and massively confusing. I've breastfed her all day since a 4.30am top up of almost 80ml and another top up of 10-20ml mid morning ...she's gone to sleep after each feed so I'm assuming she's satisfied and full as if she wasn't she'd cry for more?! But then there's information out there about sleepy babies etc... I'm going round in circles doubting everything!

Hi OP, is the baby having wet and dirty nappies, and are the wet ones quite heavy?

May I ask why you’re using top ups?

Good number to use for lots of good information: 0345 120 2918 La leche league are amazing for breastfeeding info.

@Greenmarmalade midwife in hospital suggested due to lateness of milk coming in after traumatic birth. Thanks will give them a call.

Ah ok. I would suggest a gradual reduction in top-ups, and lots of time breastfeeding so your supply builds up too. You sound like you’re already doing lots of feeding! You must be exhausted. It does get a lot more settled after a couple of months!

When we were establishing breastfeeding I had a sleepy baby due to lack of milk and I was told to aim for 10 feeds in a 24 hr period and to wake him if this wasn't happening. Each feed didn't have to be any longer that 5/10 minutes to count.

I found this really helpful as it focussed on overall feeding plan rather than a schedule but also reassured me that if I had ticked off 10
feeds (and he wasn't yelling his head off) then he was getting enough.

So can you use that as a marker for a couple of days? Then if you're not managing 10 maybe start waking for extra feeds. But if you're managing 10 then don't worry!

Stop doing the top ups. Your milk supply will adjust to provide exactly what baby needs.

As long as you are getting wet and dirty nappies and baby is putting on weight then yes your baby is getting exactly what she needs.

Thanks everyone

@GintyMcGinty it's not an option she's not gaining enough weight and I do littlerally run out of milk she screams the house down.

How much is she gaining? When is she crying?

It’s normal to breastfeed a lot, even every hour. And cluster feeding in the evening can mean feeding non-stop (just swapping sides) for a few hours. Lots of evening crying otherwise.

Are you drinking lots of fluids too and eating well, OP?

This is useful:
www.laleche.org.uk/my-baby-needs-more-milk/

To help your supply you could attach a silicone breast pump to the other boob when she is feeding. I did this for the first few weeks. Whatever I caught it was put in a bottle as a top up. I was doing this as the little ones latch wasn't great and I was fearful he wasn't getting what he should have been. Haven't had to use the pump for a long time but definately worth trying as it helps build up your supply too. Best of luck x

Can you try waking her to give an extra feed at some point? If she has a particularly long sleep try waking and feeding her.

You wake a sleeping baby by taking its clothes off (my scary midwife who obviously knows her stuff!)