Newborn - cluster feeding / doesn’t like crib

[Digestivesmilk]

I have a 2 week old DC whom I am trying to exclusively breastfeed.

The issue is that my breasts are not leaking, are not painful, and whenever I pump with a hospital grade pump I only manage to get 20ml from both breasts combined…

My baby is attached on the boobs full time day and night to satisfy his hunger.

I don’t have a nice, full feed that will keep him well fed and satisfied for a couple of hours. My breasts are not engorged but because he is on them full time but he has enough wet and soiled nappies as he is in constant milk supply.

As a result, I cluster feed and he only sleeps on me…

I can’t continue this way because I have a toddler at home.

I am thinking of combi feeding so as to top him up with formula after every breast feed, hoping that he will be fed enough to sleep in his crib independently.

My main problem is that he only sleeps on me and he cluster feeds!!!

Can you please advise what I can do to break this sleep habit?

Just a note that with my firstborn which I exclusively breastfed, I had the same issue and we ended up cosleeping and cluster feeding up until 6 months when solids started and was feeding better.

However, this is not sustainable to do now as I have a demanding toddler at home…

At 2 weeks, all of this is completely normal, appropriate and vital for healthy development. If you can hold out for another month you should find it improves. Dad will need to step up with the toddler for a brief while.

The fourth trimester. Your baby is too young to start sleep training. If you want your supply at full production the cluster feedings need to continue. Agree with pp, hold out for 4 more weeks until production is established, it will get easier. It was smooth sailing for me at around the tenth week.

I think I spent the first 3 months of my son's life constantly feeding him... There was no playtime; only eating and sleeping.

The amount you pump is probably about right for how old your baby is - I am personally difficult to pump and even now after 9 months I'm lucky to get over 2 oz at one sitting.

As for the sleep thing, have you tried feeding him lying down with him lying on the bed next to you? Obviously you can't sleep train such a tiny baby, but maybe getting him used to lying down (not on you) would be a good first step!

If you do decide to combi-feed him, obviously the danger is that you won't continue to produce enough milk and it would dry up. If you keep at EBF, it will be hard going for a long time but eventually your breasts WILL be able to keep up!

All of mine fed constantly for around 10-12 weeks. Like they were attached at the boob! I slept with them in my bed because they hated the cot. That's the only way I got any sleep for those first few months!

I did cosleeping with all my 3 kids. But the first one was especially challenging to put in the crib.

My suggestion is to try putting your child back in the crib each time. And if it starts affecting your health/mental health, just do safe cosleeping

It's all very normal at this age. Of course that doesn't make it any easier!

I think DS cluster fed until he was about 4 months roughly, then he started to feed a lot better from there on. For us, safe co sleeping saved my sanity, i was able to get enough sleep and at least if i wasn't sleeping i was comfy and rested.

One thing that can help a little though is strip baby down to nappy and change them mid feed. Offer both breasts at every feed and make sure you drink lots of fluids and plenty of snacks for yourself! These things wont stop the cluster feeding but can definitely ensure that baby is getting nice full feeds. Just remember their tummies are tiny and breastmilk is super easy to digest so they need to feed little and often.

Also please don't worry about how much you can pump. Pumping is not an indication of supply, baby is more efficient at removing milk than any artificial method!

All sounds normal for that age tbh but have you tried a haaka pump? You basically attach it to the other breast while baby feeds. I could barely get anything from an electric pump but up to 60ml from that. And you don't feel like you're wasting the day pumping because you're sat down feeding anyway

DS2 is nearly 4 months also breastfed. It was tricky at the start with a toddler too. DH had 4 weeks off and it took that whole 4 weeks to convince DS to go down in the crib for any period overnight. We did shifts overnight to get through it. Thankfully he was willing to sleep on DH too. Once he started going down overnight, I took over the nights myself with DH doing the late evening or early morning if needed.

I definitely have less milk this time but I had horrible oversupply with my first and could have pumped loads. Don't think I'd be nearly as successful this time if I'd wanted to pump.

Nothing wrong with combi feeding if that's your preference and we seriously considered it in the early weeks. I think it may have taken the pressure off me initially but at this stage, I think EBF is still easier. It was and still is hard juggling a baby and a toddler as you forget how all consuming a baby is regardless of how you feed.