Breast feeding hell.

[beeboo92]

My little one is 15 days old, exclusively breast feeding and I am hating it!! She constantly wants boob and I mean constantly! It's every half an hour day and night. She screams and screams until she has it and there's no other way to console her.
She will stay on for 5 minutes or so then fall asleep and then the cycle continues. I can't get a single thing done or even leave the house. She is my first child and quite frankly I am hating being a parent right now. This doesn't mean I don't love her I do, but this is relentless.
She's also stopped latching properly which makes it even worse.
We did try her on formula for a couple of days to see if she'd settle but she was in agony with colic and hated it so we decided boob is best for her.
I've considered expressing and giving her that but she doesn't give me a moment of peace to sit and pump.
Is this quite normal? Has anyone else experienced this? And how long did it last? Or how did you get through it?
I'm at my wits end.

You're still learning so of course it is hard, that's normal. Speak to the health nurse about getting some support. It could be that she's attaching wrong, a problem with your milk supply. Any variety of issues that you're not expected to know about because you've never done it before.

But the first step is to seek professional help.

The beginning is tough. So tough. What do the poos look like? Get on to a charity for help with breastfeeding. It really could just be that breastmilk and formula are really different and some formulas don't agree with a baby while others do. Kendamil I think can be difficult to start with I've heard. So you could try a different formula if you're not wanting to continue with feeding.

Alternatively, baby could be CMPA. They react much stronger to cows milk in formula as it's processed by your body in the breastmilk so often has a much milder reaction. It's not hugely common but was the case for us. Mine is so bad he can't even tolerate in my breastmilk.

She's still tiny and in my experience they do feed around the clock, little and often. It can be frustrating but it will get better. For now I would just pick out a good series, grab some snacks and chill. I know it's easier said than done and when you can't even hop in the shower it can be maddening but a few weeks will mean she will go longer between feeds and you will feel more free.

I feel this OP. Take it easy on yourself the house work can everything else can wait. She is still tiny and it will get better as she gets older. It can take up to 6 weeks for breast feeding to become established both of you are still learning.

Be kind to yourself, watch junk on the telly get lots of easy ready meals/ snacks in and don't let anyone pressure you into feeling like you should be doing more at this stage.

So, yes, feeding lots round the clock is normal especially in the early weeks. It can feel relentless but it does even out over time.
But, the amount of feeds you mention plus always falling asleep after 5 minutes and having latching problems is a red flag for me. Has anyone qualified checked her for tongue tie? It can cause latch issues and make them tired feeding as it’s so much more effort for them. (I say qualified as most midwives/HVs are not but will assert an opinion anyway) I’d ask for a referral to the hospital tongue tie team for a check.

This is normal for a baby so young they will want to be at the boob a lot however getting the latch right needs to be your priority as this will help a lot. It is really tough first time round

Hi I am also ftm and it was the same for us at the start. Get help with the latch, try different positions (I found under arm hold easiest when my baby was so little). My little one is 3 months now and feeds every 4-5 hours, so it really does get easier if you can stick it out!

I've got a breast feeding support worker coming to see us tomorrow. She was latching beautifully last week then over the last few days has decided not to. She wants to do it herself and gets cross when I take her off to try and get her to latch properly.
She did choke on my let down at the weekend and I'm not sure if maybe that's scared her a bit.

The paediatrician did checks before we were discharged home from hospital and said he couldn't see any signs but I'll bring it up when the breast feeding support worker comes tomorrow.
She was latching beautifully last week but all of a sudden has stopped.

Aw gosh it's so hard, I was you! It's great that you've got someone coming out to help you tomorrow. A different position can make all the difference. You've probably tried this but I did lots of tickling the ear, feeding stripped down to a nappy etc to keep my DS awake so he could get a good 20 min feed at a time instead of falling asleep after a few minutes. They go through a growth spurt around 2-3 weeks which is why she's feeding all the time,it's to stimulate future milk production so it's sooo intense and tough! But in a few days it should hopefully settle down. You're doing great!

If she's falling asleep after five minutes you could try breast compressions while she's latched on to get the milk flowing, wake her up a bit and make it easier for her to take in a full feed. At this age I also used to tickle her feet, put her down on the mat, change her nappy etc. to keep her awake for a full feed. That may give you a longer break while she naps and make it more bearable.

Also... a dummy helps

Ah OP - it can be SO hard! Just to say I sought help from EVERYONE available and it made no difference whatsoever. I just couldn’t get BF to work for us and had to move to formula.

Just wanted to give this perspective as there’s a huge pressure to breastfeed both from ourselves and others. I hope it works itself out quickly for you x

She doesn’t want to do it herself and wouldn’t be scared by choking on letdown a few days ago, she’s not at that stage of thought processes yet. She’s probably hungry and frustrated when she’s latching and getting annoyed at the boob/you/life!

Its great you’re seeing someone to help tomorrow, have you spoken to the hospital lactation consultant or a private one? Some guidance on latch and positioning might hopefully help a lot. Have you tried skin to skin with her?

This was me 4 months ago! My little girl slept 4 hours in 24 the day she was born, literally constantly on me feeding. I remember the midwives being confused as to why she seemed constantly hungry, rooting non stop even after feeding for hours. The latch wasn't right and I had blood blisters so she probably wasn't getting enough milk. In the end I did "give up" and went to formula/expressing but my main reason for this was that I have a toddler too. If she had been my first I would have probably gone for longer and tried to work it out. Hopefully you'll get some support and things will improve but it's ok to stop if you need to, remember that x

My baby was like this. Colic is a lot worse than cluster feeding so I would recommend persisting. For me it got way better 4 weeks in.

Oh and from 6 weeks I loved breastfeeding and now I'm still happily BF at almost a year old. It does get better!

By the way short frequent feeds are an excellent way to boost supply. So that's what your baby is likely doing, though do get the latch checked and I recommend watching loads of Youtube feeding videos. Lucy Webber feeding support on Instagram is fab too.

I've not thought about that so will definitely give it a try! Thank you x

Great ideas :) thank you! She hates a dummy though. We tried it and everytime she spits it out. X

Will have a look! Thank you x

My little one was the same! But they do cluster feed in the early days and it's very very normal for them to just want to feed and feed for a few days then it eases off but it could restart but again ease off. So my advice is just go with if (as hard as it is when things need to get done). However if it is everyday maybe the latch needs looking at.

I went to my local breastfeeding support group as baby's latch wasn't great and I started expressing. However for me it was such a faff more faffy the just doing formula or breastfeeding. Not sure if there is one locally to you?

The support I got was amazing and now she is 7 weeks and honestly it is sooo much easier. If you really want to breastfeed try to preserve because I promise it does just click one day but reach out for support!

Our hospital doesn't have a lactation consultant they just have a special team that help with seeing you both in the hospital and in the community when needed, so that's who is coming out to us tomorrow.
It's just strange that she was absolutely fine and latching perfectly and now all of a sudden fusses and won't go on right. Someone else has mentioned skin to skin too and I must admit I've not done much of it or thought about it when feeding so I'll definitely be trying to incorporate it more. The weathers getting really hot here over the next couple of days so she'll be spending most of her day in just a nappy which will give us plenty of chance to do it. Thank you for your reply x

My first child was exactly like this, I didnt give her a dummy as my DM always hated them. By the time ( after 6 weeks) I tried a dummy it was too late and she would gag. With DD2 I had a dummy ready from birth and life was so much easier. As your baby has taken a bottle would a dummy be an option for you ?

You've already had advice I was going to suggest:
Advice/support from lactation consultant/infant feeding team (referral via midwife or HV)
Compressions
Lucy webber feeding support. Also Kathryn Stagg and Olivia Hinge on insta.
Expressing to bottle feed is bloody hard work so I wouldn't advocate that if you can help it.
I wouldn't suggest a dummy at this stage., too early if you haven't got BF stabilised.
Turn away visitors you don't feel comfortable feeding in front of, make meals as easy as possible. Hole up with baby and do skin to skin, get comfy and stay hydrated.
Housework can wait.

Sounds like my nieces daughter, their stomachs are tiny and they need to put their milk order in. She didn’t get a lot done but she had me and her dm to do house stuff.

It got better but it’s very tiring for mums.