The Breast Feeding Support Thread

dublinlady

Cat Melodeon wrote: »

I can't get the hang of feeding in the sling either but find it's great for keeping herself quiet when I just have to get something done. As long as she knows the boob is nearby she seems chilled enough! I've had a weird couple of days with her, she's been sleeping loads, an almost worrying amount. I think it's because I had her outside in the pram. The weather has been gorgeous here, I think the fresh air knocked her out! I saw a photo recently of a creche in Sweden where the babies are wrapped up and put outside in their prams for a couple of hours every day, even when surrounded by snow drifts! Think I might have been a bit too cautious in the past about putting my guys out!

God I'm awful - I'm the opposite! I get such bad cabin fever and the only way I feel like 'myself' is to get out of the house and walking! I've had A out every day for last couple weeks in the pram - shes 4 weeks now - should I be more cautious about taking her out? Is it incase she catches a cold? I put her in a snowsuit and put 3 blankets on her and a hat! She sleeps the whole time - sometimes shes roaring as I'm leaving - stops while I'm out but starts as soon as I get back! My legs are knackered!

Feeding in the sling - i didn't even know that was possible!! I'm so uncoordinated I'd never manage!

Don't know whats going on with her this morn - she normally feeds every 2&1/2 hrs, so far today I've fed her for half an hr at 7, 8.30, 10.30 and 12! And normally I have to wake her for her feeds ( as she's still small - 7lbs - I keep doing this ) but today she's roaring the house down for them! Earlier I couldn't figure out what she wanted - I was burping her, changing nappies, trying to settle her - then I realised! I wish I knew what her cries mean... Ppl say you learn but I really still can't tell! I just go thru my checklist and eventually sonething works! Think I'll move food to the top of that list today!!!!

How Strange

I meant a sling for carrying. I wouldn't even try feeding in one.

dublinlady there's a developmental leap in weeks 4.5-5.5 and frequent feeding is one of the signs. Look up the wonder weeks website or download the app if you have an iPhone.

pippington

Hi, my little guy is just a week old. Im breastfeeding on demand 1-2 hourly nearly during the day....but then he seems to want to sleep at night...i always wake him to feed if it getting on to 4 hours between feeds..im afraid he is too young to go any longer...but it seems he would sleep for 5 or 6 hours at night if he was left..is he still too young?

How Strange

pippington in my opinion if he's feeding about 10-12 times over 24 hours then it's fine to let him sleep for 5-6 hours. It's important that they feed frequently both for their own growth and for your milk supply so as long as he's getting lots of time at the breast otherwise then follow his cues with sleeping as well.

red fraggle

pippington wrote: »

Hi, my little guy is just a week old. Im breastfeeding on demand 1-2 hourly nearly during the day....but then he seems to want to sleep at night...i always wake him to feed if it getting on to 4 hours between feeds..im afraid he is too young to go any longer...but it seems he would sleep for 5 or 6 hours at night if he was left..is he still too young?

i think it would be ok for him to have a 5 hour sleep at night if he is feeding so frequently during the day. my public health nurse said as long as my little one was feeding often during the day and had wet and dirty nappies it was fine for her to have a 5 hour sleep. ask ur phn if ur unsure tho.

congrats on ur little man!!:D

dublinlady

How Strange wrote: »

I meant a sling for carrying. I wouldn't even try feeding in one.

dublinlady there's a developmental leap in weeks 4.5-5.5 and frequent feeding is one of the signs. Look up the wonder weeks website or download the app if you have an iPhone.

My lady loves the sling - its the only way I can get stuff done around the house! Calms her if she's havin a tantrum also.

I downloaded that app there thanks - its really interesting! Mind u can leaps happen early as it says I'm 1-2 weeks off her first one according to her due date but she was born at 39 weeks? She has a few of the signs tho - she's alot more alert / more clingy / feeding all day like a lunatic / her first tear appeared today! Its definitely a growth spurt or something if not a leap!?

Hey pippington! I agree with the others - my girl feeds every 2-2& 1/2 hrs during day normally and then will do a 5 hr stint during night - she's been doing this from a week or two old! She's got plenty of wet nappies and has put on weight so it's fine , in fact it's great! I was waking her during nights for feed but now we leave it to her to decide but I do wake her during day for feeds as she's small!

How Strange

In that case it could be the 3 week growth spurt. For the first 8 weeks it's one thing after another; they're growing physically and psychologically so quickly. It does settle down though.

annamcmahon

dublinlady, it sounds like you're doing great. We had our daughter out for an hour's walk when she was less than a week last January when the snow was only just melted. Once they're well wrapped up the fresh air is good for them.

I remember when she had days like your little one is having today and like that I just cycled through the list of feed, nappy, wind etc until I found the solution or sometimes didn't.

Eventually I started to be able to guess but not until well passed 6 weeks.

Cat Melodeon

dublinlady wrote: »

God I'm awful - I'm the opposite! I get such bad cabin fever and the only way I feel like 'myself' is to get out of the house and walking! I've had A out every day for last couple weeks in the pram - shes 4 weeks now - should I be more cautious about taking her out? Is it incase she catches a cold? I put her in a snowsuit and put 3 blankets on her and a hat! She sleeps the whole time - sometimes shes roaring as I'm leaving - stops while I'm out but starts as soon as I get back! My legs are knackered!

Oh no, I didn't mean that - we've been going out for walks since she was 5 days old! I just meant that I put her outside for her daytime naps in the pram rather than putting her in her cot. Like yours, she had her snowsuit, hat and a blanket on. She slept 7 hours last night!!! Bliss! I'm like a new woman - it's only going on for 11 and I've a couple of washes of laundry done, buns baked and the back yard power hosed! Hubby's going to think I've been replaced by a (slightly less well-dressed) Stepford wife!

Little My

How often should an almost 8 month old be feeding?

Since Christmas I've been feeding him at 5am(ish - whenever he wakes up any time between 5 and 6.30am) 9am, 1pm, 5pm and 11pm.

I cut the 11pm feed last week and now feed him at 8.30pm instead, and then he will sleep through till roughly 5am.

But am finding now that he has little interest in feeding at 9am or 1pm and not great at 5pm.

He is getting three little meals today but isn't drinking much water.

I'm just worried that he isn't getting enough milk as it is still supposed to be his main source of nutrition and all that. He's not cranky and doesn't seem like he is going hungry though.

implausible

Little My wrote: »

How often should an almost 8 month old be feeding?

Since Christmas I've been feeding him at 5am(ish - whenever he wakes up any time between 5 and 6.30am) 9am, 1pm, 5pm and 11pm.

I cut the 11pm feed last week and now feed him at 8.30pm instead, and then he will sleep through till roughly 5am.

But am finding now that he has little interest in feeding at 9am or 1pm and not great at 5pm.

He is getting three little meals today but isn't drinking much water.

I'm just worried that he isn't getting enough milk as it is still supposed to be his main source of nutrition and all that. He's not cranky and doesn't seem like he is going hungry though.

That sounds exactly like my wee man at that age. He was down to three bfeeds a day - first thing in the morning, mid-day and last thing at night. The reason I remember is because it made it very easy to wean him, one feed at a time over a few weeks. He is and was a great eater and once he got going on the grub, he wasn't too bothered about mammy's milk!

If he's hungry, you'll know all about it:D!

annamcmahon

My daughter was the same around that age. I think, from talking to other mamas, that the world just becomes too interesting to be bothered feeding. By Christmas she'd dropped to 2 feeds but a month later when she was 13months, and 2 months before baba2 was due, she was back up to 4 if I let her.

How Strange

According to dr jack Newman 3 feeds a day is sufficient nutritionally. I read that when I was going back to work and it reassured me that my 7 month old son would be ok and we wouldn't need to supplement with formula.

He used to feed at 7pm, once during the night, maybe at 7am if he'd slept through the night and 5.30pm when we got home. Apart from that he could've had as much as he wanted but he was quite happy with that routine.

pippington

I feel like im at my wits end...my poor babs has been pretty much on the boob all day...fall asleep..pulls away from the boob...startles awake a couple mins later..sometimes gives a screechy cry...im trying to wind him well after i bf but he just gives a tiny burp, im absolutley exhausted and feel so sorry for him..anybody any suggestions on how i can make him more comfortable and also not having him on and off the breast every couple of mins..just about have my nipples healed..

wmpdd3

^^^^, lover to know what the answer is... unless this little man is in bed beside me, he's on the boob. i'm so thankful, i've had no pain, but even im at my wits end. i have never heard a baby cry so much as when i change my clothes or have a shower.

annamcmahon

Pippington do you have a fast letdown? Does milk spray out of nipple or does your baby make spluttering noises when feeding? I had and my daughter did a lot of the things you're describing. Basically she was trying to comfort feed but couldn't so go frustrated and unlatched but then tried to latch back on again a few minutes later.

Frequent feeding, read as almost all the time, is common when babies are newborn to stimulate your supply. However the popping on and off might indicate fast letdown. If you have it let him latch but when the milk flow unlatch him and let it spray on to a cloth until the flow has slowed and then latch him back on.

If you think he has trapped wind try the tiger in the tree hold where you lie him along your arm with his head in the bend of your elbow and holding the top of his thigh. Hold your arm against your belly.

I remember how frustrating the on, off, on, off was so hope you find something that helps

pippington

no theres no spraying of milk, no spluttering when feeding. he just never seems content with a feed. after a half hour feed last night where he deep sucked continiously i gave him a 20ml top up of ebm (all i had) and he had that walloped back in seconds and was still rooting, sucking his fists or anythin that came into view...looks today is gonna be moreof the same...last we eventually had to bundle him into the car a nd drive till he fell asleep..which he then did for 5 hours

pippington

ive also noticed that he occasionally makes a clicking sound when feeding...ive checked and rechecked the latch and cant find a problem

How Strange

Ive no experience of either but if you don't have an oversupply/fast letdown and the latch is good then silent reflux or tongue tie are very common problems for all babies regardless of how they're fed.

Try going to your gp and discuss it with him/her. Tongue tie can be hard to diagnose if you don't know what to look for and it's sometimes dismissed as not important.

Silent reflux can be easily treated but is awful for the baby if not/until treated.

If you feel your gp isn't up to date on breastfeeding then look for a local la Leche league or ciudiu counsellor because they should be qualified to check for tongue tie as they're highly trained lactation consultants even more so that the LCs in the hospitals.

How Strange

Have a read of the thread reflux, colic and cold as one of the posters mentions the signs of reflux and see if you recognise them

liliq

Sorry for short reply, on my phone. Clucking is a classic sign of tongue tie. Sometimes it's not an issue at all, sometimes it is, seems to be no way of knowing if it will or not til a prob occurs. Could be worth checking out, an ibclc will be able to soot a tie better than must gps or midwives

liliq

liliq wrote: »

Sorry for short reply, on my phone. Clucking is a classic sign of tongue tie. Sometimes it's not an issue at all, sometimes it is, seems to be no way of knowing if it will or not til a prob occurs. Could be worth checking out, an ibclc will be able to soot a tie better than must gps or midwives

Actually after reading more of your posts sounds like tie is a def possibility, ESP as you've been in pain. Had the same with my baby.

Little My

Thanks for the help on the number of feedings. For the last two days I have only fed him three times and he seems fine, feeding much better and not messing around as much.

Any tips on biting? He has only bitten me when he was messing around though, so hopefully with less feedings he will be less inclined to mess.

How Strange

Little My once or twice I let a loud shout out more out of shock and pain and it frightened the life out of him

I used to unlatch him and put the boob away so he soon figured out not to bite if he wanted milk. I found that once he realized this he'd only bite when he wasn't hungry.

I also started to recognize a look he'd give me just before clamping down. He'd have a very cheeky look, look at me directly and then bite!

pippington

ok so i have started my little man on infacol....he is certainly letting off more wind but is still at the same thing as regards messing with the nipple, pulling back off it, almost tearing at it at times, generally irritable on and off the breast.

last night i just couldnt do it anymore, have been in tears the past 2 days nearly so i tried him on some formula...he seemed to love it, took 60mls and actually seemed satisfied for once..had 3 massive burps, then 5 or 10mins after finishing puked the whole thing back up...so today he is back on the breast, feeding almost hourly

pippington

i gave him aptamil 1....am bringin him to the gp tomorrow to discuss reflux etc

wmpdd3

I spoke too soon, for the last 24 hours my 7 week old has had colic and i wont have gripe water till tuesday evening. It's different with breast feeding compared to my bottlefed daughter. She passed out after her bottles and woke screaming, but he is getting no sleep unless its at the breast. Thats making him worse. I had to take off his baby gro as he cant get his knees to his chin when he is crying. Im burping him every 3mins during a feed and i'll put him in the carrier after this feed. The only thing is, at 12 weeks, my daughter's colic disappeared. Pip, Hope the doc has an answer for you.

How Strange

Try cooled fennel tea. It's safe to give a newborn and is a natural remedy similar to gripe water. Also the rugby hold. I think annamcmahon posted about it recently and called it the tiger in the tree hold.

annamcmahon

The colic hold is also called the tiger in the tree. Basically you lie your baby along the length of your arm with her head where your elbow bends and hold the top of her thigh. She should look like a tiger lying on a branch. If you can't visualise what I mean google it you'll find some videos or pictures.

How Strange

That's a much better explanation than I could give.