Not filling up fast enough? - HELP!

[Sanchez]

I have little Violet who is just over 3 weeks old. Everything has been going well no problems but in the last couple of days we have had problems.

She isn't sleeping, waking about every hour and is mouthing and looks as if she is hungry - so I feed and get her off to sleep and in an hour the same happens. The problem being because she is feeding so regularly I don't think i have anything to give her. She is not doing nutritive sucking, more like using my nipple as a pacifier - whether this is because there is no milk there i don't know.

The only time this cycle is broken is overnight when i seem to fill up really full and she has decent feeds and sleeps.

I am taking fenugreek but to no avail.......

I don't know what to do - anybody - help!

[diannescruffy]

I use to be the same with DD not filling up apart from overnight when she started sleeping through but the more you feed the more milk you are actually producing. If your bub is gaining weight and having plenty of wet nappies it all sounds pretty normal. DD use to always suck on her fingers and I would think she was hungry so would feed within an hour but once I got her a dummy she was fine.

Regards,
Dianne

[marcellus]

Like Dianne says, the constant feeding may not necessarily be a sign that you don't have enough milk. If she's still having lots of wet & dirty nappies, good weight gains and no other signs of trouble, then you probably have plenty of milk.

The more you feed, the more milk you make. You feel empty during the day because she is emptying you so frequently, not becuase you don't make enough milk. During the night she's going longer between feeds, and that's why your breasts feel fuller - does that make sense?

Does she 'finish' one side before you offer her the other side? Sometimes if they switch too soon they get more foremilk than hindmilk and that leaves them hungry again sooner.
At her age she may also just be 'fussy' and finds the breast the best way to calm down. This is especially likely if it's something that has just happened in the past few days. Babies have fussy times where they just need to suck more. They may also want to suck if they have a tummy ache, are overstimulated, tired, anxious... you name it.

All the best - it is very exhausting when they are like this. Hope you are taking whatever opportunity you can to rest.

[Sanchez]

Ladies thank you for your replys. Makes me feel heaps better.

She is doing lots of wet nappies, and maybe a huge poo once or twice a day with smears in between.
I had her weighed at 2 weeks and had put on 500g from her birth weight, and she looks bigger again....so i think she is getting enough.

Dianne - tried the pacifier - wouldn't take it! After i swore black and blue that "no baby of mine will have a pacifier" - bullocks to that!

Marcellus - this business of emptying a breast does confuse me a little. I feed her and the breast goes completely soft, so i presume this is empty and then switch for the next feed....but if she only fed on the other side about an hour ago i don't offer the other side because i think it won't have much in there anyway.....should i be switching?

Thank you so much for your advice

[marcellus]

Yeah, it's a bit confusing cause the truth is your breasts are never really empty and they make milk as your baby is feeding, so you don't need to wait till they're full.

Ok, so you're only feeding 1 side per feed? Maybe when she's done with the first side, burp her and offer the other side - there will always be milk, even if you only fed an hour ago. If she has 2 sides she might get a better feed and go longer before the next one.... (maybe). There's no right or wrong here - some babies do one per feed, some do two.

Very nice weight gain, by the way, well done!

[MantaRay]

Sanchez, she certainly seems to be getting enough milk. It sounds like you are both doing very well, but I can imagine you must be finding it very tiring at the moment.

How long does your little one feed for? Is she waking every hour day and night, or just during the day? Has she been doing this all along or just started waking more often? Hopefully with a bit more information it will easier to figure out what is going on. But Marcellus has given you some great suggestions also.

[Sanchez]

MR - she feeds for about 15mins nutritive sucking, then I leave her on until she drops off to sleep so maybe another 10mins. I have tried to wake her, change nappy ect to try to make her feed for longer, but if i sit her up - or lie her down, she tends to throw up the entire feed so I stopped trying.
And she only does this during the day - never at night and this has only been happening last 3 days or so....

I'm at a loss!

[MantaRay]

It sounds like it might be a fussy period - a patch where babies seem to need to feed more often. For many babies 15 minutes is long enough to get what they need, and certainly your little girl sounds like she is getting enough. Also, the fact that she's going longer at night is another sign that she is getting enough. I know it's tiring but it sounds like you are doing all the right things. Hopefully it won't be long before she is going longer between feeds again.

[Pandora]

All the breastfeeding advice you have been given sounds great.
Its also very common for baby to have a growth spurt at around 3 weeks, so that could be part of it also.

[Sanchez]

Just wanted to say thank you to all of you lovely ladies.
Violet has had a much better day today and so have I. The reassurance was all i needed!

Thanks again - this forum is such a godsend.

[MantaRay]

I'm so glad to hear that things were better today. I hope she stays nice and settled for you now!

[Jennifer13]

Glad to hear the wise women here were able to help, hun.

I just wanted to say it sounds like you're doing a fantastic job and that weight gain is great! It takes a while for you to find a bfing rhythm with your baby, so give yourself time for the both of you to find this.