HELP!! My 7wk old has been awake ALL day.....

[Pandora]

you can get it from the BB online store. Maybe give them a call and see whtehr they have it in stock or whether its backordered.

There was 1 copy on the shelf when I was there for accupuncture last Thursday. Its around $50 though.

[Jennifer13]

Ren, my DD did exactly the same thing at that age. Just one day, she wanted to bf every hour and then finally slept at around 8pm when I was really tearing my hair out!

She could be trying to boost your supply as she's going through a growth spurt. It takes your body a little time to catch up with the extra feeding. So don't fret, although she may have been overtired, you were doing the right thing to bf her. Even if she was overtired, bfing her would have helped her to relax and fall asleep. As I said, this is exactly what my DD did (and only once) and I am sure she was just increasing my milk supply.

[Shanti]

Thanks for the link AJP!!!

Jennifer - thank you. But if she keeps feeding, will we run out of milk?? What if there just isnt enough? she seems to be still hungry after feeding on each side. should i then offer the first side again?? LOL (yep still having issues lol)

Ava slept today ok! She's been asleep for 2hrs! Yay.

[Jennifer13]

No, you won't run out of milk, hun, even if she's continually feeding. They fill as they are emptied. With an all day feeding frenzy though, you'll not get the chance to feel 'full', so to speak (if you ever do), so you might feel like you're running out, but rest assured you are not!

She will just keep stimulating until she's satisfied. It might take her a bit longer, your let down (which happens repeatedly during a bf) might be taking more time than she'd like at various stages, but you won't be empty! Also, if you are starting to get a bit stressed about it (not to mention tired) not only will that be affecting your let down, but Ava may pick up on it and it might make her a bit fussier.

Hope you're having a good break while she's sleeping. Remember to drink heaps and rest. Support your body while it notches up your supply.

[mbear]

But if she keeps feeding, will we run out of milk?? What if there just isnt enough?

.........no hun, like Jennifer explained....thats the beauty of breastfeeding, your body will always makeenough milk as long as you keep feeding on demand...

I was going to suggest the bath thing too...your relaxed, and hopefuly she will be too.

YOu prob already know this...but when we get stressed as mums, babies are very quick to pick up on the 'mood', this can inturn effect our supply as well. Look at it as in youve had the worst day you could possibly have had with her right ??? Soooooo things can only get better from here on in. She will pick up on these +ve vibes hopefully.

And i agree, make sure you rest and drink....your no good to your lil princess if your stressed, tired and worn out.....good luck.....

[Bathsheba]

This is so normal for a 7 week old bubba... I came to expect it by the time I had my third... made sure i didn't overdo things in the weeks leading up to it.... which is so tempting to do when they sleep lots during the day in those first weeks.

What you could try (when she hasn't slept in ages and you know she needs to have a sleep) is retreat into your bed with her... draw the curtains/blinds etc so the room is dark... whisper if you have to talk to anyone... basically keep all stimulus to a minimum. Pop her in the middle of the bed and BF her with her lying down next to you if you can. Try to relax yourself... breathe deeply and regularly as if you were asleep yourself... close your eyes if you can. Doing this will at least give your body a rest.

I find this has worked for all my babies... basically boring them to sleep and getting them to think that you are asleep... infact it still works for my nearly 3yo!!! At the very least you get to put your feet up and rest yourself... so all is not lost... beats standing rocking the pram or leaning against a cot pat pat patting!

Oh and another little trick i used to do with my newborns: this one might sound odd LOL but I used to put my mouth against their heads and kinda hum... especially if they were crying... it would kinda distract them... mine would often stop and think "what on earth is mum doing???" I'd do it while lying down in my bed with them like I described. I found myself doing it with my first baby... out of instinct... I had read that it is really noisey in the womb and I was worried that everything was too quiet. It doesn't work all the time... but it was another handy little strategy that I had in my collection.

ETA: also: Jennifer is right: you won't run out of milk if you feed more... soon you will start to lose that hard engorged feeling but it doesn't mean you are making less... just that your breasts are adapting.