Breast milk not as filling?

[rania]

I tried breast feeding in hospital, and really want to do it, but my bub seems to be less satisfied after breast milk?
We did top up bottles in hospital as my milk didn't come in till late day 4, so he was a hungry little man. I am still doing top up feeds as he just doesn't seem as settled after breast milk as he does after formula.
I don't want to give up but bottle is just so much easier, and getting him settled is so much easier.

[onthefly]

Hi rania and congratulations on your new baby.
Breastmilk is the perfect food for your baby and it is normal for the little ones to feed very frequently in the early days. In fact it's really necessary as they take only a small amount each time (though more as they get bigger). It's also essential for your supply to feed frequently in those early weeks.
Formula is harder for babies to digest, and so it sits in the gut longer. You might think this is a better thing, as babies may feel fuller and don't eat so frequently, but it isn't as good for them.
If you want to breastfeed,the best thing is to breastfeed. As much and as often as your baby wants to. Most likely it will be possible for you to drop the formula feeds with a bit of time. Do you have help from a lactaton consultant at all? Or have you been in touch with the ABA - 1800-686-2-686. They can offer advice and support for you. Your local ABA group can also give you lots of in-person support from other mums in your area.
Babies do often feed very frequently, as I said, and they can also be unsettled at times and not sleep well (in an adult sense). It's all quite normal, though exhausting for the new mum. It's also very confusing when you've probalby heard about babies sleeping lots or only feeding every 3-4 hours. (quite unusual actually!) For now, the best thing is to just hunker down and concentrate on yourself and your baby. Let other things go. Get as much rest as you can - your partner and other family members can help lots with this. In time it will get much esaier. remember that your baby is brand new and still getting the hang of life on teh outside. In time, the feeding and everything else will get easier.

[Barb Glare]

Hi, rania,
Congratulations on your new babe. I was wondering, how old is he now? Breastfeeding can seem hard to get the hang of in the beginning, but is worth persevering with, and getting support for as in the longrun things get much easier. How many times is your LO feeding in 24 hours? Many people don't realise that like us, babies tend to feed 8-12 or more times in 24 hours. (count up the number of times you eat, drink, have a cuppa or a glass of water and you'll see what I mean.) The proteins in formula are hard for a baby to digest, so their stomach may not empty as quickly. This is not necessarily a good thing, but may mean baby goes longer between feeds. In a 24 hour period most babies will have a time when they have a longer sleep, (at this age 3 hours is as good as it gets) and another time of the day or the night when they want a cluster of feeds close together - doesn't mean they are necessarily not getting enough - they just want their mum.

[emc2]

There's lots of support around if you are having problems. I am not sure which state you are in though. In Brisbane you can see a lactation consultant through the hospital as an outpatient up to a month after your baby's born.

I had a caesarean under general anaesthetic and a lot of stress so I tried comp feeding for a while, but I've now switched to formula.

What I learnt is breastfeeding is not quantifiable, it's more of a quality food. But formula is easy to measure.

It really is an individual decision to make.

[kelebek]

While bottle feeding may seem easier now I can attest to bf being really easy as they get older. I had a c/section with DS, my milk didn't come in until day 5 and in those early mnths it was really hard but after about 2/3 mnths he was literally feeding for 2 mins he became that efficent at it.
I persisted with bf for financial reasons mostly, bf was free and when I compared the time it takes to sterilise, prepare, wash and keep bottles in a safe manner vs bf I am glad I persisted through my issues with bf.
Either way you go with it it is a really hard slog with a newborn in those early months

[BhoysGirl]

Congratulations on your new bub. With my first, I wish someone had told me that BFing was a learned skill, for both Baby & Mum, and that it can take a few weeks for it to really "click". But it is so worthwhile persisting with it if you are able to, because ultimately it is so much more convenient than BFing - anywhere, anytime, and no cleaning up afterwards . And as others have mentioned, it's the most amazing food for your baby, but it's also physiologically brilliant for you. It's can be really challenging in the first couple of months because it can feel like all you do is feed, change nappies, feed, change spewy clothes, feed... but the fog does eventually clear, and if you stick with it I guarantee that you'll be so proud of yourself for seeing it through.

[rania]

Thanks for the replies, I feel a lot less "weird" now. I kind of thought bf would come naturally, but having a good read it seems I am not the only one who struggles a bit. Little man is just 3 1/2 weeks old, so very new to us both! I really want to stick to the bf if I can, will persevere and try giving him more often feeds (since he doesn't seem to get enough in one go, I think he is lazy and gives up, knowing mummy will get him the easy bottle!)

[BellyBelly]

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[luna moth]

(since he doesn't seem to get enough in one go, I think he is lazy and gives up, knowing mummy will get him the easy bottle!)

He's too little to be thinking this way. This might just be how he rolls. My baby is a snack feeder, and even at 8 months, likes to feed hourly, although now it's only for 4 minutes at a time.

I second the recommendation to see a Lactation Consultant. A mum in my play group was doing top-ups from 3 to 6 weeks, but by 3 months her son was exclusively breastfed, because of the help that she got.

[rania]

I think I will ask the community nurse today about a lactation consultant. I did meet with one before the birth, but then her daughter had a baby at the same time as I did so she wasn't around. I've heard from a few people they have found it very useful.

I am very much looking forward to mothers group too, it will be great to get together with other new mums and see how they are going. It's not about comparing for me, as I am so filled with amazing happiness everytime I look at DS, I just like to make sure things are "normal" as I am sure every new mum does.

[Jellybean29]

How long does DS feed for? I found when my DS was 3 weeks I had to leave him on the boob for sometimes 45-1hr for him to really drain the breast and feel full and sleep. Community nurses and midwifes are okay, but in my situation they just gave me too much conflicting advice and most of it wasn't helpful or was outdated/incorrect. You are much better to either ring the ABA or see a lactation consultant

[rania]

He is hard to get latched on when he is hungry, a friend suggested giving him about 20ml of formula first to take the edge off so he is not so desperate when he wakes. This seems to work with the latching on, since he was fussing and crying and getting himself in such a state initially it was an ordeal for us both. Once he is on, he is generally feeding for maybe 20-30 mins. By that time he is usually fussing about and I *think* he is done.
I'll definitely get onto the lactation consultant idea, it sounds like a really good way to go. I do find I am hearing different things from every different professional I see (in hospital as well as the community nurse). It will be a relief to talk to someone who specialises in bf.

[Jellybean29]

Rania, my baby was very small by day 3, (2.4kg) and my boobs were enormous and he was very hungry because my milk was late coming in after my c/s. HOWEVER I EXPRESSED milk, about 20ml, and then he was much easier to latch on. This is also what the lactation consultant said to do. You are 100000% better off expressing out 20ml instead of giving DS 20ml of formula. The formula in a bottle is not helping DS learn to latch and its not helping your supply xo

Also, he may just need a good burp if he is 'fussing' about, try burping and then putting him back on the same side. When they are young (and even now) a feed for me 90% of the time resulted in a sleepy "milk drunk" baby after 40min

[DANNIIM]

I was also told by my LC with DS2 that you can expect to drop one top up bottle a week that way your supply has a chance to adjust. Depending on how many top up bottles your giving your baby of course.

[rania]

Ohh I hadn't even thought of expressing and giving it to him in the bottle ! That's a great idea. He is due to wake soon so I might try that with him instead of forumla. I've only seen him mikl drunk after formula (and it is ohh so cute), but it might just be that it takes longer on the breast than on the bottle and I might not be letting him go for long enough.

[emc2]

Child Health gave me the most conflicting and incorrect advice on both kinds of feeding, they seem to be really clueless.

[Jellybean29]

Ohh I hadn't even thought of expressing and giving it to him in the bottle ! That's a great idea. He is due to wake soon so I might try that with him instead of forumla. I've only seen him mikl drunk after formula (and it is ohh so cute), but it might just be that it takes longer on the breast than on the bottle and I might not be letting him go for long enough.

Also, when your boobs are really full, expressing off the watery foremilk will mean that when he latches on he gets more of the fatty, filling hindmilk. The more hindmilk, the fuller he'll be and the more 'milk drunk' and sleepy. If your boobs are heaps full he may just be gulping skinny foremilk then getting full of gas and fussing. Hence why he seems 'hungry' again quickly.
A lactation consultant can help explain the foremilk/hindmilk balance and how to work those boobies

AND expressing first means you get the milk flowing for him, so when he latches on its already ready to go, which really helps when you have an unsettled hungry baby. Express and then when you have a drop on your nipple, go to latch him on, giving him a 'taste'.

[PumpkinZulu]

Also, when your boobs are really full, expressing off the watery foremilk will mean that when he latches on he gets more of the fatty, filling hindmilk. The more hindmilk, the fuller he'll be and the more 'milk drunk' and sleepy. If your boobs are heaps full he may just be gulping skinny foremilk then getting full of gas and fussing. Hence why he seems 'hungry' again quickly.
A lactation consultant can help explain the foremilk/hindmilk balance and how to work those boobies

AND expressing first means you get the milk flowing for him, so when he latches on its already ready to go, which really helps when you have an unsettled hungry baby. Express and then when you have a drop on your nipple, go to latch him on, giving him a 'taste'.

Just wanted to back this up and say that it's excellent advice