Congratulations on your new bubby!
Generally speaking, if you follow baby's lead then you'll be ok. The best indicator of input is output, so keep an eye on wet & dirty nappies if you've any concerns about how much she's getting.
She's still very little so frequent feeding is the norm - 3-4 hourly is actually on the low side, so don't be surprised if it picks up a bit from now. She will get faster as she gets bigger so it all gets easier with a bit of time.
Keep an eye out for engorgment and/or lumps - if she won't take care of it, express a little for comfort (not too much as you don't want to create an oversupply).
It is best to avoid dummies and bottles in the early weeks if you can as it can interfere with feeding. It can affect attachment, but also replaces sucking at the breast which may affect supply.
ETA - on 1 side or 2. It totally depends on you and your baby - ie, whatever she needs. There's no hard and fast rule that suits everyone.
i totally agree with MadB. my DS has only ever really fed on one side at a time...once your supply settles down after a few weeks, you probably won't feel so uncomfortable if only feeding on one side at a time.
do you change her at the 3am feed? i.e. feed one side, then change her, then see if she'll take the other? might stop the wake up 30 mins later - although that will settle itself soon enough
We offered two sides until she was 3 months old from memory, might have been a bit longer. My understanding is its important to offer both sides to get your supply established, which I believe is around the 3 month mark? We use to time the feeds so 30 min each side with a few burps inbetween.
I always allowed DD to comfort suck coz I was so worried about lack of supply and figured any sucking is good sucking. The discomfort of BF settled after a while for me (we had some big attachment issues).
As for the dummy, I know people who have given their babies a dummy from birth and it completely messed up their feeding. I know others who's babies seemed to be clever enough and it never caused an issue between dummy and feeding.
I never wanted DD to take a dummy, and fortunately when given the choice she didn't want it.
I wouldn't offer one until your supply was well and truly established, it might be fine or it might cause more harm than good in regards to supply. You'll probably have a lot of people trying to push into dummyhood so it really depends on what you're happy with.
I did think the 3-4 hr feeding pattern was too good to be true! Bummer. I am seeing the child health nurse tomorrow, the last two weigh in's she has lost a little, but not enough to be worrying. So I am hoping tomorrow for a gain so I know I'm on the right track with it.
Good point about the dummy, might just chuck it so I am not tempted.
Ok so I can feed from the one side, but I will try to do both.
I was wondering how the feeding was going for you this time Glad to hear it is off to a great start. If she seems a little too full after one side and you want to try both, give her a nappy change in between and try to wake her up a little bit so she is more alert for the next side.
Hmmmm last night she pulled two long stints between feeds. She fed at 8.30pm and then again at 2am, and then from 2am to 7am. Worried that this is not enough for her. She doesnt seem to be a regular feeder, it can be anything from 3 - 5/6 hrs between feeds. The health nurse is coming today so I guess this is a question for her. I am worried that she will have lost weight again when they weigh her.....
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