Breastfeeding help?

Hi,

Silly questions probably but I am going to ask them anyway :redface:

My little girl was born on the 03/03, she was a large baby and last thursday we weighed her in at 9.5 lbs. We overcame some breastfeeding issues at the start when my milk came in, and have since established breastfeeding fine.

She latched well, she has plenty of loose yellow stools and wet nappies, her temperature is fine.

Her routine has up until now been feed for 10 Mins, fall asleep (go to the bathroom in her pants) I would change her then she would feed for another 10.

There has been a couple of hot days here of late.

She has started in the last couple days to feed for 5 minutes then fall asleep, she appears to drain my breast not as well as the 10 minute feeds but well enough and often has wind and is restless.

She also appears to be feeding more often then she used too.

I am trying to establish the 6, 10, 2 routine and am a little worried and the small amounts she is taking in (even though she appears to be growing and gaining weight) is she possibly just dehydrated? Is it normal? SHould I be substituting with boiled/cooled water?

Also is there some advice that someone can give me with relation to setting up the routine and regulating the feeding, as I will be going back to work in 7 weeks and want to continue to feed her breast milk.

Thanks for your help and sorry for the silly questions.

Jaans xo

Firstly, congrats on your new bubba!

Breastfeeding is a unique relationship, and takes some time to establish. Some experts say at least 3 weeks to get supply established, but for many of us it takes a lot longer. You are doing so well!

At this early stage I would be giving bub unrestricted access to the breast. I know a routine is your goal, but at this stage, establishing your supply is more important I would think. I would definitely not be advising water. Breastmilk is all your baby needs!

As for the fussing, it sounds like she is falling asleep before fully draining the breast...so she might be getting too much foremilk and not enough hindmilk, which will fill her up (and make her sleepy). Can you wake her when she drifts off? Or let her doze for a bit and then pop her back on. I would put her back on the same side to ensure she is draining the breast, before offering the other side (I have only ever fed from one breast per feed, so the whole swapping thing is new to me).

As for the routine, it really wont take long to establish, once you and your baby know each other a bit better. Try and enjoy these early days (daze!) and see if a natural routine falls into place. Breastfeeding and routines can be tricky, because your baby will fuss at certain periods to build up your supply for the next growthspurt. But I think you will feel more confident imposing a feeding schedule once you know bub is thriving.

HTH

ETA: For the moment, I would actually recommend not timing feeds or looking at the time between feeds...it will do your head in. My mantra was always, my baby has a relationship to my breast that doesn't involve me. I always fed her whenever she cried...breast is so much more than food! None of us know what we are doing in the early days, just remember you are doing brilliantly and before long you will have this all under your hat and be advising other new mummies!

IMO you cannot have such a strict routine with a BF baby. She will need to feed much more often than that. Only a formula fed baby can feed to such a routine. Breastmilk is digested quickly and she will need to feed soon to build up. Feed her as often as she will take it and you will get into a routine when she is a bit older. She needs alot of feeds in the beginning to get your supply up and for her to grow. Good luck end enjoy!

Congratulations on your lilttle bundle and working towards a succesful breastfeeding relationship.

I agree with the girls, at this early age a routine is definately not required and it's normally within bubs best interest to have unlimited access.
DD2 is 11wks old and is only now setting her own routine, she will generally feed b/w 5 and 7am and the rest of the day is set in 3hr blocks from there, some days it's hot she wants it after 2hrs, others shes growing feeds 2hrly then might sleep for 4hrs.

I say just go with the flow as long as she is having good wet and dirty nappies, is sleeping well then your doing prefectly.

My DD also falls asleep, if you feel it's an issue it helps to undress them a little (weather and environment permittng), sometimes in warmer weather a cool cloth can keep them cool but also awake and possibly feeding longer.

GL with it all, you sound like your doing a wonderful job!

:hug: Congrats on welcoming your new baby girl!

I can tell you're concerned about going back to work, but you'll have a much better time establishing bfing and then setting yourself up to go back to work if you follow the other girls' advice at this stage. After six weeks bfing should have settled into something of a pattern and you can probably better predict how long bfs will be for and when they will occur (maybe!).

Is there a particular reason she needs to be in a bfing routine when you return to work? I understand you will probably be expressing at work, and it will be fine for you to have set expressing breaks during work time, but won't affect when she needs to bf (or how often she has ebm) and how much she gets when you're with her.

As long as Liisi has plenty of wet and dirty nappies there is no need for you to be worried about dehydration. Make sure she bfs often (she'll usually want more when it's hot anyway). Water is not a good idea for any new baby, breast or bottle fed, as it interferes with milk and nutrition.