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As the title suggests, for the past day or so my little man is wanting to feed every hour to hour and a half, very rarely he will go any longer than 2 hours. Is this normal for his age?
His nappies are always wet and his weight gain is fantastic, I guess I'm just wondering when he will start to go a little longer between feeds and if there's anything I can do to promote going longer? Is it because my milk isn't satisfying him? Please help!
Thanks
xxx
From what I've read, that's perfectly normal for a newborn. He has a tiny tummy so will need frequent feeding.
I'm sure someone else will come in with advice.
Eta: i should have said, if you have lots of wet nappies and he's gaining weight, then your milk is doing a wonderful job. As they grow, feeds will space out more but they need this while they're so small.
ummmmmm every 2 hours here still lol but she has a 3 and 4 hour stretch in the night
There is a growth spurt at three weeks. Feed feed feed for about 24hours then all that new milk comes in and they sleep and eat as they did before. Make sure you eat and drink and rest to keep up with the growth spurt. There is another one around 6 weeks. If it lasts longer then 24hrs it is not considered a growth spurt. Sometimes babies will do the need to suck actions when actually they are needing to digest, so if you can stretch him for up to two hours it is better for both of you, as he will drain the breast better if he is actually hungry and not just trying to digest what he just had!!!
Goodluck, and look after yourself mama x
Yep, happened here too and drove me bonkers. I remember crying to DH thinking it was going to last forever and saying "I'm never going to be able to leave the house!" It does pass :hug:
It's because his tummy is really small, and it's totally normal, yes.
Does he go longer at night, or is this rond the clock? Either way can be normal, but it's certainly nice to get a break. As they get bigger, you can try to encourage bigger feeds, offering both sides, or even 3 sides, but you're limited by the size of their tummy. Also, some babies just prefer to have lots of small feeds - it's probably more comfortable for them. It will settle down of its own accord in time.
If you're getting lots of wet & and at lesat a couple of dirty nappies per day, plus weight gains etc, they he's doing well - good job! Make sure you have plenty of help at home and can get some rest
DD3 did this but it was because she has silent reflux :)
Harlee was feeding every hour up to maybe 4 months, it does pass as their bellies get bigger, but I know the feeling, being tied down, can't go anywhere, can't do anything :( :hug:
:cry: I can't keep doing this, I get about a 40 minute break between him wanting to feed and to top that off he will only sleep on me so I can't put him down. How am I supposed to spend time with DS1, feed us nutritious food and try and do the bare essential housework?? I don't have a lot of support, DH is back at work and away from the house for 12 hours per day, I'm just not coping with this.
How long does he feed and how many sides?
Do you have a sling/carrier?
Do you have a sling? It sounds like it would make a things a bit easier!
Also, if you can feed lying down then you can read/play trains/cuddle DS1 etc.
This will improve, and you are doing a bloody good job at a difficult task
hugs.
when this happened to me, i was so exhausted, i couldn't think of anything to make it better, cos it takes energy to introduce solutions.
these are the type of things, i WISH i had instituted, into our life, when my child was feeding EVERY two hours, 24 hours a day, seven days a week:
- gotten a peanut sling (feed in it and maybe at some stage you'll be able to do something hands free whilst they latch on)
- gotten a comfy recliner to feed/settle in (save your back)
- get a cleaner however often you can manage it, even once a month (do wet areas, whatever needs it the most)
- get a home delivery of healthy food (fruit, veg, milk, bread), so you have good stuff around you to snack on
- whoever says "if there's ever anything i could do to help" - take them up on this - ask for meals to put in your freezer
- get home delivery of supermarket groceries (even if it's just standard stuff, then your dh will make less shopping trips)
- learn to say no, stick to survival stuff. stop saying yes just to be polite. if it doesn't suit you and your LO's, don't go.
- batch cooking and freezing (ha ha, i did zero cooking at this stage, we lived off crap that you heat up, from boxes in supermarkets, and weetbix)
- when you have a burst of energy, do survival stuff, like snackboxes and lunchboxes of food in the fridge. So when everyone is getting antsy and need to be fed in a hurry, it's already done. You need boxes of snacks too, stuff you can pick at one handed whilst bf-ing.
- have a box near your bf-ing area, with all the go-to stuff you need/get asked for, whilst you're bf-ing your nb. Tissues, wipes, lip balm for you, story book, small toys, spare flat nappy for spills, breastpads if you use them, spare tee for you, anything you are constantly getting up to get, like the phone, muesli bars to keep your strength up.
- think of washing priorities. only attempt to get the most important stuff done. if you're able, hang washing under cover, so that even when it rains, your washing will get dry (from the wind and air) and won't get bird do do on it. anything to prevent you having to do washing twice, or have a mad panic when it rains (to get it inside quick).
I know of one mum who bought paper plates for a while, she did not have the time/energy to do dishes, so used this as a temp. solution.
Try feeding in the bath, so at least you get to get to lie in warm water for a bit.
You gotta do, what you gotta do, to get through it.
My DD had her first 5 hour sleep at 20 months, i STILL didn't sleep, cos insomnia had taken over. Sleep deprivation is SO hard, and i was only doing it with one child, you have three.
When your dh is away for 12 hours, you need outside help, if you don't have willing free helpers, all i can think of is reducing what you need to get done and contracting out (cleaner, delivery of food). i had no-one i could ask, except my dh (who was also at work all day), so i sympathise. Worrying about money stopped me outsourcing, but i think i should have just done it anyway. All the money i spent on boxed food and iced coffee, could have been better spent on fresh fruit/veg. I always had the expectation that i would buy it, but coudln't drive for much longer than i expected, and then dh was going to buy it weekly, and then he kept on forgetting. Living on weetbix and iced coffee was not good for me at all. If you are rundown, it's so much harder to do all the mummy stuff.
best of luck hon. i don't understand what it's like to do what you're doing with two LO's, but i do sympathise.
He will feed for around 20 mins, 15 on one side and 5 on the other generally. I have a sling and it does make things a little easier but he doesn't seem to like it allthat much :(