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Hi ladies.. My DD is 15 days old and she will sleep at night in 4 to 4 1/2 hour blocks but will then feed on and off every 1 to 2 hours for up to 9 hours straight and won't settle.. I'm worried about my milk supply and it is frustrating and exhausting.. Anyone had the same thing or knows what is happening here..
Thanks
That is what wee babies do - most feed 8+ times a day.
If she is weeing (lots) and pooing (at least daily for the first couple of months) and growing and active and alert when awake then she is getting enough.
You may want to try other ways of settling - walking, or putting her in a sling might help (but they are no less exhausting than feeding again).
Morning, I wonder if your DD is trying to make up for a bigger need for breastmilk overnight? At 15 days we were waking DD to feed every 3 hours but that might have more to do with the jaundice.
All that sucking will be stimulating your supply :-) but sounds really exhausting. I wonder if she's actually tired and getting overtired and then fussing. The cues for tiredness are the same I'd similar to the cues for hunger.
Sit tight, it's a challenging time. Keep us the great work with bfing!!
All normal, no need to worry about your milk supply, baby is taking care of that xx
I second the sling or wrap. I use a hug a bub wrap everyday and DD settles in it much faster than in my arms and will often sleep longer and deeper than in her bed.
it's what my babies did too. Set yourself up in bed or somewhere comfy. have something to read, watch, eat, drink... Rest when baby rests. this time doesn't last forever, and i have such fond memories of that time because i let myself be in the moment and just chill with my babies.
If you do need a break, sending dad out for a walk with baby in a carrier can be lovely for everyone.
Hi, as the others have said, she sounds pretty normal. The first few weeks with a new baby can be very difficult- it's nothing like any of us ever thought.
But first some questions....what was her weight at birth? Is she back to her birthweight? How did the birth go? Was she full term? How many wet and dirty nap pies does she have in 24 hours? Was she jaundiced at all?
Most new babies will feed at least 8-12 or more times in 24 hours. Few will want to be put down to sleep without their mum!
Thank you so much for all your replies.. It has brought tears to my eyes and relief to my heart.. This BF'ing gig is so hard.. It rocks your confidence to the core..
Hi Barb.. She was 4085gm.. 40w 6d when born.. Drug free natural birth active labour was less than 3 hours.. Saw midwife last Monday and she was happy with weight regain but not seeing her again until Monday to see how we are traveling.. Have discussed poos with MW and she is happy with DD even though she doesn't fit the norm.. The only concern is wet nappies.. We are getting about 6 but I would like it to be more.. I keep putting her on the breast as she bobs her head and vigorously sucks on my shoulder when I put her there.. Is this hungry or just a habit? Thanks
She's a big bub - many mums find bigger babies can be hungrier in those first few weeks so hang in there!
Head bobbing and mouthing/sucking are classic feed cues - feeding her or just offering the breast when she shows them will do great things for your supply.
If you're finding she doesn't settle well during the day, definitely try a sling as the others have suggested.
As for her wet nappies, is she in cloth or disposable? 6 disposables is great, in 24 hours.
It sounds like you are doing most everything right hun. Keep it up!
Thanks OceanPrincess.. She is good from about 11pm until the next day anywhere from midday onwards and then she won't settle until late into the night again.. We are using disposables ATM but I have my baby beehinds ready once she and I are more settled..
It all sounds good, but help me out with a bit more info. Is she back to her birthweight? How often does she poo. Poo ( not so much wee) is the 'gold standard" for understanding if your baby is getting enough milk. So we want to see plenty of poo!
Some mums find that if they give their babe 20 mins on one side, break the suction and take her off, burp and change ( to wake her up a bit) and give her the other side, baby takes more and settles for a (bit) longer! She is sleeping very long periods at night so will need to feed a lot during the day! At 15 days nothing is a habit!
You can never go wrong by offering her another feed- feeding cures most woes for a baby
Barb.. 4085g at birth, 3830g at D4, then 3920g at D10.. She hasn't been weighed since.. Poo has been an issue as she was still having meconium until about day 10 but MW wasn't concerned as she says poo varies so much and believes output is better measured by wet nappies.. Info can be so conflicting.. :)
:hugs: The first few weeks can be sooo stressful. As the others have said it all sounds pretty normal. I did nothing but feed, babywear and express for the first month or so (but I did have supply issues hence the expressing.)
Is her poo yellow yet? How many poos a day?
Sounds tough!
From ABA site :
It sounds like your baby and you both are doing the right thing feeding very frequently. Do you have much help and support at home?:
If your baby shows the following signs then it is likely that you do have enough milk.
At least 6 to 8 very wet cloth nappies or at least 5 very wet disposable nappies in 24 hours. The urine should be odourless and clear/very pale in colour. A very young baby will usually have 3 or more soft or runny bowel movements each day for several weeks. An older baby is likely to have fewer bowel movements than this. Strong, dark urine or formed bowel motions suggest that the baby needs more breastmilk and you should seek medical advice.
Good skin colour and muscle tone. Does she look like she fits her skin? If you gently ‘pinch’ her skin, it should spring back into place.
Your baby is alert and reasonably contented and does not want to feed constantly. It is however normal for babies to have times when they feed more frequently. See the Fussy babies — is it the arsenic hour? and the Fussy periods and wonder weeks articles on this website. It is also normal for babies to wake for night feeds. Some babies sleep through the night at an early age while others wake during the night for some time.
Some weight gain and growth in length and head circumference.
A fussing baby can signal reflux. Perhaps you could ask the mchn about this when you see her next. Frequent feeding can be a comfort to bubs who are in pain. My dd had severe silent reflux and noone believed me until she did a 17 hour no sleep between 5pm-10am the next morning. She was extremely fussy and wanted to feed all the time. It helped soothe her throat at first but then the pain came :(
Thanks MadB.. It all sounds good except we are not getting much in the way of poo.. Nappies are wet... My husband has been great support.. It's just the worry that you're not doing it right and that bubs is suffering... I also have a 2 1/2 year old so being stuck on the couch for so long makes things so much harder..
Thanks Razzberry.. I will ask.. My son had reflux as a bub and would scream as soon as I went to burp him..
The fact that it took so long for the poos to change and that you're not getting many might be a warning sign that she's not getting quite enough milk, so would be worth keeping an eye on things.
Can you tell whether you're getting letdown and see her swallowing well as she's feeding? No soreness or anything?
I have been recovering from busted nipples since day 2 which I got from her feeding on and off for over 5 hours.. I got some nipple shields and have just stopped using them today as I'm mostly healed.. I have seen her swallowing and my MW has checked that my attachment is good.. She also wasn't concerned about the poo situation but I will talk to her at the Birth Centre Xmas party tomorrow.. Most of the time she is not a vigorous sucker and fluffs around a lot.. It takes ages to feed her, to the point that I now put her 20mins on each breast but just now she fed for 17mins on one side and has gone to sleep..
I was thinking a bit more, and this could also be what happens when your baby gets too much caffeine from you. How much is "too much" depends very much on the baby (I had troubles with a cup of tea a day; some of my friends could have several cappucinos without a problem). It may be worth cutting your own caffeine back and seeing if it helps.
Thanks Kmn.. I do like a cup of tea and normally have 2 within the first two hours of bring awake... Not much for it in the afternoon which is when she has been fussing.. Saying that we went to bed at 10pm then fed at 3pm and she slept until 6.30am.. So settled easier last night.. BF'ing app says 13 feeds yesterday but there were a couple more quick ones not recorded..
The thing with caffeine is that it is out of your system in a few hours but takes a day or more for a baby to process - although they get a much tinier amount.
So the timing isn't usually an indicator if that is the problem.....
A quick question: is she draining each boob? Ie the first one empty before offering the second one?
Double post.
Crispe.. The Breast is definitely soft but how else can you tell?