Sudden 'fluffing around' on the breast?

[Marley&Me]

Bub is 12 days old and I've noticed for the past 24 hours she has been stuffing around at feeding times. She will latch and drink and then detach and just fluff around. So I put her back on and I have to hold her there so she doesn't detach. She slept amazingly last night, I had to wake her twice after 5 hours to feed ( health nurse said no longer than 5 hours without food at this age)
Is this normal?

[MLR1901]

Completely. Bubs is still getting used to feeding. A full belly = a sleepy baby. And sleep promotes sleep.
Is bubs only doing this when you have woken her? She may not be hungry, thus leading to the stuffing around.
My DD from the day of birth, sleeps at least 6-7 hrs a night. Middies told me to wake her as well but then others said leave her when she's hungry she scream for it.

[Ladylove]

In my experience bubs can, if they're so inclined, have periods of fluffing around for most of their breastfeeding lives! They're still learning when as little as yours but babies are also super curious and exploratory and will do lots of odd things at the breast.

[HotI]

Breast compressions (gently squeezing the breast) while bub is attached can keep her interested in what is going on. I used to rub baby's cheek with one finger to keep them focussed.

I think you are sometimes feeding by bottle? Some bubs find the bottle a bit easier, and so need a bit more encouragement on the breast. The ABA has a guide to the caring for the breastfed baby that describes how you can feed by bottle and still allow bub to take breaks and control the feed to make it easier for them to switch between the two. https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/caregivers.html

[k4t]

May be worth switching boobs or doing a nappy change at times like that.

[Marley&Me]

Completely. Bubs is still getting used to feeding. A full belly = a sleepy baby. And sleep promotes sleep.
Is bubs only doing this when you have woken her? She may not be hungry, thus leading to the stuffing around.
My DD from the day of birth, sleeps at least 6-7 hrs a night. Middies told me to wake her as well but then others said leave her when she's hungry she scream for it.

Yes, it's mainly when I have woken her. The MW and health nurses all said don't let her go over 5 hours without a feed so if she sleeps good I have to wake her maybe I'll let her go next time. Will anything happen?

I have been feeding from one side then doing a nappy change and burp, then feeding the other side. It's always the second side that she fluffs around on.

[Jaycee]

Perhaps she's full from the first side if it's only the second side she's fussing on?

I wouldn't go more than 5 hours without a feed at this age, more so for building your supply than anything.

[little_O]

What the midwives would also be worried about is low sugar in the baby. A sign of a baby with low sugar and not getting enough milk is them sleeping for ages and ages and being hard to rouse.

But if she is only doing it at night I wouldn't think it's so much of an issue. How has she been when weighed? Is she back to birth weight?

[HotI]

If it's only the second side, maybe she is full and doesn't need it? Or needs a break before she is ready for it.

Both mine only took one side for a few months.

[Saffy]

two sleeps of 5 hours seems too long for a 12day old to me.... how many feeds is she getting in 24hrs and what is her output in 24 hours? Are you still topping up?

[Heaven]

I would think she's too full if she's only doing it on the second side. She only has a tiny tummy and may only need one side. My girls would only take a little (or none) from the second side at that age. How is her weight gain?

[onthefly]

Hi Tasha,
Are you confident she's getting plenty of milk? It is normal to feed 8-12 times in 24 hours (if not even more), have 4+ heavy wet nappies and 2+ poos per day, as well as gaining weight and growing. You can also look at her appearance - good skin tone, etc - and demeanour - so being alert and happy when awake at least some of the time.

It may be that she's had enough after one side, in which case it's fine to just follow her lead. She might be interested in a little top up feed at the second breast 20-30 minutes after the main feed, also, so if you're not sure whether she's getting enough you could try that, too.

Some babies will have long stretches of sleep and do fine, but for some this is a sign of potential trouble as they are sleeping to conserve energy and not demanding to feed quite often enough. It can happen that they sort of cruise through for the first 4-6 weeks, then start showing signs of insufficient intake of milk. Meanwhile, mum may not have been feeding often enough to build up a good supply. This is why you may be recommended to wake and feed your baby more often if baby is getting fewer than 8 feeds in 24 hours and/or you're not getting all the signs of good intake.

Hope things are settling down for you.

[Marley&Me]

I'm on my phone do still getting used to the app so can't multi quote!
Saffy, it was 5 hours from start of feed so about 3.5-4 hours of actual sleep. Is that ok?
She will feed every 3-4 hours generally, so that's about 6-8 times in 24 hours.

[Marley&Me]

subbing on my laptop. Cos when i post via phone it doesn't sub???

[Arcadia]

I only fed from one side for both kids until they were over one. I had frequent feeders though, with no break longer than 2-3 hours until they were almost 5-6 months. I would definitely wake such a young baby to feed. There is plenty of time for her to sleep longer. Right now she needs to be gaining weight and demanding your body make milk. It takes about three weeks for milk supply to be fully established.

Fluffing at the breast was generally a sign my babies wanted to suck but not get milk, such as being tired but already full.

[Marley&Me]

I think my supply is going well. I woke this morning and I leaked in my top. I can usually express around 30-50 ml after feeds too. So I'm assuming I'm doing ok I see the health nurse on Thursday and so far she has been putting on weight, so will check again on Thursday.

[chody47]

With DD1 (3.31kg at birth) I was told I could stop waking her for feeds at night once she regained her birthweight (about 2 weeks). With DD2 (1.84kg at birth) I was told I could stop waking her for feeds at night once she was 3kg (about 6-7 weeks). I always ensured I fit at least 8BFs in during 24 hours until they were a few months old though (so just fed more during the day). Both of mine have been great night sleepers from an early age. In my experience, I would say its ok to let her sleep at night (so long as she's regained birthweight), but perhaps make sure she's at least having 8BFs in 24 hours to ensure your supply builds enough - she will be wanting much bigger feeds soon!