Hey there all! Had a full on week or so as DS has some kind of sinus issue no one seems to have heard of before. It's like reflux, only it isn't in his nose, it goes to his sinuses and he finds it hard to breathe through the serious snuffling. So I can't cosleep in bed with him, I'm on the recliner couch in the lounge room until he grows out of it. I'm going to try the bed again tonight but I don't think he's ready. Cosleeping means we both have to be on an incline. Bollocks.
Otherwise my marsupial is great. Asleep in his sling as I type. Although last night I got engorged again. Went through the usual newborn feeding in the first couple of weeks, which was non stop to bring my milk in strong. Then he started feeding every three hours or so, and I thought YAY. In recent couple of days he fed full on again (about the point a mama starts to wonder about her supply cos he wanted to feed so much) however I learned he knows exactly what he's doing - bringing in more milk for a growth spurt! Clever, these kids, eh? So I got engorged from the 1.5 - 2 hourly feeds and BOY did it hurt. I could barely walk - sore boobs make you barely able to walk, whoda thunk it. But he drained them both!
As for growth spurt, geez, Ci gained over 600grams his second week (on top of his birth weight)! He's a big boy now, and gaining fast. I must have cadbury's full cream dairy milk, I tell ya. So I guess I have to look out for the occasional feeding frenzy from him, followed by engorgement, followed by Sir Gainsalot.
So if any of you can resonate with this, take heart, frequent feedings are just perfect, babe knows what s/he's doing, bringing in more milk! And nothing does it faster or better than just putting the baby on the boob more often. If you wonder about your milk, the best test is weight gain. If you still aren't confident, just feed on demand and then a few extra; best way is to take to bed with them for a day or so, and let them stay on the boob as long as they want, they may fall asleep with the nipple in their mouth (and probably so will you) and this is very normal. That's why night feedings are more likely to keep ovulation at bay, they are the most productive, mostly because we are less likely to allow unlimited time at the boob as we sleep through it. The feedback loop of the breast glands and hormones isn't just how much milk is taken, it is also how much areola/nipple stimulation you get that brings it in (remember trying to bring on labour via nipples? kinda like that :lol) You'll get so much milk you'll have to sell some. Newbies should feed b/w 8 and 12 feeds a day if on the boob, or supply can go down. Not a good idea to try to follow a formula fed baby's schedule (4 to 6 feeds a day) or you will lose your milk. They'll cut out one of those night feeds soon.
HTH
I love reading about all the newbies in this thread, helps me feel less alone.
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