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HELP!!

NurseColNurseCol
in Breast & bottle feeding
My gorgeous little boy is 5 weeks old this Saturday and we have battled on with breastfeeding since the minute he was born. I am determined not to give it up but things don't seem to be getting any easier.

He is snacking constantly and never takes a good feed .... how do I know when to change sides?! I also feel like I have nothing left by the evening and he screams and fights me until midnight and then only goes down for an hour to 2 hours until he is hungry again. We went out today and he screamed so much in the car because I couldn't feed him that he got in such a state in the time it took me to pull over his vest was wringing with sweat and then I felt awful for even attempting to take him out in this weather.

I had lots of trouble getting him to latch on from the first time I tried and am still gritting my teeth through every attachment of which there can be hundreds a day! The midwives said we had attachment down to a T but did mention he could have a small tongue tie but nothing else was ever mentioned. I really really don't want to give it up but am so tempted!! Would appreciate any help!!

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    flimpoflimpo
    Hiya! Congrats on breastfeeding so far - it's really not easy to start with! My lo is nearly 6 months and mixed fed but we ebf for the first few months. When he was little i felt like i was pinned to the sofa feeding him all day and night but because he's so little his stomach can't take much at a time but was a v hungry baby. In terms of making him take more less often it will probably improve naturally in time but when i was trying to space his feeds out a bit I would do anything to distract him when he started showing signs of hunger like taking him for a wonder around the house, or singing to him, or changing him and then weird things like standing by the kitchen sink with the tap on would mesmerise him for about 10 minutes! Just take it slowly and try and hold him off for 5 minutes more between feeds, then 10 a few days later and so on. Hopefully he'll soon get the idea to take more. Cam used to cry and wriggle when one breast had been emptied so maybe look for signs from your lo.

    In terms of supply the only thing i can advise is eating like a horse (not as easy as you think with lo keeping you busy all day)!! My HV said i should aim for 5 meals a day plus snacks when i first came home from hosp. Also you could try expressing a bit if you ever get time (which I didn't lol) as that may help.

    Hope he settles down for you - bf does get much easier past the 8 week mark in my experience image

    xxxx
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    millysmum_naomimillysmum_naomi
    my advice is to keep doing what you're doing! it sounds corny but you are doing the right thing for YOUR baby. Try not t worry if you;re doing it right, or what other babies are doing cos it just makes you stressed. some babies do want to cluster feed all evening, go with it, it wont last forever. 8 weeks is like a magical marker: you will find that lo suddenly settles down more, your milk supply will be more settled and things will fall into place.
    i promise you it will get easier and you will get there!
    As for the sore nipples, you say your attachment s ok but have you checked the positioning? i got really sore nipples with dd1 and although she was latched on fine, i was holding her too far over so she was not where my boob would have naturally been iyswim?
    try to be as relaxed as you can is key and dont worry about feeling empty, thats normal, your supply will build up more as long as you keep eating and drinking yourself. when cluster feeding, just swap over every half hour or so.
    hope you feel better about it when you've had a bit of kip!
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    EyperEyper
    Well done on doing it so far!

    Sophie has days when she does exactly the same and wants feeding all the time. At other times she is really purposeful and has a big drink and gets the job done and then goes for a bit longer before wanting more.

    As for knowing when one side is empty, Sophie gets really frustrated and tries to twist my nipple with her mouth, it sometime feels that she is trying to pull it off to get every last drop. Needless to say its very painful so I try to change before it gets that far!
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    haydens_mummyhaydens_mummy
    Well done despite having a hard time with it.
    I'm not sure with the tongue tie as i haven't come across it before. Could it be that he just wants something to suck on? I introduced the tomme tippee cherry dummies around 6 weeks and it took him off the breast. I was worried i wouldnt know when he wanted a feed but he lets me know! I think he just wanted occupying and something to suck on. He's now fell out with the dummy and wont part with his thumb! Worth a try?

    A couple more things to try:
    Increase your fluid intake in the afternoon, its really warm and your body could be keeping alot of fluid to cope so you need to drink even more to keep a good milk supply.
    As the milk is on a supply and demand basis, you could try to express to build up more of a demand. The expressed milk can then be used for when your unable to feed (car seats etc)
    A small glass of wine helps let down apparently so a glass with your tea before you do the last feed might help the milk to flow??

    How long as he been snacking for? Is it just recently? Maybe a growth spurt? It does settle down and for me it did around 10 weeks (he was in a bedtime routine at 8 weeks and slept 6hours, now does 9 hours and has dropped the 3am feed).

    As for side switching, try to keep on one breast until he breaks off, that way you can make sure he gets the hind milk which is more filling. If you only fed off each breast for a short amount of time, he would only get foremilk and be hungrier quicker.

    xx
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    honeyboohoneyboo
    Hi,
    Just wanted to say, well done for persevering for 5 weeks. Like you my lo was very similar in feeding and also had a tongue tie, this wasn't picked up until he was 6 weeks old and explained my terribly cracked nipples and constant feeding. It might be worth finding a breastfeeding supporter or talking to your HV or doctor about whether they think it is worth getting it snipped. I had my lo's snipped privately as the waiting list was huge and I really wanted to carry on breastfeeding. It changed our feeds, I no longer dreaded them and my nipples returned to normal after a while.
    Hope this helps honey, it is worth persevering, my lo is now 8 months and we are still breastfeeding (LOTS, in comparisons to other babies his age as he loves his boob)
    Jo x
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    NurseColNurseCol
    Thank you all so much for your help and advice; you wouldn't believe how much it helps!

    I doubt I am drinking enough so will definitely push myself on that and I love advice to eat more and have a glass of vino!

    It sounds like I have been taking him off one side maybe too quickly and also I tend to hold my boob up for him which I'm not sure why I do this (made them sound so saggy now haven't I?!!) so am in effect needing both hands to feed .... maybe that would explain the pain? He is slightly more settled today and fell asleep through a whole baby group this morning and an hour for him is a victory in the day! The battle continues until hopefully week 8 then! x
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