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Breastfeeding HELP!!!

Hi ladies, I am probably as totally bemused as all of you about breastfeeding and today it has reached a new level. Freddie is 13 days old - I was lucky that he fed as soon as he was born and latches on fine. He was getting himself into a bit of a rhythm with feeding (hate the word routine!!) and I was seeing a bit of a pattern emerging. We have had my OH's brother and his wife with us all weekend and everything has gone out the window.

This afternoon he has been feeding every half an hour !!!! for about 10mins at a time and then dropping off the boob and refusing to take any more????! He was asleep all morning (we went for a long walk where he slept in our carrier the whole time). Anyway I am trying not to get down about it - I keep thinking is this normal ??!

Freddie lucklily is good at night, feeds once at 2-3am with no fuss and goes back down till 7 but during the day is a different story, he struggles to settle, unless on me - in fact this afternoon he was screaming if I passed him to OH and then stopped when he was passed back.

I don't want to encourage any bad habits, he is usually very content but today has been a nightmare, sorry for the moan just wanted some reassurance that what I am experienceing is normal - I wasn't prepared for the randomness of newborns I guessimage

Hope you are all well xx

Rach and Freddie xx

Replies

  • Hiya hun, haven't got a lot to say as we're still in a complete pickle with bfing and the overall randomness of a newborn doesn't seem to be settling....I worry that I'm a bad mother for not knowing what he wants, especially when he has a tizz during feeding.

    He's exactly the same, as Freddie, as good as gold at night (in fact we still have to wake him for his feed) but fussy during the day. 2weeks ago he was feeding non stop and I was so sore as we still haven't perfected out latch and so close to stopping bfing, but it did get better and a tad more predictable. Last week he wouldn't let me put him down during the day and was worried i'm making a rod for my own back, but the end of last week he's having much more alert periods when he's not feeding or crying and it's been a lot better. But the last two days feedings gone back out the window, can't seem to get the latch right at all now and he's getting very frustrated, feeding for 5mins then coming off and within 10 secs he's screaming the place down and can't get latched back on!

    Only thing I can say is the other week the hv I eventually got to see once things were starting to settle back down, she suggested that he was probably going through a growth spurt and working to increase my supply, this was between 2-3weeks so it could be that Hun. Fingers crossed things will start to settle back down again in a couple of days xx
  • it sounds like cluster feeding t me hun - Izzy went through that at 2 weeks and i was in tears in the end thinking i was supplying her with enough milk. We gave her a bottle of formula in desperation and she was so stuffed from it that she slept the whole night through. Ive since researched it and 2 weeks is a classic time for a growth spurt and the constant latching on and feeding all night is a way for the baby to increase your milk supply. I wish I'd know this before!! I think its terrible really that you are put under so much pressure to BF and yet given almost no information to prepare you for what to expect. I find it frustrating that mums are put through the strain and worry when a bit of information prior to this would alleviate a whole host of worries!

    http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/fussy-evening.html
  • Thanks ladies for your replies, its all such a worry isn't it and far harder than labour or birth!!!! I think it must be cluster feeding - he was doing this anyway on an evening but suddenly it was this afternoon so I was a bit worried...... however since then we had a bit of a frantic bath where he was falling asleep at the end, I fed him again and since 6.30 he has been totally out for the count!!! Phew! I was worrying that my milk wasn't enough to sustain him for 30mins!!!

    All is good and thanks for your support!! X
  • gc'ing from bi march my lo is now 9 weeks and we have now pattern to feeds during the day from the end of one to the start of the next can be anything from 20mins to 3 hours hv and friends have said its completely normal. my lo also cluster feeds in the evenings before going down at 10.30ish til 5ish then again til around 8. I think its normal to stock uo for the night time and i domt moan about it because it makes night easier!

    What youve described sounds like a growth spurt all i can say is can some good dvd's books etc in for over the next couple of months as you do have days where all they do is feed to increase your milk supply and then they settle again another reason why i dont think routines work with bf babies
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