baby 4 days old just a few questions

[catty]

Hi just a few little questions.

breastfeeding appears to be going well so far but I have very sore nipples, I have been putting cream on after each feed but she is such a regular feeder that by the time she wants fed again the cream hasn't even soaked in.will it actually be working?

She is also feeding every hour at night,, last night she was on the breast from 1am - 2.10am I thought she would sleep well as she had such a long feed but she was looking for more by 2.50am, do you think this is quite normal behaviouR,, just want to make sure she is getting the milk correctly.


Also roughly how long is it before I can predict spacings between feeds as at the moment it is very much when she wants it there is no routine at all. Sometimes every 20- 30 mins and then sometimes a 2 hour gap? Does it get easier to know when she will want it

Sorry for the ramble and thank you

 

[annio84]

It sounds like it's going just right!

I remember when Grace was newborn the midwife told me she should be going 4 hours between feeds. Lies!! Unfortunately the feeding every 20 minutes - 2 hours is very normal. You can tell she's getting enough if she's having plenty of wet and dirty nappies.

Don't panic if you have days where the length and frequency of feeds increases massively either - this is normal and it's how baby makes sure there is enough supply to meet her demand.

As to when it gets easier - I noticed it getting more regular and spaced out around 8 weeks once they've passed that newborn cluster of growth spurts. It still wasn't precisely predicatable but I could start to plan my day a bit so long as I remained flexible.

Congratulations on your new baby!

 

[Mummafrog]

Had my first 11 days ago

The way she is feeding sounds perfect, what she is doing is bringing your milk in by feeding loads, my little one was on and off every hour as well on the night before my milk came in (day 4), between 3am and 5am it was on and off every 20 minutes! Once your milk comes in fully it will fill up her little tummy better and she will hopefully sleep longer stretches if she is feeding efficiently. Get through this first week and remember it's all temporary.
For my nipples I found that covering a breast pad with a big glob of lansinoh and leaving that on my breast in a bra healed them up really quickly and just kept that on in between feeds, give it a try.

Sending you strength through this tough bit, you're doing great and you can do it If you feel quite emotional it's the strong hormonal changes as your milk is coming in, it will also pass

 

[Mapleroo]

My LO (7 weeks) put himself on a schedule fairly early on. He has had a few days where it seems like he does nothing other than eat, but for the most part he eats every 2-3 hours and will go 7 hours at night. On a regular day he will have 7 feeds and one of those is usually just a snack. So the regular feed he has both sides, but his snack he just wants the one. Last feed will be about 10pm ish and then 5am ish for the next. Sometimes he will go less (3am this morning) but not very often. He has been doing this since about 3 weeks old. Not sure how or why, but I'm not complaining! From what I hear, it's not really the norm, but is possible!
Congratulations on your baby and good luck

 

[Mrs HM]

Congrats on your LO!

The first few weeks are tough and the feeding pattern you are describing sounds about right. It will get easier and into more of a routine over the coming weeks. I think with my DS it was around the 8-10week mark that we really started to notice blocks of feeding/sleeping/awake time, but even in the next couple of weeks you'll probably notice a big change as your Lo gets more used to the world.

 

[catty]

Thanks for your advice. Breastfeeding is going really well but nipples are still very sore!
She has regained her birth weight now and is having so many poopy nappies.

Just can't wait until my boobs don't feel like there being cut!!

 

[wifey29]

If you can try to get some virgin coconut oil. It works wonders on sore nipples and is anti bacterial and anti fungal. You also don't need to wipe it off before feeding so no need to worry if you apply then baby decides they want to go back on for a bit. Regaining her birth weight and having lots of poopy nappies is brilliant, you're doing great x