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Constant feeding.

F

FemmeEnceinte

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Hello! newbie here!

Started BFing 6 days ago, milk came in on day 3 and am currently producing enough to feed an army (I change nipple pads hourly sometimes and leak onto my top when I sleep). During the day LO feeds every 3-4 hours for around 10-20 minutes but at night she feeds every hour and a half for anything from 20 minutes to constantly.

By this, I mean, she'll wake and feed and fall asleep on the breast after about 20 minutes but as soon as I put her in her moses basket she starts rooting so I pick her up and nothing can settle her except being at the breast. I know she's only tiny yet and I know she takes what she needs but it seems like at night she's not really feeding, she's just comforting herself and is chewing the end of my nipple most of the time! Ouch.

Just wondering what everyone else's initial experiences were with BFing their newborns and if it's just something she'll settle down with in time.

Thanks! x

Oh and she'd gained 3oz in 5 days at her last weigh in! :lol:
 
hi femme and congrats!

Tbh I'm not a great help on this i'm afarid, we had the same thing for the first two weeks and i was so exhausted i ended up giving into the dummy on midwifes advice. They told me when she was born she was going to need a dummy because she was suckling away from the moment she was born, i was quite taken a back by it actually becuase i didn't think midwifes were supposed to recommend things like that but never mind!
 
hun it is completely normal - especially at night, its like them putting in their 'order' for the next day and also they are instinctive to want to feed more on a night as your milk contains more hormones or is richer (i cant remember which) (possibly both lol) so it is good for your supply and her weight gain (which is FAB by the way!) try your best to stick at it - it does and will get loads better. if you are sure she is just comfort sucking and you feel comfortable in doing it then you could try a dummy, we did this and \Daisy would not under any circumstances take it!LOL she kept trying to Latch on like she does on the boob bless her and was gettin confuzzled!!LOL she would suck on our finger tho :dohh: :hugs: hun you are doing a great job :hugs:
 
Hi Femme!!! Congrats on your beautiful little girl!!! :hugs:

We also had the same issues with LO feeding every 1.5h or so at night, then every 2-2.5h during the day. He is slowly merging with our routine now (slept 4h in a row last night!!!) and feeding more during the day, cluster feeding in the evening, then eating 2-3 times at night. But at first when he was just wee, he was feeding what seemed like constantly. So you're ot alone!!

As for the comfort sucking - my LO is a master - especially at night. And since he was born early and had feeding issues initially, I would feed him whenever he was rooting and let him comfort suck for as long as he wanted until my boobs could no longer take it. We actually started giving him a dummy to suck on after he fed when I couldn't take the nipple chewing any more... I didn't plan on ever using one, but I really believe I would be disfigured without it LOL... I used to give him the breast whenever he was rooting, but I realize he pretty much does it all the time - especially when he is upset, so I would give him my breast and he would suck a few times then just get to business chewing on it. He doesn't like the dummy for very long (a minute or two before spitting it out) but it really has helped for getting him back to sleep after eating. We are using it less though - since he found his fist, he is sucking on that as well... And I know he is getting plenty to eat since he is gaining almost 2oz/day! He is also eating for longer - maybe 15 minutes at a time rather than the 10min he was feeding for initially.

So I would say yes - it will settle in time. I have had many issues breastfeeding and was worried initially I wouldn't even be able to do it, but things improve SO much!!
xx
 
Sounds very much like us too :)

My milk eventually settled down so I'm not in tears with rock hard boobs, but still leak alot some nights.

Hazel started marathon feeding from 2 weeks - so be prepared that could happen. It's hard to go anywhere at the mo, she wants to feed alllllll the time. Normally evenings, but sometimes afternoons too.

We were lucky she always has had a good latch (I heard its best to make them take the whole nipple properly if they try to just suckle the end) but even with that, this week it feels like someones given my nips a chinese burn, she's been pigging so much!

The toughest part is the first 6 weeks they say... so :yipee: for us all :D
 
Thank you ladies! This has made me feel better. I'm pleased with how much weight she's put on so far and will continue to breastfeed until she's one or my nipples fall off... :lol: but it can be incredibly trying at 4am when she's been "feeding" since 2.

It's definitely comfort sucking as she only starts rooting when I put her back in her moses basket, otherwise she's happy to sleep on my chest and only feed properly 3-4 hourly. But, I need sleep! So, OH and I are going to try sleeping in shifts (she settles well sleeping on him too).

It's getting easier already, really. It's much less painful and actually completely painless during the day. It's just the constant chewwing at night that gets painful. We'll get there! :D

Congrats to all of you for pushing through similar, it's easy to understand why some people give up really. But, I love it too much to stop :p

xxx
 

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