frustrated..

[nataliecn]

I'm starting to get really frustrated with the whole breastfeeding thing. Night feeds seem to go quite well - but all day today he wants to be fed, and when i put him on the boob, he takes like 5 sucks and then wants to sleep, so i rub his cheek to get him awake a bit, and he does the same thing, 5 sucks, and sleep. So we tried to put him to sleep, and he wakes up screaming wanting to feed.

BAAH! He had such an awesome feeds earlier this morning! But it drives me up the wall whipping my boob out every 5 minutes because he can't make up his mind!

 

[1st_baby]

I went topless when i was home for that reason lol

they could be comfort sucks ? have you tried a dummy ! do forget hun hes only 1 week old things should settle down once he reaches 5-6 weeks

 

[pinkmac85]

hun!
I know the feeling and I'm not even BF! LeeAnne takes about 1/2 an oz then falls asleep for an hour and wakes up screaming wanting more..it can be sooo frustrating!

Stick with it, you're doing a fantastic job!! If I were you I would just go around with my bra on and not a shirt if thats easier for you, or if you're not leaking to bad just go around topless maybe!

 

[vicwick]

Its very normal hun your doin great, all i can say is just feed him whenever he wants it so you build your supply up. I felt like i was chained to the sofa those first few weeks but its worth it. Alfie was really sleepy the first few weeks too i had to keep tryin to wake him up and he slept either on me or my DH cos he just wouldn't go down we did shifts

It does get better tho hun

 

[captain-ally]

Charlotte does the same thing. I gave up and got her a soother. She doesn't use it for crying, but if I let her suck for comfort like she wants to I'm gonna have cracked nipples. It's worked really well so far!

 

[ryder]

its normal hun... and like the others have said he may be comfort sucking. I was told using a dummy would be fine with bfing, and I think as long as your baby has no issues with latching etc you would be ok.

 

[nataliecn]

i'm nervous about the soother just because the lactation nurse at the hospital told me i should avoid it til about 6 weeks.
i know we're doing really well - i just don't want to ruin it by giving him a soother... it makes me really nervous.

 

[marley2580]

They have a wee growth spurt at about a week, it may be that.

 

[ryder]

See the nurses at my hospital told me to give her a soother and they knew I was trying to work on getting her latch. I really think it depends on the baby. I think in your case as you are exclusively bfing you will be ok. Especially since he took to it so easily.

 

[captain-ally]

The nurses here told me that it was ok to give it to her right away, and that nipple confusion was more the mother than the baby (not so sure about that, but whatever) Seems to be a matter of opinion... With Charlotte, it hasn't made a difference in her latching yet and she's had the soother since friday. She knows there's no milk there lol.

 

[caggimedicine]

Aww bless him - he is probably just getting used to being in the outside world and feeding and feeling hungry and sleepy etc! He's going on boob hungry, but being so contented that he's falling asleep! Unfortunately, Harry still does this occasionally - nothing seems to wake him up (apart from putting him in his cot of course!) Boob just seems to knock them out!

 

[pinkmac85]

i was also told a dummy was perfectly fine to use and that it helps them suck/latch on...every nurse has a different opinion tho

 

[marley2580]

i was also told a dummy was perfectly fine to use and that it helps them suck/latch on...every nurse has a different opinion tho

This isn't really true as sucking a dummy uses a totally different action than nursing does. Lots of people use them without problems, but some people do have problems.

 

[ryder]

Like we've all said marley, each to their own opinion.

Since the baby gets nothing but comfort from a dummy, its unlikely to cause confusion, especially with a baby who has picked up so easily on bfing. Bottles are more likely to cause confusion because the baby gets an instant reward without working for it...

I agree, if a baby has issues already then its best not to try. But otherwise, giving a dummy can help give mom a rest when bubs just wants a comfort suck

 

[pinkmac85]

i was also told a dummy was perfectly fine to use and that it helps them suck/latch on...every nurse has a different opinion tho

This isn't really true as sucking a dummy uses a totally different action than nursing does. Lots of people use them without problems, but some people do have problems.

i was just repeating what i was told in the hospital

 

[nataliecn]

i'm going to call the lactation consultant today once i'm in town and it's not long distance. let her know grady has been latching great, eating well, etc. and see what she thinks!

thanks girls!

 

[babymama]

so what did the consultant say??

We were also told at the hospital that we shouldn't introduce a soother until 6 weeks or until BF is well established. Well, it seemed that right after I fed Phoenix, he was still sucking on his fingers or sticking out his tounge. I debated the soother for 2 days and finally gave in. It's been great! He really loves comfort sucking so the soother has been fantastic! and with each day he has a better latch on the boob no confusion!

 

[nataliecn]

so what did the consultant say??

We were also told at the hospital that we shouldn't introduce a soother until 6 weeks or until BF is well established. Well, it seemed that right after I fed Phoenix, he was still sucking on his fingers or sticking out his tounge. I debated the soother for 2 days and finally gave in. It's been great! He really loves comfort sucking so the soother has been fantastic! and with each day he has a better latch on the boob no confusion!

I forgot to call...
I got doing stuff today and it slipped my mind.
I think I'm just gonna go ahead with it... If it bites me in the butt, I guess I'll deal with that...

 

[marley2580]

i was also told a dummy was perfectly fine to use and that it helps them suck/latch on...every nurse has a different opinion tho

This isn't really true as sucking a dummy uses a totally different action than nursing does. Lots of people use them without problems, but some people do have problems.

i was just repeating what i was told in the hospital

I didn't mean it to sound nasty, I just wanted to point out that some people do have problems by introducing a dummy too early.

 

[ryder]

Good luck nat, im sure you/he will be fine. Like you said, if you see he is starting to have issues you can deal with it.