Fussy Feeding???

[CountingDown]

Hi Ladies

Just wondered if someone could offer me some advice.

For the last 3 nights between 5pm and 9pm Olivia has been feeding more or less constantly. She will feed for about 5 mins, pull off then cry to be winded then after she has been winded she cries and sucks my fingers for more boob!!! Then the cycle starts again

Do you think I could be getting her needs confused or is this perhaps a phase??

xxxxx

 

[Mervs Mum]

How old is she honey?

 

[CountingDown]

She is 5 weeks old on saturday xx

 

[mari72]

A girl at my bf support group said her baby was the same as this at around the same time of day and the general opinion was that baby was colicky and that gripe water may help the situation so not sure if you want to explore that possibility?

 

[Samantha675]

She is cluster feeding. It is very common and I remember my son doing this.

 

[Mervs Mum]

Like Sam said it sounds like cluster feeding. Add to that the impending 6 week growth spurt, which may well have already kicked in.

Hang in there - keep putting him to the breast. The up side of cluster feeding is that some mum's find a welcome side effect is once they do settle, they may start to sleep a little longer - like he's stocking right up. And of course spurts pass and get easier as the fact he's on there means he's telling your clever (.Y.) s that they need to produce more and they will respond accordingly

 

[CountingDown]

Thanks for the replies ladies.

Olivia is currently having infacol for her wind issues, tried the gripe water and it didnt seem to do anything for her x

Well Olivia continued feeding until 10.15pm when she decided to have a good feed and was settled for 11.00pm. She was then up at 1.30 for a feed and settled straight away and then again at 4.15 and has fed on and off until 6.45 and has just settled again.

Hopefully she will be settled for a while now as I am getting very tired now lol. I was wondering if it is worth trying to express a bottle for tonight so at least my o/h will be able to let me have a break??? xx


I think Olivia may be going through a growth spurt as she settled for 30 mins then decided it was milk time again lol, so she has fed until 9.00am with a bum change and getting dressed in between! Please sleep for a while now!!!

 

[Mervs Mum]

You could try to express but do this with a BIG warning before.....Dont let it disappoint you if you only get half an ounce after half an hour. Pumping takes time - I dont just mean the actual pumping time either. It took me a week of pumping everyday to a schedule to get from not even half an ounce to just 2oz. One of the reasons pumping isnt a good idea early on is that mum's see that small amount and it get's in their head. They begin to worry how much baby is getting - trust me, baby is getting LOOOOOADS more! The pump is a poor mimic for the babies suck. So you may pump and get 3 oz first time BUT if you dont, just stash it and collectr a feed over a few days. It keeps in the fridge for 5 days and honestly to start thats how long getting a bottle together would take me.

I wouldnt advise pumping from the afternoon onwards as you may find you nearly get a drip!! There are other things you can do to help - if you need any advice on that let us know

So yeah - have a go but bear this in mind and if you dont have enough for that break tonight keep at it and you will very soon.

 

[CountingDown]

You could try to express but do this with a BIG warning before.....Dont let it disappoint you if you only get half an ounce after half an hour. Pumping takes time - I dont just mean the actual pumping time either. It took me a week of pumping everyday to a schedule to get from not even half an ounce to just 2oz. One of the reasons pumping isnt a good idea early on is that mum's see that small amount and it get's in their head. They begin to worry how much baby is getting - trust me, baby is getting LOOOOOADS more! The pump is a poor mimic for the babies suck. So you may pump and get 3 oz first time BUT if you dont, just stash it and collectr a feed over a few days. It keeps in the fridge for 5 days and honestly to start thats how long getting a bottle together would take me.

I wouldnt advise pumping from the afternoon onwards as you may find you nearly get a drip!! There are other things you can do to help - if you need any advice on that let us know

So yeah - have a go but bear this in mind and if you dont have enough for that break tonight keep at it and you will very soon.

Thanks for the advice. Think I will leave the expressing for today and maybe try tom if Olivia is still feeding loads. O/H will be off over the weekend so at least then I will have abit more time to try.

Should I increase my food intake to prepare for expressing? Whats the best time of day to pump and how often should I pump to build up my supply?

Sorry for all the questions but I am looking to start expressing regularly in the future so o/h can share some feeds. xxx

 

[Mervs Mum]

Dont worry - ask away! I didnt want to start waffling if you had already asked

The best time to pump for me was first thing in the morning. I started by having the pump etc ready so when she woke for her first morning feed, I would get her changed, OH would bring the pump etc and I'd get her feeding from one side and the pump on the other - it's tricky at first but if you try over the weekend OH can help till you get sorted. After a few goes I could manage on my own. I also kept a large glass of water next to me and the minute I started to wake I would down the water then nod back off so it was in my system by pumping time. If you try to drink it 20mins before I found it made a difference. When pumping look at your baby - ignore the pump as much as you can. Looking at the baby will get the lovey hormone flowing and that definately helps. When you get where you feel able to pump without feeding, look at the baby or your fav picture - you'll be suprised what a difference it can make.
You need to try to have a pumping routine and then your boobs will adjust. So I started off just with that morning one, then as I got more confident and saw the amount getting more, I moved on to getting up before her (as her routine had settled on it's own for a while) and pumping both breasts before she woke - so long as it was an hour before she woke there was plenty of time for them to fill back up a bit - she can get it out better than the pump anyway so when the pump is getting nothing, she can still get milk out no probs. I would pump one side, have a look at her and try to judge if she was fast asleep or stirring a bit, and if I thought I had enough time I did the other side which gave me between 7 and 10oz in that one sitting so then I didnt have to pump again that day and had some to freeze. This took a while though so do be patient.

 

[CountingDown]

Thanks for the advice again. I am going to try to express a feed tom morning. Olivia normally wakes for a feed around 5.00am so I will try my first pumping session then.

Olivia has been feeding alot more today and only sleeping for short periods in between, do you think she could be using me as a dummy??? I only say this because she is feeding for short periods then falling to sleep, stays settled for a while once put in her basket then wakes after a short time wide awake sucking her hands then crying when left for a few minutes.

So I go through the motions, she feeds for a short time then falls to sleep again?? I have tried her with a dummy, she will suck for a few mins then spit it out and starts to cry......

 

[Mervs Mum]

Does the suck change? To like a gentle quivery suck?? That's how women often describe a comfort suck - I know Hebe's comfort suck is like that.

 

[CountingDown]

No she still sucks as normal, i can still hear her swallowing but then she stops for a few breaks and then drops to sleep.

 

[Mervs Mum]

It sounds very growth spurt like. Hang in there honey - it wont last too long x