Help please!

[Beankeeper]

My little boy was born on 5/11/12, so we're just into day 6 in this world. Both last night & tonight he has wanted to feed constantly, to the point that my boobs are empty. He'll Fred for close to an hour & then I can't even get an hour until he wants more.

Is my milk crappy? I've been really trying to eat more & make sure he's getting a decent amount, but he just seems so unsatisfied all the time.

Up until tonight I've been doing really well with bfing, but now I'm wondering how long I'll be able to keep this up. I'm stupid tired.

DH is upset as LO won't settle with him at all because he doesn't have the boobies. During the day he'll happily sleep for up to 3 hours.

Any ideas? Tips? I'm soooo tired now :-/

I should add that I've been quite dehydrated but now seem to be getting a looked better & I have no appetite but I'm making myself eat... I'm a bit dizzy but I think that's (lack of) sleep related.

 

[Reidfidleir]

You need to drink constantly. Also my sodium levels got low so you might want to add an electrolyte drink like Gatorade or recharge to your diet. Eating oatmeal is also supposed to help with supply. Drink lots of water!

 

[Jinnah]

Keep eating and drinking lots of fluid... do not get dehydrated. What you are describing sounds like cluster feeding and is normal. Keep feeding on demand. Relax and drink something while feeding. Whenever this happens to me, I just do the above and I will have more letdowns. Feeding on demand helps you to produce more milk, so just keep going. It will get better!

 

[Beankeeper]

I've drank about 8 litres of water today & 2 powerades (same as Gatorade). My feet are still swollen as I had to have a c-section/IV. I don't know if this is anything to do with it. I've literally been drinking constantly but my pee is still dark so something isn't right I guess.
I was doing so well, I just don't know why it's taken such a turn for the bad.

 

[Reidfidleir]

Hm that's weird that your urine is still dark. You drank 8 liters or glasses? 8 liters is a lot! I will add that I had a good pregnancy and smooth natural delivery and my feet were more swollen for a week after the birth than in my entire pregnancy! (My third trimester was during the summer too)
So tha just might be a postpartum thing...

 

[Millnsy]

There is nothing wrong with your milk and your boobs won't be empty! It sounds like the first growth spurt and baby is just helping your milk supply to be established. Trust your body to do what it does naturally. Whatever you do, do not supplement no matter how tempting it may be. This constant feeding will pass again in a day or so and you should be able to get some rest. It's difficult for the partners when they can't help but in a week or so, you should be able to start pumping the odd feed so that your oh can help. Keep drinking and eating too. I used to get so light headed. I found a glass of water and some biscuits at every feed really helped, especially when when I was so tired that I ha little appetite, just munch through the biscuits!

It will get easier and everything will seem better when you have caught op on some rest. You are doing a great job!

 

[Beankeeper]

I've drank at least 16 500 ml bottles of water. I can easily ingest 2 of these during a feed. I think tomoro I might try & write down everything I eat & drink tomorrow. I was told by the midwife to increase my fluids but I think this might be a bit ridiculous now.

I really don't know if my issue is with breast feeding or with my general health. How long should cluster feeds last? And why doesn't he want to sleep? Surely he must be exhausted?!

 

[Reidfidleir]

There's a reason why in olden times they called it "lying in". Not just for mom to rest but because its about all you have time to do is feed baby! My son fed every two hours in the beginning. That meant a feed lasted about 45 min to an hour and then an hour after he finished it would be time to feed again. Never mind time for diaper changes and burping! Same at night. And he was more fussy at night. You get almost delerious with lack of sleep. I'd say that lasted the first two weeks. Any chance you could pump and have someone else feed at night? At least pumping only takes like 15 min and you could go back to sleep. It's so hard but so worth it!

 

[Super G]

Your books don't get empty, even if they feel empty baby will still be getting some out by suckling. Your milk is almost certainly just fine, nothing you've said sounds like cause for concern.

Some great info on milk supply. https://kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/supply-worries/low-supply/

 

[keela]

My LO s first growth spurt lasted 2 days. All we did was lay in bed or on the couch and watch tv while he ate. I was stupid tired. Literally my brain was not working. It was so much better a few days later. He had another growth spurt at 3.5 weeks. We had another few days of laying around doing nothing. But once you survive those clusterfeeds it is so much easier. Now at 6 weeks He's going 2.5 hours between feedings.
You'll get there just hang on!