I feel like he's not getting enough!

[mandaa1220]

Breastfeeding has gone fantastic so far... great latch, great supply, etc. No issues. LO is now 3 weeks and he's been super fussy the past two days. He will sit on the boob on and off for hours if I let him. If he's not on the boob or sleeping, he's crying or screaming and then stops when I put him back on, even if he just finished eating shortly before. I feel like I'm not producing enough for him now.

I'm feeling frustrated and wondering if I should start offering formula, which I know is not the answer.

 

[mandaa1220]

He's also a super gassy baby. Lots of farting and burping. I don't know if my milk is making him gassy and uncomfortable.

 

[kajastarlight]

It has been a while - but when DS2 was breastfeeding around 3 weeks he started showing similar activies (but he was not fussy, just always nursing) I took him to a lactation specialist and they had me bring him in hungry - they weighted him - then I fed him - they weighed him again and found he had ate 9oz! Whew! Blew the lady away. She said he was just a hungry guy and needed to cluster feed to make sure my production could keep up. At about 5 weeks things went back to normal. Maybe you can do the weigh, feed, weigh thing at home to ease your mind??
Also, when he did get gassy, occasionally, I would give him just a little chamomille tea. I am no doctor so I cannot garuntee that it is safe to give a baby chamomille tea.... but it worked for my boys.

 

[CandyDay]

There is a 3 week growth spurt. So him wanting on lots could be because of that. The growth spurts usually last about 3 days. LO is working on upping your supply to keep up with his growing needs. They constantly want on during that time. Its normal. As long as LO is having lots of diapers then likely getting enough

 

[mandaa1220]

There is a 3 week growth spurt. So him wanting on lots could be because of that. The growth spurts usually last about 3 days. LO is working on upping your supply to keep up with his growing needs. They constantly want on during that time. Its normal. As long as LO is having lots of diapers then likely getting enough

I looked up information on growth spurts and you are probably right. He shows all the signs that they explained. While I'm wicked frustrated, at least I have an idea of what's going on and know that there is an end in sight. Here's to hoping the next day to two days goes quickly!

 

[staralfur]

Yep, it's a growth spurt, totally normal. Best thing you can do is just keep feeding. As long as he's having normal diaper output he's getting enough.

 

[noon_child]

Growth spurts are sooooooooo normal but you can see how easy it is to go down the route of supplementing with formula because no-one tells you what is normal breastfeeding behaviour. I've never been around babies and if I hadn't read about growth spurts I think I would have given up breastfeeding.

Heads up that there is a big one at 6wks, so stock up on the drinks and snacks for yourself and know that this too shall pass...

 

[EarthMama]

Just went through the 3 month growth spurt over here.

 

[CandyDay]

yup...........growth spurts at 3 wks, 6 wks, 3 months and 6 months.
And yes if no one tells you about them then its easy to think well I am not making enough milk for my LO.

 

[Mrs Bee]

Totally normal..... I second the stocking up with snack for yourself too.....cluster feeding is tiring and made me starving!!! I'd just be up eating all the biscuits in the night hehe! Once you get passed these early weeks of breastfeeding it really becomes so easy, hang in there and feed when he is hungry..... As long as you are getting the wet and dirty nappies everything will be going well.... They usually keep check of baby's weight too so they can make sure

 

[AK89]

Yeah, it's no wonder people decide to start supplementing with formula when they don't know about growth spurts..

 

[Kiwiberry]

We had to do the weigh feed weigh thing for quite awhile when my NICU baby first started out BF'ing. From my experience it was hit or miss and not always accurate. Sometimes we would weigh her and she would be less than before she ate, which made no sense at all to us. They even used the special scales that had the breastfeeding options built into it.

The thing that I found that worked the best was pumping. I would pump after she eats and be able to see the difference in how much I pumped since I would do both breasts at the same time. My breasts both produce the same amount of milk from each one. So it was easy for me to tell based on the difference. Not everyone has this option since I have been pumping exclusively for over two months, so I know exactly how much I pump out of each breast.