Sick but still hungry?

[Tonnilou]

Hello lovelies.

So my wee man is just over 3 weeks old and is still a sporadic feeder, the joys of feeding on demand I believe. Sometime she feeds for 45 mins other times it seems to be *grazing* on me having 2 mins here and there over a couple of hours.

However, there have been a couple of times when he has been sick after a feed but then still all cross and inconsoluable crying until he gets more boob action. The doc advised vus to try and make him wait 3 hours between feeds to help him out but he just seems to be so so upset that its really hard to stick to this. I just dont bknow enough about bf to know what to do for the best. I dont want to over feed him but also I dont know whether bkeeping him so upset is good either?

If anyone has any advice/experiences to share I will be very very greatful.

 

[Nervous_1]

Making him wait is only going to cause a lot of stress to you and your little one and is totally the wrong kind of advice to give! BFing should always be on demand, especially in the first 6-8 weeks while your supply is being established.

If LO is only being sick occassionally then I wouldn't worry too much, he's probably just overfilled his tiny tummy and the sick is just the extra bit he doesn't need. If it's happening after just about every feed then I would speak to the doctor about reflux.

What you can do to help is try and keep LO upright after a feed for at least 30 mins, and also raise the head end of your cot/basket.

HTH! xx

 

[Tonnilou]

Thankyou hun,

Thats really reassuring as its what I was feeling. I hate trying to make him wait especially as he is so little and I just want to respond to his crys. When he is sick it really seems to me he has just had that bit too nmuch but right after he seems to want more again and I didn't want to overfeed and make him more sick if that nmakes sense.

 

[Nervous_1]

It's impossible to overfeed a BF baby so don't worry!

He probably just wants to feed again cos his tummy has emptied just that little bit, or he might just want the comfort from sucking.

Trust your intincts and you won't go wrong

 

[Tonnilou]

Thankyou again hun

 

[patch2006uk]

How much is he being sick. If it's only about a mouthful, it's called possetting and it's just why happens when they've fed and there's some air in their tummy, which is then brought up with the burp. If that's the case, your LO may well be hungry still cos they effectively stopped feeding to burp and they've just brought some milk up too.

If it's more sick than a mouthful, and it's happening often, definitely look into reflux.

Also, wind and hunger look the same in terms of the baby's signs, so wind thoroughly (I had a very windy LO-took hours to get up teeny bits of wind, even with all the remedies known to man!) as he may just have wind, rather than be hungry.

And I'd say ignore the every 3 hours advice - on demand is much much better to establish your supply. Good luck! You're doing great so far

 

[PrayerfulHope]

I can't believe they want you to wait 3 hours between feeds! My LO is 13 weeks and STILL eats every hour!!

She went through a phase where she'd throw up, projectile vomit, once a day after a night time feed and then act absolutely starving. So I'd feed her again after about 10 minutes. She ended up being fine after the second time around so I just kept doing it. My ped later said that as long as she's not acting as if in pain or upset, then it's totally fine and lots of babies throw up after eating too fast because they just don't know when to stop hehe!! So don't worry about it, and keep feeding him on demand. Next thing you know if you wait 3 hours between is the ped is going to start telling you he's FTT and you should supplement!!!!

 

[nullaby]

I agree i wouldn't make baby wait, that's just going to upset the both of you. If you need a break from nursing baby you could give a pacifier whick itself has its pros and cons. Trust your instinct Hun mommy's always right

 

[Tonnilou]

Thankyou lovely ladies. I am been sticking with my original on demand feeding and he has been feeding lots happier and has been alot less sick. Am pretty sure its wind related that and the fact he is a total guzzle monster and acts like he is starving when he gets withing a few inches of the boob.

TY all for the advice its really really helpful.

xx