Finlay was born weighing 4lbs 8oz and when he left the NNU, aged 2w5d, he weighed 4lbs 11 3/4 oz. He was on EBM in the NNU and for the first week he was home, but he's now mostly BF with a couple of bottles of EBM a day. Anyway, had him weighed today (he's 5w4d) and he weighs ... wait for it ... 6lbs 9oz!!!!! It's working (and one smack in the eye for my MIL who has made continual sneering comments about BF - HA!!!).
Now for the questions ...
He feeds for a while, then falls asleep. I then go and change his nappy and wind him to wake him up again, then he feeds for a while longer, then falls asleep again. At this point (as long as I feel he's probably had enough), I just wind him and put him down for a sleep. Normally he sleeps for about 3 hours. But last night he was up every two hours looking for food, and I'm wondering two things, (a) if he's having a growth spurt and (b) if the effort of BF makes him sleepy and so once he's fallen asleep the second time, it's because he's tired, not full and is waking up for more, sooner? He is still little and because he was early, he should really just be 2 weeks old at this point, so maybe the tiredness is just because he's wee and not because he's not getting enough milk ... (it looks like he's getting enough overall, but I'm concerned he's stopping before he's finished and having to feed again sooner because he's hungry again).
Second thing ... he was on EBM at the NNU and for the first week he was home. Then I tried BF again and we managed really well, he's BF all day apart from his last feed at night (though I'm phasing that out too), a top up (if needed) during the night, and his first one of the morning. I want to BF apart from maybe one feed a day (he has medication he needs to get and the easiest way is in his milk), but I want to make sure he is satisfied at every feed, any tips to help me know when he's genuinely full and contented, and not just tired?
Now for the questions ...
He feeds for a while, then falls asleep. I then go and change his nappy and wind him to wake him up again, then he feeds for a while longer, then falls asleep again. At this point (as long as I feel he's probably had enough), I just wind him and put him down for a sleep. Normally he sleeps for about 3 hours. But last night he was up every two hours looking for food, and I'm wondering two things, (a) if he's having a growth spurt and (b) if the effort of BF makes him sleepy and so once he's fallen asleep the second time, it's because he's tired, not full and is waking up for more, sooner? He is still little and because he was early, he should really just be 2 weeks old at this point, so maybe the tiredness is just because he's wee and not because he's not getting enough milk ... (it looks like he's getting enough overall, but I'm concerned he's stopping before he's finished and having to feed again sooner because he's hungry again).
Second thing ... he was on EBM at the NNU and for the first week he was home. Then I tried BF again and we managed really well, he's BF all day apart from his last feed at night (though I'm phasing that out too), a top up (if needed) during the night, and his first one of the morning. I want to BF apart from maybe one feed a day (he has medication he needs to get and the easiest way is in his milk), but I want to make sure he is satisfied at every feed, any tips to help me know when he's genuinely full and contented, and not just tired?