Hourly Feedings

slweaver0626

Lorelei has fallen into an hourly feeding routine that (at 4 days) I am working hard to break.  She latches on and suckles for a good 10 minutes and then falls asleep.  I burp her and she has no interest in going back on. An hour later we are playing repeat. It's extremely frustrating when it is 2am!

Any suggestions on how to get her to feed for a longer period and, hopefully, give us more than a 45 minute stretch of sleep?

ippichic

Can you do something to keep her from falling asleep?  Keep the room brighter?  Play music or the TV a little loud?  Switch her from one side to the other every 5 minutes?  Don't cover her so that she isn't so snuggly warm...?

MermaidNM

Sounds like something time will fix. Naked, diaper change or tickling under the chin might help.

But remember she is a newborn. She doesn't have habits just a very immature system and she gets worn out quick.

blush64

There's not too much to do at that age. Plenty of babies eat hourly or every two hours at first.

The breastfeeding board can help with realistic expectations for a breastfed baby.

Edit PP above me had some good ideas.

jesselayne8

Its not a habit at this point and its good for stimulating your supply.  

MomlovesEloise

She's doing exactly what she's supposed to be doing. Time will get her in a better schedule.

bhjones1980

I was there last week,now at 11 days old he is starting to space them out more, he went 4 hours last night between feelings, it was great!

geekette2010

It could be a growth spurt. Give it a few days. This is totally normal... BFing is so overwhelming at first but it is worth it. Hugs mama.

TradeMama

My LO is 8 days old and is slowly spacing out feelings. He started at hourly feedings and now is at 2-3 hours. 

wcvsb3b5

bhjones1980:

I was there last week,now at 11 days old he is starting to space them out more, he went 4 hours last night between feelings, it was great!

All of this. She is starting to sleep longer and nurse less frequently. I think it's just something that takes time.

jenb1205

wcvsb3b5:

bhjones1980:

I was there last week,now at 11 days old he is starting to space them out more, he went 4 hours last night between feelings, it was great!

All of this. She is starting to sleep longer and nurse less frequently. I think it's just something that takes time.

Yep. This. He's still feeding a lot during the day but usually 2 four hour stretches at night.

surpriseaddition

faupanda:

Make her a bit uncomfy so she wakes back up. Make her cold, tickle her, change her diaper. We typically feed, then I burp her, change her diaper [which really makes her mad], then back to feed and sleep. Sometimes we add another dipe change in there. My LC also suggested getting them down to their diaper then rubbing them with a baby wipe. It sounds cruel but that's what we did with DD1 when she was a babe because she was losing weight. She always fell asleep at the breast when feeding in the beginning.

I also had to resort to the cold washcloth on her to stimulate her, since my LO was losing a lot of weight and was also jaundice.  She had a biliblanket that we were using at home the first two days, and that really make it hard to wake her.  Now she is 12 days and is doing much better.  It will get better, and be so worth it!  BF can be hard at first, but is way easier after the first few weeks than using bottles.  GL!

evelyntaylor

It's exhausting but that is what she needs and this will only help establish your supply and keep the demand coming for her needs. If you're truly concerned, talk to an LC. It's very normal for babies to nurse that often and even "cluster feed" for several hours.

slweaver0626

Thanks ladies! She is eating just fine, but I have actually had to start pumping because my body is producing more than she can consume.