My baby eats ALL THE TIME.
I am extremely grateful that BFing is going so well and my baby is a super eater (she was back to her birth weight as of yesterday, at 5 days old!) but OMG, I am a ball and chain right now! She only cries when she's hungry and she eats CONSTANTLY. We've had lots of cluster feeding where she is literally wanting more as soon as we're done. I'm feeding every hour, and that's timing from when we start. Someone please tell me that eventually I will get a break!
My other issue is that I want to do some pumping so that I can get a break and DH can feed her ... but I don't know when I'm supposed to pump if she's eating so frequently. If I pump after I feed her, and then she wants more food again shortly after feeding, I might have nothing left!
Feeding issues are stressing me out. Any tips for ravenous eaters???
Re: My baby eats ALL THE TIME.
Are you sure she's eating as opposed to comfort sucking? Have you tried to slip a paci in there??
You'll eventually get a break. I'd try to break the suction & try a paci to see if she just wants comfort. ?
I would recommend not starting to pump until week 3 or 4. You want to let you body get your supply figured out first or you could end up really engorged.
How long is she eating? Are you feeding on both breasts @ each feeding? You want to make sure that she eats long enough to get the hildmilk that comes later in the feeding to make her feel full for a while. But BM is easily digestable, so bf babies do eat more often. Things should level off soon. Just stick with it, things will get better and bf'ing is SO worth it!
I wish i knew what to tell you... Leo is a total piggie too. I simply can't keep up with him, so we need to supplement with formula. I keep hoping that this is just a major growth spurt and that eventually he will calm down.
I would ask on the Breastfeeding board about when to pump... the girls on there are very helpful and might have some suggestions. GL!!
It will get better and you will find a break soon. I think I started pumping at about 2 weeks... just a little here and a little there. Before you know it you will be in a routine and you will get a break! I used to go to sleep right after we put DD down for the night so that I could get a head start on sleep. DH would handle her first night feed so I could get a 4-5 hour stretch of sleep. It was a great system!
Well, I am trying both sides at each feeding ... when she's cluster feeding she doesn't always take the second breast. Sometimes it's as short as 5 minutes but mostly it's 10-15 minutes. She's also a sleepy eater and I usually have to wake her a few times during the feeding - she often stops and totally passes out and will not open her mouth at all, so I just stop.
I know that she's definitely eating because I can hear swallowing and she drools milk - so it's not just sucking.
The pedi said that she thinks I have very rich milk and is totally thrilled with her weight gain (and that's the bottom line) but I'm just exhausted and a little frustrated with trying to keep up and figure her out.
The pumping suggestion came from a home visit from a nurse - I'm totally sleep deprived (haven't slept more than 3 hours in a given 24 hour period since delivery) and she said it was a good idea to start pumping so I'd be able to get some rest. Of course that will also leave me totally engorged by going too long without feeding.
I do love BFing and the physical act is very easy and comes very naturally to her, so I guess it's just a matter of getting into a pattern and being patient.
Thanks for your tips, ladies!!!!
If you want to start pumping then you would pump after she eats (or falls asleep) or the second breast if she only eats from one. Pumping doesn't take less time, actually longer than bfing, but depending on how much you pump, you could at least have a bottle to take a break once in a while.
I know how difficult it is, I got very little sleep for the first month, but it does get better.
I pumped from the first week (and still do at work), so if you need any advice, let me know.