Feeding

ahill1889

My daughter is 3 weeks old, and wants to feed every hour.  I am breastfeeding, so my nipples are really sore and pink, but I don't want to not feed her if she's hungry.  What should I do?  Is she just going through a growth spurt, or could I not be producing enough?  She goes through several diapers a day, and seems to be gaining weight and length, but how can I tell she's getting enough?

sarajo317

Yes.. around 3 weeks they have a growth spurt!!!

This is when I had to stop BF and only formula feed - I wasnt producing even 1 oz.. and DD wasnt having it!!!!

USCgirl

I think he hardest thing about BF is not knowing how much your LO is getting. If you are concerned about her not getting enough then call your pediatrician. But, she probably is if she is having enough dirty and wet diapers.

I have been concerned about that it the past too. If my LO is fussy, I automatically assume it is because my milk supply went down. But, I have come to realize that sometimes he is just fussy and it has nothing to do with how much I am producing. In the past, if I was concerned about my supply I would give him a bottle of expressed BM just so I knew how much he was getting. This also helped me to see that despite getting plenty to eat, he was still fussy so it wasn't me. 

I haven't given my LO any formula, I would only do that after talking with a pediatrician and if there was no alternatives.  

USCgirl

oh, and if she wants to eat every hour (which is very normal), feed her every hour. This will also help build your milk supply. 

here is some info from Kellymom.com re: growth spurts & BF

https://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/growth-spurt.html