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Breastfeeding
tigerlove85
member
Constant BF question, pls help?
tigerlove85
member
Hello, My LO is 11 days old and is hungry every 90 minutes. She feeds for about 30 minutes at a time, so by the time she is done & I burp & change her, I barely have 45 minutes before she is looking to eat again. This is during the day & nights are only a little better. I feel like I'm going crazy & just want to cry myself. The dr said BF every 3 hours is suffice, but she obviously is hungry and will cry until I feel her. Is this frequency normal & will it get better?
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Re: Constant BF question, pls help?
It is normal and will get better. My suggestion is to just go with it. Let go of all other expectations of yourself. Put snacks, books, the TV remote and plenty of water near a comfortable spot and just nurse your baby. I know when DD was about 4 weeks old I finally got brave enough to tackle the Moby and that opened up a whole new world for me. She was content being tied to me and I was able to take care of other things around the house. Before that, though, I was stuck. And it was easier just to accept it. It won't last long.
Your doctor knows nothing about BF babies. The BM is very easily and quickly digested by their tiny tummies. She needs to eat all...the...time.
I can't remember exactly when it eased up with DD, but it did. I promise. It was really hard at first, but now I look forward to when she wants to sit still for a few minutes and nurse. I know it sounds cliche, but it goes so fast!
BFP #1 9/7/10, EDD 5/14/11, Violet born 5/27/11.
BFP #2 4/9/12, EDD 12/16/12, M/C Rory 4/24/12.
BFP #3 10/6/12, EDD 6/16/12., Matilda born 6/17/13.
Exhausting, frustrating & totally normal! The first 3 weeks are so hard. I almost threw in the towel so many times. Thankfully I was told by two different moms that at 6-8 weeks it gets drastically better so I hung in there and found that they were absolutely right.
It doesn't matter what any doctor or any book says, your baby wants to eat when they want to eat and that's who you need to listen to. During DS's 3 week growth spurt he would eat for a half hour, fall asleep (on my boob still comfort nursing) then 5-15 minutes later he'd be screaming like I hadn't fed him in days. That was by far the hardest and most exhausting growth spurt for me.
Although it may seem like BFing is the most difficult option right now (primarily because 100% of the responsibility lies with you and also because of the physical discomfort), after a couple of months it is so much easier. No bottles to make in the middle of the night or clean the next morning, no worrying about making bottles when you're out running errands, and the boob alleviates 99% of crying and fussiness.
Hang in there and do what pp said - keep plenty of water, snacks, the remote, ipod (I read about a billion books on that thing during those middle of the night nurse-a-thons), etc. close by. As hard as it is to do, try to let everything else go for at least the first 6 weeks. GL :-)
I would not follow any advice to schedule or spread out feedings at 11 days old. That's ridiculous. Feed her when she's hungry.
I know it's very difficult, but I promise it does get better; she will start to feel more satisfied, your supply will improve, and she will get more efficient at nursing. Hang in there!