New Mom to a newborn

Faith - posted on 09/21/2009

My baby did the same thing and I wondered if she was getting enough to eat. I finnaly figured it out: she was trying to bring my milk supply up. Your milk is on supply and demand. All that extra sucking is to bring up your supply. Let your baby have it when she wants it.
I had one mom tell me she would never be a pacifier for her baby- she only nursed 3 weeks!
It WILL GET BETTER!! The best thing for us was to let her nurse whenever she wanted to. They also tend to have growth spurts a 6, 8, and 12 weeks when they will seem to want to nurse all the time.
Maybe you could try a sling so you can walk around and nurse at the same time.
Your doing great, keep it up!
ps. I also did not give her a pacifier for the first 6 weeks (just my choice).

Dawn - posted on 09/21/2009

as the other mums have said - this can happen in the first few weeks. i kept a feeding diary when my baby was born but gave up after 3 weeks because it was so erratic from day to day. even now 4 months on i can feed her and 10 mins later she wants more, but then she can go for hours inbetween. growth spurts cause them to feed more too. the good thing about breastfeeding is your baby can take what she needs when she needs it and not what some baby book tells you they should be having by the oz.
staying on your boob can be fustrating but won't last forever, try looking at this as a time to bond because soon enough she be off exploring the world on her own and you'll miss this time.

Amanda - posted on 09/21/2009

No i dont believe you are doing anything wrong. My daughter did the exact same thing. At points she would cry and cry just to be on the breast, and when i gave it to her, she would just sit there for about 2 hours. I asked a nurse that visited me regularly and she told me that sometimes its eiether just comfort from mommy, or she is just hungry. Your daughter knows what she wants. Just try your best not to get to stressed about this, i know its easier said then done, but in a few weeks, you will be so happy that you didnt give it up. She will slow down soon.

Rebecca - posted on 09/20/2009

Yeah my bub was permantly attached to my boob. I'm not sure what he always did it but I just went with it. There were times when he woulnd't let me put him down and other times he was happy to sleep on his own. I got a sling when he was 6 weeks old, and it made him happy just to be close to me. I wish I'd gotten it right from the start. My baby is almost 8 months old and he still likes to breast feed, although now it's just for comfort, because I am back at work there is hardly any milk left.
My mother also tried to convince me that it wasn't ok for bub to be eating all the time and that I should feed him on a schedule and if he didn't comply to it to put him on formula. I think it's just a thing with women her age, back then they had sucessfully convinced women that formula was best, and now you can't tell them otherwise! Of course they know better, they've raised xx (insert number) kids!!

Mary - posted on 09/20/2009

This is exactly what I experienced with my son the first few weeks and after a lot of researching, reading and talking to other moms (including my own) I learned that this was very normal. Trust me, you are doing nothing wrong...in fact I'd say your doing everything right and you just need to get past these first few weeks. It will get easier!



The first week or so is the hardest because not only are you still establishing your milk supply, but your baby is still getting used to not only breastfeeding, but the world in general. She naturally wants to be close to you because that is where she has been for 9 months. Also, their strongest instinct right now are to suckle so of course she wants to be at the breast all the time. At this stage the best thing to do is to let her feed whenever she wants and to still keep her close during non-feeding times. As time goes on and she becomes more playful and aware, she will not need as much attention and feeding times will begin to spread out and become more goal oriented. Also, your milk will continue to come in and you will find that in a few weeks she will not be as interested in feeding as often; in fact you may find yourself wanting to feed her more often then she wants ;-)

Good luck and try to keep up the good work!!

Tammy - posted on 09/20/2009

Have you ever worked with a lactation nurse? Don't give up. Your milk has probably not come in completley. It's all about supply and demand. The more she wants the more your body will produce. DO NOT give up. You will look back on this and not even be able to remember it. It is a great gift you can give to your baby. It is soooo special that only the two of you can share. I had a terrible time breast feeding for the first time. My daughter had a hard time latching on. We were always seeing the lactaion nurse. EVERY HOUR AND A HALF (literally) I would feed for ten minutes on one breast 10 minutes on the other breast then pump for 10 minutes while my husband fed her the little breast milk I produced from a bottle. She ended up dropping to much weight so we did have to supplement with formula for a few bottles just so she wouldn't starve. Milk became like gold to us. In the end it worked out great. I nursed my little girl until she was 26 months old. I also took an herbal supplement called fenugreek you can get it any where. It increases your milk supply. I even pumped at work the times I new she would want to feed. Hang in there it is so new for both of you. You guys will get and you'll be glad you did congrats!:)

Dana - posted on 09/20/2009

With my last baby... my milk didn't even come in until a week or maybe a day or two after... So I think my daughter was always hungry because there was no milk there... only the colostrum.

Nicole - posted on 09/20/2009

No pun intended, lol!

Nicole - posted on 09/20/2009

Agree with all said, I just wanted to post a thought. My first two (boys by the way) nursed and nursed and nursed, on the hour. My first took 45 minutes to nurse so I'd only have 15 minutes before we started again. They were like that for a long while because they grew so fast. But it does start to even out; follow your baby's cues and you'll be fine. I did want to say with my first, he would scream and nurse and cry and pull away. I had a bit of a problem with fast let-down so it would squirt into his mouth and then he also had reflux. That would make him want to nurse but then fuss when he did and arch back, spit up and start over. My third has reflux too though she didn't seem as bad as my first. If your baby keeps pulling away, crying/screaming, it may be worth getting checked out. My pediatrician just held my daughter, gave her a little sugar water from a syringe and could tell from her movements. Good luck and go with flow! :)

Hope - posted on 09/20/2009

When they say that babies nurse about every two hours they mean two hours from the time the last started feeding not two hours from the last time they stopped feeding. This was news to me when I was breastfeeding. In the beginning my baby would nurse for 45 min to an hour. I felt like all I did was nurse too. Eventually there little bellies get bigger, your milk supply increases, they become better at nursing and they don't take so long to eat and life will get easier. Don't be discouraged.

Sarah - posted on 09/19/2009

Newborns will feed very frequently the first few weeks. It takes time for the milk to fully come in and change from colostrom (early milk in the first few days, thick and yellowy) to full milk. She will feed frequently to increase your supply to match her needs. I know this is tiring, but if you are wanting to breastfeed, it is necessary to go through. It will space out, but then she will go through periodic growth spurts (usually around 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months) where she will increase her demand for feeding to increase your supply again (to match her needs). When you feel tired, just remember, this will pass and she will feed less often and for shorter periods. As they get bigger, they also get more efficient with their suck and can take larger amounts in a quicker amount of time and will need to feed less often. Congratulations on the birth of your daughter and good luck!

Stina - posted on 09/19/2009

At 1 week, she's still establishing your milk supply. Nurse her as often as she needs to- this might mean every hour at some times.



Make sure her latch is good- when you hold her, make sure her body is aligned- it's hard to eat if your head is way over to the side or tilted back. and imagine a rod through her naval and straight through your body. she should be facing you. For a newborn this is easier to achieve if: For the right breast, you hold her in your left arm with your hand supporting her head- then your right hand holds your nippleand when she opens wide, pull her in towards you. If her mouth is open wide on your nipple covering as much as possible and you can't hear any clicking, you've got it... check with your ped or a lactation consultant to make sure you've got it right.



I was very sore while my recent baby was born. #3 and we still had to learn how to nurse lol. I pumped a relief bottle in those early days and let my husband give her one while I got extra sleep. It really helped me survive till things got easier with nursing.



It will get easier. My dd is 5 months and has spread out her nursing sessions enough that I find myself counting on my fingers at the end of the day cause it seems like she isn't eating enough... but she's at my breast 6-8 times a day still, starting rice cereal and wetting diapers like crazy as well as growing well. So. I'm just thankful after feeling joined at the boob for those first months that she's spacing things out.



Keep it up and hang in there.

Kasasanda - posted on 09/19/2009

I work for the wic office and can you tell more? when you put your baby to the breast do her month open wide and how off then are you feeding baby that are breast feed eat more then baby that bottle feed I know it is hard but you can do it my baby is 8 month and I am still breast her

Martha - posted on 09/18/2009

I still feel like my little one and I are attached at the boob/mouth!

It does get better!!!!!

One thing that you can do to make sure that you are letting down for her so that she is getting milk, is to pump some before you nurse so that you know that your milk has let down. Sometimes it takes a while for your hormones to figure out what they need to do in a timely fashon. So pump so your milk is flowing, latch on and let her nurse until She detaches.

Newborns do nurse A LOT!!! tiny stomachs and their bodys trying to adjust do digestion and all that good stuff they do now that they aren't fed straight glucose.

Patience is key. When my daughter was first born I made sure that I had a very comfy chair (a glider rocker with arms) and a cup of decaf tea and some music or a book. We would spend most of the day hanging out nursing in this chair.

Nature is AMAZING!!! Right now your body needs you to rest so that it can recover from pregnancy, and delivery!! Sit, relax and enjoy your new baby and know that it does get easier and she will detach and stop crying!

Best of luck to you!

Rebecca - posted on 09/18/2009

A breastfed baby will eat VERY frequently and for long periods of time, that will start to taper off around 1-2 months. It sounds like your milk has come in which is not uncomon in first time moms to take up to 5-7 days. Dont be afraid when she may start to "cluster" feed alot and fuss again at some point, this is her way of increasing your milk supply during a growth spurt and will settle in a few days once your supply catches up. Really try not to offer anything but the breast at least for the first 4-6 weeks as baby is establishing your milk supply and becoming a good breastfeeder. There is no need at all for formula, unless your baby is loosing weight and not peeing and pooping enough. But sometimes that can be remedied without formula as well. Do you have people to support you with your breastfeeding? Is there a breastfeeding support group you can go to? A lactation consultant? You need all the support you can get when first learning to breastfeed as it is physically and emotionally draining and this can make new moms whos hormones are already all over the place to think that they cant do it or that there is an issue with their supply. And once you start to supplement it is very difficult to get out of that rutt. As for the timings of when your baby eats, just feed when babys asks for it, dont always be looking at the clock. Take care!

Rebecca - posted on 09/18/2009

I know what you mean about the "advice"... My mom took us to her first doc appt. and she told the pediatrician that the baby was eating too much. Of course he said she should eat every 2 hours and feed as long as she wants. My mom keeps pushing me to put her on strictly formula too which I don't want to do. I was supplementing some until (like I said) today which it seems she is actually getting full off of the breast milk. It is still taking a long time for her to feed but it is working out now I think... I hope anyway! lol

Rene' - posted on 09/18/2009

well good luck and I know exactly how you feel, and as all these ladies have said it does get easier,my little one is now 4 months old but I remember all to well how you are feeling and not to mention my family, they always had something to say like "Are you feeding her again or Your just not giving her enough you should try and give her a bottle" which was soooo much more frustrating, but we made it and she is a pro at is now and you too will find your comfort zone with bf. Good luck!!

Rebecca - posted on 09/18/2009

Well ladies, I posted this yesterday and today seems to be different. LOL She is feeding every 2 hours and sleeping... so idk what was going on!

Amanda - posted on 09/18/2009

it is possible that since she is only a week old that your milk has not come in yet and you still have your colustrum, she might be getting a little frusterated about that, more than likely she will be happier when your milk finally comes in, it sounds like she is really wearing you out, you might want to consider co-sleeping so she can just easily latch on on night (yes it is possible even at this young!) that way you dont have to get up and down over and over, I was not comfortable co sleeping with my boy in the same bed as my husband, its a very small bed and I dont think there would be enough room for everyone to be comfy, plus hubby snores, so Case and I have been sleeping on the couch, I feel better about that anyway since I can put him in between the back of the couch and my body so I dont worry about him rolling off the couch.

Lucy - posted on 09/18/2009

Young babies do feed very frequently, as their tummy's are so tiny and breastmilk is so easily digested. As she gets older the frequency of feedings will slow down. For now keep on putting her to your boob whenever she shows signs of getting fussy etc and the crying should be minimised.

Minnie - posted on 09/18/2009

She's going to want to be effectively attached to you for at least the first couple of months. That's normal.

Breastmilk is digested very quickly. In about half an hour.

Breastfeeding is an extremely important source of immunities, growth factors, and comfort.

Try getting a soft carrier, like a sling, wrap, or a mei tai and wearing her in that. Let her nurse at her pleasure, with frequent and unrestricted access to your breast.

The normal course of breastfeeding, as evidenced by mammals genetically close to us (primates) and in traditional cultures (like the !Kung San) appears to be short feedings, of only a few minutes, several times an hour (typically four).

If someone told you that she should be feeding 20 minutes every three hours, well, understand that that is an ideal that is the product of western culture.

Wear your baby strapped to your body and let her nurse as she wants to. Try breast compressions to help her get as much of the fatty hindmilk as possible.

You're not doing anything wrong. Nurse your baby when she wants it, make sure latch is good, and you'll produce adequate milk. You just need to adjust your perceptions of what breastfeeding should be like and how vulnerable and needy your baby truly is.

Carla - posted on 09/18/2009

I wouldnt offer a dummy at this stage, she will be trying to establish your supply and feeding very often is the best way to do it. It should settle down in the next week or so when your milk is plentiful. It is very normal for a breastfed baby to want to eat every 2 hours or so though, even when your supply iis established. They do get better as they get older and their tummys are bigger. If baby is having plenty of wet nappies and doesnt look dehydrated she is getting enough. Keep doing things as you are and things will get easier. breastfeeding is hard work for the first few weeks but totally worth it once you get past that.



Oh and congrats on your little one!!

Rebecca - posted on 09/18/2009

I tried that... I thought that she was just sucking for comfort. But, she just screamed when I tried the dummy... But I swear I feel like she is constantly attached to me! lol

Cherie - posted on 09/17/2009

when a baby feeds off the breast she will eat then rest, then eat then rest. the only thing with breastfeeding is that you dont know how much she is getting. so i would say there could be two problems. 1. either she is not getting enough, or 2 she is sucking for comfort. that was one of the reasons i gave my baby a dummy. she would just want to suck but not for food for comfort, after i gave her the dummy, she calmed down