Two weeks in, and we seem to be doing ok. I have managed to get both children up, dressed, fed and out the door by 9am twice this week by myself. I’m expecting my medal any day now.
- My son is going on 9 weeks now, and he was eating 5-6 oz every 3-4 hours just up until a day or two ago. Now he's on a feeding frenzy, having 6 oz and then 20 minutes later taking another 2 oz, and another 20 min. After that another 2. He stops once he gets to ten but that seems like an awful lot to me.
- » 3 week old formula fed baby - does this count as a 'hungry baby' Start new thread in this topic. He weighed 8lb 13 oz at birth and last week was 9.5lbs. DS1 was also a larger baby (9lb 3 at birth) and he needed aptamil hungry baby from about 6 weeks. She cried an awful lot and seemed terribly cross, like she was in a feeding frenzy.
When your baby stops suckling, closes his or her mouth, or turns away from the nipple or bottle, he or she might be full — or simply taking a break. Try burping your baby or waiting a minute before offering your breast or the bottle again. As your baby gets older, he or she may take in more milk in less time at each feeding.
My husband is taking a bit of a staggered paternity leave so this has obviously meant me having to negotiate handling a three and a half year old who adores her new brother, but who is also learning how to share her mum for the first time. We have had mixed results…
As well as table graffiti and cereal tantrums my daughter also decided she would refuse to take part in a single race at her sports day, despite her practising for weeks on end. But rather than getting frustrated or angry at this whilst I sat between the other proud parents watching all their children partake, I did what most early postnatal women do and I just cried my little heart out. So much so that another mum had to come and console me on the side lines – mortifying!
So I am therefore concluding that my postnatal feeding hormones have kicked in this week. Not only because of the irrational teary outbursts but because I am absolutely ravenous. I feel like the hungry caterpillar; on Monday Claire ate one giant bar of Dairy Milk, on Tuesday she had two peanut butter and banana sandwiches (at 4am!) and on Wednesday she devoured 3 platefuls at the Pizza Hut buffet – seriously!
But I am in good company, as Rowan has also found his appetite this week. After initially losing weight on day 5 (a very normal, physiological part of early newborn life, a post to follow on this) he was weighed this week and he is 300 grams above his birth weight. He put on 10 ounces in 4 days – chunk!
It is always so reassuring as a mum to find out your baby is thriving and gaining weight well. This is especially true I find when women are breastfeeding. It is extremely common in our society for breastfeeding mothers to question ‘whether they have enough milk’. And unfortunately frequent feeding is often misinterpreted as a sign of insufficient milk supply. I totally understand why, though. If women are brought up to believe that babies feed every 3-4 hours and that the clock plays such an important role in feeding (duration, intervals, sleep), and then their babies come out wanting to feed every 1-2 hours, sometimes with gaps of no longer than 5-10 minutes and lasting occasionally over an hour, they will naturally deem their child to be starving.
Some babies will feed every 3-4 hours but most babes certainly will not. That is why ‘baby led’ feeding or ‘responsive feeding’ is so important. Neither your mother, your neighbour, your midwife, and especially not Gina Ford, knows how regularly YOUR baby will want to feed, but luckily your baby will. So follow your baby’s lead and feed them whenever they show signs of being hungry. This way your baby and boobs will be in sync.
For the purpose of the blog and to hopefully give mums a ‘normal’ perspective of a healthy, breastfed, newborn’s feeding pattern I have recorded Rowan’s feeds over the past 24 hours.
- 22:20 8 minutes right breast
- 22:30 8 minutes left breast
- 22:47 7 minutes left breast
- 01:06 9 minutes right breast
- 01:29 5 minutes left breast
- 02:57 6 minutes left breast
- 03:04 5 minutes right breast
- 04:38 7 minutes left breast
- 06:29 7 minutes right breast
- 07:00 5 minutes left breast
- 08:09 3 minutes right breast
- 08:55 4 minutes left breast
- 09:02 3 minutes left breast
- 09:37 8 minutes right breast
- 09:55 4 minutes right breast
- 11:31 6 minutes right breast
- 11:39 8 minutes left breast
- 12:55 9 minutes left breast
- 14:35 15 minutes right breast
- 16:05 10 minutes left breast
- 17:05 8 minutes right breast
- 18:55 9 minutes left breast
- 19:20 6 minutes right breast
- 19:42 6 minutes right breast
- 19:58 3 minutes right breast
- 20:18 4 minutes left breast
He’s a feeder!
Counting each individual episode at the breast that is 26 feeds in just one 24-hour period. I honestly had no idea that Rowan actually fed this often. But this schedule is HIS very own ‘baby led’ feeding log. It’s a boring read, I am well aware, but hopefully mums can take away from this that frequent feeding is often NOT a sign of low milk supply. You can also see from the feeding log that not one of Rowan’s feeds lasted longer than 15 minutes, and that I am rubbish at remembering which breast I fed off last.
Miraculously in between all this feeding I still managed to take my daughter to and from preschool, care for my new son, let our cleaner in (I’m such a trooper) and obviously I made time for a food shop.
**Sneaks off to the cupboard for a late night bowl of Rice Krispies. Or two.**
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Ask Anne…
Question:My seven week old baby girl wants to nurse constantly from the hours of 5:00 pm until she goes to bed, which is normally around 11:00 pm. What is causing the constant eating? Is she getting enough from me to satisfy her? She wants to nurse again 45 minutes to an hour after she finishes eating. Please help!
Answer: It is completely normal for a baby this age to still nurse frequently. Your baby will double her birth weight by the time she is five or six months old, and triple it by a year. That’s a lot of growing to do in these early months!
Breastfed babies do tend to nurse more often because human milk is more easily digested than formula, and empties from their stomachs faster. This means more frequent feedings, but less colic, illness, constipation, and allergies.
9 Week Baby Ultrasound
All babies will start going longer stretches between feedings as they get older, but the timetable is different for each baby. Is your baby gaining weight adequately? That’s really the most important thing at this point.
Babies will periodically go on “growth spurts” during the early months of nursing. This means that they are growing so quickly that your milk supply needs to increase to meet their demands. The most common time for growth spurts is around 10 days, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months. The best way to boost your milk production is by nursing more often for a few days (“Cluster Feeding”) until the supply catches up. She may be going through one of these growth spurts now.
It is also a very common pattern for babies to have their fussiest period of the day during the hours from dinnertime til bedtime. For some reason, they will fight sleep even when their eyelids are drooping and you KNOW they must be exhausted. This nightly period of cluster feeding and fighting sleep also coincides with the time of day when you are the most tired, your milk supply is lowest, and you are trying to cook dinner and spend some time with your partner. I know that is is a frustrating situation for you, but maybe knowing how common is it and that it won’t last forever will make you feel a little bit better. Eventually your baby will be on more of a predictable schedule, I promise.
Anne Smith, IBCLC
Breastfeeding Basics