Moms who BF

Was there ever a time when you felt like you DC was never satisfied with the breast???? It's as if she wants to eat every hour! I don't know if she's falling asleep on there before she's full or if she's not getting enough but it's really bad. She seems so hungry and fussy. Is it bad to feed on demand and have these marathon feeding schedules? Will it get easier??? She is only 9 days old. I don't know how I can keep up. I am a walking boob.

Re: Moms who BF

if she is really fussy, maybe some reflux, which makes her uncomfortable, and she drinks to relieve the pain. but once she stops, the pain comes back and you get a vicisous cycle.

just a thought.....

or she's just hungry.


sorry, not much help i know.

Re: Moms who BF

I never really felt like he was unsatisfied, I knew I was producing enough because I was always leaking.

But he would stay on for long periods of time. I honestly think that is normal and alotof it is the baby needs to soothe him/herself.

It does get easier, so much easier. Gavin is 5 months today and it has gotten so much better and I LOVE nursing him.

Message edited 9/7/2008 8:58:08 AM.

Re: Moms who BF

Posted by mikeswife06

Was there ever a time when you felt like you DC was never satisfied with the breast???? It's as if she wants to eat every hour! I don't know if she's falling asleep on there before she's full or if she's not getting enough but it's really bad. She seems so hungry and fussy. Is it bad to feed on demand and have these marathon feeding schedules? Will it get easier??? She is only 9 days old. I don't know how I can keep up. I am a walking boob.

Re: Moms who BF

BF babies can feed when ever they want--lol I BF both my kids and I'm still EBF Todd Jr, he eats a lot and he's 4 months! He will eat every 2 hours now. When he was a few weeks old he would eat like every hour, once they start on solid foods they don't BF as much anymore.

I'm a walking boob for the first year! It will get better though....

Re: Moms who BF

Posted by mikeswife06

Was there ever a time when you felt like you DC was never satisfied with the breast???? It's as if she wants to eat every hour!
Oh, heck yea!! Especially early on, when she was eating every hour or two!

I don't know if she's falling asleep on there before she's full or if she's not getting enough but it's really bad. She seems so hungry and fussy.
She might have gas. Make sure to burp her. I know it's hard to do when baby is asleep b/c you feel like burping will wake the baby. You have to do it though. Chances are she is falling asleep b/c she is so young, and at that age, sleep is a huge priority.


Is it bad to feed on demand and have these marathon feeding schedules?
Feeding on demand is highly recommended for a BF baby. At 9 months I just stopped feeding on demand and started to try a schedule in preparation for her staring daycare in January.

Will it get easier??? She is only 9 days old. I don't know how I can keep up. I am a walking boob.
It will definitely get easier as time goes on. Probably in another 3 weeks. You will keep up, even on those days where you are totally convinced you can't do it anymore. Your love for your child will overcome your doubts. And if that doesn't work, I recommend handing DC to DH and jumping in the shower and turning the water on as hot as you can stand it for about 15 minutes. You'll come out a new person, and WILL get through it. BFing is hard work. The problem is, that all the classes you take don't prepare you for that reality. This board and the ladies who BF are an amazing resource and ALWAYS full of encouragement when you're feeling down.

Good luck, and hang in there. You are welcome to FM me at any time for advice and/or encouragment.

Re: Moms who BF

I know my DS (and DD when she was little) goes through growth spurts where he will eat every 1-2 hours rather than every 2-3. They seem to happen every 7-10 days-ish.

Re: Moms who BF

It will definately get easier. I'm still BFing and it's six months later. It's such a challenge - felt this way with both of my children. THis time around I just kept telling myself that he's getting enough. Unfortunately in the begininng they really do nurse a lot. I fed sometimes every hour too but if this is something that you want to do, then patience is very important.

At one month I started to give him a pacifier to sooth him because sometimes they are not hungry. Many times they just want to suck. If he was very fussy and still crying wit the pacifer then I new he was definately hungry.

Good luck.

Re: Moms who BF

I would feed on demand. I didn't (I didn't really know any better) and I really think that contributed to all the supply issues I had.

Re: Moms who BF

OH it get soooo much easier. There were days in the beginning where I felt like all I did was feed him all day long. That should be your only responsibility right now! Get someone else to do the food shopping and chores! HA

Re: Moms who BF

Feed on demand and you will be blessed with an abundant supply. It is SO hard in the first few weeks- but I PROMISE it will get better.

Your job right now is ONLY: eat, sleep, nurse the baby.

I loved BFing and did it until DD was 11 months old. But I remember I was pretty miserable those first few weeks. Please feel free to fm me with any questions as well.

Re: Moms who BF

It DOES get easier!

Re: Moms who BF

Re: Moms who BF

in the beginning my ds ate every 1-2 hours and it took a good 45 minutes for him to eat. My day consisted of feeding ds and little else. It wiill get better. As pp said when she is a month old find a pacifier she likes. My ds will only use a soothie from first years. That helped a lot because then i was not the human pacifier. Now at 8 months he just nurses a lot when his teeth hurt. otherwise he can go a few hours between feedinds and only nurses for 5-10 minutes eat time. good luck and hang in there

Re: Moms who BF

Thank you so much everyone. I am so glad to hear this is "normal". I will keep feeding on demand even if it is every hour. I am determined to make this work.

Re: Moms who BF

I felt the same way you did - like my ds was eating constantly. I knew it wasn't a latching problem b/c my son had no latching problems from day one. I spoke to the ped. and she recommended I try pumping to see how much milk I was producing. I pumped and it wound up that I wasn't producing enough for my son. The ped. told me to supplement some formula in addition to my milk. So we did that for about 6 weeks and then I switched entirely to formula. Maybe you could try pumping to see how much milk you are producing? This way you can see if that's the problem or not. Good luck...and I hope you get some rest!

Re: Moms who BF

Babies that young take FOREVER to BF. I started pumping at night to help cut down on the time.

It will get better. Right now DD is still learning how to eat and isn't efficient yet. Plus she falls asleep when eating so she may not be full.

I used to get up, feed her a bottle of BM, then pump, and then TRY to go back to bed. That whole scenerio took about 30-45 minutes, as apposed to the minimum hour that my DD took to eat. Plus it got her used to the bottle. But most lactation specialists would be completely against it.

Do what's best for you or try to ride it out until she gets better.

Re: Moms who BF

Posted by cluprncs3

I felt the same way you did - like my ds was eating constantly. I knew it wasn't a latching problem b/c my son had no latching problems from day one. I spoke to the ped. and she recommended I try pumping to see how much milk I was producing. I pumped and it wound up that I wasn't producing enough for my son. The ped. told me to supplement some formula in addition to my milk. So we did that for about 6 weeks and then I switched entirely to formula. Maybe you could try pumping to see how much milk you are producing? This way you can see if that's the problem or not. Good luck...and I hope you get some rest!

Message edited 9/7/2008 3:22:53 PM.

Re: Moms who BF

I was constantly BFing until I went to the dr and he said that DS was not hungry as much as using me (my BBs) as a pacifier. The best advice he gave me was to feed on demand but every 2-4 hours for no longer than 15 minutes per breast.