Breastfeeding

[KellyD92]

Hi I have my newborn who is 2 weeks old I've been trying to breast feed and he's having formula top ups with the intention of cutting out formula all together but he's constantly on my breasts and then screaming like he's still hungry, he supposed to be only having two top ups of formula but I don't know if my breast milk is filling him enough, I've attached a picture of yesterday's feeding record.

[Claireeeeeeeeeeeee]

Cluster feeding is completely normal and with a 2 week old you will feel like you are feeding all the time. With my first from about 6pm till 11pm mine would just switch between both sides constantly. It's how they increase supply for the next day. Its really hard work to start with but gets easier as you both get more used to it.

[Sunnyday33]

Keep going! Baby is getting used to you, it's early days. Your health visitor can provide help and refer to a BF specialist if needed

[Seb9]

Hey there, are you giving top ups because of weight issues or just because you're concerned they're not getting enough breast milk? If you're having weight gain and plenty of wet dirty nappies then the formula top ups may mean that your supply is not being built up enough, so you end up in a bit of a top up trap with formula, as the more formula you give the less milk you'll produce. Constantly feeding is really normal in young babies and it's the way that baby is telling your body how much milk to produce, the more your let baby nurse the more milk you'll supply, but it's not instant and the more formula you give the less milk making signals your body is receiving. Could you try expressing the milk top ups or when feeding from one boob see if you can collect any leakage from the other boob? I've been using a Hakka on the bin I'm not feeding from and then giving that to baby. That way baby is still getting a bit extra but your body knows to produce it for next time.

[Gloria_B]

Congratulations! You can take a look to this and find a local group if you would like to connect with other breastfeeding mums: laleche.org.uk/signs-effect...

[KellyD92]

Thank you everyone, he's 3 week old today, I was giving him top ups as I was worried he wasn't getting enough but today myself and my midwife have decided to try doing no formula top ups so fingers crossed he doesn't lose any weight as I want to exclusively breastfeed, he doesn't like breast milk out of the bottle. This is the feeding diary from today. I was worried about him constantly feeding from me but I've heard that it's normal for young babies

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[Treeoflife42]

Feed him as often as he asks, there is no need to wait until he cries, look out for signs like sucking hands, looking around. Position makes a huge difference, especially for little babies with little mouths (like mine was). Little (and not so little!) babies like to be held A LOT, which is great for them if exhausting for you. Do what you can to provide as much contact as possible.

Breastfeeding Made Easy: a gift for life for you and your baby by Dr Carlos Gonzalez is a wonderful book that I have found invaluable. La Leche league also have fantastic resources.

I had similar struggles with my little boy at the beginning and I am happy to report that we ditched the top ups at 6 weeks because he started refusing them (I suspect because he was feeding better, with a bigger mouth, more practice and a slightly more experienced mum), and we are still happily breastfeeding at 19 months. Best of luck, you are doing an amazing job xxx