Evening supply question

[cuckoochick]

Hi there,

First time I've posted a question so I hope I do it right! 

My LO (7 weeks old today) has had a few nights of evening fussiness where she has fed like crazy for hours upon end never seeming satisfied. Is this her way of programming my body to make more milk in the evening or is it (as I suspect) because she had a cold and was really OT? The fussiness seems to have ended in the last 2 nights and there has not been any manic, frenzied feeding but now I am getting really full by the time she needs to feed next. Is it best to pump the milk to keep the supply there? I must admit, I have not pumped milk since the very early days as I have always had a good supply. We're currently not doing a DF either as I'm quite happy for a middle of the night feed at this stage.

At the moment she is settling somewhere between 7 and 8pm and sleeping until between 3 and 4am and then between 7 and 8am.

Thanks so much in advance! I am so in awe of the people on here as have been frantically reading posts here for weeks trying to understand my LO! 

[Tay]

Hi there and Welcome to the Boards!
Only seen your post now.
It seems like your LO had a growth spurt and that was causing the fussiness and the constant feeding. It is pretty common around 6 weeks but some babies will have it slightly earlier and some slightly later.
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=66001.0
You're absolutely right to say that t6his is the way to teach your body to make more milk, your LO needs more, therefore feeds more often which gives your body the signal do make more.

but now I am getting really full by the time she needs to feed next. Is it best to pump the milk to keep the supply there?

I wouldn't suggest you pump a lot not to cause an oversupply. I would just try to express enough to make you more comfortable and easier for your LO to latch on, if you do so your supply should start to settle in a few days.

Your LO does seem to sleep very well at night! Does she only wake up once for a feed? That's absolutely wonderful, I wouldn't mess with that either if I were you (i.e., I would not try to introduce the DF if things are working so well).
HTH
xx

[cuckoochick]

Thanks for your reply! Can't quite work out my LO to be honest!!!!

Not sure whether it is a growth spurt (I thought we went through that at 5 weeks when she was having a lot of evening fussiness) or whether she has been getting over having a cold or just being really OT. So much varies with her. Sometimes if we have fab daytime naps then she will settle down between 7pm and 8pm and has been known to go until 3am (usually will go until 1am and then 4am) and then 7am-8am ish. However, there are days when she sleeps well in the day and still wants to have this manic feeding where she will feed constantly, cry at the breast in frustration as it doesn't come quick enough for her, fall asleep for 5 minutes, jolt awake and then frantically root around again. This can happen for hours and hours- I just keep swapping breasts regularly but I am really not sure whether it is a hunger thing or a comfort thing. Did a bit of reading on kellymom and it seems it could be evening fussiness.

Daytime feeding is going pretty well (I think) with 2.5- 3 hours between feeds and plenty of output in nappies but then these evenings make you question your supply, your commitment to breastfeeding as I feel like a prisoner/pacifier to her and your abilities as a parent when she won't settle and you know she is so so so tired.
We need to try to do the whole teaching her independent sleep thing because right now she only wants to fall asleep on the breast. Shhhh pat was working really well for us (we were kind of using it as a prop though as we patted her until she was pretty much asleep and then lay her down) but now that seems to make her angry and as soon as we swaddle her up she cries. She totally fights sleep and would happily lie and play for hours and hours (Getting more and more tired) but she doesn't want to give in!


Sorry for the long rant- I am just feeling desperately anxious about it all and really don't know where to start- evening sleep, daytime (I know they are linked) removing props. Just hate not knowing what to do!

Thanks for listening (if you got to the end of this!) It really is much appreciated! x

[Tay]

Just read it on the phone so I can't go into a proper reply now but will get back to you later on. It's tough sometimes but I feel I can help you settle a bit- a hopefully your LO too!
To help me: can you please post you typical day in EAS format?
xx