how to tell if baby is getting enough at a feeding????

[shirat]

is there a way to know if ny baby is getting enough? she falls asleep a minute or so after i start nursing and when i think shes done, an hour or less s ometimes shes fussy-is she still hungry?

[*Ali*]

How old is your baby? I see from your other post you were due this month so I'm assuming just a week or two?
It's really normal for babies to be sleepy at this age and feed regularly. It will help your supply to feed frequently.
Is she having plenty of wet and dirty nappies? That is a good sign she is getting enough.

[YussiCat]

My daughter did the same, I was told by my lactation consultant to gently rub her bottom lip to get her to suck longer, or rub her cheek, her ear... But if all that fails which it did for me, I second Ali, feed often, as much as LO wants or needs, I fed my DD every time she cried and to be honest even when she didn't because I needed to boost  my milk supply. Your LO is so young all you can do is make her only source of nutrient available to her often,  very often and if she gets enough opportunity and if you can increase the time she stay awake on the breast by even 10% by rubbing her gently, that times many many feeds, chances are she will be getting what she needs and it will keep your supply up for when she is more active and awake. Good luck and keep up the good work mama!

[HN2012]

The way to tell if your bub is getting enough is if they are doing alot of wet/soiled nappies and weight gain. I am always worried about my son who is 4 weeks old,because he is always hungry but he is putting on heaps of weight and is doing alot of wet/soiled nappies. All I can say is keep waking her up to get her to feed longer.

[shirat]

thanks everyone for replying. I just had a 3 week checkup with the dr and she is not gaining enough. the Dr said i need to give her 5 bottles, 3 ounces each now. plus i woke this morning in sever pain- i think it is another breast infection. I think i am going to have to give up nursing....

[*Ali*]

Oh dear. Sorry to hear that.

Are you happy with your decision or would you like help with avoiding having to give up nursing?

Are you feeding frequently still?

[EllenS]

If you do decide you want to try to continue, there are lots of things you can do to help.  Even supplementing as the Dr. said does not have to be the end of nursing - sometimes it is just a temporary measure.  Check back in, there's loads of help around here if you would like to try.

[Fiver]

If you want to continue, perhaps you could pump some supplemental milk and offer by cup/syringe and then BF?  Sometimes LOs are just too tired to nurse and need a bit of milk inside them to be able to wake up enough to feed effectively.