EASY from Birth?

[Susansmum]

Well you would think I would be an old hat at this, but my DD is now 4.5 and a friend has borrowed my secrets of the babywhisperer book and she has moved so I need to get a new copy...
Anyway, my son is now not quite two weeks old and I would like to start moving towards the EASY routine, but not sure how to go about it.
I breastfeed this time around, and I'm a little paranoid of letting him go for long periods without a feed as I don't want to lose my supply. I don't really have any specific reason to think this will actually happen, but I never breastfed for this long with DD so each day is like a new experience for me.

Anyway I have a few questions, so please bear with me.

1. I think my son is snacking as he seems to want to eat every two hours during the day. But he doesn't seem to eat for very long maybe at the most 20 minutes. He will stay on the breast longer, but there are a lot of periods where he falls asleep.

2. Do you think I should be stretching it out to every 3 hrs? Then maybe he will be able to eat a bit more? Or will this cause problems with my supply?

3. He doesn't seem to sleep much during the day, but I haven't really been trying to get him to sleep, so this may or may not become apparent when I try to instigate the EASY routine.

4. Is is possible to have him on an EASY routine this young? Would it look something like this (based on 2.5 hrs):

7am - E
7:45 - A (nappy change etc)
8am - S
9:30 - E
10:15 - A
10:30 - S
12pm - E
12:45 - A
1pm - S
2:30pm - E
3:15 - A
3:30 - S
5pm - E
5:45 - A (bath etc)
6pm - E
6:45pm - S
10pm - E
10:45 - S

At the moment he does have a feed around this time, then he goes back to sleep and will wake again at around 2-3am then sleep until 7am.
Does this sound like it is something that I could be aiming for at this early an age?

I remember my daughter needed a lot more sleep, but this time, he seems to cope well with not as much sleep as she did, so I may need to adjust my A time depending on how he copes with it.

Also, when they are rooting around looking for the breast with their mouths open and turning their heads to the side, does this always mean they are hungry? Or could it also mean they are wanting some sort of sucking for soothing?

Thanks so much for reading this!

[woopster]

I wouldn't worry too much about the timings at this stage. It's more about following EASY. Feed bubs, have some activity - just a nappy change as this age and then sleep. Although at 2 weeks a bit of feeding to sleep won't hurt.
Don't worry about stretching out feeds. On demand is better for your supply.

[charmie]

mmmmm 20 mins.  He must be a very efficient eater    Good for mummy. 

The routine you posted looks fine to me.  Basically it gives you enough time to do what Woopster said; Feed, change nappy, quiet time and back to sleep.  You can also have a look at this to have a better idea; http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=10384.0

I think he is falling asleep on the breast because he isn't sleeping much during the day (as you said).  And the first part of the feed makes both baby and mummy very sleepy.  If you think he is not feeding enough because of this, you can try to keep him awake by burping him (even if he doesn't need), change his nappy, undress him....

I also suggest cluster feeding and dream feed, which might help to reduce night wakings for food.


Good Luck and congrats on your new lo 

xxx
charm

[woopster]

The rooting reflex you describe in the last bit of your post is natural. My DS1 would root even if his dad held him! He latched onto him a couple of times too!!

[charmie]

My DS1 would root even if his dad held him! He latched onto him a couple of times too!!

LOL!!