BF a New born

[scucci1979]

With my first, I had a very difficult time bf as she always wanted to suckle. I BF during the day for 5 months and formula fed at night.
Now I am trying to learn the ropes of BF again as number two is on the way.

In Tracy's book "Top tips of the Baby whisperer," she says to breast feed a newborn as follows:
Day 1= 5min on each breast, whenever baby wants.
Day 2 10 min on each breast, every two hours.
Day 3=15 min on each breast, every 2-2.5hours
Day 4=max 40 min on one breast, every 2.5-3hrs, switching breast at each feed.

I remember my first was very very sleep and would never last 40min.  I suppose 30min is sufficient enough for a newborn at that age? I also stopped 15min into the feed,do a diaper change to wake her up. Is that the best thing to do to keep a sleepy baby awake?
I want to try to bF again and am a little scared as I remember how difficult it was before.
Any advice?

[A pair of Charlies]

Oh honey, try not to worry 

Really hoping some other Mamas can give you some ideas of what worked for them here. I didn't do BW from the very start so didn't follow the 5 mins etc.

Personally, I think with newborns it's best to follow their hunger cues and feed when they demand - and if they don't demand, feed within the amount of time Tracey advised. Simply because they are all so different, growing so so quickly and at different rates and so new to the world that it just seems right to me.  I think since writing the book, research and thinking on BFg may have changed to a greater focus on following a baby's cues at the start (making sure that they don't go too long between a feed and get dehydrated. Also, your babe's demands are all setting your body to produce the amount she needs when she needs it... so controlling the situation with a schedule may work against you and her (him).

Also worth remembering that not all babes and not all Mamas are the same. They don't all feed at the same rate so 15 mins to one baby might be a lot lot longer for another. Likewise, Mamas don't all produce the same amount of milk so how much a baby takes in a 20min nursing session will differ from Mama to Mama.

I had a very sleepy baby and he did fall asleep during feeds all the time. And he wasn't a fast feeder either. A nappy change part way through the feed helped to wake him back up, as did taking off a layer of his clothes or us both stripping down to nappies and knickers in bed for a nursing session. When he fell asleep and I couldn't rouse him up again on the breast, I took him off and sat him on my knee (head etc supported) facing me; this made his eyes pop open a little and look around. Tried everything really. When they are so young and so little, and the sleepy milk hormones so strong, it's hard for them not to fall asleep I think.

FAQs that might help:
 * http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64627.0
 * http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=63428.0

Hoping some Mamas with recent newborn experience might be able to help.

  Charlotte

[clh]

I think that would be me.    Charlotte is right.  Research has advanced a bit since Tracy wrote her books.  She did keep up with research while she was with us, and here on teh bf boards, we think she would have adapted her advice to match.  I agree:  feed on demand, and if they don't demand, give it anyway.  For the first 2 weeks or until they reach birth weight again (my own little rule, so take with a HUGE grain of salt) I tried to feed every 2-3 hours.  I think most current bf'ing guides advise 8-12 times in 24 hours.  Offer as long as they'll take it, since you and bub will be learning each other.  My first was a slow feeder, but ds2 and dd have been much faster.  (Surprisingly so!)  So remember that every bf relationship is different, even with the same Mama.  {{hugs}} & try not to worry.  Come back with questions as you have them. 

[A pair of Charlies]

YEYYY Candice!!!!! 

[Roseii]

Can I hop on this too? 
I bf my DD for nearly 12m so I was "successful" I guess, but did end up feeling confused by different advice and what my sister's HV told her etc...
So after day 4 you only need to switch breasts for feeds? I.e, not always feed from both every time? I always had so much more milk in my right than left but tried to get her to feed from left to encourage the milk but it never seemed to work, I would end up engorged on my right and all lopsided! Oh and for months and months DD fell asleep on the boob, I was a human dummy.
So you only need to feed off both for the very first few days? I do remember my m.wife telling me to wear a hairband on the arm of the side I had just fed...course I could never remember if I had switched the hairband over or not 
I am looking forward to bf again a lot but I do worry that so many of DD's sleep problems were related to her not feeding properly...
Sorry Sabs not meaning to hi-jack you, hope you don't mind. x

[scucci1979]

Don't mind at all. I fed my first on demand but alternated breasts 15min into the feed. Now I am thinking that wasn't a good idea. I should of stuck to on breast so she would get to the rich milk.  It is amazing how much you learn from the first.

[A pair of Charlies]

Okay. I'm no expert so this is just things that I did / have picked up on here.

Both breasts in those first few days - it's all about stimulating your breasts / your body to produce milk. And the milk at first is colostrum, so stimulating both breasts at the start is a good thing - the same is done when you hit growth spurts, for the same reason. I didn't feed both sides at the start initially - DS fell asleep, seemed satisfied so feed ended. My milk did come in - quite massively so. Perhaps as a result of the latch-unlatch-latch feeding that was going on - MVs said he wasn't latched on correctly as it was causing me pain... so I had to keep retrying til they were out of sight. Turns out the pain was normal and just the letdown burn. 1 MV out of about 20 knew that - and she was the last one I saw! I digress....

I kept a log on which breast, what time. DS fed for an hour (until I ended the feed) and often went on to the other breast in the first few weeks. So the log helped me - I knew which breast to start on next. This was usually the last one he fed from as he didn't empty the second breast.... the log was a god send.

Hair grip on the bra strap / saftey pin are the other MVs' suggestions I recieved on keeping track of which breast.

If they fall asleep, just try to wake and rouse to finish the feed. Even if it's just a few moments - just so they end the feed awake. I wouldn't expect too much from you both in those early weeks - you're getting to know eachother and the whole process is pretty tiring. 

[clh]

FOr some reason, I fed ds1 both sides at every feed.  I don't remember where that advice came from (book, lactation consultant, nurse in hospital?).  But since it worked for ds1 (weaned at 14 mo due to pg), I did the same for ds2, and now I'm doing it for dd.  Personally, I think that for most folks (I'm sure there are exceptions) that your body will adapt to whichever method you go with.  I was always afraid that ds1 wasn't getting enough to eat, so I always offered both.  Now it's habit.  And after 3, I understand that MY body is just on the long side of having milk come in. 

Oh, and someone mentioned switching after x minutes.  You really do have to watch your baby.  Ds1 could actively feed on one side for 20 min, whereas ds2 was done in 10 or less.  And ds2 got awfully cranky when I tried to keep him on longer than he wanted to be. 

{{hugs}}

Charlotte. 

[musicgal03]

I BF my first DS for 18 months (weaned 10 weeks into the pregnancy) and now I have an 8 week old DS I am successfully nursing as well. With this baby I do it differently.
I  stick with one breast for 15-20 minutes to make sure I get to the fatty milk. This will help with tummy aches too since the lactose rich milk tend to upset them. Since doing this DS have a lot fewer issues with gas/tummy aches. I DO switch to the other side after he is done though since he still usually wants more. Just for a few minutes though until he looses intrest. Seems by doing this he lasts longer at night too since the fatty milk keeps him full longer.

In the very beginning though do both equally to stimulate production.

Touching his cheek close to the mouth, halfway pulling the nipple out work well for us when he starts to doze off. If it gets really bad I will burp him and if that doesn't work change his diaper.

Good luck!

[warriormom]

i am very confused. i have read most of the book today...i happened across this forum last night while online searching....my 3 1/2 week old really IS hungry about every hour and a half. she takes one or two 2-3 hour naps a day, and sleeps in her p & p beside my bed for anywhere from 2 to 6 hours at night (usually 4-6 but some nights wakes every 2 hours hungry).  the EASY schedule seems kind of impossible for me.  it's more like EA EA ESY.  i think tracy would say i am just missing her cues and that she is not hungry this often, but she will eat for 15 to 40 mins depending on where in the above cycle  (EA EA or ESY) we happen to be in.  i am a stay at home mom, and will be until she is at least 7 months old. by then, i plan to have her eating cereals and fruits, and pumping breastmil, possibly supplementing with formula...it may seem like a bad idea to some, but i think feeding on demand is okay for right now, especially if i plan to introduce her to cereal to feed along with breastmilk by 4 months. anybody else in a similar situation with ideas on this?

[clh]

Hi, Warriormom!  Welcome to the boards.    Glad you found us.

It's hard to remember the boys, but dd did feed every 2ish hours for the first several weeks, so I wouldn't be surprised to hear that a babe would want to feed every hour and a half.  I think for where you are (very early, still), you're doing just fine.  You will want to make sure that your dd isn't snacking, but right now her tummy is really little.  When you say she eats for 15 to 40, is that active feeding?  You hear the suck-suck-swallow pattern?  Just curious.  We're told here (US) to hold off on solids until closer to 6 months.  Don't know where you are in teh world.  Also, good for you planning to pump when you go back to work.  I did it with my 2 boys, so I'm here to tell you it can be done.  There's even a thread here for working moms who need advice & support.  Welcome again... 

[scucci1979]

Thanks for all the advice.
DD 1 was breasfed every two hours. TBH it was horrible for me.  Now with number two on the way, I don't know how I am going to manage, but am willing to try.

[A pair of Charlies]

Hoping this might help? http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=67026.0

[warriormom]

thanks clh. glad i found ya'll too.  yes, suck suck swallow is what i hear for most of my day.  funny that you mention it though, because at first i thought this is what was taking so long--that she didn't suck constantly. it told my husband "if she'd just suck, this wouldn't take 40 minutes!"  of course, it doesn't make sense that she would be able to do that. she seems to be in a neverending growth spurt. she has grown so much in two weeks.  thank you for saying we sound like we are right on track> (btw, she slept in her p &p for 6 hours last night, alone)
i too am in the U.S. when i said i would introduce cereals at 4 months, i plan on doing just that: introducing. i have heard that for bf babies it is often hard to wean them when mom goes back to work.  my ped suggested it as a means of getting her tastebuds prepared for what's coming.  i don't know how well it will work, but it sounds like a great idea to me. my husband's sister had her kids intro to food at 6 weeks. i cannot imagine why except that were eating so much she couldn't keep up. when you say 6 months, do you mean that you actually feed them at 6 months, or are you talking about starting the introduction process at 6 mos?  thanks again for the encouragement.

[clh]

We intro'd at 5.5 months for all the kids.  Our ped is pretty conservative on things like that.  I just started C on solids/purees.  We'll continue to increase amounts and frequenct over the next 6 months.  Until a year, they still get their nutrition from you (or formula).  Food is really just about learning until then.