Author Topic: 5wks old breastfeeding too often?  (Read 962 times)

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Offline 2boysmummy

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5wks old breastfeeding too often?
« on: April 14, 2012, 06:58:47 am »
My 5 wks old LB has been on EASY since he was born. He breastfeeds every 3 hours- nothing wron there really but it's like that at night as well. I feed him at half 5p.m. and cluster feed at half 7. sometimes he takes it sometimes he doesn't. If he does, he wakes up to feed around half 10ish. If he doesn't cluster feed he wakes up around 9ish. Sometimes I am successfull with ofering dream feed around 11 p.m. but if he's been up less than 2 hours before that I don't bother. During night he wakes up every 3 hours. Times depend on the time of his last feed. I think he could go without feed for longer than 3 hours as he is full term baby 3,66kgs at birth (around 7,5lbs) and he weights 5kgs (around 11lbs) now. Typically he feed for about 20 minutes. My pediatrician thinks I've been overfeeding him because he often possetes after finishing breastfeeding. My LO is alsoquite windy baby and I think maybe if he fed less frequently during night this issue would improve as well.
I am really confused  ??? here and would appreciate someones opinion! Huge thanks ;D

Offline Shiv52

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Re: 5wks old breastfeeding too often?
« Reply #1 on: April 14, 2012, 07:19:24 am »
{{{hugs hun}}}

At 5 weeks feeding 3 hourly at night really isn't unusual.  even as full term babies both mine did that.  There are a few growth spurts in these early weeks so it can often feed like they are feeding all the time.   the fact he is able to go 3 hours consistently through the day is fab too.  Mine barely made it to 3 hours at 5 weeks.

I think your paed needs to give you a bit more support.  One of the benefits of BFing is taht is pretty impossible to overfeed and should be reassuring you that what your LO is doing is totally normal BFing for these early weeks. 

I think if you got the cluster feeding and DF consistent you may very well find you get a better stretch in the night.  But be kind to yourself, it is very very early days.  He is doing great as his weight gain shows! Well done you.

On the windy side...again i think this is normal for early weeks as they get used to eating and digesting and the rest.  That could be contributing to him bringing back up some milk as opposed to over feeding.   How is you let down? Sometimes a fast let down can lead to them getting windy?  Is he draining the breast at a feed?  Are you single side feeding?

HTH xx





Offline Roseii

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Re: 5wks old breastfeeding too often?
« Reply #2 on: April 14, 2012, 07:28:11 am »
Agree with Shiv hun, in fact dd1 wasn't managing 3 hours between feeds at 5mo ::)
Blessed mum to two home-birthed darling water babies

hey you with the pretty face, welcome to the human race


Offline Erin M

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Re: 5wks old breastfeeding too often?
« Reply #3 on: April 14, 2012, 16:17:59 pm »
Just echoing, my ds was a big boy and wasn't able to do more than 3 hours at night at 5 weeks either.

Offline 2boysmummy

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Re: 5wks old breastfeeding too often?
« Reply #4 on: April 14, 2012, 18:23:42 pm »
Thanks for your support guys! Shiv, I think my LOs let down is fast to start with and then slows down. In fact I sometimes hear him gulping down air as well and need to adjust his lips to suck properly. It is quite challenging to burp him at night as he is so relaxed after his feed he doesn't burp at all even after 5 minutes or more even though I could hear him gulping. I guess I need to be more patient. He drains the breast and I am feeding from one side at time.