Oh the fuss! Is she really still hungry

[ambientchica]

My baby is three weeks old.  She is gaining weight like she is supposed to but she is all a fuss about feeding.  What is happening:  She eats all the time when she is awake that is pretty much all she wants to do.  If I stop feeding her to burp her she gets upset.  Of course I ignore that for a moment and burp her anyways because she spits up a lot and I don't want her to have gas but afterwards I put her right back onto my breast.  It's like she cannot sleep until she is completely full but then I feel like we could possibly be feeding her too much since she is spitting up so much.   I really don't think it is gas since she is doing her little "nursing dance" and cry and shows no signs of being gassy.  Im trying a pacifier but she just spits it out and wants to EAT.  Is everything okay?

[bethann]

it sounds like she just wants to suck and suck.  i would keep trying the pacifier. try a different kind maybe and just hold it in her mouth. (they usually spit it out all the time anyway...the only way I could dd to take it was to hold it in her mouth until she was old enough to figure it out on her own). have you tried to instill some sort of routine? that really helped with mine. she would eat about every 2.5 hours at that age, and take many many naps. you could also check for acid reflux. i guess eating actually makes their tummies feel better (as they're eating), so they want to eat and eat.  I used Zantac for a little while with dd, but honestly, the real solution was in instilling EASY. It solved every problem we were having with fussiness and eating confusion and napping and night sleeping.  it really was a lifesaver.

anyway, congrats on the new little one!  you'll get lots of help on here. everyone's super supportive.

[First Time Mom]

How frequently is she nursing and how long is she on the breast for? My first thought is perhaps a bad latch? I know she's gaining but if her latch isn't correct it could be taking her longer to feed and she may need to feed more often. Just a thought. When they're this young I would suggest to feed on demand to a certain point as it really establishes your supply so I wouldn't rush to scheduled feeds quite yet, instead try to follow the pattern of EASY but be flexible to her demand.

BTW bethann, just read your post on another thread and noticed you here, I have to say you have the CUTEST dd!! She's just a precious doll in her pic!

[RachelC]

Check out this post in the FAQs about the first 6 weeks

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=64627.0

[bethann]

BTW bethann, just read your post on another thread and noticed you here, I have to say you have the CUTEST dd!! She's just a precious doll in her pic!

thank-you! that was so sweet!

- i agree about the latching thing.  your lo will be fine.  it's just a tricky time when they're that young.

[ambientchica]

I think I figured out that I have created a snacker and therefore possibly some gas.  Which is probably why I am having such a hard time really getting her on EASY.  In the hosiptal I was told to let her eat for 5 minutes on each breast and switch back and forth.  Sometimes she would eat for 5 minutes and fall asleep and sometimes we would go back and forth eating, burping and trying to lay her down for 2 hours.  Reading the 2nd baby whisperer book (with a clearer head today) I can see where I have gone wrong... any advice on how to undo a snacker?   The only thing I can think to do is keep trying EASY and even though she feeds much longer than 45 minutes, work on trying to empty one breast and then the second and hope that things will just fall in place?  I am sticking with the pacificer after she emptys both and still wants to eat too. 

Thank you for any suggestions.  Im going to go search for snacker posts!   

[RachelC]

Definately make sure she drains one breast before offering the other.

Did you read the box on pg 98 of the "Solves All Your Problems" book?  I would follow that.  Feed from one side until empty, offer second side and stop there.  It is not important to get to a 3 hr EASY right away, especially with such a little one.  Aim for 2 hours and extend from there

HTH

[Princess Polly]

My baby is three weeks old.  She is gaining weight like she is supposed to but she is all a fuss about feeding.  What is happening:  She eats all the time when she is awake that is pretty much all she wants to do.  If I stop feeding her to burp her she gets upset.  Of course I ignore that for a moment and burp her anyways because she spits up a lot and I don't want her to have gas but afterwards I put her right back onto my breast.  It's like she cannot sleep until she is completely full but then I feel like we could possibly be feeding her too much since she is spitting up so much.   I really don't think it is gas since she is doing her little "nursing dance" and cry and shows no signs of being gassy

Me TOO!  Exactly the same.  And every two hours at night she's waking up, but she's not hungry, just fussing.  I'm at my wits end.

I'll go read the six weeks thread, and buy a pacifier - I use that if she just wants to suck right?

[bethann]

and buy a pacifier - I use that if she just wants to suck right?

yup- at this age their cries are so confusing.  I always thought my lo was hungry, so I fed her constantly, resulting is a "snacker" and bad sleeper and sore nipples. It turned out that most of the time, she was just tired and needed to suck to go to sleep.  by using some sort of routine, I was able to feed her when she was hungry and give her the pacifer when she just wanted to suck and put her to sleep if she was really tired.  and if you get it wrong, and put her to sleep when she's really hungry- no problem, cause mine would just wake up 15-30 min later, indicating that she was in fact hungry, and I had misread her.  three weeks is young, you really have to work with her and learn her cues. I routine fed mine during most of the day, but demand fed starting at about 4 pm- when she would cluster feed until about 9pm.  this was at about 6 wks though. i didn't know about bw before that, but i know that a routine can be implemented- it just has to be carefully done to be in perfect keeping with your lo's needs.