CALLING ALL MOMMIES
I need your help in deciphering some nursing things....
So my bug has decided that he is wanting to take OVER an hour to nurse. Once he nursed for an hour and a half, this can't be normal...or is it? I was just doing one side at each nursing and Colton would eat for about 30 minutes and fall right back asleep but then the feedings were getting to be longer and longer and longer so I then switched to doing each side about 20-25 minutes each (thanks to my mother in laws advice) but he STILL seems to be hungry....he still roots around for a "milk source," puts his hands in his mouth (I'm afraid he will find his thumb here shortly!), and just squirms and fusses. So after about 2 days of this I decided to give him a bottle after a feeding and he ate 4 oz AFTER having nursed for about an hour! SO, what am I doing wrong? Is he still too young to lay down and just let him cry it out? Is he too young to have figured us out, (mom and dad) in that if he cries we will hold him or if he acts hungry we won't put him down? I just want to keep him on as much of a feeding schedule as possible and at the rate he is nursing and sleeping it's getting all thrown off and even though he may be too young to start establishing a routine (is he??) I would like to try to stick to as much of one as possible for the sake of me and dad's sanity and schedules. SOOooo, I would love ANY and EVERYONE's advice and help. Cman is 3 weeks old so I just don't know how old is old enough or if he is still just a newborn and trying to figure things out. Thanks for the Help!!
In other news, we went to the pediatrician last Friday (Jan 14th) and he is doing great! He has gained all of his birth weight back plus 2 oz and grew an inch! He now weighs in at 7lbs 14 oz and is 21 inches tall! We go back in march when he will be 2 months old....can't even think about him being that grown up already! I just love me some colty bug! I will have to take some more pics and upload them another day, sorry for the picture-less post today. Hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday!
Your little angel is trying to figure out life Outside, so expecting him to be on a schedule @ 3 wks is pretty much unrealistic. And if you can stand it, PLEASE avoid giving him a bottle!! Nursing is a supply & demand thing; if he's getting formula, he's not going to be as eager to nurse. The more he works at it, the more milk you'll make. Btw, nursing babies get most of their food w/in the 1st 5-10 minutes of nursing...the rest of the time is mainly comfort.
ReplyDeleteRight now Colton needs to be held a lot. Read to him (when my eldest was new, I read Reader's Digest stuff to him!), sing, etc. Enjoy this special time with him! Feed him on demand (but "disconnect" him after 15-20 minutes) for a couple of months, play with him, treasure the blessing God has given you. There's plenty of time for schedules.
I can't wait to meet your little doll baby!! I met his daddy before he and your wonderful mother-in-law even went home, so am overdue!
Love to all 3 of you ~
I'm not the best for advice on nursing since I was forced to pump since I simply wasn't home and she had to eat. I did nurse for the first month, and was told to nurse for about 15-20 minutes on each side. I think you are lucky though, that he likes to nurse so much. Liv had latching issues, and then simply wouldn't latch on anymore after I gave her a bottle. I would advise only giving a bottle when you have to (like when you're away from him) if you want to keep nursing. If you're not against it, maybe give him a pacifier after nursing, for the comfort. It seems he can latch now, so I don't think you would have to worry about nipple confusion with the paci. Just a thought, which I have no experience in either because Liv wouldn't take a paci. Good Luck :)
ReplyDeleteThere would be times that Dylan would feed for 30 on each side, but they're right - after awhile it is more a comfort thing than them being hungry. If he is still hungry push him off as long as possible (to allow your body to start catching up) and for him to start realizing the difference between being hungry, and just needing something in his mouth to soothe. Not sure of your feelings toward pacifiers but they make some that are conducive to nursing babes. If he takes it, it could keep him from finding his thumb! Once they find their thumb it is quite a battle to take it away! I wouldn't expect him to be on a schedule for atleast another 3-6 weels. They will eat more during a growth spurt but I think he's too young yet to have hit a major one. Hope that helps!
ReplyDeletei don't really know what to say. it's hard to really know the whole situation when i'm not there (plus i don't love giving baby advice because i'm FAR from being an expert).
ReplyDeletedoes he take a binky? like your friend above said, he may just want the comfort of nursing. sometimes we give nellie a binky and she's automatically soothed and falls right to sleep. my boys not having taken one, i'm SO THANKFUL for the binky. i used to feel like i was nursing griff all the time because that's all that would settle him down (even if he wasn't actively nursing). i hated doing that because it's kind of a no no, but when you've exhausted all other options, you eventually settle.
also, do you feel like you have a good milk supply? he may not REALLY be EAT eating for that long. that could explain why he's still hungry. if he's not on a pretty regular eating schedule throughout the day, you might want to pump a couple times in the day, just to keep your milk supply up.
it can be pretty frustrating understanding a newborn (especially your first) but eventually everything will fall into place. good luck danielle. wish i could be of more help.
Thank you all for your help! I very much appreciate it! And to me you're all experts to me so thanks!!
ReplyDeleteI have NO experience in nursing so I won't even begin to give advice there.
ReplyDeleteI will say that while keeping a newborn on a schedule can be difficult and unrealistic at times just keep trying because eventually he will get it as he gets older.
I will also say that when Chandler was a newborn I was given a book called "Solve your child's sleep problems" by Richard Ferber, MD which talked about letting babies self soothe to get to sleep. This book saved my life as I had been rocking him to sleep but when I laid him down he would wake up instantly. Within a week of reading this certain section of the book he was putting himself to sleep every night. BUT, he was bottle fed and I have been told that bottle fed babies don't eat as often as nursing babies.
Every baby is so different though and so it's a log of trial and error finding out what works for your little bug. It can be stressful and overwhelming at times but with you and Justin working together you will get the hang of all of this before you know it. I think you are doing a great job so far. :)
Soooo...that is my little advice. Not really along the lines of what you were asking but I wanted to share that sleep/crying it out stuff because it literally saved my sanity.
PS-I assume you've asked your pedi some of these questions too? He or she will also have good advice to give. Call the office if you have a question and ask them to call you back. Some new moms don't want to "bother" the dr or his nurse but that is their job. Not saying you are like that, but I know some moms who wait from one appt to the next...well that can sometimes be a long wait!
Also, there is a website: www.mamapedia.com. Check it out and you wil love it. You can post questions about ANYTHING and get advice and ideas from women and moms all over. I have found it most helpful. Sometimes it is so nice to have the opinions of many different people just to open your mind to things and bring new perspective. Or you can say, "uhh lady, that's crazy, I'm not doing that!" which will happen too. :)
Ok, this has been WAY TOO LONG!