Posted by
ghie
18 yrs ago
My baby girl is 6 wks old and exclusively breastfed. She does not have any problem latching or sucking. She have gained 1kg on her last check-up on Monday, 16 Oct. and the doctor says her weight gain is normal. Everything seem to be fine. But I am not confident of the amount of milk she is getting although my milk is regularly squirting and even overflows from her mouth most of the times. She usually latch for 10 minutes every feeding of 3-4 hrs schedule, sometimes 5-6 hrs sleeping. She rarely feeds for 15 - 20 minutes.
1. I tried forcing her to wake up but she doesnt, she immediately falls asleep after I disturb her. She also refuses to open her mouth.
2. Usually after 10 minutes of breastfeeding her, she pushes my nipple out and refuse to have nipple longer even if I wait minutes for her to open her mouth to suck.
I have tried to loosen her clothing for her not be warm enough to fall asleep, tried caressing her head, talking to her when she's falling asleep, tickling her feet, changing nappy. I also massage her gum for sucking reflex, clean her tongue and my nipples to prevent thrush. Breastfeeding position is fine too.
What seems to be the problem or is there a problem?
Please support our advertisers:
ghie
18 yrs ago
I keep a record of her feeding time and frequency of stool/urine. For her 1st month assessment, she breastfed for 84mins/day, 5-6x passed urine and 4-5x moved stool/day.
Please support our advertisers:
crj
18 yrs ago
If she is gaining appropriate weight and staying on her 'percentile curve' on the chart, then you have nothing to worry about.
Also, you have a good amount of wet and poo nappies per day. Remember after 6 weeks the number of poos reduces a lot.
Sounds like you are doing a great job and have nohtingto worry about.
My baby also only ever fed 10 minutes, and I tried everything to keep him awake to eat more, it was a huge headache for me. I even tried cold water on his forehead! I finally just accepted it.
I only had a problem when his weight fell from his percentile curve - so keep an eye on that. He is back up now, and all is fine.
Enjoy that you have an efficient eater, and get the advise of a good midwife from Annerley if you continue to worry. Louise is away right now but she has loads of experience with me and my fast/efficient eater.
Please support our advertisers:
ghie
18 yrs ago
Thank you crj!
It is really very comforting to hear from someone who had the same experience and says that it is just fine.
I am keeping track of her weight too and so far, her weight has not gone down.
Cheers!
Please support our advertisers:
crj
18 yrs ago
I totally freaked out too - all the books say baby should eat for 20 minutes each side and I was on 10 total...
As I said, no issue as long as there is wee, poo (although could be once everr few days now) and weight gain on the correct curve.
All I can say to you is ENJOY the short efficient feeds. Once of my friends had a baby that fed ONE HOUR per feed... imagine that 6 x day!
:)
Please support our advertisers:
My two girls never fed even close to 20 minutes on a side. Both gulped their foods down. you sound like you are doing just fine. more than time at the breast, as CRJ says, diapers and weight gain are better indicators of if your child is doing well.
You are lucky with the faster eater - it makes your life easier in the long run. Keep up the good work - and if you can, (and you intend to) start pumping now. A few of us learned a bit too late, that milk significantly drops in the later months - so pumping right now and storing it ahead of time will be worth it. (I did a morning pump and a night pump.)
Please support our advertisers:
I envy you all...10 minitues feeders!! I think if you have plentiful milk, then baby will drink up very quickly so no need to worry about not having enough milk. I have experimented with breast pump how much time I need to get sufficient milk. Normally, for the first 10 to 15 min, milk flows very smoothly, and I get around 95percent of the total amount during the first 10 to 15min of pumping. If I pump longer, I get a little bit more, but not plenty enough to suffer longer. Then I realized my bub releases nipple normally after 10 to 15min of feeding. So, I figured, I would let her decided when to finish. i used to feed about 1hour, and it was really really tiring.
Please support our advertisers:
My goodness! Fantastic breastfeeding experience with healthy, happy baby gaining weight. There may be causes in your life for worry, but this is not one of them! The pure simplicity of bf and health benefits are just a few of the joys of breastfeeding! No measuring, baby stays healthier, convenience, portability, easy excuse for mom to cuddle baby. Why worry about thrush, either? Most babies don't get thrush. Also, other people's records and problems are largely irrelevant because each baby is unique. It is also normal for a small baby to be sleepy. One of the tricks to wake her up is to wash her face, hands and feet with a warm, wet, soft washcloth when you want her to wake up. This is very stimulating and will help her to wake up. Six weeks is an age when you can start to wake baby up to eat on a schedule that you prefer. For instance, 7 AM, 10 AM (then nap), 1 PM, 4 PM, 7PM, 10 PM, then let her sleep (don't wake baby up to eat at night, DO wake her up to eat during the day). But this is just a guide. Each baby is unique and each mommy has different ways she wants to do things. For instance, if you want her to sleep or be awake every day at x time, plan and encourage her schedule accordingly.
Please support our advertisers:
There is no problem. Your baby is signaling she has had enough milk. Breastfed babies self-regulate their intake. As you described she is thriving and gaining weight appropriately, so follow her lead. She is letting you know when she has had enough.
Matilda Well Baby Clinic - 2849 1500
Matilda International Hospital
Hong Kong
http://www.matilda.org
Please support our advertisers:
ghie
18 yrs ago
Thank you very much everyone for your replies. I have been very busy the past week as hubby left for Canton Fair.
Crj, thank you for telling me about the poo decreasing at 6 weeks. My baby showed discomfort every time she moves her bowel last week but she is better now and she poos 2-4x/day as compared the last month of 4-5x/day. All is good.
hkchoichoi, thanks for the pumping reminder. I did follow your suggestion and I have been trying to feed baby with bottle at 8 weeks but she refuses. I feel guilty in using the bottle early but there are functions that I need to attend to occasionally. I am still looking for ice cube containers with lid to freeze breast milk though. I have frozen some using milk bottles already.
Meiquoren, thanks for the suggestion in waking baby up. I could possibly do that during daytime. As for the time schedule, my hubby's business partner is staying with us until Tuesday so I would probably start baby's routine after our guest leaves. As for now, she sleeps at 8.30 and wakes up at 2.30, that is my baby's longest sleep.
Please support our advertisers:
Ahh. You need her longest sleep to be when YOUR longest sleep is, let's suppose the six hours between midnight and 6 AM!?? Perhaps try waking her up again at 11 PM to eat in the hope that she will settle back down by 12 PM and sleep a bit longer? Or else you just go to sleep with her at 8 PM, but this really cuts into time alone with the other significant one in your life.
Please support our advertisers:
You must be logged in to be able to reply.
Login now
Copy Link
Facebook
Gmail
Mail