problem of my milk quality?

[bing1119]

hey all, my bub (7 weeks) usually sleep right after my breastfeed, but few weeks ago he started not to sleep straight away after the feeding and needed to be cuddled to sleep. As he has to be fed every two hours, he basically has only an hour sleep by the time he falls asleep by my cuddling... most of the time he just stay awake until the next feeding time but keep yawning all the way...
I am bit worried he is not getting enough sleep as he is still very young...

Is my milk quality not good enough to put him to sleep? obviously he has enough to eat as I feed him until he pulls off from me...

Does anyone have the same experience? how do you handle it?

[Tam-I-Am]

What goes in has to come out - so what's his output like? How many wet/dirty nappies is he having? If he's having 6 - 8 wet cloth nappies, or 4 - 5 wet disposable nappies per 24 hour period, and 1 dirty nappy at least every 10 days or so (anything between several times a day and once every 10 days is normal for breastfed babies), then he's getting enough.

Also, look at growth - is he still growing in some way? Height, head circumference, weight etc?

If yes to the above, your milk is fine :)

6 weeks is a fairly notorious 'growth spurt' age, and 7 weeks isn't so very far past that that I wouldn't think it was just that. It should only take 3 - 4 days for your supply to catch up.

But your milk won't just 'turn bad' after 7 weeks. You've been sustaining your baby until now - You will continue to do so for as long as you want. Try not to stress :)

[meme]

sounds fairly normal to me too.
your baby will start to spend longer periods awake between feed times, it could be just this happenning too. cuddling, holding and rocking are wonderful things to do with bubs while he is awake between feeds so it sounds like you are doing a great job.

you could also check out the fact sheets on the ABA website under breastfeeding information I am pretty sure there is a reassuring one for mums worried about milk supply.
it's very normal to be concerned about milk supply but usually if you are feeding frequently with no other problems your milk will be keeping up nicely with your baby's needs.

[bing1119]

Thanks for the quick reply!!

talking about growth spurt, I personally do not feel that he is having one...he did has one at around 2-3weeks...and he cried for milk every hour..

this time he still maintain 2 hours per feed but just could not be settled as easy as before...which agitates me sometimes as i do not get enough sleep...:no:

[Tegan15]

It also sounds normal to me. Do you want him to fall asleep whilst your feeding? When his tired could you offer him your breast so that he falls asleep that way?
Babies that age start to wake up and want to get to know the strange world they've been born into and are less sleepy.

[BabyPaparazzi]

Booby milk is liquid gold, it will always have in it what your little one requires and is constantly adjusting to their needs.

It is probably something else playing a part in the change as other suggestions.

[Opinionated]

It also sounds normal to me. Do you want him to fall asleep whilst your feeding? When his tired could you offer him your breast so that he falls asleep that way?
Babies that age start to wake up and want to get to know the strange world they've been born into and are less sleepy.

:iagree:He is probably just upping your supply by feeding so often and will have a growth spurt very soon. Babies tend to ebb and flow, feed heaps and sleep little, then feed little and sleep lots.

Sounds like you are doing a great job:thumbsup:

[miakat]

I don't want to scare you but my four month old still feeds every 2 hours! Actually he feeds more than that but we have had feeding issues so I just feed him whenever.

Anyway I'm sure it isn't the quality of your milk - as Tam-I-Am said your milk doesn't just go bad. I know all about unsettled babies! DS was unsettled from 2 weeks until about 3 months so it is hard going but keep up the good work, I'm sure things will settle down soon.

[AM]

Yes, it sounds normal, they go through so many different phases...

Your milk is just fine :) Keep up the great work!

[Tegan15]

Dd is over 8 months and I give boob all the time. When she wakes, goes to sleep and for anything inbetween - hungry again, thirsty cause its a hot day and she just 'sips' she's sad, she gets hurt. Boob fixes EVERYTHING just keep offering. Your doing a great job.

[meme]

If you are not getting enough sleep perhaps there are some other things that would help you.

I found that feeding lying down was great, but for me it was hard with a really small baby. It may help to find some guidelines to safe co sleeping if you are going to have your baby in the bed, even just for feed times, but it is a great way to get more sleep.

I also found that having help with the housework, and cooking was really important when I had newborns. let the housework go as much as possible or find ways to cut some corners. dinners can be arranged inslow cookers or make a salad ahead of time during the day so that you can sit down and rest inthe evening for instance.

resting frequently can be important when you are not getting much sleep. I found that a matress in the loungeroom was handy, I could just lie down and fall asleep in front of some day time tv usually lying down to feed the baby. Otherwise, just sitting down for a feed and maybe reading a book was good.

Alternately I found some exercise everyday helped my energy levels too. usually just a stroll with the pram at a time when my baby needed a bit of extra stimulation, or distraction. I found late afternoons or early mornings good.

Have you had your iron levels checked? I found I was low in iron with all my kids and I believe this can also be a tiredness trigger.

A sling or other sort of carrier can be helpful for soothing a baby to sleep too. some of them are easier than others to then take the baby out of without waking them.

babies do gradually adjust to being awake during the day and sleeping longer stretches at night. I used a bedtime routine to introduce the night time to them hoping they would come to associate it with going to sleep. A warm bath long time feeding and then during the night very minimal disturbance with low light and quiet if any talking.

good luck with it.

[bing1119]

Thanks for all your advice!

bty, meme, I do from time to time feeding my DS lying down on the bed...

the things i worry about (what a worry mum i am,,,,,:o) is he starts to associate my boobs with sleeping and without it he refuses to settle down to sleep....

also after feeding i have to set him upright for burping out the wind and he starts to reject that too...guess he just wants to lay down the bed and sleep right away (but then he will burp out milk)

plus my tits sometimes get really sore from long-time sucking...and for some reason, i have to be careful not to let my tits bleed...

thought of using a dummy too, but still haven't found one that he likes...maybe he just doesn't like it at all...

I have seen some online article stating that breastfeeding with sleeping is not a good idea in the long term....

anyone here has tried this but no side effect when bubby gets older?

[Tam-I-Am]

Sleep and breastfeeding are meant to go together. Your breastmilk produces a sedative-like hormone at nighttimes to help your bub get off to sleep easily. I guess some people view a baby's attachment to breastfeeding to get off to sleep as a behavioural 'problem', but in reality, it's just what biology intended to happen - it's like nature's gift to sleep-deprived parents! Breastmilk solves every problem, every hurt, every upset, and sleeplessness in babies besides.

[Lukie]

bing- tam-i-am is right, sleep and milk naturally go together (for baby and for you). There's a great article on the ABA site that explains this, its called "Controlling or spoiling? (http://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/control.html)(Is it OK to feed baby to sleep?)". I felt so validated when i read this, and was kicking myself that I had listened to all those people that say you shouldn't feed baby to sleep because she will be dependent on it. Well, I have a high-need baby and I used to spend up to an hour trying to put her to sleep or to resettle her, patting, shushhing, "do all comforting in the cot" they said... Since about 4.5 months (she's 6months now) I just gave up and did what was my natural instinct- I feed her lying down and I feed her just before sleep... she doesn't actually fall asleep on the breast (she's done in 5mins) but it does help to calm her, and sometimes I manage to fall asleep too.

I should say that she slept fine as a newborn then we had a really hard time at 5-6weeks, then settled again, then again at 11-12 weeks and has not "settled" since. She's a delightful baby, putting on weight, thriving in every way, just very alert and curious and hard to wind down. I had people tell me my milk was not enough, try some formula, try her on solids (at 3 months!), try expressing and give her extra in the evenings (I did this too and it seemed to help for a few days, but that was it). Now I have just relaxed a whole lot and have no more hang ups about how I am teaching her to sleep.

Feeding her to settle really beats having her cry in her cot with me bent over trying to comfort her.

[bing1119]

Thanks Lukie for your info!!!

I have just read the info and what a relief!!!

In fact I just woke up from co-sleeping with my DS after breastfeeding him and he is still sleeping...:sleeping:

now that I know it's natural then I am not so nervous.:smiliedance:

thanks for all your help!!! :kiss: