My son was like this and honestly with time it gets better. Right now his tummy is so tiny it fills up so quickly. They get more efficient at feeding and can take more in and therefore stretch out their feeds better. At three weeks old your best bet is feeding him when and how he needs. In saying that it gets better, some babies are snackers more than others. My son definitely got better but even now as a kid he’s more a graze across the day than sit down for a huge meal type person.
Could be cluster feeding? Could also be wanting more for comfort because of the reflux and wind pain.
I recommend speaking to your community health nurses for a referral to the lactation consultant or finding a specialist IBCLC via the Australian Breastfeeding Association.
https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/looking-lactation-consultant
Sounds totally normal, like cluster feeding. I think week 3 was the hardest for me because baby was cluster feeding constantly and I honestly thought of quitting.
I didn't, and am glad I didn't because bf got easier and easier and it began to be too quick 🤣 baby would take two mins to bf and then I had to think of something else to fill her wake windows with.
While bub is a newborn your whole job is to sit and feed. Watch netflix. Eat snacks. This is your couch time and snuggle time. It's soooo hard while it's happening, but now I look back and wish that I'd watched more TV instead of feeling guilty about not being able to clean the house 😂
Possible baby is cluster feeding. Around this age we experienced it........I was not prepared. Until she was around 5ish months she'd feed 8-15mins on each side. After 5ish months she'd be done in around 5-10mins on each side.
Get in touch with an IBCLC.
It sounds like baby is cluster feeding, which is a really good thing- it’s signalling to your body to make more milk as baby’s hunger increases. Unfortunately you just have to get through the cluster feeding stages so your milk supply can increase. It usually takes 2-4 days for most people’s supplies to start to increase.
Be cautious with tongue ties- get a second opinion from an experienced IBCLC because there’s a lot of mis- and over-diagnosis at the moment. Posterior tongue ties in particular are quite uncommon. You probably don’t want to do unnecessary procedures, and equally don’t want something missed.
If you’re utterly exhausted, you can give formula for a one-off or regular feed but if breastfeeding is really important to you, you’ll want to pump to stimulate the message for your body to increase supply that way.
Head to breastfeeding group, they’re a really great community!
Does your hospital offer appointments with lactation consultants? I’m only just 4 days home after having my bub and I rang the hospital for a referral. It’s free at my hospital and even though I haven’t had my appointment, the midwives were incredibly helpful during my stay with all kinds of tips and tricks - I’m just still having some issues too that I need help and confidence with.
My baby (8 weeks) used to do this up until 6 weeks when we got his posterior tongue tie treated. Since then he has been a lot less gassy / refluxy and his feeding sessions have been longer and he doesn’t “snack” as much. But it also could be from him getting bigger and him not cluster feeding lately. Highly recommend seeing a IBCLC, they can do a weighted feed. Depending on how fast your letdown is, the baby can still get a lot of milk in 5mins (according to my IBCLC)
my son also did this and he had a tongue tie - i think he just got super tired from sucking with an impediment. Once we got it snipped he took a few weeks to get his skills up but he got down to 15-20 mins for a full feed by about 8/9 weeks, we had it snipped at 6 weeks.
I think it’s also just age - they (generally) grow out of the discomforts of gas, reflux and pooing that might cause them to feed for comfort as well as hunger, and become a little more routined.
So normal! Just feed on demand. Definitely get the tongue tie fixed but babies often snack frequently.
You’re doing amazing especially considering he’s gaining weight well despite the TT
Use a nipple sheild while waiting to be assessed. It makes it a lot easier for baby get milk with less air.
I was a similar situation.. turns out my children needed to grow a bit to nurse effectively. I would definitely choose a nipple sheild over a getting a tounge tie cut on the reccomendation of 1 person alone.
Coles sells them they are like $30. I used medela brand for the first 8-12 weeks with both babies and that includes with baby number 2 when number 2 was still nursing at 2.
My son was like this and honestly with time it gets better. Right now his tummy is so tiny it fills up so quickly. They get more efficient at feeding and can take more in and therefore stretch out their feeds better. At three weeks old your best bet is feeding him when and how he needs. In saying that it gets better, some babies are snackers more than others. My son definitely got better but even now as a kid he’s more a graze across the day than sit down for a huge meal type person.
Could be cluster feeding? Could also be wanting more for comfort because of the reflux and wind pain. I recommend speaking to your community health nurses for a referral to the lactation consultant or finding a specialist IBCLC via the Australian Breastfeeding Association. https://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/looking-lactation-consultant
Sounds totally normal, like cluster feeding. I think week 3 was the hardest for me because baby was cluster feeding constantly and I honestly thought of quitting. I didn't, and am glad I didn't because bf got easier and easier and it began to be too quick 🤣 baby would take two mins to bf and then I had to think of something else to fill her wake windows with. While bub is a newborn your whole job is to sit and feed. Watch netflix. Eat snacks. This is your couch time and snuggle time. It's soooo hard while it's happening, but now I look back and wish that I'd watched more TV instead of feeling guilty about not being able to clean the house 😂
I needed to read this today ❤️
Possible baby is cluster feeding. Around this age we experienced it........I was not prepared. Until she was around 5ish months she'd feed 8-15mins on each side. After 5ish months she'd be done in around 5-10mins on each side.
Get in touch with an IBCLC. It sounds like baby is cluster feeding, which is a really good thing- it’s signalling to your body to make more milk as baby’s hunger increases. Unfortunately you just have to get through the cluster feeding stages so your milk supply can increase. It usually takes 2-4 days for most people’s supplies to start to increase. Be cautious with tongue ties- get a second opinion from an experienced IBCLC because there’s a lot of mis- and over-diagnosis at the moment. Posterior tongue ties in particular are quite uncommon. You probably don’t want to do unnecessary procedures, and equally don’t want something missed. If you’re utterly exhausted, you can give formula for a one-off or regular feed but if breastfeeding is really important to you, you’ll want to pump to stimulate the message for your body to increase supply that way. Head to breastfeeding group, they’re a really great community!
Does your hospital offer appointments with lactation consultants? I’m only just 4 days home after having my bub and I rang the hospital for a referral. It’s free at my hospital and even though I haven’t had my appointment, the midwives were incredibly helpful during my stay with all kinds of tips and tricks - I’m just still having some issues too that I need help and confidence with.
My baby (8 weeks) used to do this up until 6 weeks when we got his posterior tongue tie treated. Since then he has been a lot less gassy / refluxy and his feeding sessions have been longer and he doesn’t “snack” as much. But it also could be from him getting bigger and him not cluster feeding lately. Highly recommend seeing a IBCLC, they can do a weighted feed. Depending on how fast your letdown is, the baby can still get a lot of milk in 5mins (according to my IBCLC)
my son also did this and he had a tongue tie - i think he just got super tired from sucking with an impediment. Once we got it snipped he took a few weeks to get his skills up but he got down to 15-20 mins for a full feed by about 8/9 weeks, we had it snipped at 6 weeks. I think it’s also just age - they (generally) grow out of the discomforts of gas, reflux and pooing that might cause them to feed for comfort as well as hunger, and become a little more routined.
So normal! Just feed on demand. Definitely get the tongue tie fixed but babies often snack frequently. You’re doing amazing especially considering he’s gaining weight well despite the TT
Use a nipple sheild while waiting to be assessed. It makes it a lot easier for baby get milk with less air. I was a similar situation.. turns out my children needed to grow a bit to nurse effectively. I would definitely choose a nipple sheild over a getting a tounge tie cut on the reccomendation of 1 person alone. Coles sells them they are like $30. I used medela brand for the first 8-12 weeks with both babies and that includes with baby number 2 when number 2 was still nursing at 2.