My 3 Week Old Is Constantly Wanting To Eat But Having Hard Time At The Breast

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My 3 Week Old Is Constantly Wanting To Eat But Having Hard Time At The Breast

by Amanda
(monroe, MI)

When my little girl first came out she couldn't get latched onto my breast very well so our lactation consultant gave us a nipple shield and we did ok with that for about a week.

Then my doctor made me start supplementing with a bottle of breast milk after she was done nursing on my breast because she wasn't gaining weight very well. So I would feed her at my breast and then give a bottle, and since she would always finish the bottle I thought that she wasn't getting enough milk from my breast and ended up pumping and giving a bottle more often then actually putting her at my breast.

Being a first time mom I got really worried when my baby would want to nurse every hour when I put her to my breast for more than 3 days so i have almost stopped nursing completely and am really regretting it! Even though I am still pumping and giving breast milk... I really want to be able to nurse my baby without any complications! So I guess my questions are...

Is it too late to teach my almost 4 week old how to latch on correctly to my breast without using a nipple shield?

Or...

Is using a nipple shield to nurse ok for long time use?

And if I nurse for 40 minutes and she is hungry again an hour later consistently does that mean that she isn't getting enough milk even if she is urinating enough throughout the day?

I'm just so confused about everything! I really want my baby to nurse exclusively but am running into nothing but problems!

I don't know what to do... The doctor says I should just continue pumping if i am worried but I didn't want to miss out on the bonding and don't want to lower my milk supply! Someone please help...I think I'm losing my mind!!

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My 3 Week Old Is Constantly Wanting To Eat But Having Hard Time At The Breast

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Apr 25, 2010

A few tips
by: Paula (Baby Help Line)

Hi Amanda,

Congratulations to your little daughter. I am glad that you are reaching out instead of simply giving up. Getting the breastfeeding to work can often be quite a ride and can take several weeks. This is often a frustrating time and it is great that you keep trying.

First of all, I've never heard that it should be a problem to continue breastfeeding using a shield. Some women simply smaller nipples, they get sore very easily or their babies are latching on easier with a shield. Then that's great. You can always double check with your midwife or health nurse, but make sure you ask someone who actually knows and just don't have views about it. The best you can do is to call a lactation consultant. They are usually very supportive and can help you get the breastfeeding to really work.

You also ask about your daughter's wish to eat all the time. That is very normal at her age. A 1 month old baby, is both growing very rapidly and has a strong suckling reflex. Some babies are also very sensitive to caps, blankets etc that touch their cheek; this activates their routing reflex and they start searching for the nipple. And last but not least, at this age many little babies are very fussy in the evenings and want to be at the breast constantly at that time. With my first baby I resisted it and thought something was wrong. Instead we carried her around, really trying to get her to sleep. With our youngest I had learned my lesson. After dinner - or sometimes even before dinner, I simply put him to my breast and there he remained more or less until I went to bed. I made myself comfortable in the sofa and had a nice evening with a content baby instead of trying to fight it.

So if your daughter wants to eat all the time, it doesn't have to mean that you have too little milk. If she pees and follows her growth curve, she is just fine. In such case you can also try to cut down on the pumping and increase the breastfeeding. Pumping is very time consuming!

I think my best advice to you is to schedule an appointment with a lactation consultant, who can support you. I think you are doing great and since your daughter still accepts the breast, you might very well be able to transition to just breastfeeding her. But don't wait for too long. Babies can get lazy when they start realizing that a bottle is easier to drink from than the breast. And at that point it can be very hard to make her accept the breast again.

I truly wish you good luck!

Paula

Apr 26, 2010

all is well
by: Nanthini

hai, it is really nice to hear that your lovely baby girl wants malk all the time.. this is normal only.. u should feel bad only if she doesnt want to be breastfed or doesnt want milk at all.. i have seen so many of my cousins having trouble with their second and third babies too.. the problem would either be that they have malk but baby refuses to drink or the baby ants milk but they wont lactate properly.

your case is somewhat like mine... i have a son now he is 2 years.. for a full month i had tough time with him.. no other person to take care of him too.. morning and night i was the only one to keep him and he will keep asking for milk once in half an hour 24 hrs and not sleep at all.. though he got enough milk from me he will want to drink whenever he wakes up or is disturbed..

only after two months he came to the schedule of feeding 20 mins full once in 2 hours.. babies know nothing except drinking milk.. if they are sleepy they want to drink milk to be put to sleep.. if they pee, they will become hungry immediately..
my mother in law used to insist that i feed him every time he pees..
so your daughter is acting normal only..
but regarding nipple shield i am not sure and as Paula advised you better check with a specialist..

Apr 26, 2010

Seek a lactation consult
by: Liz Brooks

Why not see an allied health care professional whose sole purpose is to promote and protect breastfeeding -- the IBCLC? Go to www.ilca.org and click the "Find a Lactation Consultant" button to search by zip or city/state.

An IBCLC should do a full history and assessment, watch a feeding from start to finish -- and use a sensitive scale (down to .01 ounce) to see just how much baby is *transferring* at breast (with or without the shield) so you know how much supplementing (if any) has to be going on.

One month of age is not too early -- or too late -- to protect your breastfeeding relationship!

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