Breastfed baby

My 18 day old baby just constantly wants to be fed 😭 I don’t know if she’s getting enough milk when I pump I just about get 20 ml😭 is it normal for newborns to constantly want to be fed. My nipples are SORE! She also has a favourite breast the left one🥲 I am so exhausted even though I want to continue to bf. Also I only give her formula once at night and she poos and gets hungry again. She isn’t taking the bottle very well and keeps chocking😭

Read more on Peanut

The views expressed in community are solely the opinions of participants, and do not reflect those of Peanut.

Learn more about our guidelines.

Add a comment

Very normal to establish supply, if you can ask your health visitor to get Feeding Support in to see you it will be a great help they can assess your latch to help reduce pain and reassure you! I found it really worth it and they come out pretty quickly when you ask. Bottles wise make sure you’re using a size 0 or 1 teat so it’s nice and slow xx

It’s so hard you’re doing great xx

@Jmt they told me I have to go to them which I don’t want to 😭 I want to feel comfortable in my own home. I’m also using size 0 teet. She went blue today it does feel too fast for her

Hi there. I am a breastfeeding counsellor. It can be quite a shock to the system, being needed so much by this tiny human. You're doing a fab job. I would recommend finding your local support group and going along if you can to speak to other mums who have been there.
It is normal for the first few weeks to be feeding a lot, but there are some things that might flag an issue.
You mention your nipples are sore, is that just in general or are they damaged? How are they during and after a feed?
You also mention she's choking on the bottle, are you pace feeding? And using the slowest teat?
How long does baby normally feed for?

Definitely somewhat normal. I would have baby checked for lip/tongue restrictions though as she may not be emptying you as well as she could especially with your nipples being so sore (which is also normal to some degree). My son was only wanting to nurse on one side as well and his chiropractor actually helped fix that. His neck was so tight he would only be comfortable on one side.

You’re doing a great job 🫶🏻 and just remember that this early stage doesn’t last forever. She is establishing your supply in the first 6 weeks so nursing on demand is important as tiring as it can be.

Your little one is still very young, unfortunately this is extremely normal and it is hard work 😓 have you tried putting any creams on your nipples? Or Using a nipple shied at all? I had to use one with my little boy to help for a few week as it felt like I was on fire!! ( But it was amazing once we got the hang of things)Sometimes this is due to baby not being latched properly during feeding.

Babies of this age feed small and often as they have little tummy’s and are growing every second so they are burning it off without even “doing anything”

Regarding to her bottle, it maybe worth trying to pace feed her and let her guide you if this is a problem you’re having. Or changing teats/bottles. Feel free to message if you need someone to chat to ☺️x

Yes it’s normal but soon enough she will stop doing this and just feed a more comfortable amount for you. It’s the early stages still and this is what they do 🙈

They have preemie size nipples that might be good for your baby when she has a bottle.

Also, taking hot showers can help increase milk supply. I took one almost every day and it helped a lot

Unfortunately that’s normal. Cluster feeding can go on for quite a while and it can come and go within the first 6 months. If you want to continue breastfeeding then just try your best to stick through it. It hurts now but I promise it does get better!

What bottle is it? We’re getting on well with Lansinoh have you tried that? It’s recommended by lactation consultants! :) Can you insist they come to you? They’d have to come if you were housebound surely so there must be some special circumstances they’d be flexible for? At least for the first session? Since I’ve seen my local bf support I feel more comfortable to go to a group setting now and am due to go on Saturday. Those early weeks are brutal, but you’ll get through it!

in our community

Putting oats/rice cereal in babies milk

My son just turned 6 months and I’m trying to get him to sleep better and longer at night and I have been told that putting a spoon of oats or rice cereal in his milk will help as it thickens the milk and makes him feel fuller to sleep longer, thoughts?

Overwhelming MIL

Hi ladies, just wondering if any of you have had to deal with/have any advice for an overwhelming MIL. For context, she lives 5 mins away whilst all my family love 3.5 hours away so we barely see them.

Ever since I've gotten pregnant my MIL has been more overwhelming than usual, (we have had run ins in the past due to crossed boundaries). She's gotten into the habit of saying "my baby" so things like "How's my baby?" "I bought this for my baby?" "When my baby is here" and I find it really uncomfortable.

We've tried correcting her but she just laughs it off and says "just wait until shes here, you'll see, she'll be my baby" and it worries me that when baby is here (due September) I will be at my most vulnerable and won't be able to deal with this behaviour.

My husband is lovely and he tries his best but whenever we set boundaries, it's almost as if she pushes to try and break them on purpose. Any advice on how to manage this? Or how to make life more bearable? There have been a few other red flags from her (purposely coming near me when she smokes, demanding every scan photo etc) but I don't want to/have the energy to cause arguments...help!

Co sleeping

I keep falling asleep while feeding my 7 week old and I wake up to him asleep on my chest. The problem now is that it’s very very difficult to get him to sleep in his Moses basket. He wakes up as soon as I put him down. I’m finding it very difficult to stay awake while feeding and I wanna make sure he’s safe. He’s also developed a heat rash all over his chest neck and face which I’m pretty sure is from sleeping on me. So another reason I wanna stop. Just don’t know how. Any suggestions

Friendships after a baby

Hi. I hope no-one minds me asking on here, I just don't know what to do.
I had a close work colleague/friend that I would tell everything too (she helped me a lot with my mental health when we were struggling to conceive) We've been work colleagues for a couple of years but really good friends for the last year or so (we spent a lot of time doing walks/coffees etc last year)
However since having my baby she's gone very quiet (she has got some personal things going on as well and she has always been terrible at replying to any messages)
Since being on maternity, I've messaged to check on her, I'm mentioned about meeting up and even suggested some dates but nothing. My husband thinks I should just draw a line in the sand as I've been making all the effort and getting nothing in return. I don't want to force her to be my friend. It upsets me a lot that she doesn't contact me as I thought we were close.
I guess my question is, do I give her longer? If not, do I message to explain and not just go radiosilent.
I'm a very conscientious person and I overthink a lot of things but surely if she is just busy with life I should give her a reason as to why I stopped messaging her??

Thank you if you've read this far. My mental health is not great right now and this upsets me greatly that I think I've lost my closest friend.

Signs of Autism

Last year while on the beach, a woman had a sideways remark about my toddler having Autism

I had said “he wasn’t even evaluated or diagnosed”

She said “oh wait, he will be for sure”

This came from his gravitation to the ocean. She claims children with autism are obsessed with water.

I’ve never heard of that personally. I have a family member with autism who HATED water and it took years of therapy to get them to tolerate water for bathing or showering.

Tonight I visited with my mother and she made a remark about my child “twirling/spinning” in circles while playing outside and then going towards the hose to play with the water. She had said “wow! (Child’s name) really enjoys water don’t they?

Should I be concerned or getting an evaluation or seeking a developmental pediatrician visit?

I’m really at a loss. Child is two and a half going on three years old.

Baby bouncer

So my LO has reached the weight limit for her bouncer which I pop her in when I’m in the bath of shower… any one know of any that can hold larger weight?