dumb question

Hi, I'm guessing this is a dumb question....sorry
DD (9 weeks) has just had what must be a growth spurt - she normally feeds
every couple of hours for about 5 mins. On the weekend she was feeding
every hour for 20 mins at least, and waking to feed every couple of hours at
night where she normally sleeps for an average of 6 or 7 hours.
Today she's been back to normal (although she's spent more time sleeping
than normal) so - I assume she fed lots to increase my milk supply. Does
this mean she is now getting a faster flow, or is sucking harder to get more
milk? Or both? Or she just needed a boost and is back to getting what she
got before?
I feel full and leak a lot, but this is nothing new.

Hi, Linda. I went through the same thing with DS. He would feed on his
normal schedule and then would have two or three days where he would
power nurse like that during growth spurts. They eat the extra because
they are growing, but it also serves to boost your supply so that you
can keep up with their demands as they grow. It seems a little crazy
while it's happening and they will have them occassionally. DS is 6
months and just had another one this week.

boy! I sure remember the sleeping all the time a day or two after a
groth spurt!

:-)
Larry

Linda writes:
: Hi, I'm guessing this is a dumb question....sorry
: DD (9 weeks) has just had what must be a growth spurt - she normally feeds
: every couple of hours for about 5 mins. On the weekend she was feeding
: every hour for 20 mins at least, and waking to feed every couple of hours at
: night where she normally sleeps for an average of 6 or 7 hours.
: Today she's been back to normal (although she's spent more time sleeping
: than normal) so - I assume she fed lots to increase my milk supply. Does
: this mean she is now getting a faster flow, or is sucking harder to get more
: milk? Or both? Or she just needed a boost and is back to getting what she
: got before?
: I feel full and leak a lot, but this is nothing new.

In article , "Linda" wrote:

Hi, I'm guessing this is a dumb question....sorry

The only stupid question is the one that is not asked!

DD (9 weeks) has just had what must be a growth spurt - she normally feeds
every couple of hours for about 5 mins. On the weekend she was feeding
every hour for 20 mins at least, and waking to feed every couple of hours at
night where she normally sleeps for an average of 6 or 7 hours.
Today she's been back to normal (although she's spent more time sleeping
than normal) so - I assume she fed lots to increase my milk supply. Does
this mean she is now getting a faster flow, or is sucking harder to get more
milk? Or both? Or she just needed a boost and is back to getting what she
got before?

None of the above. When the baby suckles, your body gets the signal to
produce more milk. The *more often* they suckle, the more your body gets that
signal (it's a hormonal signal), and the more milk your body makes. So more
frequent feeding is how you build up your supply.

I am guessing that when they return to their five-minute-long feeds, they are
getting more milk in the same amount of time, and that this is caused by:
- baby being able to handle bigger mouthfuls of milk because his mouth is
bigger
- baby being able to handle bigger mouthfuls of milk because he's had more
practice geting it out
- more milk coming out of the ducts at once

But that is a guess.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"... if *I* was buying a baby I'd jolly well make sure it was at
least a two-tooth!"
Mary Grant Bruce, The Houses of the Eagle.