3 minute feeds?

I posted not long ago that I was concerned whether my now 5 1/2 week old
daughter was getting enough milk having 10 minute feeds. Well she now
averages 3 or 4 minutes, it's very exciting if she feeds for as long as 9
minutes. She seems to cluster feed in the evenings, about every hour or so,
sometimes oftener, but during the day goes for a couple of hours inbetween
feeds and sleeps for about 4-7 hours at night. She's still having lots of
wet nappies although the dirty ones have slowed down, but I understand this
is normal. She spits up often, and large amounts and I worry that she's
just not having enough to keep her healthy. I'm having to express a lot in
the mornings as I'm so full, and I'm quite uncomfortable for most of the day
as well. When she does feed it's really gulping it down, and when I weighed
her last week she had put on 1 kilo (2.2 pounds) over her birthweight, 200
grams (7 ounces) from the week before (haven't weighed her this week). Does
this sound ok? Should I be trying to get her to feed for longer and if so
how? She's really not interested after a few minutes just pulls off and
relaxes. I've tried burping her, or offering the other side but it doesn't
make any difference.

On 2006-02-15 16:51:16 +0800, "Linda" said:

I posted not long ago that I was concerned whether my now 5 1/2 week
old daughter was getting enough milk having 10 minute feeds. Well she
now averages 3 or 4 minutes, it's very exciting if she feeds for as
long as 9 minutes. She seems to cluster feed in the evenings, about
every hour or so, sometimes oftener, but during the day goes for a
couple of hours inbetween feeds and sleeps for about 4-7 hours at
night. She's still having lots of wet nappies although the dirty ones
have slowed down, but I understand this is normal. She spits up often,
and large amounts and I worry that she's just not having enough to keep
her healthy. I'm having to express a lot in the mornings as I'm so
full, and I'm quite uncomfortable for most of the day as well. When
she does feed it's really gulping it down, and when I weighed her last
week she had put on 1 kilo (2.2 pounds) over her birthweight, 200 grams
(7 ounces) from the week before (haven't weighed her this week). Does
this sound ok? Should I be trying to get her to feed for longer and if
so how? She's really not interested after a few minutes just pulls off
and relaxes. I've tried burping her, or offering the other side but it
doesn't make any difference.

Sounds exactly like my son. I am constantly thinking that what he's
drinking isn't enough, but at 8.5 months, I still can't get him to eat
more than what he wants. The output is good so the input must be as
well... and the weightgain sounds pretty good, too! All you can do is
offer.

Jo
--
Woman, Wife, Mother, Midwife

Linda wrote:
I posted not long ago that I was concerned whether my now 5 1/2 week old
daughter was getting enough milk having 10 minute feeds. Well she now
averages 3 or 4 minutes, it's very exciting if she feeds for as long as 9
minutes. She seems to cluster feed in the evenings, about every hour or so,
sometimes oftener, but during the day goes for a couple of hours inbetween
feeds and sleeps for about 4-7 hours at night. She's still having lots of
wet nappies although the dirty ones have slowed down, but I understand this
is normal. She spits up often, and large amounts and I worry that she's
just not having enough to keep her healthy.

This sounds exactly like my dd who's maybe a week or two older. But her
two older sibs were pretty much dine and dash babies too. My baby
actually starts to gag if I try to get her to take more, and if I push
it, she'll throw up. So, she'll only take so much. I used to get
frustrated with my first baby because I was so tired, I wanted to rest
while she was nursing, but she'd only nurse for a maximum of 5 minutes.
I'd just fall asleep and she'd pop off and want to be held and carried.
If your daughter is fairly happy and not fussy, then she's probably a
healthy baby.

Stasya

"Chookie" wrote in message
...
In article , "Linda" wrote:

I posted not long ago that I was concerned whether my now 5 1/2 week old
daughter was getting enough milk having 10 minute feeds. Well she now
averages 3 or 4 minutes, it's very exciting if she feeds for as long as 9
minutes. She seems to cluster feed in the evenings, about every hour or
so,
sometimes oftener, but during the day goes for a couple of hours
inbetween
feeds and sleeps for about 4-7 hours at night. She's still having lots
of
wet nappies although the dirty ones have slowed down, but I understand
this
is normal. She spits up often, and large amounts and I worry that she's
just not having enough to keep her healthy.

Well, if she isn't gettign enough, the first thing she'll suffer from is
dehydration. As long as you're getting 5 or more heavily wet disposables
a
day, she is fine. Also, does she *seem* healthy? Good lusty cry? Bright
eyes? Good skin tone? Alert when awake?

And just to check -- is your climate dry/hot at the moment? Babies often
have
short feeds in hot or dry weather; in fact, they're drinking to quench
their
thirst.

I'm having to express a lot in
the mornings as I'm so full, and I'm quite uncomfortable for most of the
day
as well.

Sounds like your supply might have outpaced her need for it. Frequent
feeding
does that, but she'll settle down. Try not to express any more than you
absolutely need to, as removing milk sends the signal to your body to
produce
more.

When she does feed it's really gulping it down, and when I weighed
her last week she had put on 1 kilo (2.2 pounds) over her birthweight,
200
grams (7 ounces) from the week before (haven't weighed her this week).
Does
this sound ok?

200g in a week is a HIGH weight gain -- I think they put on about 500g a
month, on average, at this age. She's probably just a very efficient
feeder
-- my two have been as well.

Should I be trying to get her to feed for longer and if so
how? She's really not interested after a few minutes just pulls off and
relaxes. I've tried burping her, or offering the other side but it
doesn't
make any difference.

As a mother, you get two kinds of worry. One is just worry, as in "What
if I
get run over by a bus?" The other is the deep in the gut nagging feeling
that
something is really, really wrong. You WILL know the difference. False
worry
shouts louder, that's all. My guess is that there's nothing wrong with
your
abay whatsoever except short feeds! But... if you think there is
something
odd, see your doctor.

--
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.

Thanks for everyone's replies - we're in a warm humid climate - so Chookie
could have a point - she might just be needing lots of drinks. I guess I
don't really think she's got any problems, it's just that everyone I talk to
mentions how their kids feed for at least half an hour and swap sides etc.
She slept for 7 hours last night, which in theory is great, except that I
woke up before then with sore breasts and had to express to relieve the
pressure. How do I find the balance between expressing just to make myself
feel better without making more problems? Also if she was to continue to
sleep that long consistantly will that ultimately cause a problem with
supply? Especially considering when she did wake up she had a quick feed
from one side for 4 minutes and then went back to sleep - so that didn't
help much with the other side.