My new question of the night is whether I should start "feeding on demand" at night. I've been trying to stick to the every 3 hours rule (he usually goes 4 hours at night), but sometimes at night he just seems more cranky and wants to eat. Should I feed him? I don't want to screw up the progress I've made with my boobs, but I also don't want Finn to be hungry.
Decisions, decisions.
Input would be appreciated.
We got Finn's birth announcement yesterday! It's beautiful!
ReplyDeleteYou can probably understand how incredibly happy I felt yesterday when we weighed Kate and found that she had gained 12 oz! I never would have imagined 12 oz could ever make me so happy. :)
The pediatrician said we could start letting her sleep through the night-- she woke up for 2 feedings and I didn't pump after them, but when I woke up this morning I pumped 7 oz (TMI? sorry). I can let you know how it goes with my supply.
Also, do you know the solution for uneven milk supply? My left definitely makes way more than my right. It's completely a cosmetic thing, I suppose, but having uneven boobs is just not appealing.
Obviously, Finn being hungry is not a good thing, but isn't part of the point of the three hour schedule to start to regulate his body as well as yours? I am all for the progress you and your boobs have made. Obviously, I'm not a mom, but the logic part of me thinks that it would be more detrimental to the schedule you've already started Finn on if you gave in to his initial desires. I could be rambling and have no idea what I'm talking about, and if that's the case, ignore me. The reality is that no matter what advice you get, it comes down to what you and Randy believe is best for Finn.
ReplyDeleteNot a failure...EVER. Proud of you, Bex. <3
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the most highly debated topic between mothers and grandmothers....These are my thoughts:
ReplyDeleteThis young, I always stick to on demand. I would never, ever, like ever WAKE a baby sleeping at night. (Although I have due to the same weight gain issues, and totally regretted it later.) He will go through growth spurts where he seems to take you backwards with the progress made in the sleep department. He will eventually start to sleep through feeds some nights and not others. When the nights he sleeps outweigh the nights he doesn't that is always my cue to begin to encourage him to sleep through instead of eat. Does that make sense? I feed them when they seem adamant about it, and soothe them other ways when they seem confused. You get better and better at reading it, and one day they just sleep all the way through! I am not sure if my method is right, but I do have four really good sleepers to show for it!:)
By doing this you should not screw up any boob progress, in fact it will only encourage better supply, at least from my experience. Any time I would feel low, I would let them have at it as much as they wanted for a couple days instead of all that pumping. It usually amped up my supply within a couple days. After the first six weeks supply regulates, I am sure your LC has told you, you probably will not go back to an oversupply issue.
Hope this helps...please feel free to pull me off the ledge 12 weeks from now when I swear it is all hopeless. The uncertainty happens to me every time....
Jordyn,
ReplyDeleteHow do you know when your baby is full? Kate seems to be hungry, so we'll feed her (I have to pump & bottle feed, unfortunately) but then sometimes she spits it up & is mad. I'm not sure what to look for to determine when she wants food or if she just wants to suck to soothe.
Thanks everyone!
ReplyDelete@ Jor- in case I haven't told you yet, you have been so incredibly helpful and supportive through all of this. :) I really really appreciate it, and (like you told me) it really is getting easier every day :)
@ Lee- my lactation consultant said taht if you can soothe her another way (swing, pacifier, etc.) then they aren't really hungry, if she's hungry she won't be able to be soothed (she showed me when I was there with Finn--she put him in his carseat and swung him and he calmed down right away). I don't know if that's right, but that's what I've been told.
Thanks Becky! Also, do you happen to know if wearing a sports bra would affect supply? I tried running after Addy today and whoa boobs! I found out I need to be very careful about how much I'm moving.
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