https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Fri, 21 Aug 2026 11:02:15 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry/page/2#post-1674539 Tue, 03 Jun 2014 07:57:14 +0000 ElbieKay 1674539@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: I had a lot of breastfeeding pain for 8 weeks. Then it magically disappeared. Lots of people said it would get better by 6-8 weeks but it was hard to believe them when I was going through it. I encourage you to hang in there if breastfeeding is important to you, and to consider supplementing with formula if it's just too much and making you miserable. I never started with formula, but in hindsight I'm not sure if that was the right decision given how miserable I was.</p> <p>I never allowed him to nurse for more than 15-20 minutes on one side due to the discomfort. He would do damage to my nipples so I had to ration time at the breast. But he didn't protest too much if I pulled him off after eating, and he was always a big baby and around 90% for weight so I didn't have to worry about him eating enough. If he'd been as desperate to comfort suck as your daughter seems to be, then I really don't know what I would have done. (Haha, I'm sure that's really helpful "advice"!)</p> <p>I will say that in hindsight, most of the time that he was upset and we couldn't figure out why, it turned out to be that he was hungry. He did also have some digestion discomfort for awhile. It would start a few minutes after eating and last maybe 20-30 minutes. Things that helped: Bouncing on the yoga ball and bicycling his legs (not simultaneously, in case that was not obvious).</p> <p>Here is a thread I started when I was still in the throes of my breastfeeding angst. A lot of other people discussed their experiences too so maybe it will be helpful to you:</p> <p><a href="http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/i-hate-breast-feeding" rel="nofollow">http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/i-hate-breast-feeding</a></p> <p>I'm not sure if any of this is helpful information, but I went through something similar and thought you might </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry/page/2#post-1670348 Sat, 31 May 2014 10:07:40 +0000 Mae 1670348@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Anagram: I'll be so curious to see how the weighted feed goes Monday. I talked on the phone to a lc last week and was worried about my supply but she said babies are so much more efficient at getting milk out that if I'm pumping 50 ml she is likely getting much more. But maybe not if she is having issues!! The pain has gotten so much worse in the last day and it is so frustrating. I feel like what is going on with us has got to be outside the bounds if normal. I don't think I'm just a wuss! I rated back labor contractions at a 7 and I'd rate this latch pain at a 9. Sigh. Breastfeeding is hard. :( </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry/page/2#post-1670314 Sat, 31 May 2014 09:44:33 +0000 Mrs. Champagne 1670314@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Maybe try a few different types of pacis? DS only likes the soothie. In the hospital we didn't have it though and I used my finger to give my nipples a break! </p> <p>Good luck doll. Sending your nipples healing thoughts! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry/page/2#post-1670310 Sat, 31 May 2014 09:39:13 +0000 Anagram 1670310@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: just saw your last post about the bottle with 55 mls. I converted it so I could think in oz and saw that is was 1.89 oz. I had a lot of problems BFin because LO had a tongue and lip tie which wasn't diagnosed by the LC that I saw *multiple* times a week at a bf support group and I even paid for her to come to my house. The ties weren't discovered until my LO was almost 6 weeks and by the time I could get an appt, she was 2 months old and she could never recover and learn the correct latch. </p> <p>In any case, because of her latch issues, I pumped from the beginning and LO was eating 2-4 oz at 2.5 weeks old (every 2-3 hours). By a month old she was drinking 4 oz every 3 hours and my LO is in the 20's for weight percentiles so she's not even a big eater.</p> <p><a href="http://www.parents.com/baby/feeding/bottlefeeding/breast-milk-in-a-bottle/" rel="nofollow">http://www.parents.com/baby/feeding/bottlefeeding/breast-milk-in-a-bottle/</a></p> <p>So I feel like 55 ml might not be enough to fill her up....regardless of your ped's concerns....mine also wasn't concerned when my Los weight percentiles were dropping but I'd heard from friends that our Ped waits until it's a serious weight issue and then tells moms to switch to formula. I didn't want to go down that road, so I stayed on top of her weight gain from the beginning because I knew LOs latch was off (the pain was unbearable) and I wanted to protect my supply. </p> <p>Hang in there! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry/page/2#post-1670220 Sat, 31 May 2014 08:12:10 +0000 Mae 1670220@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@ElbieKay: we keep trying to give her a paci but she doesn't really like it. Sometimes she will suck on it for like 5 min but usually just spits it out right away. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry/page/2#post-1670217 Sat, 31 May 2014 08:09:56 +0000 Rockies11 1670217@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: mine nursed all the time when she was a newborn - like most of the day when she wasn't in a deep sleep she was nursing. She still nurses a ton at 11 months. some babies are just really nursy I think. re: one breast at a time - I used to worry about switching them up, but then I decided to abandon trying to do that because I was stressing myself out about time and foremilk and so forth, and just started giving them a quick squeeze to see which one is the fullest and then starting her on that one the next time. I don't think offering one or both breasts matters as much as it seems to in the beginning, so I would do what makes sense to you. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry/page/2#post-1670215 Sat, 31 May 2014 08:07:40 +0000 ElbieKay 1670215@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Also, maybe try feeding her more to see what happens? Most likely the worst case is a fountain of spitup but at least you'll have a better idea of her capacity. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry/page/2#post-1670214 Sat, 31 May 2014 08:06:50 +0000 ElbieKay 1670214@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: Have you considered a paci? I was mildly against them but caved when my son clearly needed to comfort suck and my nipples couldn't take it. I was worried he would get addicted but he completely lost interest at 3 weeks. It might be worth considering. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry/page/2#post-1670213 Sat, 31 May 2014 08:00:33 +0000 Mae 1670213@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@ElbieKay: I actually tried this last night bc my boobs just hurt too much to face nursing at her 2am feed time. So I pumped for 20 min and got 55ml... And the doc said she should be eating about 60ml per meal. So I added 15 ml from my stash for a total of 70... Thought a bigger meal might make her happy. So I woke her up and bottle fed her the 70ml and she finished screaming/rooting. She clearly wanted to nurse. Sigh. After 10 min I couldn't take the crying so I gave in and nursed her and she was asleep less than 10 min later. </p> <p>Sigh. So bottle feeding seems like sort of a fail.. I feel like maybe she does want to nurse all the time but it's less about food than comfort? Bc according to the doc 70ml should have more than filled her up. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry#post-1670179 Sat, 31 May 2014 07:26:10 +0000 ElbieKay 1670179@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I had a lot of nipple pain for 8 weeks, so I chose to pump a lot for relief while still exclusively feeding breast milk.</p> <p>An added bonus of bottle feeding is that you know how much your baby is drinking.</p> <p>Maybe try replacing a few nursing sessions with a pump-and-bottle-feed session to see if it ends on a more positive note? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry#post-1670133 Sat, 31 May 2014 02:42:25 +0000 skipra 1670133@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think it's great that you're seeing a LC Monday. I hope she can help you figure out what is going on. I am no expert but it does seem that the slow gain is a concern. With both boys our doctors expected at least half to one ounce weight gain a day. So maybe it's a supply issue or as many others have mentioned, a tongue tie? Our older DS is a very slow gainer but it started when he was a bit older and was too interested in the world to eat (and still.is) so I know how frustrating dealing with this can be. I am thinking of you!<br /> As far as how often my little guy eats, I feel like I'm feeding him all the time. I will offer the breast whenever he is awake and fussy. I know he is not always hungry and is just using it to fall asleep. If he falls asleep while nursing I hold him upright to burp and avoid the spit up and sometimes he wakes, sometimes not. I won't wake him to offer the other side. Unlike most other people I will encourage him to.wake up during the day if he's been sleeping a while and it's been 2+ hours since the start of his last feed. I find this helps us get a longer stretch at night.<br /> And I wouldn't worry about the ILs at this point as long as you've explained you're struggling with the bf and you're not disappearing because you hate them. In time you will figure out the nursing cover. Maybe practice in private before trying it in a crowd? We got to a point that people would ask what happened to DS when using it but I thought it was this impossible contraption at first. :wink: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry#post-1670121 Sat, 31 May 2014 00:47:38 +0000 nana87 1670121@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Dd is 8 weeks and she 'a been the same way for the most part-- long and frequent nursing sessions! Not sure if it's "normal" but it's our experience. Often one hour on, on off. When she fusses often the only thing that makes her happy is nursing (though sometimes it is that she's overtired and we are able to rock her to sleep-- that only started working last week though). She only started having non fussy alert time after 4 weeks, and it's still only for short bits. And she's only started sleeping longer stretches more often. I always nurse until she pops off herself or falls asleep-- even if that's like a ridiculous amount of time. I follow her lead about switching sides, and I stopped waking her after 3 weeks, when her dr said not to anymore (after she was back to birth weight). She's a tiny peanut so I really do think she's just very hungry! She usually cluster feeds for a long chunk of the day and then has some long stretches of sleep-- like today she fed on and off with only catnaps from ~2-7:30, then slept until 1.</p> <p>Also I've had a lot of nipple pain, and mastitis once too. It sucks! Only just started getting easier like last week... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry#post-1670040 Fri, 30 May 2014 22:17:40 +0000 ALV91711 1670040@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Nursing a newborn is draining. Long nursing sessions and not much time in between. You've gotten lots of good advice. I've always offered both sides just to make sure he is full. Also, I would try not waking her to feed, she will wake up when she is ready, just don't let her go too many hours. Maybe with some longer naps in the day she will do better. It is worth a try anyway. </p> <p>Hugs and I hope it gets better. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry#post-1670022 Fri, 30 May 2014 22:01:10 +0000 MrsBeluga 1670022@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Also about the inlaws, it's their grand baby and they will understand. They may have their own opinions, just remind them u are doing the best u can, and u are trying to do what's best for their grand kid. They will still get plenty of time to visit when u are not nursing. And remember u just had a baby, a baby! U deserve rest and relaxation as much as u can get! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry#post-1670016 Fri, 30 May 2014 21:58:21 +0000 Kemma 1670016@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'd definitely ask the LC to have a really good check for lip and tongue tie, it just seems a little off that your LO isn't gaining more weight even with such long feeds. The possible ties could also explain the upset tummy and gas, does your LO make clicking noises while feeding? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry#post-1670014 Fri, 30 May 2014 21:57:41 +0000 MrsBeluga 1670014@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Also I would offer both, but one was usually all she wanted.... At four months she still likes a snack (maybe 3-5 mins) about once an hour. Grazing baby!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry#post-1670012 Fri, 30 May 2014 21:54:03 +0000 MrsBeluga 1670012@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: don't wake a sleeping baby! She might just be overtired... She will wake if she is too hungry (and a late meal here or there won't hurt her in the long run). Also my newborn nursed all the time, it does get easier, so hang in there. I fed on demand, so my boobs were out once an hour it seemed, was often the only way to keep her from crying. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry#post-1669997 Fri, 30 May 2014 21:41:50 +0000 jedeve 1669997@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>LO would only take one side at a time at that age. </p> <p>I would say - don't wake the baby to nurse, unless it's been a really long time. Let her sleep and give your nipples a break. Then whenever she is awake and fussy, offer her milk. </p> <p>I was told newborns eat about every two hours. LO would take about forty minutes. So yeah, the one hour on, one off is pretty typical newborn behavior!</p> <p>I second getting some apno. And does the pain subside after thirty seconds or so? That's called latch on pain and it sucks but there isn't a ton to do about it and it goes away after about 6-8 weeks. Which seems impossibly far away at this age, and so short looking back! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry#post-1669958 Fri, 30 May 2014 21:14:34 +0000 jetsa 1669958@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: yes boob constantly. J ate every 60-90 minutes until 12-13 weeks. It sucked and I thought for sure something was wrong but it wasn't he was just hungry and I was where you were at it hurt soo bad surely something was wrong but no. Everyone swore it had to be silent reflux and ped said it wasn't If he fell asleep I did not offer the other side. So hugs I've been there it will get better </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry#post-1669942 Fri, 30 May 2014 21:00:49 +0000 Baby Boy Mom 1669942@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Lots of good advice already. I was going to ask what color her poops are? One of my LOs pooped during every feeding, that's normal, but if it's any color other than yellow you might want to look at a food intolerance. Also, do you have a Moby or similar wrap? My LO with stomach issues would only sleep well in the wrap where he was mostly upright. Hang in there! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry#post-1669932 Fri, 30 May 2014 20:52:50 +0000 whodat 1669932@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>For what it's worth, I've never woken any of my 3 breastfed kids up to nurse. I think if they were hungry their belly would wake them up. I do however wake LO up if he falls asleep at one breast to switch to the other because I want to make sure he gets a good meal and won't wake up hungry in a half an hour. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry#post-1669865 Fri, 30 May 2014 20:12:50 +0000 ShootingStar 1669865@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Could she have reflux? That might explain why she's upset almost immediately after feeding. And I would definitely not wake her to offer the other side. In the beginning I had no idea if DS was done nursing or just tired of that side/out of milk. Eventually we got the hang of it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry#post-1669806 Fri, 30 May 2014 19:25:13 +0000 sslm 1669806@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: Madeline only ever took one side. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry#post-1669804 Fri, 30 May 2014 19:24:14 +0000 Greentea 1669804@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: you are doing so great! Don't worry about what anyone thinks. I had this happen to me too- so I used a cover or pumped upstairs- because a pump session took 20 minutes... a nursing session took unending periods of time.</p> <p>And yes I did offer both every time. LO was like "suck suck sleep." I did what I could to get her to eat both... otherwise I was truly feeding every thirty minutes for thirty minutes. Hang in there! Screw the inlaws! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry#post-1669789 Fri, 30 May 2014 19:16:30 +0000 avivoca 1669789@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: I nursed one side at a time. Now at eight months I offer both sides. </p> <p>I'm sorry you are having issues. At that age, I threw a boob at her constantly. Some days we would stay on the couch all day and my shirt would be unhooked for hours. I also did not wake to feed, but my LO surpassed her birth weight by day 5. The initial latch hurt like a mofo at first, but it gradually got better. </p> <p>Hugs! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry#post-1669785 Fri, 30 May 2014 19:12:52 +0000 hilsy85 1669785@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: this is kind of a classic pic for TT--it's not always this obvious. <a href="http://newborns.stanford.edu/PhotoGallery/Ankyloglossia1.html" rel="nofollow">http://newborns.stanford.edu/PhotoGallery/Ankyloglossia1.html</a></p> <p>WHen you pump how much do you get? I"m sure seeing the LC monday will help with lots of these questions/issues! I know how hard the first few weeks are--hang in there! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry#post-1669784 Fri, 30 May 2014 19:12:27 +0000 sslm 1669784@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: I know. I've been there!! I dreaded every latch but it slowly got better. Hang in there mama! It won't hurt forever! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry#post-1669776 Fri, 30 May 2014 19:07:22 +0000 Mae 1669776@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Question for you all who just nursed constantly in newborn days... did you offer both sides every time? I've been told to do that but sometimes she dozes off after side 1 and it would be nice to just let her sleep and offer the other side the next time... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry#post-1669775 Fri, 30 May 2014 19:06:07 +0000 Mae 1669775@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hilsy85: I guess they are slightly flat... but not nearly as bad as they were when we were initially having latch issues. And after the first 10-20 seconds nursing doesn't hurt. But man those first few... ugh. As for her tongue I don't know? She has never stuck it out. I don't know if she could. I remember a nurse did mention she had a heart shaped tongue but said that she did not have a tongue tie... :/ I'll ask the LC monday for sure. And I can't use a nursing cover because I really need 2 hands and a good eye on LO to make sure she is nursing right... I don't think I'd be able to nurse with a cover on right now. </p> <p>@Anagram: We'd rather not give formula but we will if we have to. We did supplement in week 1 and it seemed to give her more issues with gas than she has now even. I do occasionally pump and give her a bottle if I just can't face nursing. But only like once every other day or so. We haven't done a weighted feed yet but we're doing it Monday. And no I'm not still pumping after every feed. The LC and ped said as long as she is nursing for 15 min or more I don't need to do that anymore. Which thank god bc if she was nursing for an hour then I pumped and then bottle fed it would make the whole process take even longer than it already does! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/how-to-know-when-to-feed-hungry-or-angry#post-1669768 Fri, 30 May 2014 19:02:05 +0000 hilsy85 1669768@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: also, see if you can get a prescription for all purpose nipple ointment (APNO). it worked wonders when I had damage from nursing and helped heal me up really quickly! </p>