My 9 day old baby can't stop eating.

[ella78]

I know have a 9 day old beautiful baby girl. Yesterday and today it's like she can't stop eating. I am Breastfeeding and my nipples are so sore. All she wants to do is eat. I might get a break for an hour every once in a while, but it doesn't take long before she starts rooting and crying again and she will stay latched to me for about an hour.

Is this normal?

[bignerpie]

Absolutely normal. Newborns hit a growth spurt around 2-3 weeks, and it seems like they eat constantly. They're telling your breasts that they're going to need more milk soon, so you start making more for them.

There's another growth spurt around 6 weeks, but after that, they should develop some sort of regular pattern to their eating.

You're doing great! 

[Just1More]

ddcc

The pp is right, but sometimes block feeding can help a bit.  She might be getting a lot of foremilk instead of the fattier hindmilk that will fill her up for longer.  You can try only nursing on one side everytime she wants to nurse for about 4 hours, and then switch to the other. 

[Just1More]

Oh, and btw, the growth spurts typically last for about 3 days.  Eat, eat, eat, eat.  And then, suddenly, they sleep and sleep and sleep. 

[KempsMama]

To help with the soreness, I found a cool rag helped at times, lansinoh ointment and going braless/shirtless as much as possible.

This is a normal thing, and knowing that can make it easier, but the pain can be really hard to deal with.  Do you have adequate support?  You can pm me if you need.

[bignerpie]

Originally Posted by Just1More 

ddcc

The pp is right, but sometimes block feeding can help a bit.  She might be getting a lot of foremilk instead of the fattier hindmilk that will fill her up for longer.  You can try only nursing on one side everytime she wants to nurse for about 4 hours, and then switch to the other. 

I have to disagree with this advice. Without knowing more about the OP's situation, block feeding could be a very bad idea. Block feeding is used to decrease supply in a mother that has an oversupply. For a mother with a 9 day old baby who is trying to get a supply established, it could be very detrimental. Now, it's quite possible that the OP does have an oversupply and block feeding would be a good idea, but there is not enough information here to suggest that.

[Dlynn918]

medela makes a shield for sore nipples and it helped me a lot! also, make sure she is getting a good latch because that could be an issue as well w being sore. www.kellymom.com is a great resource also for BFing. If she is latched for an hour then she is getting plenty of hind milk. If she were not, she would be weak and sleeping constantly and falling off the breast quickly! Sounds like she is ready for her week 2 growth spurt!!! currently typing w one hand cause ten day old has been on me forever!!! Im actually quite happy cause she was the tired pokey feeder for the first week.

[scottishmommy]

Mine too! In fact she's starting to root around right now, so I'll keep this short! Ask your midwife or doctor to write you a prescription for Newmans Nipple Cream. It was a life saver for me with my first kid.

[kitchensqueen]

I've got a ten day old big eater here too! He wants to nurse constantly. I'm using The First Years Lanolin-Free Nipple Butter before and after each feeding, and that's helping a lot. He wants to eat so frequently, I've been giving him only one breast at a time, because he conks out at the end and won't take the second. But then an hour later he wants to eat again, so we switch to the other side. 

[tjjazzy]

thank goodness other ppl are having this issue too. except my baby girl spits up a lot :( i must be eating something that disagrees with her. i hope this stage passes quickly and we get a nice schedule in place. she did sleep 8.5 hours last night but has been fussing and nursing all day today.

[Yodaeyes]

My baby is 8 days old and spits up a lot. My pediatrician wasn't concerned, though I can't help but feel nervous about it. He said their little tummies are pretty rigid until they are 6 weeks old, so their tummy can't stretch when they over eat so it comes back up. My dd nurses like crazy around bedtime then spits it up, nurses more, spits up, gets gassy and cranky then finally falls asleep.

Anyway, she has been nursing like crazy as well. I usually do one breast per feeding, but supply has never been an issue for me. This is my third baby and I've basically been nursing for the last 10+ years. And my nipples are still sore from this little one!

[Smurfy]

I used cooled cabbage leaves for sore nipples as well, for about 15 min in your bra after nursing. This can also help with engorgement, which means it can decrease milk supply, so be careful not to use them too much. For excess spit up you could try the chiropractor, though like others have said it's usually a newborn thing that will pass as their tummy develops a bit more.

[mae14]

My guy has been nursing lots as well.  Looking forward to when he has his sleep stage. :)

[Earthylady]

I've done block feeding with all of my kids.  As much as they want to nurse all.the.time, it's a really good idea to block feed for a couple of hours per side before switching.  Otherwise, babies are only getting the foremilk and not nursing long enough to get to the hindmilk.  So, I would still suggest that to anyone.  4 hours I think is a bit long and could cause some serious pain and engorgement.  But I think a 2 hour block could be very good for anyone.  Just nurse every time the baby wants to nurse on one side for a 2 hour block of time and that allows baby to get to more of the hindmilk before switching to the other side and it's thinner foremilk.

That being said, it is completely normal for a baby to want to nurse all the time. Sucking is very comforting to them and I am the first to admit that I am a human pacifier.  :)  None of my kids have had a paci, but they all have nursed constantly.  :)

I also wanted to add that my mw suggested to only use cabbage for a few minutes at a time (as was suggested in an above post) because it can actually dry up your milk supply if you leave it in your bra.

Edited by Earthylady - 9/26/11 at 10:47pm

[Dlynn918]

http://kellymom.com/bf/normal/growth-spurt.html

[Mama2ChicknLil]

Oh my goodness my little boy is crazy hungry too!! He's almost 3 weeks and this growth spurt is really challenging my commitment to ebf . I've been battling seriously injured nipples since he latched on strong but shallow at the hospital, and stayed there for hours at a time! Now he hours from one breast to the other at least twice in a feed...kept me up 5 straight hours the other night and then every hour on the hour after...ouch!! Anyone else dealt with cracked and bleeding nipples? I just want done assurance that they will actually heal eventually. This kid is kicking my behind!

[scottishmommy]

Originally Posted by Mama2ChicknLil 

Oh my goodness my little boy is crazy hungry too!! He's almost 3 weeks and this growth spurt is really challenging my commitment to ebf . I've been battling seriously injured nipples since he latched on strong but shallow at the hospital, and stayed there for hours at a time! Now he hours from one breast to the other at least twice in a feed...kept me up 5 straight hours the other night and then every hour on the hour after...ouch!! Anyone else dealt with cracked and bleeding nipples? I just want done assurance that they will actually heal eventually. This kid is kicking my behind!

Yes they will heal. I used Newman's Nipple Cream with DD1. It was a lifesaver! I wonder if you couldn't use neosporin and gently wipe it off before you nurse your little guy? I don't know if that's safe or not. Really, try not to worry too much. It WILL get better!

[wombatclay]

Originally Posted by Mama2ChicknLil 

Oh my goodness my little boy is crazy hungry too!! He's almost 3 weeks and this growth spurt is really challenging my commitment to ebf . I've been battling seriously injured nipples since he latched on strong but shallow at the hospital, and stayed there for hours at a time! Now he hours from one breast to the other at least twice in a feed...kept me up 5 straight hours the other night and then every hour on the hour after...ouch!! Anyone else dealt with cracked and bleeding nipples? I just want done assurance that they will actually heal eventually. This kid is kicking my behind!

Ditto to "It WILL heal"... with dd1 the pain meds from the cesarean masked the fact that her latch was off.  She "broke" my left nipple during her first nursing session.  Literally broke it.  She pulled on just the nipple and also bit down (apparently not uncommon in babes who have had deep suctioning prior to their first nursing) so I ended up with a large blood blister that was then "popped" so that my entire nipple was cracked right down the middle.  It was gross and VERY painful.  Her spity up was a mix of blood and milk for almost two weeks, and to be very honest nursing on that side was insanely painful (dh knew when she latched on that side because I'd start kicking the wall to keep myself from screaming) for about two weeks and not really "comfortable" for the first month or so. 

I'm glad I didn't give up since by the end of the month things had healed and I've been nursing more or less non-stop since then (so 6+ years).  but it was really really hard.

Find a LLL leader or LC who can help, consider using homeopathics (like arnica) that can reduce the swelling/speed healing, leave some breastmilk on your nipples air dry or "sun bathe", use warm or cool compresses (which ever feels better), use a nursing safe nipple cream like lansinoh or earth mama angel baby natural nipple butter (lanolin free, smells like chocolate...mmmmm) so you can minimize wiping/washing and use GOBS of the cream.  And on the bigger level, stay hydrated, get plenty of protein to help your body rebuild tissue, rest, and use your birth coping skills to get through the pain of the initial latch.

IF you notice unusual pain or itchiness on that side or notice that there are hard/swollen areas or areas of redness/heat... contact your doctor!  Broken skin on the nipple makes a good point of entry for ickiness and a mama with injured breasts is more prone to infections like mastitis or thrush.  There are all sorts of treatment options (Mothering had a fabulous article on holistic treatment for mastiitis that I believe is on their website now) but the sooner it's treated the better.
 

[scottishmommy]

Originally Posted by Mama2ChicknLil 

Oh my goodness my little boy is crazy hungry too!! He's almost 3 weeks and this growth spurt is really challenging my commitment to ebf . I've been battling seriously injured nipples since he latched on strong but shallow at the hospital, and stayed there for hours at a time! Now he hours from one breast to the other at least twice in a feed...kept me up 5 straight hours the other night and then every hour on the hour after...ouch!! Anyone else dealt with cracked and bleeding nipples? I just want done assurance that they will actually heal eventually. This kid is kicking my behind!

Here's a good article from kellymom.com

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mom/nipplehealing.html

I'm so, so sorry you are going through this. It's the worst! I remember crying with DD1 every time she had to nurse. The good news is that it did get better and I ended up nursing her for 2 years. With this baby I had a little irritation but it went away within a week.

[Mama2ChicknLil]

Scottismommy, I LIVE on kellymom these days! Thanks for the comisery though for some reason it helps I have definately cried quite a bit with this whole experience. I think I just expected it to go thoughwell because I'm a CLE who has helped hundreds of moms with positioning and latch, etc...it's so encouraging that you were able to bf so long after all the trauma, and I realize that we are not even 3 weeks in yet though it feels like a lifetime. I've just got to be patient it seems.

wombat, thanks for the tips for recovering. I have to say I hate putting anything but breast milk on my nipples right now. I was using lanolin, and I also used the motherlove nipple cream, but I feel like every single time I use anything we take a huge step back! I am definately going to follow your advice about self care, even taking a probiotic hoping to fight any yeast...sounds like the kind of thing I would have told a client, just needed someone to say it to me. THANK YOU! O also hadn't considered how threw epidural effected things, but now that you mention it, I don't think I was feeling much of anything let alone a bad latch!

Night time is the worst...we're tired and grumpy and he latched on so vigorously just now that my nipple is bleeding again. Sigh...and just when I could really use a drink!!