But, what is it with the cluster feeding?????
Last night Elke fed from 5pm till 9pm straight - well practically. There were brief little "I'm so tired/ drunk on milk/ windy/ I have no idea what's wrong with me" moments in there too. She fed again at 12.30, then 4am then 6am (reasonable). From the 6am feed, however, till about 11am, she fed almost constantly again!! Arrgh!
So.
I caved and bought a tin of formula.
I bathed her and dressed her this evening as usual, then breastfed her as usual. I then gave her a bottle (60mLs) of formula and ...
she was settled and out like a light by 7pm.
Hmph.
I don't know. I feel mixed up about the whole thing. On the one hand I feel like a failure. On the other hand I feel relieved. I am determined to keep on breastfeeding though. I will just add the odd bottle of formula in to the mix.
It's a slippery slope though, comp feeding.
Ah well.
On a brighter note, my two girls are just lovely and we are all clicking a way as a family of four.
Bridget is starting to really respond to Elke now. She demands to cuddle her at least twice a day. She talks to her and kisses her and even on the odd occasion tells her she loves her. So sweet.
Below is a photo of Elke at 3 weeks. She has just had a bath and is having a nudie kick. She loves this time of the day.
Below is a photo of Bridget holding Elke. Elke is having a good old cry and Bridget looks less than impressed - poor thing. She finds Elke's howling to be a little stresful and often gets upset too. 
The photo below was taken last week and again, Elke is crying. Poor Bridgy. She hasn't stopped asking to hold Elke though. 
Rob just brought Bridge into the kitchen and put a bandaid on a little bump on her forehead. Are all toddlers fascinated with bandaids like mine is? Any bump, bruise, scratch or imaginary injury requires one. They last about 20 minutes before they are peeled off.
OK. Off to phone my mum.
If you can stick with the b/f I know a friend whose baby is a day younger than my little miss and she was sleeping through quite early but was doing the whole cluster feeding thing around the same time at night as Miss Elke soooo..... I know it might not be great now but maybe there is something in it and she's doing it to get enough to get her through longer at night?
ReplyDeleteEB was definitely my lifesaver with b/f (along with some very supportive friends).
And you may already be doing this so just ignore me but drink heaps of water. I always found with M that if I wasn't drinking enough water she needed to feed more. Coincidence maybe????
Love the photos. : )
Hang in there Karelle! I would second everything T has said plus you know she might be having a little growth spurt. I hope in the next few days the cluster feeding eases. oxox
ReplyDeleteThanks girls!
ReplyDeleteTanya, yes I have thought about the water connection too. Have made sure I am drinking more during the day and at night. I think I need to eat more too. What is very difficult is dealing with the cluster feeding demands plus the demands of a toddler and household. The morning cluster feed coincides with the daycare run and the evening one coincides with the dinner, bath, bed thing for Bridget. It's putting a lot of pressure on Rob and I as his work hours often mean he is not home to help out! Eeek.
Hopefully it will slow down. A good friend of mine said that around 6 weeks it should sort itself out.
Fenugreek may help too! Also second Tanya and agree with the water intake. I also found that sitting, with my feet up (really resting.. I know it's hard, but think about what you're trying to achieve!), made a lot of difference too - so it was water AND resting (feet up, having a recline type resting) that helped me, because I started losing my supply at 6wks and again at 10wks. After that, we were home and hosed, it all clicked in.
ReplyDeleteHang in there, you are obviously doing marvellously! :) I love the photos of the sisters, awww poor Bridge.
And yes. Bandaids are bigger than anything here. Quite the coveted accessory (so much so that L will actually go around deliberately knocking a forefinger on the edge of her table, the bench, a chair, so she can come and say she "hurt" her finger and needs a bandaid!)