When will I adjust?!

My daughter was born 8/4 and my milk has come in no problem. She'll go between 2 and 4 hrs between feedings - sometimes clustering and going 1 hr between...  What I want to know is when will my body (boobs) adjust to being 'full' and stop hurting?!  If she goes longer than 2 hrs I get full and am uncomfortable!  We tried a bottle one day last week and she took it no problem but spit up quite a bit after so we want to wait to try another bottle. I guess pumping and offering a bottle is one option to relieve my discomfort.  Just wondering and looking for some support! My husband doesn't understand how tender/sore I am!  

[myenzoorka]

Pumping is definitely a good way to relieve the pressure/pain.  You can even just hand express some milk to relieve a small amount of pressure.  Your breasts should have less problems with feeling too full within the next 2-3 months, depending on how regularly she nurses (and after that, you will still have problems from time to time - like when she sleeps through the night).  If your husband is being difficult because of his lack of understanding... hit him hard with a pillow (take a wild guess where).  Then push firmly on them with your hand - ask him how it feels.  Then in a sweet, calm voice explain that that is how it feels all the time until your daughter nurses. :)

[Gina04]

As myenzoorka said, you can hand express a little to relieve the pressure.  However, I definitely recommend putting your daughter on a schedule.  Your body will get used to the schedule and so will your daughter.  I have friends who did demand feeding and it seemed like they were always wondering when the baby would be ready to eat because their breast were definitely ready to feed.  On the other hand, with myself and my friends who put our kids on a schedule, We could tell when it was close to feeding time and, right about then, our child would be wanting to eat.  I authored an ebook about this.  If you send me a message with your email address, I can email you a copy of it for free.

[AnnieBrooke]

In my case, I just fed when my breasts were full, and my baby was fine with that.  If you want to create a schedule and need to pump to relieve pressure in order to stay with the schedule, definitely freeze the milk you pump.  It will be really handy in the future.

[tiredbuthappy]

I think pumping extra will only cause you to produce more milk, which will make it take longer for your boobs to adjust.
I do not recommend pumping and bottle feeding at this point, unless you don't mind having to do it long term since a baby this young may start to prefer the bottle.

It won't take too long for your body to adjust. Just give it time and nurse on demand. Breastfeeding newborns shouldn't be going much more than 2 hrs between feeds anyways. Most organizations and lactation consultant do NOT recommend putting a baby on a schedule to nurse, especially when this young. They need to naturally cluster feed to both feed their growth spurts and to boost your supply. Scheduling breastfeeding early on often leads to failed nursing (people say their milk dried up on it's own but it's because they don't allow the natural cluster feeding patterns that stimulate milk production) and at times may lead to jaundice in the baby or in extreme cases failure to thrive in the baby.

Congrats on the arrival of your little one!

[Gina04]

The choice to demand feed or schedule feed is yours.  However, if you read through my ebook, you will see the many benefits of schedule feeding for both you and your child.  My kids both slept through the night by two months old.  At four years and three years, I am still hearing how calm my kids are compared to other children.  This is not the case with the kids of any of my friends who demand fed.  If you read the ebook and still choose to demand feed, I have no problem with that.  However, I would recommend that you at least look at some of the benefits and drawbacks in this area before making your final decision.

[Diane1003]

Thanks to all for the thoughts/feedback.  I've been feeding on demand for sure - and have been experiencing cluster feedings, mostly at night.  I would love to know how to keep her awake when she's nursing b/c taking her clothes off and trying to stimulate her isn't working!  It seems that when I'm getting her dressed she wakes up!  I know she's only 11 days old and we're still trying to figure things out...

Thanks again for the support!

[Gina04]

This is one of the many things that schedule feeding can help with.  When a baby is fed on demand, s/he starts to get a little hungry, wakes up, eats a small amount, and falls asleep again when there is a little food in his/her belly.  Because it was a small amount, it doesn't keep the baby satisfied for very long so the baby will want to eat more again soon.  When on a schedule, the baby is really hungry by feeding time.  At first, they may fall asleep but it should be easier to wake the baby up because s/he is really hungry.  As the baby gets used to the schedule, s/he is not as tired at feeding time and should stay awake easier since s/he just got a good nap in.
Aside from this, have you tried getting her up, undressing her, holding her a little while, changing her diaper, and getting her dressed again, and then trying to feed her?

[jenstam]

Babies should not be put on a schedule. Let them feed on demand, it's natural. You never want your baby to be really hungry at such a young age. Many times babies just need to suckle. Also, nursing should never be about looking at a clock. What if your child is hungry before the next scheduled feeding? Good luck, and kudos to you for being a breastfeeding mommy!

[tiredbuthappy]

With all due respect, I was hoping you would share what you based you parenting book on. I have extensively researched breastfeeding and have not seen any reputable medical source that would encourage a breastfeeding mother to put an infant on a nursing schedule, especially a newborn. Aside from your 2 children, what do you base your recommendations on? While your recommendations are more convenient for the mother, I have not seen evidence of medical benefits for the baby. In fact, I recently read that scheduling in the beginning of the 20th century is partly responsible for the rapid decrease in breastfeeding rates through out those decades. Mothers were encouraged to schedule feedings and their supplies dropped. Since formula was becoming available, these misinformed mothers thought they couldn't produce enough and they turned to formula. Of course, many other social factors further contributed to the decline, but scheduling did play a significant role. I will try to find the article, as it was very interesting.

[Gina04]

The ideas in my ebook come from knowledge I've acquired over the years from various sources.  I have worked as a medical assistant in an OB/GYN office, been a nanny, worked at a daycare center, done a lot of babysitting, and am now a mother.  I have seen many babies who feed on demand and many who feed on a schedule.  Those who are schedule fed are generally more calm, sleep through the night at an earlier age, have less problems with being overweight babies, etc. compared to those who feed on demand.  When my kids were like six months old, people kept saying things like, "I guess no one in your house is getting much sleep these days, huh?"  They were shocked when I told them that my kids had been sleeping through the night since they were about two months old.  The ebook was written because people kept asking me how I did it.  Their kids were two years old, four years old, etc. and still not sleeping through the night and they wanted to know how I got mine to do it at a couple months old.  They were exhausted and really wanted to get a good night's sleep for a change.  I finally decided to put it into an ebook form and include some other pregnancy/baby/parenting related issues that I got asked about a lot.

[jenstam]

Your kids may just have a more calm demeanor by nature, not because they were put on a schedule. Obesity rates are lower in children who breastfeed, period. I have a baby who has slept through the night since six weeks or so, and he is fed on demand. Parenting is not about what is convenient for the mother, and what works for her schedule. It should not be anyhow. It is and should be about the baby and what baby wants and needs. I would hate for a new nursing mother to come on here and think that she needs to put her young baby on a schedule based on this post. I highly disagree with your breastfeeding advice to put on a schedule. Schedules are great for bed time, nap time, snack, story, etc...for an older child but not a new baby who needs to cluster feed and has growth spurts!

[Gina04]

You are free to disagree with me.  I know this is a controversial issue and, if you have a different opinion than mine, that is okay.  In my experience, those who choose to follow what I have included in my ebook thank me for it soon after implementing it.  They find that their child is so much more calm than those they see in the stores, etc.  Those friends of mine who disagree with me (Yes, I have friends who feel the way you do.), generally complain a lot about how their kids constantly want to nurse, how they are now toddlers and don't sleep through the night, how their kids are so demanding, etc.  Each parent has to choose for themselves how they are going to parent.  I would just like to make sure that they know this is an option that has worked very well for many people.

[tiredbuthappy]

Of course we are all welcome to post our opinions. However, since this is a medical site, it is our responsibility to let future seekers of information know which recommendations are the standard medical ones and which ones are based on a person's personal and limited experience.

We have to be careful here, especially since most of the people who come to this particular forum are coming here because of breastfeeding difficulties. Most people here aren't whining about a lack of sleep. They are concerned about supply, latch, jaundice, and feeding in general. Your recommendations may work for someone who was blessed with a good supply, a baby that latches and nurses well, and with a baby who has a calm temperament. But the advice you give is shown to have strong negative impacts on breastfeeding, especially for people struggling with it. It is wonderful that it worked for you- we are concerned about those struggling with breastfeeding who come here for advice (which is the majority of people). So while you are welcome to post your personal experience, please understand that when we advise the opposite it is nothing personal- not a criticism of how you raised your children or how they turned out. Rather, it is us considering the population who comes to this site as well as the statistics and medical research that stands behind current recommendations.

[Diane1003]

Thanks for all the continued input/thoughts.  I tend to go with what my pediatrician recommends as he is very research based. I know some cultures nurse their children up to 30 times a day based on demand. I'm not up to that quiet yet!  My little one (if going 3 hrs or 90 min between feedings) tends to fall asleep while nursing.  I do my best to stimulate her to keep her feeding - sometimes it works better than others.  She's gone 5 hrs at night and then has been tending to go 3 hrs pretty steadily between other feedings.