Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do were your expectations when you had a a baby, op?

I would nurse and pump a little milk so you can sleep through a feeding. Also have your husband just wake up and give you the baby do you can nurse without waking. The reality is new parents are tired this season will pass though.

If it really comes down to it just use formula.

I’m the OP. This may sound naive but I didn’t expect such frequent feedings or how long a feeding would take. We are averaging 20-60 minutes per feeding,
with the latter time for most.

I’m not interested in giving up on breastfeeding yet.

I am pumping and I’m able to get a little milk leftover that I’m freezing or using for skin.

OP I actually am not sure it is normal for feedings to take that long. Even as a newborn mine took about 10-15 minutes tops. Sixty minutes sounds really extreme and like there’s a milk transfer issue.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do were your expectations when you had a a baby, op?

I would nurse and pump a little milk so you can sleep through a feeding. Also have your husband just wake up and give you the baby do you can nurse without waking. The reality is new parents are tired this season will pass though.

If it really comes down to it just use formula.

I’m the OP. This may sound naive but I didn’t expect such frequent feedings or how long a feeding would take. We are averaging 20-60 minutes per feeding,
with the latter time for most.

I’m not interested in giving up on breastfeeding yet.

I am pumping and I’m able to get a little milk leftover that I’m freezing or using for skin.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just want to remind you that you are really in the trenches - days 3-5 were always the hardest for me! Have you talked to a lactation consultant? Generally they can do a telemedicine consult to talk through something like this - I did it with both of mine. My personal experience was that I couldn't sleep longer than 3 or maybe 3.5 hours for the first couple of weeks as baby was figuring out life on the outside and my supply was regulating, but after that, we were able to figure out a shift system that didn't affect my supply. In our case, I did still get less sleep than DH, but I could get a good 4 hour stretch for myself most nights by the time he was 4 weeks old.
Also, just in case no one else is telling you this (because I wish someone had to me with my first) - breastfeeding is amazing, but so is formula. I've done both. You're an amazing mom either way. Taking care of yourself IS taking care of your baby, and formula can sometimes be part of that.

I’m the OP. I’m even open to 3-3.5 hour stretches of sleep. I don’t get that with the frequent and long feedings. A feeding takes up to 1 hour each time between diaper changing, feeding, and burping. We are so thankful for the Snoo because we just put him in it and that puts him to sleep. He’s still up eating every 1.5-3 hours.

PP. Yes, everything you described is normal for the first couple of weeks. It’s brutal but you get through it. With my first, I stuck it out because I wanted to breastfeed so badly. With my second, I switched to formula because he ate more often and by day 4 or 5 I couldn’t handle only sleeping in 2 hour stretches any longer.

Literal exact opposite. My baby turned a corner at about 4 weeks, breastfeeding was so smooth, way way easier than bottle prep, started sleeping like a champ, and I LOVED the breastfeeding bond. Had I thrown in the towel on day…5? (which seems pretty absurd if you even have a tiny inkling of desire to bf) I would’ve missed one of my favorite parts of newborn days.

Anonymous wrote:What do were your expectations when you had a a baby, op?

I would nurse and pump a little milk so you can sleep through a feeding. Also have your husband just wake up and give you the baby do you can nurse without waking. The reality is new parents are tired this season will pass though.

If it really comes down to it just use formula.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is hilarious. When was the last time any of you had kids, 1980??? OP is four *days* postpartum. DAYS! Feeding is going to take an hour and she’s going to need to expect zero sleep! The baby is four days old! Quit projecting how terrible breastfeeding went for you or how much sleep you did or didn’t need because it doesn’t matter at all. OP is four days pp!

OP, nothing is wrong, this is precisely how it’s supposed to be four days pp, and it incrementally gets better. Talk to your pediatrician and read a sleep training book to prepare for week 2+.

+1

I wrote something nicer up thread. But this is really what I was thinking.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just want to remind you that you are really in the trenches - days 3-5 were always the hardest for me! Have you talked to a lactation consultant? Generally they can do a telemedicine consult to talk through something like this - I did it with both of mine. My personal experience was that I couldn't sleep longer than 3 or maybe 3.5 hours for the first couple of weeks as baby was figuring out life on the outside and my supply was regulating, but after that, we were able to figure out a shift system that didn't affect my supply. In our case, I did still get less sleep than DH, but I could get a good 4 hour stretch for myself most nights by the time he was 4 weeks old.
Also, just in case no one else is telling you this (because I wish someone had to me with my first) - breastfeeding is amazing, but so is formula. I've done both. You're an amazing mom either way. Taking care of yourself IS taking care of your baby, and formula can sometimes be part of that.

I’m the OP. I’m even open to 3-3.5 hour stretches of sleep. I don’t get that with the frequent and long feedings. A feeding takes up to 1 hour each time between diaper changing, feeding, and burping. We are so thankful for the Snoo because we just put him in it and that puts him to sleep. He’s still up eating every 1.5-3 hours.

PP. Yes, everything you described is normal for the first couple of weeks. It’s brutal but you get through it. With my first, I stuck it out because I wanted to breastfeed so badly. With my second, I switched to formula because he ate more often and by day 4 or 5 I couldn’t handle only sleeping in 2 hour stretches any longer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just want to remind you that you are really in the trenches - days 3-5 were always the hardest for me! Have you talked to a lactation consultant? Generally they can do a telemedicine consult to talk through something like this - I did it with both of mine. My personal experience was that I couldn't sleep longer than 3 or maybe 3.5 hours for the first couple of weeks as baby was figuring out life on the outside and my supply was regulating, but after that, we were able to figure out a shift system that didn't affect my supply. In our case, I did still get less sleep than DH, but I could get a good 4 hour stretch for myself most nights by the time he was 4 weeks old.
Also, just in case no one else is telling you this (because I wish someone had to me with my first) - breastfeeding is amazing, but so is formula. I've done both. You're an amazing mom either way. Taking care of yourself IS taking care of your baby, and formula can sometimes be part of that.

I’m the OP. I’m even open to 3-3.5 hour stretches of sleep. I don’t get that with the frequent and long feedings. A feeding takes up to 1 hour each time between diaper changing, feeding, and burping. We are so thankful for the Snoo because we just put him in it and that puts him to sleep. He’s still up eating every 1.5-3 hours.

Anonymous wrote:This thread is hilarious. When was the last time any of you had kids, 1980??? OP is four *days* postpartum. DAYS! Feeding is going to take an hour and she’s going to need to expect zero sleep! The baby is four days old! Quit projecting how terrible breastfeeding went for you or how much sleep you did or didn’t need because it doesn’t matter at all. OP is four days pp!

OP, nothing is wrong, this is precisely how it’s supposed to be four days pp, and it incrementally gets better. Talk to your pediatrician and read a sleep training book to prepare for week 2+.

Anonymous wrote:You have a newborn so no, you can’t get 5 hours sleep straight.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had a “rule” with both of our kids: there needs to be one adult who is getting sleep. Two adults with interrupted sleep is a disaster.

As the breastfeeding parent, that meant that I was the one getting up with the baby in the middle of the night and dealing with interrupted sleep. It helped me knowing that this was just what it was going to be. BUT during the day, I really didn’t do anything else. I slept as much as possible. When the baby slept, I slept. I wasn’t worried about meal prep or laundry or cleaning. My spouse, the one who was getting sleep, was taking care of that.

Hang in there. That approach worked for us, but it might not be best for you.

Congratulations.

This. You’re up at night but spouse does most of the chores. Also, make sure you go to bed as early as possible. I would BF my baby at 7, hand him off to my spouse, and go straight to bed. No tv, no phone, just sleep until the next feeding.