Our daughter is 3 days old (born Tues) and is such a content baby - during the day. It seems as soon as the sun goes down she becomes owly, cranky, and attached to the boob. My milk really only started coming in today so I thought she was just hungry, however, she is really fussy again and litterally wants to stay latched on. I can't put her down or she WAILS (she's in my arms now).

Is this colic from the change in milk (from colostrum to milk)? It's killing me that I don't know whats wrong so I can help her.

I think it's very normal. Many people posted threads on this. It's common for babies to be more cranky at night, probobly b/c they are tired. My DS starting from about 7pm and would want to eat every half hour otherwise he'd fuss and cry. This is called cluster feeding, when babies eat more at night to store for later and w/ time are able to go longer between feedings.

Other sources say that babies want to eat more often in the evening b/c your milk supply is lowest during this time so they need to eat more frequently. Yet others still say, that it has to do w/ baby remembering that around this time during pregancy you were active moving around alot, so for that reason they want to be rocked and held more, etc.

Bottom line is babies do this and I would just recommend breastfeeding more frequantly so that at least she is not crying. They do outgrow this stage when they start sleeping longer at night. For my son it was around 6wks. Good luck.

I agree with what Keidy said. I remember the first couple months of life, it seemed like I was feeding DD every 45 mins to every hour in the evenings...while the days were every 2 hours and that was fine (except during growth spurts where she'd eat every hour or so around the clock).

Your baby may also be just wanting to suck for the sake of sucking. Sucking is very soothing to them. It may not even matter to baby whether your milk is coming out. Since you're breastfeeding, you can decide if/when you want to introduce a paci to baby. I didn't introduce a paci until baby was about 5 weeks old. I personally felt I waited too long to give a paci...because I was her human paci and it was a 24-hour a day job. My breasts were sooooooo sore from all the sucking. The paci was a relief to me.

However, since your baby is only days old and you're breastfeeding, I personally would refrain from a paci for at least the first couple weeks (until you see the Ped at the 2 weeks visit, maybe...this is just my opinion), so the baby keeps eating and learning to latch on well. Once you know the baby knows how to eat/suck well off you, and you know baby is gaining weight, and your milk supply is going well...then I would think about paci's & when it's right to try it. That's just based on my personal experience

My DD had the colic pretty bad. I wouldn't worry about colic just yet. Give it a couple weeks.

Hope everything goes well!

Thanx guys. She deffinitly seems more hungry at night. I also don't want to introduce the pacifer just yet. Maybe later, but right now she's just getting the hang of latching on, and now that my milk is in full swing I don't want to sabotage it.

Funnily enough, just her crying lets my milk down. I was wearing a night shirt without a bra this morning and with her crying my milk was shooting out and running down my belly!!

I am going to attempt pumping and letting DH feed a bottle at night to share some of the burden, but I'm affraid with my good let down that she'll cry and I'll gush, and if she gets a bottle and doesn't empty my breasts that my milk will slow down, and I don't want that to happen during the day. It's purely a selfish motive that I'm going to pump (so I can hopefully sleep at night). I wanted to stay strictly breast. I already feel that I've let myself down.

North-
Don't feel like you let your self down b/c you would like to give her a bottle of EBM. At first nursing is A LOT harder than you would think. You should give yourself props for choosing to nurse and sticking with it while your milk came in. I personally wanted to quit b/c I thought my body was failing me when it took a few days for my milk to come in. The first two weeks of nursing were horrible for me, and I was SO tired. Let you DH give her a bottle and get some sleep. You'll feel better!

Just a bit of advice from personal experience: I started pumping and letting my husband feed one of my girls a bottle once or twice a day after we came home from the hospital, and within 3 days she completely refused my breast (nipple preference). She's 4 weeks old now and I'm still working with her to learn to latch on again. Most experts agree that if you should exclusively breastfeed for at least the first 4-5 weeks and do not introduce a bottle or pacifier before that so baby doesn't have any problems going back and forth from bottle to breast. Babies can only learn one thing at a time, and right now he/she is still learning how to breastfeed properly. At this point, a bottle will be so easy to feed from, that baby will become lazy and not want to work to get the milk from your breast.

Have you considered co-sleeping at night so that you don't have to keep getting up and down during the night to feed the baby? You can breastfeed baby while you are both laying down so baby can get the food he/she wants, and you can still get some rest. Good luck.

Have you considered co-sleeping at night so that you don't have to keep getting up and down during the night to feed the baby? You can breastfeed baby while you are both laying down so baby can get the food he/she wants, and you can still get some rest. Good luck.

I've been doing that, but the trouble is the shape of my breast/nipple. They point in the wrong direction and I can't get her latched on well (not without it hurting anyway). I end up just sitting up. I did end up with a 3rd degree tear from the delivery and I can't reach her basinet (next to the bed) from the bed, so co-sleeping is still more comfortable. I really like it. I'm just paranoid of smothering her that I end up watching her more then sleeping. LOL

There is hope. :) Although I am exclusively breastfeeding, I knew I wanted my husband and son to get to bottle feed our baby(my pumped breastmilk) right away. So I did my research and found out through testmonials and web articles that evenflo orthodonic nipples or Gerber nuk orthodonic nipples are best for breastfeeding moms to use when introducing the bottle because it is shaped more like the mothers nipple when it is suckled into the baby's mouth and babies most babies did not get nipple confusion. I thought it worth a shot, as soon as my milk came in and in the second week of my babies life I pumped breastmilk and have had great result with no confusion on my baby's part between breast and bottle. Furthermore, since I made the discovery that he fusses more at night and tends to sleep less, I decided to try giving him a bottle before bedtime. He seemed to rest more and be less fussy. I finally got to sleep with fewer interuptions but I still breastfeed during the night, it just that I pump the first feeding in the bottle and give it to him before sleeping. Of course I make sure he is well burped and the milk has settled on his tummy.
I actually found the nipples for .99 on sale at the Big Lots store but had to by the evenflo bottles separately because they came with the standard nipples. I use 0-3 months evenflo orthodonic nipples and gerber nuk orthodonic pacifier 0-6mths. On a side note my son was born at 36wks and has had no problems sucking on this kind of pacifier and breastfeeding. However, I do breastfeed often and when I know he if full and just wanting to suck I give him the pacifier but take it out of his mouth when he falls asleep. I think he sleeps better with the bottle feeding before bed time because he is able to get more milk on his tummy in one feeding. However, because I mostly breastfeed until the bedtime bottle, he is not lazy about breastfeeding during the night or at any other time. This was my solution to the night fussing, maybe this will help you. I do get at least two hours more sleep before he wakes up to nurse. Just way all of your options and do what you feel is best for you and your baby. :wave:

Last night was our best night yet!! I fed her at 11:30 and she slept till 1 when I fed her again, then she slept till 5, then again till 10. It was GREAT. And no bottles or pacifiers. :bouncing:

Great! :) I am glad it is working out. I guess you were already doing what was best for you and your baby. It's good that you both are doing well. The great thing about these message boards is that you may get many ideas and suggestions and it is great, but you don't have to take the advice given. I am glad you had a good night doing things the way you wanted to. I myself enjoy, breastfeeding and pumping milk into a bottle and watching my 7yr. give his little brother a bottle of milk and my husband likes to feed the baby too. However, I was advised against using bottle and pacifiers, yet things worked out for me to use them with no nipple confusion on my baby's part and the night fussing decreased. Looks like we both are experiencing less fussy nights and perhaps we can share our experiences with other moms who go through this with their newborns. Congratulations again on your baby! :angel:
My little one is now 3wks old.

Thanx ladies. I have used a pacifier on her once, and the next morning she kept spitting my nipple out. So no more pacifier. I do pump and keep a good supply in the fridge/freezer "just in case", but I'd rather not use it, and I don't want to get myself, or her, on a schedule of expecting a plastic nipple (not after the pacifier incident). I also don't want to change the way my milk is right now. I will probably introduce a bottle later. In fact, I know I will, but I don't want to tempt fate just yet. LOL