7 Week Old Baby - Need Some Advice from Moms!

Cluster feed. Cluster feeding is NORMAL and means feeding even every single hour.
Especially when hitting growth-spurts.
Always feed on-demand... ALWAYS. So your body also makes enough milk.
Make sure he is latching on properly... otherwise a baby will not get enough intake.
Bottles.... are a different 'technique' for drinking... only by gravity. To nurse at breast... it requires the baby to have the proper tongue/mouth coordination AND to suckle to get the let-down going. Some babies... do not latch on properly to do that... maybe see a Lactation Consultant to make sure.

Drink water and stay hydrated. So you produce milk.

In an infant, every 3 weeks is a growth-spurt period. Then at 3 months and every 3 months. So then 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 months and so forth. Intake/hunger at these periods, increases and in terms of feeding frequency.

Get the book "What To Expect The First Year."

You CANNOT over-feed... an infant.
He seems to be hitting a Growth-spurt. At these times you have to feed ON-demand, 24/7, day AND night. VERY important.

Your son seems to have a GOOD appetite. BOTH my kids were that way... I nursed with both my breasts, per session... and they drank me dry and grew like weeds and my milk production kept pace with THEIR intake needs... and feeding frequency.

IF you give him bottles.... instead of breast... your breasts will produce less milk. Because it is not being stimulated by your baby. So do not do that or try not to.
He is ONLY 7 weeks old... and your body needs to adjust to HIS intake needs and appetite. Feed on-demand. Direct nursing.

You NEED to do direct nursing.... not bottles. Or your milk supply will not mirror your son's needs nor your milk production.
Do not replace, nursing with bottles.

all the best,
Susan

Don't supplement with formula!!! That will give you a problem that you probably don't have, which is a short supply of milk.

As long as he's gaining weight, and you can talk to your ped about this, he is getting enough milk. I went through the same wonder, but here's the thing...your baby is far better at extracting milk from your breast than a pump will ever be. Plus, he's already emptied plenty whenever you are trying to pump.

At 7 weeks old, my daughter ALWAYS wanted to nurse, and I just kept it up...it will get better! I've made it to eight months now, and I generally only nurse early morning, mid morning, lunch, mid afternoon, and at bedtime, and usually once during the night. I think that averages 4 hours between each feeding...but your son will eventually work up to that.

Exclusive breastfeeding is a hugely time involved process in the first few months, but it slows down, I promise. When you introduce food, it gets even better!

It's a growth spurt :) Just put him to the breast whenever he's hungry. The more he nurses the more milk you'll make to give him what he needs. Don't give him formula! That missed feeding at your breast tells your body to make less and that's not what you want at all!
It only lasts a couple days. Just nurse nurse nurse!
You're both doing great!

cluster feed him. when ever he seems hungry offer your breast to him. your body will make more to occomidate. also pump for about 10 mins each side after hes done each time.

Don't supplement, and don't offer a bottle. He will tel your body how much to produce. This is a typical growth spurt. If you are worried about quantity, you can go to the ped for a feeding weight check. Weigh him, feed, weigh again (don't change clothes or diapers in between weighs). As long as he is gaining weight overtime, you are fine. If it is determined that you are having supply issues (which I really doubt), there are things you can do to help, but the moment you offer alternatives, your body won't know that it needs to produce that extra amount.

My daughter is 7 weeks too and we're just coming off a growth spurt. She is a good nurser but when my husband gives her a bottle she will drink 3-4 oz of pumped milk (or more than that if it's formula) then still want to nurse afterwards. I think it's just a comfort thing. I wouldn't worry too much about overfeeding your son at this point, If he gets too full he's just spit it back up.

If your hospital has lactation consultants then can weigh your baby before & after you feed him to see exactly how many ounces he's getting. The growth spurts are rough but knowing he's eating enough will make you feel more confident that you'll get through it.

If you need to give yourself a break it's fine to let someone give him some formula. I was feeding my daughter almost constantly for the past week, and now that the growth spurt is slowing down, and she's not eating so much, my supply is way up. Now I'm able to pump a lot more to store in the fridge and freezer.

I had the very same concerns when I was breast feeding. I could never understand how when I pumped so little he was getting enough. I saw a lactation consultant who assured me the baby is way more efficient than the pump and will get more milk from your breast than the pump ever will. I also had issues with fussiness which ended up being food sensitivities to things I was eating. As soon as I identified what he was sensitive to he calmed down. I am not saying you little one has sensitivities, just to look for other things that could be causing the fussiness (like a growth spurt another mom mentioned) and trust that he is getting enough. I agree with other posts that supplementing with formula will decrease your milk supply. If he gets formula, he will not need as much from you and you are currently on a demand-supply schedule.
Aso, your little one gets milk much easier from the bottle. This can cause two problems, a lazy suck and too much milk too fast which can cause gassiness and fussiness.
It’s hard and if you are like me you will always second guess yourself and your supply. But stick with it. I won’t say it gets easier, but I will say it is worth it! Good luck!

everytime you think you are all set, they change :) 6 weeks is typical for a growth spurt, totally makes sense that he is hungrier. dont supplement, dont give bottles if you can possibly help it. every bottle he takes lowers your production. feed him whenever he wants, that is what will make your body make more. drink lots of water, eat some oatmeal. with syrup. theres stuff in it, i had it every day, it helped. no caffeine. you will catch up to him in a few days, its all normal. it will happen again. great job, mama :)

He probably is having a growth spurt. When he takes the bottle, the milk is right there and he doesn't have to work for it. With your breast, he has to wait for the letdown to really have the milk there. Express a little with your hand or a pump so that when you put him to your breast, the milk is already there. Babies will respond to milk, so if he can already taste the milk on you, he'll be more likely to nurse. Good luck.

R.

If you're concerned about how much he's getting when he nurses, you can work with a lactation consultant to find out. They weigh the baby, you feed him, they weigh him again. You could do this at home if you have a good baby scale. I've heard that puts a lot of mothers' minds at ease!

And don't worry about how much you get when you pump. The pump is never as good as the baby at getting milk out of you, so you pretty much always pump less than you'd feed the baby directly. Although I think 4oz is a good take for pumping!

Body usually produces more when the need increases, so if you feed more, or pump more then breasts make more. The arer not instant though so if he feeds more often, or you pump in between, then it takes breasts like 48 hours before increase supply starts to form or where you notice increase in milk. Same goes for weaning, less feedings, or pumping & 48 hours later body respond by producing less. I would let him finish one breast before offering the other. This insures he gets both kinds of milk, the fore milk & hind milk. fore milk does not stay with him long and does not give him a full feeling & it is what comes out first. The hind milk is the milk that is filling and it comes sfter the fore milk, so try to nurse from one breast at one meal and the other breast the next time. If the one breast is dry and he still is rooting, then offer your other breast and let him get his fill. cause the more he nurses the more you should start making 48-72 hours later. This is what my lactation expert told me. I however was a milk cow. I got about 8 oz in 3 minutes with a double pump. If you want to supplement with formula until you get your supply up with pumping, only you know your child, but I wouldn't worry about over feeding at this point. signs of overfeeding would be if he is turning away from bottle or boob & you keep giving it to him. He will arch away and he will have excessive spit up. You know he is getting enough by counting your wet diapers & poopy diapers. Best of luck

yeah he sounds normal right around the 6 week mark most babies have a growth spurt. My babies would nurse like every hour during this time. The best thing you can do is breast feed him on demand. If he wants to eat feed him and let him nurse as long as he wants. He won't always eat like this but right now he needs it. And don't worry about the pumping. Your baby can get milk out way better than a pump so that isn't a good indicator on your supply. And I won't really give him a bottle even of breast milk right now. For one your milk is on supply and demand so he needs to actually nurse from you right now to keep your supply up. Plus nursing is harder for a baby then a bottle. Milk from a bottle (even slow flow nipples) have the milk come out way faster than from your breast. So yeah it easier for him to get milk from the bottle but you want him to stay used to nursing from you....while he is young still.

Do not supplement with formula! He is having a growth spurt and things will get back to normal soon. Just feed him on demand. I know it takes a little more time but it will get better. One thing... please have his tongue checked for tongue tie. It can make it difficult for baby to get milk from the breast. It can be easily fixed by the pediatrician.

If you're really frustrated, you can always check with a lactation consultant. They have special scales to figure out how much milk they get when they BF. I had to use one because I got Shingles after I had my son and it screwed things up a lot. She was very helpful. Your hospital should be able to refer someone. Good luck!

I didn't read every response, but one thing I didn't see in the ones I DID read is a way to tell if he's getting enough. Pay attention to how many wet diapers he has. He should have at least 6 per day. He may not have any bowel movements for up to a week while breast feeding, (that is if it's EXCLUSIVELY breast feeding, not supplimenting with formula) because your breastmilk is tailored to your baby, so there is less waste for them to get rid of. So as long as there are enough wet diapers, and he is gaining weight, he's getting enough. Like other moms said, it could be just a growth spurt. But I would check his weight and diapers, too, just to be on the safe side.