Re: Desperate! Need help with newborn!

Originally Posted by
@llli*mumofthree123
It just wasn't working so I decided to allow him to find his own routine and to have breast available for however long it took.
YES!! yay mama! schedules are the enemy of breastfeeding. this is very promising.
Colic: every evening between 8-10pm he cries as if he's pains and sometimes goes absolutely hysterical.
this does not sound like colic to me, just normal baby behavior.
I was told to not feed unless 2hrs has passed as it can upset him if he doesn't get enough time to digest between feeds.
NO NO NO. baby should feed on demand. breastmilk digests very fast. it is entirely possible that your baby really is HUNGRY in the evenings and that's why he's crying; it's a very normal pattern for babies to cluster feed all evening long.
Should I allow him to continue to find his own rhythm for night feeds?
YES. feed on demand all night at this age.
keep on doing what you did yesterday - this is moving in the right direction! demand feeding, quit the pump and supplements for now. good job!
edited to add: you mentioned something about "however long it took" - do not limit time at the breast. maybe someone told you a feed should be 15 mins per side or something crazy like that; it is VERY NORMAL for a baby to nurse 45 mins or even more on one side at this age. they are just not efficient yet. let the baby "finish the first breast first" - however long it takes - and then offer the other.
DS1 6/7/11
DS2 10/29/13
Nursing, pumping, cloth-diapering, babywearing, working professor mama with the awesomest SAHD ever.