Kingsley: Frequent Feeder

My child seems to have spent the first eight weeks or so in a constant growth spurt. If Kingsley was not hollering for milk, he was usually attached to my left breast (the right one almost out of action from having broken down due to an early bout of mastitis then stinging nipple thrush followed by constantly blocked milk ducts).

At two months of age Kingsley nurse 10 times within a 24 hour period. Here Kingsley is nursing while on holidays in Athens: February 2014.

At two months of age Kingsley nurse 10 times within a 24 hour period. Here Kingsley is nursing while on holidays in Athens: February 2014.

Still, I would (albeit reluctantly) offer Kingsley my sore right breast as I was told that frequent feeding would actually assist in its healing. Through gritted teeth I would nod at my bonny boy staring up at me and though nightmarish the pain I endured, it was a normal and expected state of affairs in the early months (or so I was told).

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Now I know that frequent nursing is needed to nourish and grow my baby who has a stomach the size of his fist but who needs to double his weight within 5 months. However nursing is not just about food – it’s also warmth, closeness, reassurance, comfort, healing, love and respect. Nursing has been shown to reduce stress and pain in baby, too.

I have been told by my wise mummy friends that if I feel that King shouldn’t be hungry again so soon, I must remember that it’s sometimes me, his mum, that the infant needs just as much as his milk.

 

 

 

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