at would cause excessive sleepiness/ failure to feed in a newborn?

[belcantavinissima]

my df had her gorgeous longed for ds on sunday morning. but, he will not feed, she is beside herself, he doesnt wake up hardly at all even with prodding and tickling etc. she is having to hand express into a cup and feed him with a syringe but he is literally having 1ml which she has to kind of force on him then he is back to sleep again. aparently the midwives are getting worried about him now. she is in a small community hospital so if it carries on much longer she will have to return to the city hospital for tests. just feel so worried and for her. she had a stillborn ds last yr (her first) at 36 weeks so everyone is so desperate for this baby to be perfect and everything to go smoothly for her. any advice welcomed

she had a drug free labour, normal delivery (tho he had been breech/transverse and they had turned him twice during the week preceding delivery). he was born at just under 38 weeks, quite little- 6lb 11oz. she has him wrapped up quite well now as the other day he was freezing to touch and sleepy as well so they swaddled him. i think the worrying thing is that he just doesnt wake for feeds at all. he literally sleeps all the time. (she will be wising for this in a few months!!!) when he is 'offered' the breast he makes a face turns away if poss then goes back to sleep. she has to force his mouth open to squeeze syringe in instead.

also posted under childbirth

[Flier]

is he at all jaundiced?

[tiktok]

I agree - this is very worrying.

The main risk with babies who are sleepy like this is that they lose all energy to feed and become dehydrated.

She needs to see a feeding specialist, and to continue getting milk into him somehow.

Kangaroo care is normally better than swaddling, as it is a) more effective at raising tempertature b) supports the baby's newborn instincts to feed c) makes it easier for the mum to respond to every tiny little feeding cue

But she should see someone today - if this means going to the big hospital, so be it. She might stand a better chance of seeing a feeding specialist there, too.

[belcantavinissima]

what is kangaroo care?
sunday night she spent with him in bed with her having skin to skin with him. he slept all night . someone mentioned jaundice on the other thread but he is normal colour, not yellow at all. she did start out at the big hospital and gave birth there. the paediatrician assessed him gave him the all clear and sent them to the small hospital where she is now.

[tiktok]

www.kangaroomothercare.com has good info, bel.

One of the signs of poor feeding/dehydration is lack of poo, or on this (day 4) still brown/black tarry meconium. Also few wees.

What's happening in that department?

[belcantavinissima]

not seen her since monday night when his poos were few and tarry, but then he was only a day and a half old by then. he is pooing and weeing tho so thats a goood sign. just spoke to her mum actually who said she may be bringing him home tomorrow. apparently he was sucking well on her finger yesterday whilst she syringe fed him . why on earth didnt they get her to feed him herself then????

[tiktok]

That's good, bel....maybe things are not as bad as you thought. Still needs careful observation and lots of skin to skin, though.