10 day old snuffling and squeaking all the time when he dkeepd

[MummyTales]

My LO is 10 days old and I'm a first time mummy so I'm on a steep learning curve. When we put him down to sleep at night he sleeps well but seems to make a lot of snuffling and squeaking sounds. So much so that I think he is waking up for a feed. When I try to wake him up or try to feed him, he is fast asleep. I have been told by the midwife not to let him sleep longer than four hours at night as he'll need feeing. So I'm constantly having to wake him up as he would sleep longer if left. I'm so confused, should I be waking him all the time? What is this snuffling and squeaking about? Is he trying to wake up? Help!!

[Unhappyexpat]

Unless he's struggling to breathe, the snuffling is pretty normal. They can be surprisingly loud ! Grunts, sighs, snuffles... All normal.

They can be sleepy at first and it's best to feed them regularly so follow your mw's advice. You don't need them wide awake to feed - you may find that just putting him to the breast and rousing him slightly is enough to trigger suckling. If you can learn to feed lying on your side you'll find it helps enormously!
At that age all they do is feed and sleep. (Well, mine didn't, he fed and looked at things with annoyance and didn't sleep enough...)
They need to feed often as their stomachs are minute. You'll find he gets gradually more alert over the weeks.

[Unhappyexpat]

Oh and I was told feed very often in the day but you can have one slightly longer stretch a day - I wouldn't go longer than four hours though at this point.

Look on the bright side - I didn't get four hours sleep for a very long time 😜

[Jesabel]

Agree that newborns are quite noisy.

If you're breastfeeding, aim for at least 10-12 feeds per 24 hours. Sometimes newborns don't demand feeding enough at first.

[CornishDoll82]

When my LO was jaundiced they told me to feed her every 3 hours - when that was over I was told I could leave her to sleep longer.

Snuffling is totally normal - they're like farm animals!!

[MummyTales]

Thank you all so much for your advice. It's good to know all the snuffling is normal, was just shocked at how loud it could be! Tonight has been a lot better in terms of feeding, and I have managed to do so every 4 hours and I did make sure I fed him more frequently during the day.

[TitusAndromedon]

I sometimes find that the squeaking is wind, so he might need a bit of winding. Otherwise, I agree with the others posters. It's rather astonishing how loud babies can be. Fortunately (or unfortunately), you get to the point where you're so tired that you can fall asleep despite all the grunting and sniffling!

[CornishDoll82]

I've never got used to it - often had to decamp to spare room or put in ear plugs. Much better now she's in own room!