Sleepy bf newborn - how often to feed?

[petisa]

Hello,

I'm sure you have been asked this question many times, but I have a 3 day old newborn and a toddler too, so not much time to research atm!

Bf was a disaster with dd1 so I don't have much experience with bf. My newborn is v healthy, was born at nearly 8lbs and is looking great. I've been bf her on demand and in the first couple of days she slept for practically a day and then fed for about 12 hours non-stop! My milk came in last night, thankfully

My worry is that since yesterday morning she's been sleeping for about 3 or 4 hours in between feeds, even at night, and it's very hot here where I live (Spain) and I'm worried about that affecting our feeds. Should I be waking her more often to feed her, say, every 2 hours? When she does feed it's for about an hour or so and she's done a couple of small poos and pees recently.

I know I should be asking a bf counsellor or hcp this, but here no-one visits you, there are no hvs, and in the hospital/clinic they always say the same thing - feed her 15 mins on each side, every 3-4 hours, water in between, supplement with formula until milk comes in The nurses were critical of me in the hospital for not giving dd2 formula, even though she was quite content and bf away for 12 straight practically!

So I have no-one in rl to turn to - help! Advice much appreciated!

i'm no expert but would have thought this would be fine as long as she isn't going more than 4 hours. if shes weeing and pooing and waking to feed then i@m sure she is fine. you may think its hot in spain but it's normal for her.
i'd ignore the 15 mins a side advice as you are doing.
congratulations btw!

Ime it's best to wake every 2 hours during the day (OK to go for up to 4 hs at night).

With ds1 I didn't do this and I had problems with my milk supply.

I think you are right to be concerned, petisa, esp as you seem to be in an environment where they really don't seem to understand about how bf works :( :(

Babies feed better and get feeding established better when held close skin to skin - there's normally no need to wake up deliberately then. You respond to early feeding cues, the baby feeds better, and more often.

Sleeping 3-4 hours between feeds may be ok, but it's not usual and it certainly doesn't happen often when babies are close to their mums :)

Thanks for your fast advice! And for the congrats littlebellsmum!

I've been tickling her feet and generally rousing her when she gets sleepy, changing sides when she falls asleep on one side, and changing her nappy to wake her enough for another feed. So she's been feeding quite a few times and then sleeping for 3 hours or so each time. I think I will try waking her every 2 hours during the day from now on though.

Our problem is our air con packed up just in time for us coming home from hospital , we have ventilators but it is hot! Our bfs are pretty sweaty but we do get loads of skin to skin contact as neither of us are wearing very much ! I have been worried about her, but as my dp pointed out, millions of babies have survived here for generations with no air con... And she did just do a big wee all over the changing mat (as they always do ) so doesn't seem to be dehydrated, hopefully.

Tiktok, you're right, the bf advice here is atrocious. You have to stay in the hospital for 48 hours here even if you're both fine, and in that time the nurses (they don't even have midwives on the ward, let alone bf consellors) kept telling me over and over again to top up with formula or my baby would get jaundiced. They brought me a bottle, stood over the baby and said, look, she's hungry. All the women around me were giving their babies loads of bottles, but though I caved in last time with dd1, this time I toughed it out and pushed the bed up against the wall and co-slept the entire time. Hence the 12 hour mammoth bf session!

After reading your advice tiktok, I also think I have to stay in bed more during the day with dd2 too, instead of putting her in the pram and doing too much stuff. I just miss my dd1 and feel I should be there for her too.

Do you have any other advice? MN really is a lifesaver for someone in a situation like mine, who really doesn't have anyone in RL to turn to! Thanks!

petisa - no new mother should be doing any 'stuff' apart from sleeping and resting and staying in close skin to skin contact with the new baby....you can do a lot of this while being with your older child as well.

Spanish bf support sounds non-existant :(

You're right tiktok, I end up thinking "Oh I'll just put on a load of washing" when I know my dp will get around to it, but he's so busy with dd1 who's a bit jealous. Today I bf downstairs and dd1 enjoyed having me there, even though she was very unsettled by dd2 bf and crying.

Spanish bf support IS non-existant here tiktok, and postnatal support generally is very inadequate. It came as a huge shock when I had dd1, and had engorged boobs, blocked ducts, cracked nipples, a screamy newborn, and nurses telling me to give her formula or she would get jaundice and be very hungry. Ended up with pnd.

No-one comes to see you at home at all, no-one is interested in you at the hospital beyond routine box-ticking or unless you happen to meet a nice nurse. Not much in the way of bf groups, though I have found a group in the city near me which has meet-ups and is similar to the Leche League, so I think I'll go to their next meeting.

Dd2 slept for 5 hours last night, which was lovely but I am a bit concerned about her sleepiness, so I started waking her every 2 hours today and actually she has fed more often than that, and really well. I've also found FAB advice on Kellymom, in case anyone reading this has has the same concern as me. She looks a bit yellow to me though so I'll ask the midwife about it tomorrow.

Thanks again btw!