Should I get newborn DS to feed more, and how?

[lurcherlover]

Sorry, I'm starting threads all over the place today, but am feeling very new and clueless with all this! DS is three days old and I think we have made a good start breastfeeding - he latches on well and his positioning is good. It hurts at first but then settles. The milk has come in today and he feeds until he falls asleep - it dribbles down his chin so I think there's plenty there. But I'm worried he's not feeding often enough. I've started keeping a note and this was his pattern yesterday and today (he had fed in the previous night but I hadn't started writing it down then):
11.40-12pm
12.40-12.55
3.40-4pm
10pm-10.25
3.15am-5am (lots of little feeds)
10.40am - 11
2.40pm-2.55

Does that look OK? I'm worried that there are gaps of 6 hours in there and that that's too long for him. He is doing lots of poos and wees, but the wees still have little red crystals in them and I've read that that can be a sign of dehydration which makes me worry he should feed more. I have really been trying to wake him up in the long gaps but he just won't feed - I've tried undressing, skin to skin, gently jiggling him on my knee, sitting him up etc - if he's not in the mood he refuses point-blank to latch on. When he's ready for it he latches straight away and sucks like a barracuda.

What should I do? Leave him to find his own pattern or keep trying to wake him (and how - any other methods?) And when he does feed, do those durations seem long enough? He was a big baby (8lb 14oz) so perhaps he is happy living on his fat reserves as well as milk? He was also 4 days overdue and it was a complicated birth (shoulder dystocia) although he seems to have recovered well from this.

PS midwife coming to weigh him tomorrow - I don't know yet what his weight loss is (am assuming there will be some).

i would expect a newborn to feed at least 8-12 times a day. so he is probably doing that with his lots of little feeds in the early hours

i would be a bit wary of the 6 hour gaps tho, like you say

i think i would persevere with trying to get him latched on after 3 or 4 hours and getting him to feed a bit.
but if he is otherwise ok i don't think i'd be overly worried

Would you like me to tell you what I was doing with my first child at 3 days?

Yes please! All advice much appreciated!

eating cake and drinking tea???

Agree with thisisyesterday

Just keep him close, lots of skin to skin like you are doing and just respond to the slightest inkling of a hunger cue.

Great news about the latch by the way and congrats on your new LO.

I was still in hospital with my ds at 3 days and my milk hadn't come in yet, but I was told to try to feed him every 3-4 hours and never let him go more than 6. He was also slow to get going and had crystals in his nappy - I tried to give him as much breast access as possible.

My ds became jaudiced though and we ended up having to wake him to feed every 2 hours. There was lots of stripping him off, tickling his jaw, wiping him with a wet cloth involved.

DC1 born emergency section at 3 days old he fed -
8.25-8.55am
11.30-12noon
12.40 - mini feed
3pm-3.20pm.
3.45-3.55pm
4.40-4.55pm
5.15-5.35pm
tried to feed at 6.30pm
6.50-7.05pm
10.15-10.25pm fussed then fed until 10.35pm.

I noted every last thing ds1 did so feel free to ask anything.

dd born normally at 3 days old she fed -

45min some time in th morning
2 more feeds mid morning.
feeds for 10 mins or so really well or has snacks.
lost of feeds in the evening.
fed on and off all night until 2.40am.

Clearly no time to note everything with dd!

ds2 born normally at 3 days old fed -

never according to his diary

2 weeks old fed at 7am, 9.45, 10.30, 11am.

ds2 slept throught the night from 9 until 6 the first 2 nights and the midwife told me not to leave him for more than 6 hours but any less was fine as long as some of the feeds were more often. He is now almost 7 weeks and the longest he goes without a feed is 8pm until 1am, with about 3 hourly feeds the rest of the time, except 5pm-8pm when he feeds roughly every 45mins. Yours sounds fine to me but will probably change very quickly. If you are getting plenty of wet nappies and your ds is contented between feeds then it really doesn't sound like there's anything to worry about. Congratulations on your little man [hsmile]

One 6 hour break is probably ok, esp at night, but 2 x 6 hour breaks not ideal for such a young baby.

You have been doing the right things, once his 3-4 hours are up in the day hold him close to you and try to feed him. He will wake up more as the days pass, but change his nappy to wake him up, leave him just in a nappy and try and feed him - ideally take your top off too.

I think it sounds ok. I've had big babies as well and it sounds similar to the pattern to my younger two. My MWs advised me to try to wake them after 4 hours for a feed, but not to worry if they go longer in the night. At 3 days old and with your milk only just in he's probably not in a set pattern. My DS3 slept for quite long periods at night in his first week, but after that he changed to waking more frquently.
I've heard mixed things about the red crystals in their wee. But when I showed one of DS2's nappies to a midwife because of red crystals she said it was nothing to worry about. But keep the nappy and show it to your midwife if you're concerned.

At this stage I was waking to feed every two hours cos I was told to (a as hospital standard)and I continued this for two weeks cos no-one ever told me not to .

However, it did get a good supply going (briefly before I fucked it up, but that's another story along the lines of books that should go in the bin and routines....)

Why aren't you being supported by NHS? Don't you have a local infant feeding strategy/midwife support?

Oh and congratulations! Shouldn't you be in bed having a rest?????