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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

Tick Tock I need your help and anyone else that can help

15 replies

pigletmania · 27/01/2012 16:38

I have just given birth to a beautiful little boy today, i have been discharged after the MW witnessed him feeding and my latch. The thing is he is very sleepy and has not much interest in feeding, tried skin to skin, giving him boob but he just wants to go to sleep.Even when he was born today he did not want a feed, eventually he did in hospital this morning. And no wet or dirty nappy. He has been on off boob for a little time but goes back to sleep. i had pethadine whilst giving birth. I am scared my supply will go please could you help. I am rambling as i am still very tired and still a bit out of it. Do you think i should express. Please help. The MW on the labour ward when i phoned them said not to worry as bf babies do not wee much, and the community MW is going to come out tomorrow

OP posts:

BumbleBee2011 · 27/01/2012 16:42

When my DD was still at the birth centre they got me to hand express into a cup and feed it to her as she wasn't latching on (being lazy). Maybe try that?

OhThisIsJustGrape · 27/01/2012 16:43

Newborns do tend to be very sleepy for the first 24hrs, after all they've been through just as much as you! Don't panic at all about your supply, your baby will feed when he is ready. The pethadine may be in his system but won't harm him.

Keep him close to you, skin on skin and let him latch at the slightest whimper.

Not sure about the Nappies, I wouldn't expect a baby to produce much at all in the first day or so except meconium.

Sorry for brief reply but feeding my DS so typing one handed on phone! Just relax, rest, eat and drink and give it time.

Congratulations by the way!

YuleingFanjo · 27/01/2012 16:51

has your milk come in yet? I would try waking him for a feed every 2 - 3 hours and moving him from breast to breast but sure there will be other advice.

congratulations.

tiktok · 27/01/2012 16:55

Congrats on new baby :)

Panic not!

This is what happens after pethedine - it does not have to be a Big Deal. It is in the short term - and babies may be a bit lacklustre in the feeding dept for 2-3 days. Your supply will not go- it hasn't even started yet :) You do need to hand express colostrum asap and get this into him somehow (spoon, prob) as we don't want him dehydrating at all and sleeping too much.

Midwives should help you and a midwife should come out to see you tonight.

Give them a call.

And keep up the skin to skin :)

whostolemyname · 27/01/2012 17:02

Keep him skin to skin all the time if you can. It really helps.Can you phone one of the breastfeeding support lines? It is not unusual for babies to not feed much in the first few hours but they soon make up for it! I would keep him close to you with lots of access to your breast should he want it. If you are worried, call your postnatal ward and they should either be able to send someone out to help you or let you come back in for more support.

liveinazoo · 27/01/2012 17:04

it sounds reassuringly normal honey.congratulations!enjoy your baby and try not to worry too much for today.if you want to try encourage feeding a little longer strip down a bit as when they are warm and soothy its easy to nod off.im sure its fine though

Original poster

pigletmania · 27/01/2012 17:31

Thanks so much everyone was really panicking as I want to bf so much

OP posts:

Original poster

pigletmania · 27/01/2012 17:34

I am hand expressing a few drops of colosseum and my boobs do not feel engorged

OP posts:

OhThisIsJustGrape · 27/01/2012 18:42

Your boobs won't feel engorged yet. At the moment they are only producing colustrum, nothing like the quantity of milk you will produce once your milk comes in.

My milk usually comes in on day 5, was day 6 with one of my babies which was nervewracking. I think that's slightly unusual and day 2/3 or 4 is more likely.

Please don't put too much pressure on yourself, I fully understand your desire to breastfeed and you certainly sound as though you're succeeding. Take your cues from your baby and most importantly enjoy these early days with your snuggly newborn :)

LovesBeingWearingSkinnyJeans · 27/01/2012 18:49

Firstly congrats and don't worry both of mine slept loads tge first 24 hrs and hardly fed at all. Keep him close and don't worry I'm sure tgat pretty soon you'll wish he'd stay asleep

Pastabee · 27/01/2012 18:58

Hi piglet congratulations on the birth of your baby. My DD took 30 hours to latch again after an initial feed when she was born.

I expressed and fed her with a syringe in the meantime. I used this dreadful machine in the hospital. Took me 45 minutes to get 15ml so the actual amounts of colostrum are tiny. Definitely go with tiktok's advice to hand express - machine pumping IME is horrible at this point and I now know hand expressing would have been much better.

I had to strip DD off as mentioned above and use a damp muslin cloth on her head to wake her enough to feed.

All worked out fine though - just have to keep going and get through this hard bit.

In relation to the nappies - very new babies do minute wees and the nappies are good at drawing this away so you worry they haven't been. I was just as worried as you about this and a good tip is to pop a cotton wool ball in his nappy and that will turn yellow to let you know he has been.

dikkertjedap · 27/01/2012 21:07

But do look out for yellowish skin, yellowish eyes though as this could indicate jaundice and jaundiced babies are often very sleepy. Hope all will be fine soon.

Original poster

pigletmania · 27/01/2012 23:33

Thank you everyone for the wonderful advice, he had a wet nappy which was good. I have been doing skin to skin as much as i can, and he has been feeding intermittently, off one boob which is my dominant hand side, he does not get on with my right on as it points the other way and he cant seem to get a proper latch. MW is coming tomorrow, and hopefully she will refer me to the bf midwife in the community. I love MN I wish that i had discovered it when dd was a baby

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banana87 · 27/01/2012 23:56

Perfectly normal as all the others have said . I had pethidine and never again as I had the same problem to the point that midwives we threatening me with formula hours after she was born! The pead told me they can go 24 hours without feeding before they get concerned. I did hand express every 2-3 hours in hospital and give colostrum via syringe. The next day I got her skin to skin and she started feeding and hasn't looked back . You won't be engorged yet so don't worry about that, just try and get some rest before the endless feeding starts!

OhThisIsJustGrape · 28/01/2012 13:24

You could 'trick' him into feeding from the other side by holding him under your arm like a rugby ball. He would then effectively be facing the same way as he would when feeding from the side he prefers, they're quite easily fooled these newborns :)

Glad he has had a wee and hope you get some good advice from your midwife. If not then give one of the breastfeeding helplines a call, they're excellent.

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