Newborn advice, is it usually like this?

[TheBeanpole]

Hello

DD was born yesterday morning, and is a little 5lb 10oz. Despite a rather precipitous delivery, we did manage skin to skin and a first feed, and she latched on both sides. We had another short feed a few hours later and then she conked out and I couldn't wake her enough to feed, she just wanted to sleep for about 6 hours. Midwife helped me hand express into a syringe and we got some more into her in the afternoon. They wouldn't discharge us because of the feeding, but she has perked up and been more wakeful overnight and now seems to be looking for the breast, but getting either very wound up which is stopping her latching as she is crying or getting her hands in the way, or taking the nipple but not sucking much. She is napping in between and not screaming for food. Blood sugar yesterday was fine.

I'm getting contradictory advice fom the midwives, from 'she must have 30ml of colostrum in 24 hours' to 'don't worry some just don't feed much in the first 24 hours'

Any advice for getting more into her? Or do i not need to stress and it will get easier when milk comes in.? Is it normal for little babies to struggle a bit more- she is very small for both our families? I seem to be surrounded by babies who are feeding like pros.

I'm basically not sure how much I should worry...

Thanks!

Congratulations my last baby had a good feed when she was born and then slept for hours. It must be very tiring being born!

First of all, congratulations!

Second of all, try not to worry. Just keep putting her to the breast every chance you get and ask for help from the midwives to make sure that your latch is right and things will settle down.

I've no experience of teeny babies (mine was nearly 9lb!) but I do know that breast feeding is not as easy as you'd expect and that babies are born with a layer of fat to keep them going until feeding is established properly.

Baby is tiny and has a tiny mouth and has never done this before and needs to learn.
Mine didn't feed for 8 hrs over night and I got told off. She didn't ask for it though and was so sleepy and like you I couldn't wake her enough. I was told she is too snugly and warm so to strip her down to wake her. I didn't like doing that as all it seemed to do was upset her so I would latch her and give her a little tickle every time she stopped sucking for any length of time. It took about a week to get her up to a 20 min feed.

I thought it was common for them to sleep a lot to start with and that's why they lose weight to start with? I'm no expert though. Once you get discharged get to your nearest breastfeeding group. Is there a lactation consultant at your hospital you can request to speak to?

Congratulations on your teeny baby!

Ask for help. A really good thing to do is strip her of place her skin to skin on your chest and let her root herself if you do this while reclining on the bed she should be able to self latch. it really is a good position for new babies they seem to be able to get more breast in their mouth this way. its called biological nurturing if you want to Google it.

Then read kellymom on what to expect in the first weeks so you know what is normal and what isn't.

Also ask for help if you have any concerns.

You are still in hospital?

I don't have experience of small newborns (my smaller one was over 8 lbs). Was she premature, or just small? However, I think you should be pushing to speak to a properly, well-trained expert - most hospitals have one, though sometimes only for a few hours a day. MW's don't always know much about bf-ing. I've heard some crackers of mistakes over the years.

I would immediately discount any MW who starts muttering about the number of ml a baby 'must' have. Reason being that, if you are feeding directly as well as by syringe, there is no way of knowing how much is being taken in total. So it must be the wrong way of going about things as you won't know whether you have met the target or not (I have no idea whether it is in principle correct, but that seems irrelevant in the circumstances).

FWIW my DD also did the 'sleep for 6 hours' thing the first day. Though she was 9 lbs, so no one was too worried.

Congratulations.

Things nobody told me!

For the first 24-48 hrs after birth baby can be sleepy. This will not last .

After this period baby will be starving and want lots of milk. Regardless of the minor issue you and baby still don't know what's going on.

Learning to breastfeed can be very tricky and can be difficult for baby and mum to get used to. You will need support and help.

Baby will probably fuss because they are so busy telling you they are hungry they forget to feed.

Try feeding well before baby starts crying for food otherwise prepare for a fuss and lots of noise.

2 minutes on, 2 minutes off is actually a very common establishing technique. It does not mean its not working.

( I am whispering this! Formula isn't poison and doesn't have to mean the end of breastfeeding. It can help calm starving baby down to get them latched on better next time . I will be flamed )

Wow, thanks for all the ultra speedy advice. She's a bit better this morning but still quite snoozy. But defo trying to latch a bit more. We're allowed to go home later if we can provide evidence she has weed. She's 39 weeks so just randomly tiny, no clue why.

The hospital does usually have breastfeeding advisors but typically not on Fridays so hopefully will be able to speak to one later. In the meantime am not going to stress about actual amount and keep putting her on to latch and also try biological nurturing as well.

Good to know others have had similarly sleepy ones. I will keep you posted. I have a bf counsellor lined up for once we are home too.

Thanks so much!

My ds was born 11 days ago and also latched great first time then seemed to struggle after that and would get upset at the breast when I eventually managed to wake him for a feed. I found myself repeatedly singing a slow, soothing nursery rhyme which calmed him without removing him from the breast and eventually he latched. I did it everytime and I think it became like a trigger. Plus it kept me calm as I was stressing about him not feeding. The midwife helping me get him on even enjoyed it :)

Oh and congratulations by the way :)

Oh and my ds was 8lb 4.5oz delivered at 39 weeks also so not just tiny babies that can be like this

You need to try to feed 8-12 times in 24 hours so every 2-3 hours. If she hasn't latched on in 3 hours, you should syringe feed. If she is asleep you need to try to wake her by stripping to nappy, changing nappy, tickling feet, rubbing her head, stroking her ear.

If she doesn't feed enough, she may lose too much from her birth weight (over 10%) and you could be readmitted to hospital for feeding intervention. Topping up could be recommended, and regular weigh-ins. It really is important that you don't just let her sleep.

It can be a bit of a full time job getting a sleepy baby to feed enough in the early days

not really too much to add just to echo all the good advice you've had so far.

you mentioned about hands getting in the way - if this is still a bit of a problem try swaddling for a feed (when she's not too sleepy of course!) but also try tucking her arms (particularly the one closest to your body) out of the way (sorry cant explain better!) I had to do this with both my boys as their hands would constantly get in the way!
Also lots of frequent sucking at the breast in the first few days (even if they don't seem to be getting much) is good as that's what brings your milk in.

Also, if you can strip off waist up and let baby have more skin to skin and sleep on you. IF she can smell you and your milk more this may encourage her to feed more. Also, don't wait until you think she is hungry, just keep putting her to the breast and see what happens.

And yes, tuck her arms out of the way somewhere

noblegiraffe's advice is what I've heard too (though allowing one longer stretch in 24 hours) but my dd just wasn't interested in the first 3 days, she just wanted to sleep. I was quite worried as she only fed maybe every 6-7 hours. However she made up for it once my milk came in and on day 5 she had only lost 1oz of her birthweight. Keep a close eye on her and feed as much as you can but don't panic, they are all different so there's no one size fits all advice

Thanks all. Had a really good session with the bf counsellor earlier who gave some good advice, and am now hand expressing like mad and doing lots of skin to skin and letting her play with the breast while expressing to get used to the idea. She said to work on the latch once we're getting enough into her. Am optimistic...but yes, a full time job. Don't think we'll be going home tonight though. You are a gold mine, thank you again.

Good luck!

When your milk comes in over the next couple of days your hormones will crash and you will possibly feel bloody awful and cry and think it's all going wrong. Just keep doing what you are doing, the hormone thing will pass and you will feel much better the next day.

Won't add to the advice but just to say mine was exactly the same, he fed twice in the first day and not at all again until 7 the next morning. The midwife was really calm and didn't make me worry when she arrived mid morning (didn't realise he should have fed more the that!). She helped me get him awake enough to latch on (that was the main problem and stripping him off was the answer). It all resolved when my milk came in. Hormones and lack of sleep are a killer at that point but if you expect it it helps, good luck.

Mine (38wks 6lbs14) didn't feed at all for the first 12 hours. She was so sleepy. The nurses and lactations kept coming and trying to wake her to feed but she was having none of it! I was told not to worry as sometimes their tummy is full of amniotic fluid and that they still have enough nourishment from the placenta to keep them going. Sure enough within 2 or 3 days she was feeding like a champ!