GD newborn glucose levels not stabilising

[nannynome]

Any advice. Am on night 2 at the hospital with a baby latching on and feeding but also requiring top ups. We have been through everything I hand expressed and now I am hand expressing after feeding and then immediately topping with it. Am feeling really low cos no one is explains why he will latch and feed for almost 3/4 an hour and then still need more. Last nights midwives were awesome, today's and tonight's are just not explaining . My hormones are kicking , have been through a birth where I saw our baby not breathing and had the longest 5 mins of my life... Just struggling to keep positive and on top of everything :(

It's very tough, you're doing brilliantly, stay strong! DD had low blood sugars and was formula fed in SCBU for her first night as I'm T1 diabetic and even though my sugars were good, hers dropped after about 12 hours of being born... Now her sugars did go back up in that time, but all babies are different and I would guess that where they're producing their own insulin in response to what they're eating as well as trying to process the extra insulin they were producing while in utero to cope mum's sugar levels, it's a lot to get right! It could take a little while longer for your son to balance everything out for himself... He'll get there very soon I'm sure, in fact he's doing a grand job at all this being born malarkey! And the midwives are looking out for him even when they're not great at explaining. I found being in hospital after the birth pretty stressful, with hindsight I would have been a bit firmer, and asked clear questions when DD couldn't latch on (have you seen this happen before, what do you think the reason could be etc). Good luck OP, wishing you both all the best...

I'm also type 1 and both dc were in SCBU for this. It took them about a week of being tube fed and having central lines for glucose because they turned a corner. It seems like a lifetime but honestly your baby will turn that corner and it happens very quickly when they do. You're obviously doing really well. Feeding and expressing is hard work! Congratulations on your baby.

I had GD and it took DS four days to stabilise he wouldn't or couldn't latch so I formula fed him so I can't help with the bf I'm afraid. Hang in there, those sugar levels will get there

Wrt feeding I'm not expert (I didn't get to feed ds until he was a week old) but I assume he is trying to get your milk in (should be soon?). I think it's good that he's latching. Sorry I don't think you said if it was a boy or girl.

Congratulations on your baby! I think you're doing brilliantly, breastfeeding and hand expressing too- I know how hard it can feel. When my DS was born, he had low blood sugar and I was advised to top him up with formula after each breastfeed. The midwives worked out exactly how much he needed every three hours- think it was 22 mls and then showed me how to cup feed him so he didn't get dependent on a bottle. So I would breastfeed for as long as he wanted, hand express and then give him the cup of formula. I did this for 48 hours and the my milk started coming in and I was able to stop the top ups. I found doing it this way didn't affect my milk supply and he's now 4 months and EBF.
From what the midwives told me, sometimes babies born with low blood sugar need a bit more milk than a mother can initially supply to stabilise and that's why they need the top-ups. Latching on and feeding for a long time is a good thing as it will all be helping to establish your milk supply. Good luck OP, and I promise, it does get easier!

Hello OP

Took us 4 days with formula top ups then went home ebf and did not poo properly after that until day 7 but required no more formula top ups (although I have instant in the cupboard for when he is teething/snuffy and cannot suck/breathe at the same time or keeps pulling off the nipple - then I give him some instant in an espresso cup whilst in the bath) but thankfully have only needed to do that on three occasions.

I am all for bf - bf my others til 2 yrs+ and my GD baby is now 7 months and still boobmonster...

But the formula top ups did work - your baby will be cluster feeding the first two months weeks anyway especially as you are going from colustrum to the creamy stuff then bf may take some time regardless so baby gets hind not just foremilk. I was lucky in that I just coslept had baby on boob whole time but when sugar low he had a top up then at home went into babymoon mode.

www.mothercare.com/Aptamil-Starter-Pack-6-x-90ml/696861,default,pd.html

Used these in hospital...pros, did not need warming, used straight away and nurses said could keep up to 5 hrs before chucking out, came with already sterile teats and meant that it was only as a stop-gap...was not investing in equipment or powder as wanted to ebf
although nothing wrong with mixed feeding or pumping, just a faff for me

Hope it works out xx

Nor am I promoting Aptamil btw - just that it got us out of hole of low blood sugar such that we could go home and then go under duvet for a week...you are q. right in thinking skin on skin, more sucking/expressing will boost supply...it is just that certain things - stress, sleep deprivation, illness,diet - can also have a knock-on effect on supply too. Tis for me a slow race not a sprint finish so you need to look after yourself too the first fortnight is bloody hard work and you sound exhausted. If possible get home and naked, mattress on floor, where baba can latch on all day every day and partner/inlaws bring you food and do the nappies. Visitors be damned. Also get breastfeeding tea with fenugreek in if poss and oatmeal cookies, vitamins, lansinoh nipple cream and Well Done Again.

Good news, we got the all clear to go home today. All the early expressing before he was born and freezing meant I had enough supply to keep topping him. After the upset of last night all of a sudden it all started clicking into place. The breast pump started working just as I was about to leave the hospital so my milk supply has obviously improved.

We (daftly) decided to go and buy the bits we needed on the way home (breast pump and tiny clothes as he was 2lb under what we were expecting!) in doing so I had to feed on the go.

I managed to feed him in Kiddicare (staff are amazing! Incredibly helpful and sweet about us staying 15 mins after they closed to make sure he got his full feed in)

He is latching properly, feeding and lapping from the sippy cup and I can see a light at the end of the corridor.

I want to sing the praises of the midwife from the diabetic clinic who had me expressing 2-3 weeks early to freeze for this eventuality. If anyone knows someone with GD make sure they are aware of hand expressing and freezer storing for this happening!

Thank you all for the support, has made me realise I am not alone and I can actually survive this baby thing after all!

That's excellent news hooray for coming home! Lovely to hear that about kiddicare too.

So glad to hear your good news, what a relief. & hurrah for Kiddicare staff and nice midwives! I remember cup feeding, it's really sweet - think I had my first real bonding moment with my daughter in the middle of the night at hospital feeding from the little cup! Good luck with everything from here on...

Delighted for you OP - all the best for 2014 x

I'm very jealous OP that you were able to get by on expressed top ups. The paeds at my hospital gave me a really hard time until I agreed it give 30mls formula as well as pre expressed colostrum (about 10ml) plus breast feed each feed until pre-feed levels were back up. They got the consultant himself to come down and tell me it was that or cannula or tube feed glucose. They'd seemed very supportive of antenatal expressing in advance but not so much when it came to it. On the plus side ds sugars were back up after just two feeds and we were home in 24hrs bit I had hoped to delay introduction of cows milk because o the potential link to type 1 diabetes (of which we have a family history).
Was a very stressful first few hours after birth as my sugars were actually super high (22!) too. They think I might have adult onset type 1.