Newborn won't feed anymore

[mixi82]

Hi all, my little boy is just over 24hrs and only managed to get him to do 3 feeds. He's not latching on like he used to, doesn't open his mouth wide enough.

I've tried hand expressing and I'm not very good at it. How much would I need to get in order for him to have had enough?

Also, could I use a hand pump?

I don't know the answer to your question, but given that he's so little you might want to phone an expert to ask rather than rely on one turning up here.

Are you in the UK? Do you have a phone number for your midwives / delivery suite? I was given one at discharge to use until I was under the care of the health visitor.

Otherwise the NCT helpline number is 0300 330 0771 and it's open until 10pm.

First of all, try not to worry. Babies will find a way to eat if they're hungry! I agree though with PP to get help. NCT helpline should be able to help and have a look on the internet for a baby cafe locally. When I was struggling, I found a session somewhere pretty much every day - you might just have to go a bit further.

Alternatively contact either your midwife or health visitor.

and babies that little don't need much!! Just an ounce at a time.

if you've got a hand pump you could use that. We used that and a small syringe to feed our lo who didn't get the hang of breastfeeding. You'll need to sterilise though.

Please call a midwife. There may be nothing to be concerned about at all, but talk boards are not the best place to get specific help with tiny newborns. It's someone's job to make sure you and the baby are ok. Don't go overnight without getting this checked out. Hope you get reassurance soon.

A new baby's tummy is about the size of a marble, so the amount they need is tiny. 5ml (a teaspoonful) will fill them up. Hold your baby as much as possible, lots of skin-to-skin, and encourage him to latch on as often as you can - there's no need to wait till he's crying (in fact it's better not to). It's normal for babies to sleep a lot in the first few days, but if you had drugs during labour he might be extra tired and you will need to wake him to feed every few hours.

Thanks for replies everyone.

Stayed in the hospital one more night and they were great. Got taught how to hand express properly and how to use breast pump.

He's woke twice so far, was sucking his hands and a bit niggly so put him straight to breast and he's been fine :) :)

Lots of patience and perserverance did the trick!!

All sounds good :)