Feeding newborn with jaundice

[Em1503]

Hi, I have the most beautiful 5 day old girl. She has got a bit of jaundice (nothing too bad, didn't need to go under the lights) however it is making her very sleepy and lethargic which meant we have found it hard to establish breast feeding. We had to stay in hospital until yesterday as a result. We have finally found a routine which works which is getting her to latch on and suckle if possible and then feed her expressed breast milk from a bottle.

At the moment I'm more than happy to do this as it finally means she is getting enough milk (I have a really good supply, she just doesn't stay awake and have the energy to feed from the breast herself) but once the jaundice has gone and she isn't so sleepy I want to do less bottle feeding and mainly breast feed.

She already majorly prefers the bottle to latching on and usually hates when I try to latch her on before I give her the bottle, despite latch being ok, so I'm worried about how I'll wean her off the bottle and get her feeding from the breast instead.

I do have support from breastfeeding specialists from the hospital and a midwife but was looking for any other advice or success stories in a similar situation. Need some reassurance.

you could try losing the bottle and cup or spoon feeding her instead...it is less confusing for the baby than switching from the teat to nipple or vice versa. Modern day midwives and healthvisitors may be less familiar with these techniques so you might be best asking one of the more experienced (ie older) staff about this.

it is not hard and so long as you are calm it will work just as well as a bottle.

best wishes.

and congratulations on your lovely DD

I would just breastfeed tbh. Many peoples milk doesn't come in at all until day 3 so at 5 days they really don't need much anyway.

I would just let her lie skin to skin on you for a few days all day if possible and just feed and sleep.

My youngest did this and after a few days was fine. He would sleep half hour, feed 2-3 mins, sleep half hour, feed few mins etc on and off all day the first week.

my dd had jaundice and was premature so didn't latch on for 5 days. We gave her expressed milk in a sippy cup after offering boob. It was hard work but she is now 12 weeks and is doing great with breast feeding. Your midwife or hv could show you how to give milk in a cup?

Both my dd were jaundiced - not severely, but noticeably. Regular feeding is essential, basically you need to flush it out. Feed at least 3hr-ly until it is definately going/she is less sleepy. I used to set an alarm on my phone (even at night, sorry!)

To wake your dd up a bit to feed try stripping her off, nappy change then feed. Stroke with wet wipe/blow on damp skin to stop her nodding off too much during a feed if necessary. If you have any sunshine, set up moses basket by a window and get some sunlight on bare legs as much as possible.

Ironically breastmilk will make the jaundice last longer (you may find ff is suggested by some people for this reason if things are not improving/getting worse) - both my dd were 'peachy' until around 6 weeks. Just monitor day by day that things are getting better - you will find it clears from the toes up, and whites of eyes will be last to clear. I found I could see a big difference in dd2 even comparing before/after a feed!

Enjoy your precious baby, the time goes much too fast (looks at snoozing 6mo dd2 on my arm)!

Thanks for the replies! I was shown how to cup fed her in the hospital but with her bring sleepy she didn't always lap it up. They advised me to use a bottle instead to avoid the risk of choking. I'm sure I could get used to doing it that way if I decided to.

I've realised that the problem I now have is that I love bottle feeding her. She loved it too and my DH is able to take part. In contrast she's beginning to really hate it when I try to latch her on to the breast. I'm sure it's just because she's sleepy still so finds it too hard and so she gets frustrated but I want feeding her to be enjoyable.

Am I crazy to even consider just pumping and feeding her from a bottle?!?! Has anyone any experience of doing this? Would I just be creating a ridiculous amount of work for myself??

I had a friend who did this. Inevitably it reduced the convenience of breast feeding and increased the work load but (as you say) it does make it possible to share the joy of feeding with your DH. as you consider your options think about the practicalities of both ways as well as the health benefits. Only you can know what is best for you: you know the advantages of breast milk for your baby. breast feeding is harder work for your baby and it is much easier to suck from a bottle...pumping and bottle feeding is harder work for you.

Be comfortable with whatever you choose to do and be confident (there will always be someone who disagrees....)

Many people exclusively express for a variety of reasons, so not a crazy idea. I think it is more work for you as you are feeding them twice if you see what I mean, you spend time pumping and then time feeding.

Its very early days for you and your dd, so no need to make a final decision just yet. You may well decide to do a bit of both eg bottle at a certain time of day that dh does while you rest. Or you may find dd latches better to you at certain ttimes of day (nighttime often better). There are pros and cons either way.

I mixed fed dd1 (dh gave bottle of expressed/formula at 10pm every day while i slept until the 2am feed).tried to do the same with dd2 but she refuses bottles and so is ebf. She likes to cluster feed all evening (but then sleeps through so not complaining). Every baby is different!

You don't sound too sure what you want to do yet but maybe as it is very early days you could keep your options open and try to keep your little one interested in the breast. There are ways to bottle feed a breastfed baby to reduce nipple confusion. And by using breast compressions you can make breastmilk flow faster and stimulate let downs to increase her interest. With a little patience many babies learn to switch between breast and bottle but until baby has learnt how to breastfeed she may well get nipple confused and refuse whichever technique she finds more challenging. At the end of this pumping link is the name of a book all about exclusively pumping. I agree baby must be alert for cup feeding and so there is a choking hazard with a sleepy baby. Good luck with your decision.