giving a newborn water??

[min912]

Our son is only 8 days old but seems to want to feed all the time, and for practically an hour each time! My midwife today suggested giving him sugared water in the middle of the night in between breast feeds, saying this would either help him to get rid of his wind or else make him go back to sleep. I'm really unsure about trying this as the only book I have says not to give water as it can upset a baby's ability to process milk. She is quite an old-school midwife but obviously she's had all the training... any advice?? much appreciated!

Give an 8 day old sugared water????

He's still building up supply right now as far as I know and needs feeding as much as he wants.

sugared water??

your mw must be 200 years old

I agree with FS.

NO. NONONONONONONO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Really bad idea!!! Don't do it!!!!

I am gobsmacked that that advice is being offered, tbh

At 8 days old, feeding so much is perfectly normal. He will settle down into a rhythm in a wee while, but it can take time. A breastfed baby should have NOTHING but breastmilk.

I am hoping tiktok (our b/f expert on MN) will come along at some point and back me up on this.

Go along with your instincts min - that advice is WRONG.

I'm an ancient old hag and NO WAY would I give sugared water. Don't give anything by bottle till bf well established - at least a month.
Are you sure he's still feeding and not just 'comfort sucking'? Would be unusual still to be feeding after an hour. You can tell if he's swallowing - his ears will twitch slightly. After that, break the seal and get some sleep

Hi just posted a lovely long reassuring message and the computer ate it. Anyway in brief if you can cope keep up the good work keep going. His tummy is only very little and he has too feed often to keep it full up. If you replace a feed you may reduce your supply. Try NCT and LLL helplines if you are struggling, sorry I do not have the numbers to hand. I would ignore her advice and try to persevere if you can get past the two mark it really does get better. You are doing really well and know your baby best.

Nooooooooooooo. Sounds like your HV has been reading the books of 'she who must not be named' . Don't worry about constant feeding - its perfectly normal. If your baby wants to feed then he wants milk not sugared water! You obviously know that this advice is rubbish, trust your instincts.

he is a new born....tis his job to feed all the time.....the more he feeds, teh more milk you make.

sugar water ..noooooooooooooooooooooo!

he needs nothing but the breast at the moment... the first few weeks are a blur of feeding!

Your MW is talking out of her arse. How old is she? 92? FFS! Clearly trained when they thought the earth was flat....

There is absolutely no need to give a b/fed baby water at all - at any stage. Even in hot weather b/feeding will suffice.

Feeding for up to an hour can be completely normal for a newborn, as is feeeding often. If he does have wind then making sure he is latching properly and then winding him effectively afterwards will assist with that - not sugar water!

Fortunately everyone else has said NOOOOOOOOOOO! so I only have to go "yeah, what they said".

So...yeah, what they said.

And I'd report your midwife to boot. Because she's providing really, really shit information.

print this thread off and show her

rofl

Everyone's already said it all already, so I'll join in with the chorus of "Noooooo"s, and throw a rotten cabbage at your stupid, stupid midwife.

presumably she also thinks you should be feeding to a 4 hourly schedule and he should sleep through by now. What a lot of cack ! Ask to see another midwife and tell them why, seriously she could jeopardise not only the establishment of your b'feeding but that of others - at least you had the sense to double check, many others in a sleep deprived haze might not.

min I hope we haven't frightened you off with all our vitriol!! You touched a nerve there

Also look out for www.kellymom.com (or is it .co.uk?) for excellent advice.

Ask her to provide some research-based evidence that supports her advice...watch her flounder then ask for the name of the head of community midwifery so you can make an official complaint about her...then watch her squirm . She should be re-trained immediatly. Not everyone has access to other sources of info about bfing so she could be doing some serious damage to new mums bfing

SUGARED WATER! Hey, just throw a Coke in there, what's the difference?! Your mw is DELUDED.

Thank you all so much for your supportive messages ... being a first-timer to this parenting business it's difficult not to trust the supposed professional's advice / opinion! But last night was much better - I fed him when he wanted BUT took him off when he was just comfort sucking (which he is a champion at!) and yey, we all got a few hours' sleep!

MW was round again this morning and although I didn't have the guts to say 'sugar water, pah!' I did firmly say I thought four hours between feeds was far too long for him. And tomorrow I am politely but firmly going to voice my concerns to her manager as yes, no harm done with us, but I too am concerned that she is giving this advice to other people who may actually take it.

thanks all!

Ooooh glad to hear it min - and good on you for taking it further. Her advice is potentially very damaging and I think she would benefit from some retraining at the very least.

min912 - glad to hear it. It's very important to feed as often as he wants at this stage, but they can be little buggers for keeping on sucking for an hour after they've finished feeding, can't they? Much better for both of you to take him off when he's no longer swallowing, otherwise you'll end up totally knackered and with very sore nipples.
Mine both started sleeping from about 11 till 6 at not much more than a month old, so hopefully the 2 hourly routine thru the night won't last too much longer.