baby not interestested, not rooting

[cherrycolaaddict]

Posting for my DD

Baby born by emergency C section, two weeks early due to gestational diabetes after induction. Mum had epidural

Baby then taken to SCBU due to 'grunting' and was put on a drip to stablise. Baby is very very sleepy. They wouldn't let him out of SCBU until they had seen him feed and DD tried to latch him on but he is never awake enough so they insisted he had formula.

Baby returned to mother at just under 24 hours old. Midwives are pushing feeding every 3 hours. He is still really, really sleepy and hasn't been awake enough to root for the breast and has not latched on. Last night he took 90mls of formula - which seems a lot? He sucks well on the dummy so I wondering if he drank that much, it was more the sucking side than feeding side.

From my own experience, I know that if you BF from the beginning, the baby can go a good 3 days with only colustrum - so why are the midwives pushing the formula??

And does anyone have any ideas why he isn't rooting for the breast? He hasn't really cried yet either, just sleeps - could it be the 2 weeks early thing?

DD is quite shy and I know she wanted to try BF but she is being led by the midwives - but I think if baby would root and latch on, she could have a proper try - how do I help her and him?

If she is still in hospital can she access a lactation consultant?
Or even at home midwives should be able to organise one.

She is still in hospital - and likely to be for 7 days (total) as baby is on IV antibiotics - could they be making him so sleepy??

My DS was recently born at 36+2. In the delivery suite they told me he would struggle with feeding due to being early. It took him a full 4 days to have a proper feed I also had formula suggested to me, but I had a wonderful midwife who warned me this would happen, and told me to stick to my guns. I also had the benefit of experience as I had fed my DD previously. How old is the baby? Could she try expressing if she wants to bf?

This must be really difficult for your DD. How many days old is the baby? Do they know what was causing the grunting?

Definitely push for some help-the community midwives should come out on day three and five but more if needed. Your DD should have been given a number to call day or night with any questions when she was discharged.

There are also BF counsellors out there (like La Leche League) but first Id want to make sure there's nothing wrong with the baby. I'm sure there's not, but tell DD she musnt be shy in getting him checked.

I have a five day old who is very sleepy too (I think most newborns are!) but does root every three/four hours. She is formula fed and is currently taking anywhere between 30 and 60 ml at each feed.

Good luck

Can she have some non pressured time with him and do skin to skin. So have her top open and him with just a nappy. If you google baby led attachment or biological nursing you should get a video to show.

The first midwife I saw on the hospital ward wanted to feed my baby formula as she said she had gone too long without a feed. I just refused (and dh backed me up when she was pushing it) and asked her to get me some bf help. DD never really rooted and really had to be trained to latch on which took a few weeks as I was so engorged. I fed her with nipple shields for the first 2 weeks until the engorgement settled enough for her to get plenty of breast in her mouth.

She needs to stand firm and get bf help. If she's home she can call her midwife on the ooh number and they should come out to help. I called mine crying when DD was 2 weeks old as she wouldn't latch on again and a mw was out to me within 2 hours.

I agree with pp, as much skin to skin as possible (Google kangaroo care) and mAke sure she's trying to express, I had a baby at 36+2, expressed every three hours for 15 minutes, day and night, no milk or colostrum came out but my body knew it needed to get going with milk production, my milk Came in on day five, baby had been latching on from day 3.
Try stripping baby down so lots of direct skin contact with mum, if scbu ok with that, I was told to try feeding every three hours, day and night, also told to massage his shoulder during feeds like I was almost pulling him off. We got there and he fed for 18m, (I did give him food from 6m too) other top tip partly so she will have calories to make milk and partly because your dd will be exhausted take her a four pack of Mars bars I think I ate two on the day my milk came in, I don't normally like them but there was something about them that day that was just right.

Skin to skin
Lots of food and water
Ask if they have an infant feeding team
Expressing
another vote for biologist nursing

Apart from the SCBU thing this happened to me - baby was induced and born very very sleepy with no interest in latching on - even if we could rouse him briefly as soon as I brought him near to me to feed he zonked out again.

We did end up syringe feeding formula and any colostrum I could hand-express. He final started showing some interest in BFing after 5-6 days. We had lots of support and advice but DS was basically just too sleepy!

I don't know whether it was due to the shaky start (we also had tongue tie and according to a pedantic own DS had a 'disorganised suckle') but I always had supply issues and we ended up mix feeding, but DS is now a robust and healthy nearly 1yr old who is attached to the boob as I type!

to your DD - I honestly found BFing one of the toughest things I ever did, but the pay-off was worth it.

Pedantic own = paediatrician!

Oh and definitely start expressing (by hand if you can manage, otherwise a good electric pump.

I was really worried something was wrong with DS, he barely opened his eyes for the first week or so, but he just needed to get used to being on the outside I think. He would suck from a bottle but every time he got near the breast I think he was just so blissed-out being next to me that he was straight back into a deep sleep.

How's your daughter (and grandchild) doing this afternoon?

cherry, some good tips already on this thread.

The situation is quite serious, and the baby really does need to feed - the risk is dehydration and loss of weight otherwise. But your dd can hand express (and should have been doing so, frequently, before now, instead of formula) and biological nurturing/kangaroo care is the way to go, so the baby can be encouraged to attach and enjoy being close with mum. The closeness of biological nurturing also means your dd can respond to very subtle feeding cues.

Ds was born at 37+5, emcs. Not interested in bf at all, didn't root. Lost 23% of his birth weight in 6?days. Loads of lactation help from midwives (LLL volunteer came in several times; NCT antenatal leader in the bed next to me! , v enthusiastic me) Paediatrician wanted to put him in SCBU. In the end i let the mw give him a bottle. He began to thrive and we were eventually home 24 hrs later (after a week in hospital).