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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

Breastfeeding advice for newborn

24 replies

Beccarollover · 15/05/2004 08:47

My friend has a 5 day old - she has just been on the phone with a couple of concerns but I cant remember the right stuff to tell her!

Her worry is baby had her last feed at 12 midnight last night and still hasnt had one - she has offered the breast a few times but she clamps her mouth shout - is this sort of gap between feeds ok? Should she just thank her lucky stars!?

She said her typical pattern is going about 5 hours between feeds during the day, regular and often feeds (about every hour) in the evening.

OP posts:

Ghosty · 15/05/2004 08:51

Not an expert but I think 8 hours is a very very long time for a 5 day old baby ...
Even 5 hours is too long ...
Like I say, not an expert ... where's mears and tiktok?

Original poster

Beccarollover · 15/05/2004 08:52

Thats what I thought but didnt want to say anything to worry her if I was wrong.

Concerned about her milk supply going 9 hours and 5 hours in the early days

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toddlerbob · 15/05/2004 08:52

Are there lots of wet and pooey nappies? Generally alert and seeming happy?

The gaps do seem long, but it depends when she is counting her 5 hours from. Is it from the end of one feed to the start of the next?

JulieF · 15/05/2004 08:57

Again not an expert but it seems a long time. Is the baby alert with lots of wet and dirty nappies.

Is she a sleepy or baby or jaundiced? I don't want to worry her too much but my baby refused to feed like that. He went 11 hours and we eventually had to express and cup feed.

I would recommend hand expressing to keep her supply up and contact her midwife ASAP for proper professional advice.

During the day I would say 3-4 hours is the norm for a 5 day old baby, 5 hours is a long time.

Ghosty · 15/05/2004 09:00

Hope no one shouts at me for this but in the first few weeks I didn't let DD go longer than 3 hours in the day time ... I used to wake her for feeds ... mainly because I wanted to establish my supply ... at night I let her go as long as she wanted but it was never longer than 5 hours ...

Original poster

Beccarollover · 15/05/2004 09:02

I was exactly the same Ghosty - fed every 3 hours during the day and whenever he woke for it during the night.

friends baby was slightly jaundiced when she came home from hospital.

She was kept in a day when she was born as she was a little cold and very mucousy so kept being sick and didnt feed well for the first day.

OP posts:

Original poster

Beccarollover · 15/05/2004 09:04

I just texted her asking if there was plenty of wet and dirty nappies and she said wet but not dirty.

OP posts:

toddlerbob · 15/05/2004 09:18

I agree with the others she should feed more often during the day to keep her supply up and to give baby more practise.

She could try stroking her baby's cheek, which should prompt a reflex of rooting and thus give her an open mouth to stick the boob in.

goosey · 15/05/2004 09:23

If the baby seems well - not in any pain or hungry, and alert - and her milk supply is well-established with good long effective feeds until now then all sounds within normal to me. I would tell your friend to relax and gently keep offering the breast. If she has lots of milk I would think she will be bursting to feed by now and it may help to soften her breasts with warm flannels before trying another feed.

musica · 15/05/2004 09:40

Same here Ghosty - I fed every 3 hours religiously to get the milk going, having not had very much milk at all with ds, and it did work.

GeorginaA · 15/05/2004 10:03

4 day old babe here, and with slight tinge of jaundice, so like others I've been waking him at 3 hourly intervals in the day.

In the night, he just never sleeps (I'm not exaggerating.. he'll only sleep if I'm sitting upright with my boob in his mouth at night... argh!)

Longest gap so far has been 6 hours... when I'd fallen asleep in exhaustion and wasn't aware of the gap!

tiktok · 15/05/2004 10:39

Becca, it might be ok, but it might not be. She needs to offer the baby lots of skin to skin contact, and not make a fight about feeding.....by now, if the baby is feeding well, she should be producing soft yellow poo several times a day. If not, or if it is still black.brown/green, then this, coupled with the long gaps and lack of interest in feeds, is not reassuring....she needs to speak to someone. With a baby like this, I would expect that she is not transferring milk as well as she should be.

Of course all may be ok and she may just be having a blip

Original poster

Beccarollover · 16/05/2004 14:41

She was going 6 hours + between feeds again yesterday but then in the night was feeding for midnight until 5 am, Mum got very upset and was considering giving in and giving a bottle but has perservered and today has fed her 4 hourly. When she has been trying earlier than this the baby apparently clamps her mouth shout although is sucking like mad on her fingers and seems hungry.

When I saw her yesterday she was really rooting and trying to go to my boob but then when my friend gave it a go she wouldnt take it...

What do you think?

OP posts:

tiktok · 16/05/2004 14:54

What about her poos, Becca?

Original poster

Beccarollover · 16/05/2004 14:55

They were still black up until last night but I think she has now had a yellowy/brown one today.

When I had her yesterday she was a little bit sick but the sick was very phlegmy/mucousy

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tiktok · 16/05/2004 16:21

This baby might be just a bit slow to get going...but 6 hours between feeds is not good, and the poo should really be yellow now (day 6-7). Four hourly feeds may not be often enough. I can't emphasise too much how important it is not to let a baby like this sleep the hours away in a crib/basket...she should be on/near mum all the time, until everyone is happy she is feeding well and frequently. Doing this is likely to make night feeds better, not worse. If she is going 6 hours between feeds in the day, it is not surprising she feeds a lot in the night....hope things get better.

californiagirl · 16/05/2004 16:42

Mine was very sleepy, and would easily have gone that long between feeds if I'd let her. To encourage her to feed, we did skin-to-skin contact (baby in diaper, me or DH shirtless, blanket over top of baby and adult) until she was ready to feed, and then when she was rooting, I expressed a little milk so it was on my nipple and she could taste it. Also, my nipples are just a bit too flat for a newborn to latch on easily, so I used breast shields and/or a pump before feeding to make them stick out better.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the longest gap when she wouldn't even try was the first day we were in the hospital. It was good, because I had help and because it taught me that I should take it seriously, since the nurses did. It was bad because having the nurses worried made me feel awful. In the end, however, we got her to feed before they decided she needed to supplement (and even then they were going to use water from a dropper) but it took 4 people two hours!

californiagirl · 16/05/2004 16:53

The really mucousy sick may be positive; that was part of what happened with my DD and the nurses explained that it was gunk from her lungs and that was part of why she wasn't hungry. Sicking it up did help her. Unless she actually get a cold, she'll run out of the gunk from birth soon (should have by now, but hey). Burping her a lot helps. The time we had the full-court press in the hospital the nurses tried every burping technique in the universe, and after she sicked up horrible gunk she ate.

Original poster

Beccarollover · 20/05/2004 13:30

Baby seems to be doing much better now - feeding much more regularly.

My friend has just asked about something, just wanted to check my answer before I advise her!

She said baby has had green poo for a couple of days and isnt very satisfied at the breast and feeding all the time - this coincides with her deciding to give both boobs each feed.

Im about to tell her she should make sure first boob is drained, wind then back on first to make sure baby is getting all of hind milk before swapping to other side. The green poo could be too much fore milk and the unsettledness could be due to not enough hind milk.

Am I right in what Im saying - I dont want to confuse her or give her wrong info.

OP posts:

Clayhead · 20/05/2004 13:41

I'm no expert but it sounds right to me!

frogs · 20/05/2004 13:56

Could be something called a rotavirus, though. My ds had the green poo without the unsettledness. Might be worth checking out with the GP. Don't think they actually treat it with anything, but it might be as well to know.

tiktok · 20/05/2004 16:07

Becca, there are no rules about one side or two or when to swap....follow the baby, not the clock. There is normally no need to 'engineer' intake of fore and hindmilk in the way you are suggesting.

This baby is 10 days old, right? OK, some babies have green poo and it means nothing. But in this case, it would be a sign to weigh the baby, and to check milk is transferring effectively often enough.

The unsettledness and the green poo is more likely to be inadequate intake, maybe related to poor positioning.

tiktok · 20/05/2004 17:40

Also...telling a mother to make sure the first breast is 'drained' is confusing. Given there is always milk there, how do you do this

[It's one of the gripes I have with Gina Ford - tells mothers to make sure they empty the breasts and suggests they squeeze a nipple to look. Cue for puzzlement thoughout her readership.]

Original poster

Beccarollover · 20/05/2004 17:47

Tiktok - thanks I thought there was somethign a miss with my advice!!

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