Jaundiced 6 Day old, sleepiness and supplementing.

[Gierg]

Hello!

Having a tough old time with my 6 day old babe (but who isn't)

He's a bit jaundiced, but was always under the level for photo therapy or anything like that in hospital, although it did get a bit worse once we came home. But he's just so lazy at the breast! I find it almost impossible if he's even a bit tired to suck actively for more than 5 mins at a time... and we try everything! From cool cloths and millions of nappy changes and standing out on the balcony for a bit. The nights are always the worst for him, he is just so sleepy.

I've been supplementing our breast feeds with around 20ml formula or expressed milk depending on if I managed to have time to express anything or not. Just to make sure he gets some liquid inside of him to help flush out this jaundice. He takes this liquid really easily from a syringe so I know he's hungry!

I'm generally ok with pumping and can get around 20ml with my hand pump over 15-20 mins. I know these aren't really an indicator of what babe gets...

His poos are a browny yellowy colour and in the last 24 hours he did 10 dirty nappies (some of them bigger some of the tiny) His wee varies from being clear to being quite dark.

I'm just wondering if there's anything more I can do to make sure this jaundice goes away well. I don't want to be not giving him enough food to get better and wonder if I should supplement more or what I need to do to help him out!

My brain is saying just formula feed him to get him over this hump and then try and reestablish breastfeeding once he has a bit more energy to try, but I would be so worried my supply would dry up...

What should I do!

Continue to offer the breast at each feed but supplement if needs be. I had a similar issue with one of my daughters, my supply did end up being low though so I took fenugreek tablets to boost it. I have to say though that the difficulty we had in establishing breastfeeding made me miserable. Life was much more pleasant all round when we eventually switched to bottle feeding x

How recently have you had his bilirubin levels checked? My DS was 5 days when he needed jaundice treatment. A jaundiced baby will be sleepy and that makes it harder to breastfeed. We got there in the end though, with some expressing and tube feeding in hospital.

@iamapixiebutnotaniceone
Yeah I'm definitely feeling like the stress of breastfeeding right now is not super worth it... I want to know he's fed and the uncertainty of breast is driving my already anxiety prone brain a bit crackers... I like breastfeeding though. I like the closeness and the contact but hate that I don't know what I'm giving him...

How much should I supplement? If he sucks for 5 minutes should I give him a full formula feeds worth of supplement? Hmmm.

@SolomanDaisy

We haven't had them checked since we left hospital on Wednesday. I think I'll call the hospital in the (proper) morning again and get him checked if we can... I called this morning but it's not got any better really throughout the day... the fact he's doing small wees and fairly small poos makes me feel like he's just not getting enough to flush it out of of his system...

I had to revert to a mix feed due to my baby's tongue tie (BFing was so so painful!). In answer to your question "how much should I supplement?" make up a full feed bottle (as per guidelines on formula) and allow him to take what he wants, if he doesn't finish it then no problem.

You have to have a combination of trust & how many wet nappies he goes through to ascertain if he's getting enough breast milk. Also get him weighed every week as this will help reassure you also.

My baby is now 4 months old and I'm slowly giving her more formula (due to our rocky start I've never enjoyed breastfeeding particularly) and my supply has adjusted accordingly, however I also pumped on each boob for ten minutes when I first skipped breast feeds (less painful than BFing!) which helped! Best of luck!

@OoohSmooch

Thanks for the guidelines. I made a feed up for this night feed and will give him that and see what he takes. I have a suspicion he'll take it all...

Is it normal to feel really emotional about giving him formula? I know it's the best for him if he's hungry but I feel so sad :(

Nothing in having a newborn is normal....I promise.

I was very divided about giving formula. I was very much a breast is best but you know what, fuck that. Fed is best, formula literally saved lives when it was first introduced, it's amazing. I was in hospital for almost a week when I had my baby and the worst part? The sodding breastfeeding 'experts'. I actually hated them. It's meant I've had a really horrible association with feeding my baby, it's weird as I'm not one for confidence issues but my experience with BFing at the start really was one of the lowest points in my entire life.

For us modern day mums it isn't just lifesaving if you can't breastfeed, it gives you options, it gives me freedom. My boobs are huge so public breastfeeding was so hardgoing & so bottle feeding in public was a lifesaver for me. It also means my husband can feed her and I can go out! Expressing is double the work and I only do it if I'm blocked or a situation where I'll have a few drinks and want to give her breast milk as I'd be 'contaminated' for a while!

The healthiest thing new mums can do is to see formula as a positive. We know breast milk is amazing but so is formula, it stopped infant malnourishment in its tracks.

Me and my husband were 100% formula fed by our mums, my husband is super healthy and I'm a junk food addict. How we were fed as babies made no difference to how we are now.

@OoohSmooch

Thanks for this.

I always thought I was the same, but no, I think I'm moving to fed is best too. I told a nurse on the phone that I was worried about his sleepiness and then said I'd given him formula and she actually said to me "why did you do that?" Because I was desperate to make sure he had food that's why! I was so so angry! She made me feel like a total twat for following my instincts and feeding him... It was awful!

I have given him some formula just now and he took a whole 60ml relatively easily... now feeling like I should have been doing this sooner! And also that it will be so good for DP to do some of the feedings and get all the closeness and cuddles that feeding brings.

Looking forward to more poos and wees in our future (I never thought I would ever say that...)

Life is all about poops & wee's now hehe!!

Trust your instincts just as you are. I wish someone had said that to me in the hospital. I'm annoyed the nurse said that to you, so similar to the attitude I received too.

I feel lucky we introduced the bottle early as she goes from bottle to boob and back very easily! Some of my new mummy friends can't get their babies to take a bottle at all.

Im actually considering stopping BFing soon but will see how it goes, formula saved me from pain, saved my sanity & she enjoys it. Due to this I actually enjoy making up a bottle and sterilising! (We use Mam bottles, they're amazing!)

@OoohSmooch

Thanks so much for your support. I will have a look at mam bottles. So much more research to do... I naively thought breastfeeding would be the easy option....

I offered him 60ml and it went down like a dream compared to the boob faffing, so he has been hungry! I will keep doing that after offering both boobs for as long as we both can tolerate, and we will flush out this jaundice and start gaining weight.

Babies are incredibly good at regulating - offer both breasts then as much formula or expressed breastmilk as he will take. He will spit up any excess if he does take too much. You absolutely need to keep liquids flowing through him to get the jaundice to pass. The multiple dirty nappies are a great sign as excess bilirubin is mostly excreted in the stools so he's hopefully moving through it. But unresolved jaundice can be very serious so prioritise treating it far above any desire to exclusively breastfeed. Anyone who tells you otherwise could lead your baby to harm, for no tangible benefit. Another benefit is resolving the jaundice will resolve the excessive drowsiness so the quicker you clear it, the quicker his breastfeeding behaviour will improve.

Of course if you want to move fully to formula, go for it. Advice above is based on my own experiences of combination feeding two jaundiced babies.

That nurse is very very wrong. You fed your baby formula because (a) he was hungry and formula is an excellent safe nutritious food for babies and (b) formula feeding is the medically indicated treatment for a potentially serious disease that tie baby is suffering from. Can you get to see a doctor soon if worried about the jaundice? Midwives and nurses and health visitors are often brainwashed into breastfeeding above all, in a way that can be actively harmful.

Congratulations on your beautiful baby, keep him fed (in whatever method or combination works best for you both) and healthy and you're doing a great job.

@sycamore54321

I feel much less worried today. He's done a couple of big wees since I fed him the formula and a couple of big poos too, so I'm really happy and definitely think the supplementing is needed to help him get this stuff through his system because before his wees were small with red crystals in them and poos were tiny!

Will continue doing this until I feel confident that he is getting enough from the boob. Like you say he spits up if he has a bit too much.

Probably also didn't help that it took my milk a little bit longer to come in.