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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

Is there any option other than formula if a newborn wont feed and glucose levels are low?

69 replies

Dragonhart · 09/08/2007 13:29

Dsis in hospital after having cs due to her high bp. Baby born on tue and last night they said that as her glucose levels were low that she should have formula. Worried about dd, she did give her a bottle and then dd slept all night.

She really wants to bf but is there anything she can do if glucose levels are low?

OP posts:

Aitch · 11/08/2007 22:52

sfxmum, well done. been there, but i wasn't as strong as you so didn't hold out.
hunker, i stole your pirate gold, and i also suggest you look in active convos for the 500 years of art in a woman's face, you'll like it.

sfxmum · 11/08/2007 22:54

yes it is bad and i did complain, a year later, once i managed to write a civil letter,usually i would just sit and to write and start foaming at the mouth, not healthy.
they were working for their accreditation as bf friendly

hunkermunker · 11/08/2007 22:59

Aitch, I know And I've seen it and posted and I'm just emailing you

hunkermunker · 11/08/2007 22:59

And sfxmum, ffs, some midwives really need retraining...with a big stick, I think...

3andnomore · 11/08/2007 23:21

hnnker if you are about could you look at this:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk?topicid=1364&threadid=370034&stamp=070811231915

3andnomore · 11/08/2007 23:21

link

mamadoc · 12/08/2007 19:31

Exact same thing happened to me and DD and I still bitterly regret not having guts to stand up to it. As she was 2.4kg had to have sugars checked as part of their protocol. She BF really well after birth and sugars were fine. They were supposed to wake us in the night to check again but forgot. By the time they checked again her sugars were low and they never even gave me a chance to try to feed her just cup fed formula which she threw up then put a tube down and again she threw up. She wound up in SCBU nil by mouth with a drip and I didn't get to try BF again for days although did express. I was told she would be exhausted by trying to feed.
She was a term healthy baby just a little bit small (still on 0.4 centile to this day) At the time I thought I had to do as they said or she might die. Now I wonder if there would have been any problem at all if no-one checked the sugar.
Sorry for rant. Really hope your sis has better experience dragonhart

sfxmum · 12/08/2007 19:41

so sorry to hear

dd did feed on formula for 2days while i desperately tried to hand express.
dh got me a pump to hospital, after they refused to help me.he got some advice on the phone at home from i think la leche league.

by the 3rd day i got so mad i demanded to see someone who actually knew what they were talking about,and a manager for a proper complaint.

but things only got going properly once i got home

i really want to become a bf counselor

mamadoc · 12/08/2007 20:16

DD had my EBM from day 2 when I could get enough and never threw any of that up. Plus the sheer volume of formula they gave 40ml at a time if I remember. Seems so much compared to the amount of colostrum the 1st few days I wonder if she vomited just cos of that. Happily when I was finally allowed to feed her she took to it like a duck to water and never looked back (now 4 months).
The week in SCBU with drips and tubes everywhere will stay with me though and I will always wonder if it was really neccessary but at the time just trusted the professionals.

Original poster

Dragonhart · 16/08/2007 22:15

Thats what I was saying to dsis mamadoc. Her midwifes have been worying about her dd's weight as she lost some when she was in hospital. I told her that my dd2 had only put on afew oz after afew weeks so probably lost weight too, but because no-one weighed her at the start, no-one was worried and she was fine.

She has been worried as her dd is only feeding for 10mins at a time. 10 mins of contant sucking and swallowing every 3-4 hours, then she falls asleep again. My dd used to mess around for ages but never fed for 10 mins like her dd, really chugging it down. Does that sound like enough Hunker?

OP posts:

CarGirl · 16/08/2007 22:26

they kept heel pricking dd because she was a huge birth weight and she wouldn't feed at all etc. The cup feed her formula and collustrum etc.

In the end I was knackered, discharged myself against medical advice 2am one morning went home gave her a bottle, woke up after 8 hours blissfull sleep then started exclusive bf (which was problematic due to tongue tie)

Next time I refused to let them do the tests and discharged myself after 6 hours even though it was midnight much better experience all around!

Jojay · 16/08/2007 22:49

Dh - my ds only fed for very short times too - rarely over 5 mins - and then would go for 3-4 hrs even at that age. In fact I often had to wake him to feed, as he would have slept for ever I think!!

He sounds very similar to your neice - I had to cup feed him too to start with, as he didn't feed at all for the first 39 hrs.

I kept expressing, so he always had ebm, and offered him the boob first before a top up from a bottle ( never got the hang of cup feeding - most of it went down his front!), but it took him a good 2 weeks to bf properly. Once he got the hang of it though, we never looked back, and he was exclusivley breast fed for many months.

I hope everything is going well for your sister.

Jojay · 16/08/2007 22:51

Whoope - can't spell NIECE.

Also should have said, he was fine on short feeds, and never fed for much longer, even when he was much older.

I just decided he was an efficient feeder and I must have a fast led down!

I'm sure you're niece is taking what she needs, if she is well in every other way.

Jojay · 16/08/2007 22:52

Can't spell WHOOPS either.

No, can spell, just can't type!

hunkermunker · 16/08/2007 23:00

How's her weeing and pooing? Your niece, not your sister...!

Some babies are very efficient feeders and will do as you describe. If she's having frequent wet nappies and a good few dirty ones, then she's probably getting enough.

Is she being weighed naked on the same scales each time, electronic ones, not spring balance ones?

Original poster

Dragonhart · 16/08/2007 23:08

Lots of wet nappies from what I could see when there, but will ask her tom.

She has not been weighed on same scales as once was in the hospital and others on midwife's scales in her house. Does that make a difference? They have already been mumbling about top up ff

OP posts:

hunkermunker · 16/08/2007 23:12

Yes, it makes a difference - might only be a couple of ounces, but that's pretty crucial here.

Do you know how much weight she's meant to have lost?

Has she been weighed more than twice? Is there a chance she'd lost weight in hospital and now she's gaining it back?

Your post's reminded me of something I meant to start a thread about wrt formula top-up mutterings - thank you.

Original poster

Dragonhart · 17/08/2007 23:23

Weighed at birth on 7th: 6lbs15
Mon 13th: 6lbs4
Fri 17th: 6lbs8

Sounds ok to me and she said the midwife was not worried today. She is feeding longer now as she is waking up at her nappy change to have some more.

Thank you for all the advice and to everyone for sharing their experiences. Really helped and I have passed on to her. xxx

OP posts:

hunkermunker · 17/08/2007 23:26

Sounds fine, Dragonhart! Brilliant news!

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