Breastfeeding help

[heresheis9]

Hey all
Looking for some advice,
My DS is currently 2 weeks old. We are breastfeeding and topping up with 30/40ml formula at the end of each feed as he's lost a lot of weight in the first week and I'm scared he's not getting enough from me.
The problem I'm having is that he keeps falling asleep whilst breastfeeding.. he would feed for a Max of 3/4 mins then go to sleep ( he's not the same with the bottle , he stays awake until he finishes it )
I've tried having him feed just in his nappy/ tickling his feet etc. And that works for seconds then he's back to sleep.
Would love some advice.
TIA x

How much weight has he lost and were you advised to top up due to weight loss? It's all very scary having to trust the instincts of your baby and your milk supply. I've had two bf babies and both only fed for a short time. I really doubted myself with my first because all the info and midwifes etc say 20 min feeds but no way have mine done that. They both lost weight initially (all bf baby's do) but did start gaining once my milk came in. Has baby started to gain now? Bf is harder for baby's than bottle feeding, so could make baby more tired, plus has hormones in which induce sleep (that's why some baby's prefer bottle over breast when combi fed cos it's easier which leads to refusal of breast sometimes). Do you have bf support in your area to ask? If your milk has come in, baby is now gaining and you want to exclusively bf I'd stop the top ups, put baby to breast as often as baby wants, don't worry about timing it. Monitor nappy output which will indicate good feeds and try put trust in your baby and body. Your doing great for getting to two weeks!

Thank you.
He's lost 9% by our first midwife appointment, & we were given until the next day to gain some weight back 😫. So I panicked and offered formula as the midwife made me feel like I was starving him to death. Would love to drop the formula top ups but I'd love for him to start being more awake when breastfeeding first 😭

The same happened to me as baby dropped 12% in the first few days, but I used pumped breast milk to top her up with and it helped me with the guilt of formula feeding (I know I shouldn’t have felt guilty but I did!) I then gradually dropped the top ups and she is 4 weeks now and totally breast fed. She tends to fall asleep during feeds too and I try and trust my instincts and decide whether she is satisfied or not, as well as swapped breast, stripping her, tickling feet, changing nappy etc etc.

Just remember fed is absolutely best and you’re amazing for just doing what you thinks best for your baby

Have you used an app to track your feeds? I use this one called baby loggy and find it really useless. You can also log your bottle feeds too

useful not useless

You'd be surprised how much milk they can get from just a short feed. At that age babies generally do feed little and often and sleep a lot. Was your baby a big baby? I only ask because I always think bigger ones seem to loose more. When your baby is inside you it's basically constantly being fed so it's normal for a baby to loose weight before gaining it back as they have to learn to feed and they're just as tired as you after labour. If your baby is gaining even if it's a small amount it's great. My first was premmie and my biggest regret was switching to formula earlier than planned because I thought his weight gain wasn't enough. It was slow and steady but he was gaining.

Thanks everyone for taking time to reply 😀 good to hear that it's quite normal to feed for a few minutes and often & will definitely use the app to track feeds

I would advise getting in to bed and staying there for 24-48 hours allowing him to feed WHENEBER he wants and lots of skin to skin. 9% isn’t a dangerous weight loss and I’m sorry you were scared in to giving formula.
Basically by giving formula your body won’t know how hungry baby is. You now have to
Work on your supply. Try cutting down the top ups by half the amount to begin with then in a day or 2 try and not give any but feed feed feed (completely normal to feed upwards of 12+ times a day especially if baby is trying to up your supply) contact HV/midwife and ask if they can keep an eye on babies weight for a week or 2 to check the weight gain continues, there may be a very small loss to begin with as you cut down on formula and your body plays catch up!

You really need face to face support. When is the midwife seeing you again? Are there any peer support services locally?

Go back to basics with positioning and attachment, make sure baby is getting a really deep latch. If baby has a shallow latch it will be harder work to get the milk from the breast, and then they get tired easily. You can also do breast compressions during feeds to wake baby up a bit and encourage him to suckle again. Do you hear baby swallowing when he's feeding?

What is output like? At least 5 heavy wet nappies and 2 yellow poos in 24 hours?

Any nipple or breast pain? Are your nipples a normal shape at the end of a feed? If they are pointed/slanted that can mean a shallow latch, as can trauma or nipple pain.

Are you expressing any EBM? Post-feed expressing can help to increase your supply. Just 5 or 10 mins after each feed and you should notice a difference in a couple of days.

9% isn't too much of a worry, bf babies can lose a fair bit of weight at first m, especially while awaiting milk to come in properly. They actually pack on a lot of weight before birth to counteract the loss, so nature had it all covered for you They should have just rescheduled another weigh in the following day or so to keep an eye on when baby started to gain weight. Is baby gaining now? Do you have a local weigh in centre? If baby is having wet and dirty nappies then they are getting the milk they need. Also of baby is alert when awake and seeking feeds they are all good (hard to tell at this age I know as they sleep lots and lots). Get comfy on the sofa over next few days, don't schedule going out, let baby feed without the top ups and do weekly weigh ins for piece of mind if you feel you need to. You can do this... you are already doing it. You just have to learn to trust yourself, and your baby.

I think up to 10% is normal so I'm surprised the midwife was that concerned- sometimes they forget how scary it can be for mums and they cause unnecessary panic. My little boy only ever fed for 3-4 mins. He lost I think about 9% as well in his first week (which they said was fine) and like you I was worried about the short feeds but he put on almost 500g in the second week and midwife said he was obviously getting lots of milk so was just a quick drinker.

The only thing I would mention is if you are on any prescription painkillers post birth? I had a c section but stopped taking the prescription painkillers after about 5 days and stuck to paracetamol because midwife said it could be what was making him sleepy, and he did perk up a bit after that x