2 weeks old, only 6 feeds per day

[TheMouse]

My LO (my first) is 2 weeks old today. He was 2 1/2 weeks premature and was 6lb8oz at birth. BF so far has been relatively easy - he learnt to latch on very quickly and I haven't been sore or anything. He had regained his birth weight by Thursday this week. So far so good. However since the start it has been a bit of a struggle keeping him awake while feeding. The last couple of days have been particularly bad and he's gone from taking an average of 15-20 minutes on one side followed by 10 minutes on the other (albeit needing to use plenty of keeping-awake techniques) feeding 7-8 times per day to only about 10-15 minutes on one side, often not interested in the other side, even after a nappy change, winding, undressing to nappy etc. He also seems to be sleeping longer between feeds (>4 hours sometimes) and is very difficult to wake up to feed. e.g he only fed 6 times yesterday and it will probably be the same today. It has just taken 1 hour from lifting him to persuade him to start feeding. Everything I have read suggests that he should be feeding 8-12 times per day, but he's just not interested.

This has coincided with my breasts feeling much fuller though - am wondering if he's just finding it easier now to get the same amount of milk in less time now, is this possible? Still getting 5-6 wet & dirty nappies per day.

As a first time mum I'm really worried that he isn't getting enough and/or that the less regular feeding is going to affect my supply. Any tips or advice gratefully received.

I'm not experienced enough to advise on a lot of what you asked about but I did have a sleepy baby with my first and it was a struggle to get him to feed. You sound like you are already trying lots of techniques, I was wondering if you are also doing lots of skin to skin, maybe using a sling to carry him so you can respond asap to any signs of being ready to feed.
the wet nappies part and regaining birth weight sound promising though

Thanks Morocco. Bumping for any other advice...

The number of feeds is not necessarily indicative of anything - and there is no specific no. of feeds per day that is the right number. Your baby sounds similar to both my DDs. DD1 was 6 lb 14lb at birth and DD2 was really quite small (only 6lb 1 oz at birth) but neither of them ever fed more than about 7 times a day (at birth it was usually about 5 times between the hours 7am to 7pm then around 10.30pm and then one wake and feed in the early hours). Around 5 weeks they dropped the 10.30pm feed so were down to about 6 feeds in 24 hours and both slept through very early and so by about 10 weeks only had 5 feeds in 24 hours. I was never able to wake either of them for feeds - it simply didn't work as they would be too sleepy and uninterested - so I stuck with the feed on demand advice and let them wake up and feed when they wanted rather than waking them when I thought they should be fed.

After about 10 days or so I found feed times were about 15 mins on one side then 10 on the other. I would continue to offer the second side, maybe as your milk supply has increased he is currently getting enough from one side but he will no doubt hit a growth spurt soon. I was quite worried with DD1 as like you I had read that there should be many more feeds per day etc, but it soon became clear from weigh ins that she was gaining weight almost exponentially (neither baby ever dropped below birth weight and DD2 went from between 2nd and 9th centile at birth up to 50th centile within 6 weeks so I knew there was nothing to worry about).

In the end if weight gain is good (and so far your little one seems to be doing fine) then you don't need to worry. The wet and dirty nappies sound absolutely fine which is a good indication. If you are worried then keep going regularly to the HV to get him weighed and if his weight gain continues to be good you know he is fine. If his weight gain is not so good then you can discuss it with the HV for advice.

I think your milk supply will adjust to the no. of feeds that suit your baby. I certainly never had any issues with supply despite the fact I didn't feed that often compared to some people

Thank you so much NTE, that's very reassuring. He's due to get weighed again next Wednesday, I'll keep an eye on the nappies until then and if anything changes I'll maybe call the HV before then.

Hi The Mouse
Hope you are feeling more confident about this now. Our DS2 is also 2 weeks, and despite having fed DS1 for 11mths, I still angst about whether or not the second is doing OK. I think it's just normal maternal concern, possibly compounded by all those raging hormones

However, the wet and dirty nappies are a good sign. Are you changing him before feeds to wake him up? You could try stripping him down a bit if he is too warm & cosy - he should get enough warmth from your body and once he is feeding you could throw a shawl or blanket over the 2 of you.

My DS2 is much dozier than DS1, and it is hard sometimes to keep him awake to finish his "meal". Sometimes he goes 20mns on a boob and then has a bit of the other, and at other feeds he goes 5-10mns then flakes out. It is hard to have faith in something you can't see, but if your baby is producing nappies, has some alert moments (although not that many at this stage), and is gaining weight, I am sure all is well. Let me know how you are getting on, as I am in a similar boat, and could sometimes do with the encouragement too. Good luck to you both.

contented, wet and dirty nappies all sounds grand for 2 weeks.
It takes at least 2 weeks to get breastfeeding established anyway.
If baby feeds one or both sides and you are happy they had something ( the nappies suggest this and the fact baby is settled)be confident baby had enough.
wait for sleepy baby to be ready wash face or change and they will wake up a lttle more if ready;.
baby led feeding is as it sounds and the weight also suggests you are doing fab.
I was a breastfeeding counsellor for 6 years and have 5 teenagers now and although guidelines change breastfeeding doesnt.
every baby is different.
On a personal note my last babe was 9lb 5oz and so very sleepy he fed for 5 mins on each side and suction was like a hoover(not that i know what that felt like) every four or five hours and slept through the night form 5 weeks for 11 - 12 hours i too worried about how much he was getting but he weighed in at 17lbs at 3 months and was rather porky.
His sucking action was superb and so obviously was my milk.
have confidence in yourself that you give and he takes what he wants.

Well.....I don't agree that we can always rely on the baby to ask for the feeds he needs.

Lulah, your 9 lb 5 oz baby is not the same as a baby born slightly earlier than term at 6 lbs 8 oz.

TheMouse, everything sounds as if it is fine so far, but I think it's good to be concerned and watchful when a baby does things that are some way from what you might expect. It is very unusual to be this uninterested in feeding, and for you to have to work hard to get 6 feeds a day into him.

For a baby like this, it makes sense to hold him close for as much of the 24 hours as practical, so you can respond to feeding cues as soon as they happen...'lifting' him to wake him up will not be as productive as 'wearing' him so he is with you all the time.

With a baby like this, the risk is that feeding too little leaves the baby lacking energy to ask for feeds, and as you say, it is not good for the breastmilk supply.

All may continue to be well, but intervening by feeding much more often may avoid all the things you are worried about. Hope this helps.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond. Things improving a bit in the past few days. 7-8 feeds becoming the norm though I still have to apply all my keeping awake techniques (including suggestions above) to get him to keep feeding sometimes.

A big confidence boost yesterday when he got weighed - he has put on 6oz in the past 6 days HV told me he was 'thriving' and to carry on doing what I was doing. Hoping to reach the heady heights of >7lb at next week's weigh-in!

This parenting business is a worry isn't it

That's good news, TheMouse....I do think continuing to keep an eye on everything is sensible, but no need for much anxiety and he is, as you say, doing fine