2 day old v sleepy baby. How often should I BF??

[goodcatholicgirl]

My DD2, born 2 days ago is (just like her big sister) v content and just sleeps all the time, it's job to wake her up enough to feed her. This is just her personality, I had no drugs & a v quick birth.
I could leave her hours, she doesn't wake for food. As I said, my DD was just the same, and I know I've done this before, but I just want reassurance.

I just fed her at 9:30pm (half hr feed). I was gonna wake her at 3am to feed her then about 7am, does that sound OK???

My only concern is that milk is produced at night so I don't wanna risk not establishing my milk supply but not feeding her enough at night, but newborns don't feed as often do they???

Just to bump for you-- hopefully more expert posters will come along, but dd was similar in the early days and the midwife told me to aim for every 4 hours or so.

Hi,

I would try to wake up and feed her every three hours if you can, then try to feed her every two hours during the day. Do this for the first 10 days or so then allow the feeds to become further apart, say 4-5 hours during the night (you lucky thing!!) and every three hours during the day until she is at least 6-8 weeks old. As long as she is actually taking on enough milk with those feed and gaining weight etc fine then stick to that "schedule" but if there are problems with her weight gain then reduce the gaps between feeds again for a while.

You are right that night feeds do influence your milk production, hormone levels are higher at night, so it's a good idea to make sure she has night feeds for the first 6 weeks or so, but after that your suply should be well established and you can let her sleep as long as she wants at night.

Just don't tell people that she sleeps so long or you'll have no friends.......

Does this help?

Monkies

I would wake her fairly often for feeds - especially during the day. My 1st DC was like this (everyone kept asking if I'd had pethidine but he was just v sleepy) and by day 6 was dehydrated. I wish I had known that some babies do sleep a bit too much initially! I don't mean that to make you worry, but the longer he went between feeds the sleepier he got until it became almost impossible to wake him.

By the time he regained birth weight he was fine and woke himself to feed but I do wish I had woken him more in the first few days. Though I should add that he was also losing a lot of weight. If the weight gain is fine then maybe it isn't an issue for your baby.

Congratulations!

Hadn't seen Green Monkies advice before I posted - that souunds right to me too!

This will probably repeat previous advice, aim for about 6-8 feeds per day, so about every 3-4 hours.

Would agree with waking her up and encouraging her to feed as there is a risk that she could become either dehydrated or jaundiced and this would then cause her to become even sleepier.

As long as she is having at least 6 wet nappies and 2-3 dirty nappies per 24 hours then she'll be geting enough milk.

I'm jealous, dd2 at 8 months will wake up every 3-4 hours at night and can be awake for ages, I'm going back to work in 4 weeks and just want some sleep!

Thanks all. I'm lucky cos DD1 was just the same, I fed her fairly infrequently and she actually put weight on in the first week. She also slept 12 hrs thru the night at 8 weeks old and I BF her for 5 months. Think I am just v v v lucky with my girls. You'r right aswell, I have to not talk about it too much for fear of being hated .

yeah, sorry.

I'm off to bed now, but I will feed her at 1am then 5 am, instead of just once at 3am. Thanks for the advice!!!

You've got some good advice here. I'd like to add are you cosleeping? Babies know that your best milk is during the night so you may find if she is that close to you, she will smell your milk and ask for feeds in the night.

You're two days in, you may find she changes pretty quickly and asks for feeds more often. As soon as we were home from the hospital Tink was awake all day and feeding, but slept well at night, she's very sociable.

goodcatholicgirl, hope your midwife is helping you.

2 day old babies are sometimes sleepy - it would be a mistake to think this is the pattern from now on.

It is very likely she will perk up tomorrow and start feeding more....and in fact, this is to be hoped. A sleepy baby is not getting milk established and isn't getting milk in, and you're right to be concerned.

You can ensure she feeds according to her physiological needs by co-sleeping, having her skin to skin a lot, and by doing biological nurturing (google or check archives here).

4 hourly and even 3 hourly feeds are normally nowhere near enough for a newborn - far better to feed according to her cues and to ensure you see those cues, too, because she is close to you Cues = movement, mouthing, hands waving, slight restlessness.

Good luck

Thanks all.

things a bit better today. We are not co-sleeping (I assume you mean in same bed?). She is in our room though.

I fed her last night at 12, she fed really well. Woke at 3:30 for feed but only managed 5 mins then sparko asleep despite half hr of me trying to jig her and wake her to feed. Then 5am feed, then really good one at 8am. Has generally fed well in the day. MW came and said my positioning was fine and that she looked to be feeding fine. I can often hear the milk guzzling down her throat!

Milk came in today s boobs feel like rocks. I know it won't last long but blimey they are sore!!!

Glad to hear you're feeling better about it all.

Yes, we were talking about in bed with you. It's amazing how much difference it makes to feeds and it is safe as long as you follow the cosleeping guidelines.

Don't worry about five minute feeds, they're not always a meal, just like sometimes you might fancy a biscuit babies do too.

Had DD2 weighed today (5 days old now). She put on half an oz, which has reassured me that I am obviously doing something right cos they normally lose weight in their first week don't they?

Feeding is getting easier. I was a bit worried cos she would sometimes only have 5 mins, but the MW said today that sometimes, esp in warmer weather, they just want a drink (or a biscuit, as TinkerbellesMum suggested!!)

I am feeding her late evening, about 11 or 12, then she wakes or I have to wake her about 3 or 4am. She then goes thru til about 7 or 8am. I am very pleased with how much sleep I'm getting!!

Tiktok is right and she's an expert.

3 or 4 hours between the start of one feed and the start of the next is too long. Try to aim for every 2 to 2.5 hours. I.e. for example start a feed at 9am then next one at 11am or 11.30am... you may find you are feeding for an hour or more, then have less than an hour before the next feed but as baby gets bigger they will feed less frequently. Night feeds are very important for establishing supply.
Do you have DD2 in a moses basket right next to your bed? I found that easiest for getting mine out in the night without having to get up [lazy] tho we co-slept for the first 2 or 3 weeks.
Congratulations and Good luck!

shitemum I hear what you're saying but my first daughter was exactly the same, fed very infrequently and always had good weight gain and was a very content baby. She slept thru the night at 8 weeks old, and I BF her exclusively for 6 months, so the lack of night feeds then didn't seem to affect my supply, although I know night feeds are very important in the beginning to establish BF. I always had loads when I expressed too. Think I am just v lucky that I have a good supply of milk.

Both DD1 and DD2 only fed/feed for 10-20 mins and that seems to last them 3-4 hrs. BF consultant said I must just have an efficient/fast let down reflex and DD's are very efficient feeders.

to your sleep, well done on the weight gain, somethings working right

DS slept through from the last feed at 11pm until 6am from 12 days old. HV didn't belive I was exclusively BFing but I did for over a year.
DD didn't have night feeds after 6 weeks, not all babies need them but don't tell anyone!