DS2 born TODAY, do I wake to feed him????

[looneytune]

Can't remember and being a home birth, I've been at home the whole time and didn't think about this until recently. He fed pretty much for over an hour when first born but I'm not sure what to do as he's been asleep for a couple of hours???

I'm off to bed very soon as worn out but not sure if I just go with the flow as my mmilk isn't in yet i.e. feed when he wakes or if I should wake him at set times? What if he would sleep all night? Doubt it but just trying to find out what I should be doing.

Can't believe I'm asking this but went through this with ds1 5 yrs ago so I've sort of forgotten.

TIA

looks like you've had lots of advice, so just a big CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Congratulations Looneytune xxx

• can you co-sleep with your baby to get skin to skin contact & bf at the same time - check out unicef babyfriendly leaflets on bf....www.babyfriendly.org.uk/page.asp?page=95

Congratulations looney! hope you are getting on well. I would wake him after 3 hours to feed him.

Hope you had a fabulous birth and are feeling good.

congratulatons lovely baby!!!

I'd let him sleep.. Not sure about the 3 hour feeding rule, although DS was in low weight baby unit overnight and he had to be fed every 3 hours, which wasn't an issue anyway as he wanted to feed continuously!

You'll see your midwife today?

Tiktok is bang on!

Congratulations!

Snuggle up with LO and go with the flow. If he is not waking regularly check with your MW, I suspect he will have had you awake quite alot by now anyway!

Reiterate what Tiktok said. Offer breast 3 hourly as this will help with your supply as well as keeping baby hydrated. My DS would have slept for hours had I not have been encouaged to feed often by the midwife. Good luck and congratulations

CJMummy, that is so not what I said...the idea of 'offering the breast 3 hourly' is the opposite of what I am saying.

Keep the baby close, in bed, skin to skin, and there will be no need to talk of 'offering' the breast. The key is to be responsive to the baby's needs and when you do this, if the baby happens to feed as predictably as this I will be surprised! Babies will probably feed more often than 3 hrly, and in clusters, with irregular gaps.

Sorry Tiktok, didn't explain myself properly . What I meant was that if the baby doesn't try to feed, then it shouldn't be left any longer than 3 hours before 'offering' or waking the baby to encourage it to feed. I know babies feed irregularly and in clusters (my DS did) but I was told by the LC that if he didn't wake to feed, don't let him go for longer than 3 hours - this was in the first week when trying to establish feeding. Sorry.

tiktok, i wish you'd been there when i had my dd. None of the hospital midwives gave any of this advice (i was there for 4 days after she arrived by emcs) least i'll know what to do next time. Luckily we established breastfeeding in spite of all of them.

CONGRATULATIONS LOONEYTUNE, enjoy the babymoon

Congrats Looney

Tiktok - could you pop down and have a chat with the midwives on my postnatal ward? Every time I dozed off one of them would bustle in and take him away from me to put him in his cot, waking me up, waking him up...

Thanks everyone

Well, he fed once more but only a tiny bit then pretty much slept through the night. I did try him but he wasn't interested.

Midwife who came today said that's quite normal in the first 24 hours and not to worry as he'd soon make up for it i.e. this afternoon. Well, once he was alert around 5ish, he fed pretty much constant from one side to the other and back for 3 hours approx. We've just been in bed basically since we got in at 5pm (had to go to hospital for a jab), skin to skin and lovely feeding so I'm one very happy mummy

Anyway, just wanted to say thanks for all the advice

Hope everything is going well xxx

Great news. Hope the snuggles continue for you. X

Thanks

Well he's fed, fed, fed since so the first 24 hrs was no probs Milk came in this afternoon too.

Good So you have that barrage balloon thing going on now

yeah and one side leaked all down pj's whilst he was feeding off other side so had to get the dreaded breast pads out!!

best go, he's been very unsettled tonight and seems to want a cuddle again. wonder if i'll get ANY sleep tonight lol.

What lovely news. Congratulations.

I used a pad of kitchen towel to soak it up. DP found me using a sofa cusion at 3am one Morning and was a bit I was fed up of getting a wet leg so had grabbed whatever was closest.... So I cleaned my act up a bit after that I think he was still in shock from being hit in the eye earlier that day LOL. Serves him right for admiring them while I was getting dressed.