Newborn falling asleep while feeding

[FTMHS]

Hi everyone

I’m really struggling with feeding my baby. She’s 2 and a half days old and everytime in the daytime I try to latch her on she falls asleep, and I’m starting to get really concerned I feel like we have tried everything, we’ve tried stripping her to just her nappy, changing her nappy, tickling her toes and ears but she just doesn’t start suckling

I’m actually still at the hospital and I’ve spoken to a load of people here midwives and breastfeeding help etc and some of them can get her to stay on but whenever I try I can’t,

im really really struggling because I’m on day 3 postpartum technically and I’m getting overwhelmed and
ny hormones are everywhere. She is not jaundice.

Today she hasn’t done a poo and she has only done 1 pee

Awww, bless her! And you. Congrats btw!

I found keeping them a bit cold helped (prob not possible in a hospital), tickling under the chin repeatedly, tickling the feet, tickling the ribcage. No soothing or gentle strokes, you’ll need them for naptimes down the line 😂

Oh happy days, such memories you’ve evoked. Don’t be too worried about pees and poos, she brand new and been through a hugely traumatic experience. Things will settle down and she’ll fall into a rhythm (of sorts). Good luck!

Have a follow of someone on insta called LucyWebberFeedingSupport (i think - if not that, then something very similar). She is an IBCLC with tonnes of free advice on her insta and a great book called "breastfeeding and the fourth trimester".

Its such early days - make sure you are doing loads and loads of skin to skin and just keep trying. I had a very small, poorly baby who just slept constantly, lost loads of weight, ended up on the 0.4th centile - it was so stressful! But we got there in the end and now shes 5y and chewing my ear off all the way home. Remember that day 5 is often the worst day hormone wise but things will start to get better. Congratulations on your tiny one!

Ask for some more help. She should be doing at least two wees and poos a day, so worth getting some more support just to be sure that she’s feeding effectively and getting what she needs x

My best tip - breast compressions! Once the initial fast let down has ended, newborns can just doze off as flow is then slower but if you do breast compressions throughout the feed, this helps to keep flow faster which can keep them interested for longer. The Breastfeeding Network website has info and a link to a video showing how they are done.

You may also find some positions help keep your baby awake longer or make them sleepier. This varies by baby e.g. with my second, as soon as I put him in rugby hold he dropped off immediately which was useless!

I had this issue of falling asleep with both of my babies and it was so frustrating and worrying. Hope you find something that works - good luck!

You’re doing great @FTMHS

Keep asking for help, support and advice.

My 8 week old was a very sleepy newborn. I did everything you did also blowing in his face but ultimately I just had to feed little and often.

Your baby will be weighed regularly when you leave hospital and you’ll be able to see if they’re gaining at a healthy amount. Check online for local baby weighing hubs too so if you’re worried between midwife visits you can take your little one there to check.

Make sure you’re waking baby every few hours to feed, even if it’s brief. You’ll be ok :)

Has someone checked the latch? Have you tried hand expressing and syring a bit of milk?

If she isn't getting enough milk because the latch is poor, then she won't have energy for the next feed and you're in a downhill spiral then. I would hand express and give her some milk in a cup or a syringe

Hi @FTMHS and congratulations on your new LO. How are you both getting in now?

@FTMHS is your baby jaundiced?
this happened to my little one and he was too tired to breast feed (jaundice plus tongue tie)
He had to be tube fed at 3 days! which wasn’t as traumatic as it sounded - the doctor just gave him formula direct into the belly via a little tube down the throat and he perked straight up after just 12 hours of this.
Get some formula into them if they still can’t stay awake for that demand that a doctor does a blood test for dehydration asap! Do not let this go. Do not leave the hospital. This could be serious.
after the tube feed I pumped to get my milk going and used formula so the specialist Breatfeeding midwife said to put him on the boob for literally 5 mins so he stays used to it and then load him up with formula and pump.
i did this for two weeks - three weeks maybe and then he was pretty much able to breast feed … he had his tongue tie cut at 16 days.

i don’t want to scare you but see a doctor immediately - have they weighed your baby? Mine lost 15% body weight

sending love xxx

I had such a similar experience! Was 19 and breastfeeding and thought he was just a sleepy baby. Midwives kept telling me not to worry I was a first time mum… until they weighed him. Had dropped from 8lb 0.5oz to 6lb 9oz by day 5, was very very dehydrated and had to be ng fed in hospital with formula and me provided with a hospital grade breast pump until he was back to birth weight. Was originally told he had no tongue tie on discharge to then finding out he was 90% tongue tied! I didn’t know if to post until I saw your post but wouldn’t want any new mum to go through the same as it was an awful experience and taught me we all know when something isn’t quite right. He wasn’t sleepy from feeds, he was too tired and dehydrated to feed

@DarkLion horrible isn’t it! Worst nights of my life.

@FTMHS i hope you’re seeing someone
i refused to leave the hospital until we’d managed to follow the feeding plan for 24 hours (full feed every three hours) I camped out in the midwife ward and my logic was he’s going back in the tube if he’s still too weak.
xxx

How’s it going @FTMHS?
Hope everything is alright? Xxx

This! Breast compressions are the way forward (as someone who had a sleepy baby - DD3)

I remember being told to keep my first born awake when he was feeding, but it felt so cruel. In the end I just fed him often and let him nod off if he wanted to. He grew big and very chunky- he certainly was getting more than enough. In hindsight I think I had a pretty strong flow so he actually was getting plenty quite quick.

I hope you are home and this has resolved now but in case others are reading this. I would ask for blood sugars to be checked. My son slept for 12h at a time and couldn't wake up because his blood sugars were too low. He also had a 100% tongue tie so feeding was exhausting. He was syringe fed expressed colostrum and given formula to bring up his blood sugars. We had to do this every 3-4 h for the first 36 hours. He then started to be able to maintain his blood sugars and woke for feeds every 3h.
We tried all the usual tricks of stripping him down to a nappy and tickling toes but these just caused other issues as his body temperature dropped and we had to wrap him up to bring up his temperature. They repeated his temperature 30 minutes later and it was back to normal. He was an early term baby born at 37+1