1 week old refusing to feed

[Sassafrass]

I'm at my wits end today. Throughout the night and day my 1 week old daughter who has fed well up to now, hardly wants to feed at all. She's slept most of the day and only fed a coupleof short times. When she wakes she cries and is very upset. Mostly when offered the breast she'll cry, make sweeping hacking movements and turn her head away. She won't settle unless lying on my chest, preferably in a sling. I know I have milk, but I can't feel the let down reflex like I did with my eldest so I worry that maybe it's taking her a long time to get to the milk. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I hope someone professional comes along soon........... how frustrating for you. My DD1 began life as a difficult feeder. I remember my HV getting me to express a tiny bit straight to her lips to stimulate the supply and encourage a feed. Not the greatest advice from me but hopefully more will come soon. I'll watch with interest. Congratualtions BTW xxx.

congrats on your DD, but sorry you are having such a hard time.

bumping for you for tiktok or someone as this is a bit beyond my capabilities.

what I can suggest is that if your letdown is slow that you hand express a little off first then she will get the idea that the milk is there and may be more amenable

the sleepiness is a worry at this age as it could mean she is sleeping to conserve her energy as she isn't getting enough milk.

Can you call the NCT helpline and see about getting someone out to see you?

tiktok is about today, so keep bumping this and she'll no doubt see it and respond

Midwife is due tomorrow so will ask her and then go on to nct helpline I suppose. I do worry that she is so very sleepy today. She's refused sleeping unless held right from birth so that's nothing new but she won't sleep unless on my chest now while before she would sleep on mine or dh's lap as well.

I've tried expressing a bit today using a pump, no good at doing it by hand, and there is definately milk even though I can't feel the let down. I thought her latch was good, wide mouth, no pain when she's suckling, but maybe I'm mistaken.

Have you got time to lie in the bath with her? I got my ds1 to feed this way, let her lie upright on your tummy rather than in her usual feeding position and then see if she wriggles to the breast.

One thing that helped me when ds1 wouldn't feed was being reminded that babies want to be on the boob, not just for milk. That's meant to make you stop worrying about your let down, not annoy you .

It's difficult to say without anyone seeing you sassafrass.

Hopefully your MW will be able to help (if she is well versed in the ways of BFing; not all of them are unfortunately ) and if not a BFC is definately the best option.

My two have both had a period of sleeping nowhere else but on top of us at around this age; I'm sure it;s a security thing and just wanting to be as close to you as possible. A good idea is just let her sleep on top of you in just a nappy, with lots of skin to skin. Pop a dressing gown around your shoulders to keep the two of you warm and let her feed as she needs to.

Taking to bed with her and doing lots of skin to skin is a good way to get things kick-started again and is a great way of bonding with her.

Second what's ben said about baby wearing/skin to skin.
Indulge, she'll grow so quickly you'll soon miss it!
This encourages baby to latch on spontaneously.

Also good tip about wet nappies. That's a very good indicator that she is feeding adequately.
If that's ok, then i would not worry too much about sleepiness. She's only tiny and needs that too.

Now may I suggest that fussiness may be due to fast rather than slow letdown?
Maybe you are quite full as she sleeps longer? you might want to try feeding her lying on your side as flow is more gentle this way?
It' great position for early days, more rest for you and skin to skin.

Hope you can talk to a BF counsellor soon.

It is good that your MW is coming tomorrow- I am sure she'll be able to help. My only other thought would be to keep offering the breast, as comfort and holding her close as much as for feeding.

Incidentally I never felt a let down reflex- I know many of us haven't.

One other idea- Can I ask, what colour is your baby's skin? Just that at one week my DD was a terrible feeder and very sleepy. She was also quite yellow coloured (it turns out from the photos, we didn't notice). The MW picked it up as jaundice straight away and we got phototherapy which helped. If there is any sunlight around do pop her in it!

Can you describe exactly what she is doing?

My dd started off by feeding very well- great latch etc. Gradually she got fussier, started off by refusing feeds or sometimes just one side, she would arch her back violently and shake her head from side to side crying. If she did feed at all she would pull off very quickly and cry.

However, she fed fine at night and slept well.

She also possetted A LOT (soaked her clothes, muslin cloth, me etc)

Anyway, it got worse and worse until 2 weeks ago when i gave up dairy suspecting a sensitivity to dairy-

Results- no problem feeding since then
MUCH less putting up
no more screaming/arching back
Much easier to wind
Poos more easily
Loads more smiles/cooing/laughing
Much more content generally

MUCH HAPPIER ME

she is mow 14 weeks.

If any of this sounds familiar it may be worth giving it a go. Just wish I had done this with dd1 who was similar.

bumping and wondering how things are today?

Thanks everyone for all your advice.

I ended up spoonfeeding her some expressed milk which she eagerly ate. After that she was more alert and I got her to take the breast. We then slept together all night, skin to skin, baby on my chest. She woke up almost hourly and would feed after taking some time nuzzling the breast. Today has been really good. I've been very attentive and have offered the breast as soon as she's displayed signs of wanting it. All in all, things now seem back to as it were before and she is feeding from both breasts.

Bless her!

thing is nature intended for mummies and babies to recover, that's why during early days, resting together and giving in to the tythm of feeds and natural sleep is the best "routine" right now.

Just go with the flow.You'll adapt to each other's needs much better this way.

take care.

sassafrass, just seen this - it sounds like you are over the crisis, and that's great. Hope the midwife has been able to check on things.

Is your dd producing several soft yellow poos each day? If so, that's a good sign she is feeding effectively

Glad to hear it, hope it continues to go well x.