Let him sleep or change nappy

[gclove]

I'm having a dilemma with my new born. He's almost 4 weeks.

He almost always falls asleep whilst feeding AND poos during a feed. I've been changing him after a feed, which wakes him up, then offering the other boob but he gets really cranky and doesn't want to eat and it's difficult to get him back to sleep.

Should I leave him to sleep and not change his nappy? And also I've been told by mw and hv to offer both boobs at each feed.
He is starting to spend 3 or 4 hours awake, mostly crying.
Do I leave him in dirty nappy and allow him to sleep?
I've changed him before feeds but he normally just poos during the feed anyway.
Any help appreciated for this first time mum needing a bit of confidence.

I had this issue with my dd. it used to drive me mad as itd be 2am and I would just wanna sleep..

in the end i used to wrap her in a towel with a nappy not taped up. she'd poo and fall asleep and once done DH would remove it all (she's still on my boob at this point, wipe with warm water and cotton wool and put a nappy back on gently. if she did stir i would offer other boob whilst massaging her legs to soothe her.. it seems a bit silly now but really worked. it's the wet wipe and being wriggled around that I found woke my dd.

I wouldn't leave your baby in a soiled nappy, in my experience it'll wake them eventually as they're dirty and could potentially rash if sleep is long. the poo every nappy doesn't last long btw x

I had a similar issue with DS2 - he's now 3 weeks. Since i switched to bottlefeeding he doesn't poo every feed, but when he does i wait for the next natural pause, change him quickly and hopefully have enough milk left in the bottle to settle him again. Not sure how that works with bfing, but hope this helps. Agree that i wouldn't leave him in a dirty nappy.

Can you break the feed when you realise he's pooed and then carry on after he's clean?

I would change the dirty nappy, or you risk ending up with really bad nappy rash.
Can you stop the feed as soon as the poo arrives, and then let him finish his feed, and drop off?

The alternative is to let him fall into a deep sleep, and try a stealth nappy change. This needs warm (body temperature) water / wipes, and a warm snuggly changing area. He doesn't need redressing after, adjust covers accordingly (doesn't work if he only sleeps on you, unless you try rockinrobin's method.

I remember this stage! If it's any consolation, by the time DS was about 6 weeks he was no longer doing a dirty nappy at every feed - so you're nearly there!

I changed after a night feed at this stage too. Luckily my wee one did go back to sleep following the top up / snuggle feed.
Have you tried offering him the same boob? Could it be wind making him cranky?
It's probably a conversation for another place/time but I rarely offer my wee one the other boob at each feed. She's the chubbiest of all the newborns we know so it's done her no harm at all. They take what they need, so just because you offer desert, doesn't mean their main course hasn't filled them up.
My 9 week old will sometimes sleep for an 8 hour stretch, and I ain't waking her to change her nappy (!) so your baby will be fine if left in a dirty nappy for a couple of hours (if not ideal). Just ensure you give baby's bum plenty of 'fresh air' time.

I always changed DD and it didn't take long for her to get used to it and not wake up. She basically sleeps through everything (apart from the night) nowadays

OP, can you clarify if this is every feed, or mainly overnight?
If overnight, you need to cut yourself some slack, get yourself back to bed and get some sleep! Chances are you'll be up again in another couple of hours and if changed before his feed, baby's willy will not have fallen off for sitting in a dirty nappy for that short time!!
I think he's got wind. If he's falling asleep on the nipple, he/you are not getting a chance to get a burp up, hence the crying. Does he have any other symptoms? Arching his back? Kicking his legs? Tight tummy?
His digestive system is still only 4 weeks old but it sounds like you're doing great with his feeding. If he doesn't want the second breast that's absolutely fine. Was there a specific reason you need to feed him from both? It's trial and error to find what works for you both in terms of winding but you will.

My dd was like this when she was a new born too. I would always change her as new born bums are so delicate. I think she stopped doing so many poos around 8 weeks.

I would always change a dirty nappy. Just do it as quick as possible and resume feeding. Then even if baby is asleep I hold them in an upright position for 5/10 mins to help with winding.

Does he poo mid-feed? If so, stop feeding and change him. Then finish the feed. He'll probably resettle and fall asleep.

It's during the day. He's ok at night, from about 11pm till 7ish he'll wake once for about and he or two to feed. The worst time for the crankiness is early evening.

I put him upright after a feed, even if he's asleep. I think wind is a pro
blem. He does arch his back, lift his knees and grunt a lot. He can often fidget and just look uncomfortable when feeding, which I don't like to see and it's difficult to see him uncomfortable. I've been giving him
Infracol but it doesn't seem to make much difference, keeping him
upright after a feed seems to help. And changing a nappy stops that as well!

The offering the other breast is because that's what midwifes have told me to do! 'Always offer the other breast' getting the correct breast has caused crying as well, he seems to be clear which one he ones and I often get it wrong.

Thank you for help.