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Parenting

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Original poster

2 day old sleeping and feeding

10 replies

womble17 · 18/03/2017 01:09

My son was born Thursday morning and we got home from the hospital this afternoon. When he was born it was highlighted by several midwives that he had a tongue tie. Feeding has been quite sore but up until now he has wanted to feed sometimes quite often. However this evening he has been really sleepy and when I try to wake him and breastfeed he's so tired he just doesn't latch properly and hurts me.

We are getting the tongue tie looked at on Tuesday but I am now worried he is not feeding enough because it's hard work for him. Any ideas on what to do to get him to feed? Or do I let him sleep?

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StiginaGrump · 18/03/2017 01:18

Express - google hand expressing then try syringe or cup feeding. Calpol bottles have little plastic syringes if you need one and you tube has plenty of videos of syringe and cup feeding. Baby upright and milk in slowly.
Don't let baby sleep - needs a good ten feeds per 24houra with both boobs if poss. Top ups via syringe or cup can help if you aren't near this. You could call delivery suite now and talk this through and see if they want to asses your baby if it is markedly more sleepy. They will be happy to talk to you

123bananas · 18/03/2017 01:26

OP I don't want to panic you but in such a tiny baby he could become dehydrated and low in blood sugar quickly if not feeding properly. I would take him to be checked at a local paediatric A&E just in case there is some other reason for his sleepiness such as jaundice or possible infection. They often have trained breastfeeding support staff that can help you with latch and support you with expressing, cup and syringe feeding.

Bex134 · 18/03/2017 01:29

Definitely call for advice. When my DS was a few days old his feeding was sleepy (he didn't have tongue tie) and it was because he didn't have the energy to keep feeding- it's hard work for them until your milk comes in. We found this out after giving him a little bit of formula as after this he had an energy boost and fed and fed all night. I'm not sayibg use formula but try to get a bit more in him if you can as he may feed better. We knew all wasnt well when he had urates in his nappy.

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Original poster

womble17 · 18/03/2017 02:06

Thank you for your replies

He is currently wide awake and constantly wanting to feed but then only feeds for 5 mins or so before coming off. It is also very painful for me, down to tongue tie I suspect. I think he is also taking on a lot of air. This is all so frustrating as my first son breastfed with little to no problems. I really wanted to be able to breastfeed again this time.

OP posts:

Bex134 · 18/03/2017 04:21

I'm sure you'll be able to this time as well, after Tuesday things should get better. I can't believe they make you wait so long before they sort the tongue tie- seems crazy as from what I hear it's such a quick procedure to rectify.

Bue · 18/03/2017 04:55

You will be able to do it again OP. Having a TT divided makes such a difference. If things are really sore you could try nipple shields in the meantime. Medela is a good brand. They give your nipples a bit of a break and also can give the baby a bit more to latch onto, making feeding easier and keeping him on. The downside is that you may then need to wean him off them if he gets used to it, but seeing as you've only got a few days until the TT appointment I don't think that would be too much of an issue.

Original poster

womble17 · 18/03/2017 07:10

I had been thinking about sending my husband out to get some shields this morning but just wasn't sure if that would make the feeding even more tricky for him.

It is very frustrating that they can't do something about the TT in the hospital as soon as he was born. We are having to go to another birth centre in the area for it to be done or pay privately.

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Bue · 18/03/2017 16:43

I know, it's such a shame that provision for tongue tie is so rubbish. Nipple shields are far preferable to giving up BF, so I would recommend them if you are really struggling. I could not have continued through the first week without them, and they didn't interfere with my milk supply. I think they get a bad rap tbh.

Original poster

womble17 · 19/03/2017 05:45

Thank you for everyone's responses.

Just as a quick update - we managed to get a midwife at the birth centre to snip his TT last night. Glad we did as she said it was a bad tongue tie and would have probably interfered with more than breast feeding.
Feeding went well straight afterwards but he has wanted to feed constantly last night and never taking a full feed. At least now I can get some support on latch and hope for some improvements

OP posts:

Bex134 · 19/03/2017 12:54

That's brilliant news. I guess he's got some feeding to catch up on now. Once he gets the hang of his new tongue I'm sure things will start to settle down

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