5 week old - low temp and won't wake for feeds

[Angeliki159]

My 5 week old strains all day and during naps he wakes up startled every few mins (the falling reflex thing I think) so bot really managing to sleep.
When he eventually does fall asleep at night he sleeps really heavily.
Can't wake him long enough to feed. He opens one eye or stirs a bit then konks out again.
This also happened this afternoon - fed at 4.30pm. Missed his 7.30 feed. Eventually woke him at 10.30pm
Was grunting and farting loads till about 1.30am
I tried waking him at 2.30am for his feed - nothing
Tried again at 3.30am - nope.
When I tried waking him at 3.30 I checked his body temp as the room is 23c at the mo and thought he might be hot but he was cool to touch on his chest.
Wrapped him in a thick blanket for about 30 mins and took his temp. Was 35.4
Changed him but still only stirred.
He is wearing a vest, a long sleeve/long leg onesie and a cellular blanket is over him (unfolded).

Should I be worried/call the doctor??

Your HV is likely to have more recent and more detailed advice about infant feeding than your GP. If it's a medical matter then see a GP but the HV team should be available for less urgent advice on feeding, weight, development and so on.

Get a second opinion, I've known some terrible GP advice in my time

The OP doesn't need to get a second opinion-she only has to look at the NHS Choices website. Why she chose to take advice from some random ANother site instead baffles me......

I retract the comment about random websites-I thought the OP said she was in the UK but maybe not. She is still getting absolutely crap advice, though

@BertrandRussell - you think our advice is crap or the GP's?

The GP's-I've said so several times. The NHS website says 150/200ml per kg as a guideline.

The OP's GP is advising half that!

I am in the UK
My gp is telling me 150ml per kg of baby weight per day.
So a 9lb baby which is 4kg should have no more than 600ml total throughout the day.
100x6 or 150x4 whatever.
(I did say this already)
Which is what the nhs website says.

We are only reducing the food amount because he is vomiting a lot of it and is having very watery poos, irritable, farts all the time - which point to overfeeding.
We have been told that for his weight (about 8lbs) he should be having 90ml 6 times a day. I don't want to restrict his feeding but I don't want him to be uncomfortable because he has eaten too much.

"By the end of their first week, most will need around 150 to 200ml per kilo of their weight a day until they're 6 months old. This amount will vary from baby to baby."
This is from the NHS website "around 150 to 200ml per kilo of their weight per day"

Would it be worth starting at the top end of the guidance-200ml/kg, so 720 ml over a day. Which would be 6 feeds at 120ml?

Not being able to rouse him would worry me. Can you film tgat next time, just to be able to show a HV or GP if you need to ho back.

I accidentally overfed one of my twins a few times in nicu when trying to bf - they’d guess how much he managed based on how long he fed then top up via his NG tube, but a few times he clearly got more than we thought as he vomited everything up immediately.

Are you doing paced bottle feeding? If so, and you’re feeding on demand, I think you’re doing the right thing. It can take several minutes for a baby to recognise they’re full so it’s good to take little breaks during a feed.

If you’ve fed your baby and they’re screaming for more within an hour, they’re not getting enough!

Oh and my twins always way exceeded recommended quantities yet followed their curves perfectly.

Call wherever you take him to be weighed and say you need to see a health visitor.

Sounds like it could be an intolerance maybe.

You really do need to see your HV, or another GP. It's HIGHLY unlikely you are overfeeding. I don't even know how you can over feed a baby.

You're saying you're going by the his weight, but you should only use that as a guideline. It's much more important to go by what your baby wants. It will be better for both of you if he takes control. You're only reducing his feeds 'as a hunch', what if he's actually hungry and his weight begins to drop?

I see a HV (random one) when I go to the baby clinic. What happens at mine is we all queue up to get baby weighed and then we are asked if we would like to speak to a HV.

Honestly, the symptoms you describe can be anything from normal to something else completely. They do not indicate your baby needs less milk. Reflux can cause vomiting, cows milk intolerance can cause loose stools, colic can cause crying...

My youngest fed a similar amount (mixed fed), and I kept being told that I was overfeeding. I wasn't, I was entirely demand feeding.
It turned out to be a symptom of an underlying congenital issue. He needed the extra calories to keep going, basically.

GPs dont always get it right. If you're worried, keep pushing. That temp sounds very low and there's something going on here.

Sorry, highly likely you are NOT overfeeding.

(I have a 1 year old climbing all over me)

I remember being told I was over feeding (I was bf) when dd was a week old because "she shouldn't be feeding that often". Conversely, months later I was told I was underfeeding because her centipede were dropping. Turns out, I wasn't doing either. She was getting EXACTLY what she needed because I was listening to her. Your baby needs 150ml right now, based on all you've written here. Do not listen to some stupid HCP tell you otherwise.

How's the centipede doing? Phones are an endless source of entertainment.