feeding

[kay06072021]

Hi everyone, my little one is 2 days old and i’m struggling. He never wakes for milk just wants to cuddle, which is fine i’m happy to cuddle and we’ve been waking him up every 2.5/3hrs to try and get him to eat, he’s sometimes interested in the boob and sometimes he just latches on, sucks once or twice and then falls back asleep and won’t take it. we’ve tried a few bottles with the same situation, he latches, sucks a few times and then falls asleep. and after every successful feed, he just spends until
the next one asleep and spitting it up. please give me some advice:(

Congratulations on your new baby!

have him checked for tongue tie, but first call your hospital.
if he feeds as little as you say he could get dehydrated quickly. you should get advice from a medical professional asap.

also when he does feed make sure you burp him properly (it can take a good half an hour or longer) to avoid him bringing up the milk

does he cry much?

I recommend you watch Priscilla Dunstan Baby language on Oprah Show (search on YouTube)
it will help you figure out why baby is crying and can better assist with his needs.

It doesn't sound like he's drinking enough to stay hydrated to be honest. How many wet nappies is he producing? It can be hard to tell if disposables are wet for teeny newborns so you can put a tissue or cotton wool ball inside the nappy by his penis and check in an hour to see if he's weed.
I think you need to speak to the hospital or your midwife ASAP. You should be able to call the postnatal ward 24/7 in the early days for advice - check your notes.
In the meantime, try undressing him a bit to wake him up for a feed. You can also try tickling his feet or rubbing his ear if he starts to fall asleep during the feed.

Newborn babies are typically often very sleepy in the first couple of days. They usually wake up ravenous on day 3 or 4 when the milk 'comes in'. Having said that, it's good to trust your instinct if you think he is not suckling enough. As a PP said, do speak to your midwife and I agree also with getting him checked for tongue tie, both anterior and posterior, the latter being harder to spot. If a TT or other latch issues are making it difficult to feed, it tires babies out even more.

With a new born who is struggling to feed you need to ring your community midwife team and get them to come out for jaundice and other issue. He needs to seen today.

I agree with undressing him, tickling to wake up, change his nappies and a bath can sometimes wake up a sleepy baby. Don’t sit an cuddle a sleepy baby who is not feeding enough. When he falls asleep put him down so he wakes more frequently and will hopefully feed.

In case you don’t know because I didn’t 3 hours between feeds is timed from the start of one feed the start of the next feed.

Their tummies are only tiny arm (about 15ml on day 3), they expand massively from day 4 onwards.

However if he's as tired as you say and not producing plenty of wet/dirty nappies you need to get him checked.

Is this technically day 1....i.e. Day after the birth day? If so it's normal for them to be sleepy.. They went through it to! I remember crying in hospital about it! Xx