Newborn feeding

[Junibug]

Morning all. So my 1 week old came out of hospital yesterday after receiving phototherapy for jaundice. He's breastfed, and I made sure to feed him every few hours whilst we were there to flush the jaundice out - the midwives said to feed on demand and give him as much as possible.

He's just woken up now after a 6hr sleep stint! I feel so bad and that I should have set an alarm to feed him after 3hrs at the most. I know jaundice can cause sleepiness but 6hrs is way too long without a feed isn't it? Do you think it's ok he slept that long? Kicking myself for not waking him earlier. Should I be concerned??

It’s fine honestly… I think 4 hours is recommended max but a 6 hr one off is no big deal.

I have very jaundice babies so I understand the panic. It’s happened now, no need to panic, he will be ok. Are you due to have his levels checked again at all? Both mine dipped below the line and were allowed home but levels increased again and we had to keep going into the day unit to have them checked.

Just set up alarms now every three hours max. Breastmilk can make it harder for them to get rid of jaundice, doesn’t mean you have to formula feed but may be worth expressing and bottle feeding sometimes to make sure he’s getting enough to flush his system. Mine would just fall asleep on the boob and it was hard to get enough fluids in them without bottle feeding expressed milk.

He had bloods done straight after coming off the lamp and then they repeated them 12hrs later. Both times his jaundice had fallen to acceptable levels. Hence why we were allowed to come home. I might try get some formula down him then as he's just so sleepy on the boob!

My baby was really sleepy when feeding those first couple weeks. Try tickling their feet and behind their ears, to keep them going a bit longer, I also had a wet wipe to gently wipe across their cheek to wake them up a bit as we went along.

When you're feeding you can also try swapping sides every 5 minutes, the movement can wake them up a bit, and try a nappy change in between sides as well.

And remember- they're really sleepy these first couple weeks anyway! Like PP said, set alarms so they don't sleep longer than a certain time if you're worried, look for lots of wet and dirty nappies too.

My DS is now 11 days old but 5 days ago we were in a similar position. He seems to be a good sleeper and likes to sleep from midnight to 5 every night. He is fed breastmilk but through a bottle due to a severe tongue tie.

At our last check up his bilirubin levels were so low you would never have known he had jaundice. My midwife told me that as long as he was having 8 good feeds in 24 hours I shouldn't worry. Is there a HV clinic you could pop into to have his levels checked just to give you peace of mind?

I think it’s fine OP. I agree with PP about 8 feeds in 24 hours. If you’re breastfeeding I’d persevere with that rather than giving formula, it’s early days, breastfeeding isn’t established and your breasts need stimulating to ensure you get your milk supply up. He’s also due a growth spurt around now. I had a big baby and used a haakka whenever I fed early on to collect my let down and then used that to top him up when he was hungry. I’m not anti formula btw, one bottle of formula is unlikely to make a huge difference and you should do what works for you.

Just another thought - if you haven't already been advised to make sure you ask about vitamin d drops. I wasn't told about them and all breastfed babies need them.