Our daughter is 5 days old. Per the dr. we're supposed to wake her every 2-3 hours to nurse. Well, she's a beast to wake up and when we finally get her alert I go to nurse her and she immediately falls back to sleep. She isn't nursing well. She has little interest though she will root, try to find the breast, get there and then cry. She wants the breast but when given to her she doesn't really go for it. She'll latch and take 3 or 4 sucks and then fall back to sleep or look around or just stop all together.
Nursing got off to a rough start in the hospital but then after a visit with the lactation consultant she started nursing fine. That went on for 3 days. As soon as we got her home we were back to the same shenanigans and didn't want to nurse anymore. She's peeing and pooping the correct number of times. When we can't get her to nurse we've been cup feeding her with milk I've pumped and she's getting plenty to eat.
We have an appointment with the lactation consulatant today but I'm just wondering if any of you had had similar experiences. With our first daughter we had a rough period of 24 hours where she wouldn't nurse but after a visit from the lactation consultant we got on track and never had another problem nursing. She would also rouse much more easily than baby 2. Tell me your experiences ladies! I need some reassuring news.
We met with the lactation consultant who firmly disagreed with the pediatrician's feed every 2-3 hour rule, She said to feed on demand (which is what my gut was telling me!). We also discovered that she wasn't protruding her tongue forward enough to get a really good latch. We were given some tongue exercises to do with her and her latch is improving already. Allowing her to choose when she eats has made a huge difference too. She's alert and ready to eat when I feed her now. She's just a sleepy kid :) Thanks for the great advice ladies!
You'd be tired too if you were 5 days old LOL If she's peeing enough (pooping is very individual, especially for breastfed babies, My daughter would poop every 4 days!), her fontanels aren't severely and always indented and she seems bright eyed and alert when awake, I'd say she's getting enough. Don't stress and wait until after the LC appt before doing anything new.
it is my belief to feed on demand. especially when nursing. this way baby is awake and alert and you arent feeding someone who isnt even hungry. babies root as an instinct so just because they root doesn't mean they are hungry. fenugreek can help your milk build up if you think that may be an issue. also buy a baby scale or package scale that does ounces...weigh her before and after each feeding and you will then know how much she took in each feeding and throughout the day. i understand that some babies need to be fed every so many hours because of health issues but if she is healthy and doing fine try the demand method. who wants to disturb a happy baby anyways...not me.
I never woke my children to eat because they just fell back asleep. I would pump if they slept too long, but they only did that occasionally,
My son wasn't a very good eater in the beginning either, but your doc is making things harder on you by telling you to wake her up to feed her. Let her sleep (let yourself sleep), she will eat when she's hungry. Now if she's not latching correctly that's one thing, but if she's eating fine when she's latched on then I wouldn't worry. I'm not there to go through what you're going through, but I'm guessing she's just not hungry. During the day she should be eating about every 2-4 hours depending on her, but at night you may just have a baby who wants to sleep, enjoy it ;)
Hi, K.:
It sounds like your baby is still in her birth sleep.
Being born was stressful for her.
My son was like that. I didn't have a clue that
he needed more sleep.
Have you talked with someone about
an infant massage?
Good luck.
D.
I don't know her birth weight but the doctor must feel she needs to not go longer than the time you were told. I was also told not to let mine as tiny newborns to go more than 3-4 hours. They are still so sleepy at that age, some aren't but most are. Are you waking her and changing her, moving her around and touching her feet, etc.? My first was a preemie and bottle fed but it was awful keeping him awake to eat even if he woke to eat. I had to just really work with a couple of mine and you just have to work so hard before you get them to the breast. Touch her face on the sides of her cheeks and if you can get a baby wash cloth warm even wash her face. Soon she'll be past this stage but yes, I did have that issue with some, not all, of mine. I hope the lactation consultant can help you today because the baby will drop weight fast if not eating enough.
HI--
My advice would be to trust your own gut rather then what a doctor is telling you. If the baby is peeing and pooping and gaining weight then let her sleep. She'll eat when she's hungry. If it seems there is a "failure to thrive" problem then take steps to correct it. My midwife said a baby will eat when they are hungry and to never wake a sleeping baby. What does your gut say?
J.
If she's gaining weight and pooping and peeing ok, then I think your fine to let her sleep at night. I would still wake her during the day to help get her days and nights on track.
Five days old is really new! Congrats! If you are cup feeding she may be slower to "get" nursing because she is getting her milk without working for it. With my son it took a full two weeks before I felt like he was actually eating when he nursed. I panicked and starting pumping and giving him bottles -- the pediatrician said to stop that and he would eventually get it. I did, and he got it. If she is peeing and pooping enough, I would cut out the cup feeding. She will get hungry and she will work harder to learn to nurse. It can be REALLY hard to get the hang of nursing but odds are she won't starve. She needs very little milk at this point; her tummy is tiny.
The lactation consultant may have you try various things. She may tell you to try pumping for a few minutes before each feeding (in case your letdown is too strong for your little one to handle -- which could be causing her to pull off the breast). It can be frustrating to learn how to nurse -- it doesn't just "come naturally" for all mother/baby couples. It sure didn't for me and we had to work at it a LOT to get it right. By three months we were old pros. But it did take that long for us. As long as you have patience and the will you can do it! Good luck!
I have a couple suggestions for waking her. Do it when she is moving something-sucking, moving a limb, rapid eye movement. She will be in a lighter sleep phase then and will be easier to rouse. Lots of skin to skin contact is good for increasing alertness too.
I know the old adage says not to wake a sleeping baby but some babies will just sleep and sleep and not get enough to eat, so waking to eat every 2-3 hrs in the first couple weeks is generally a good idea. Also if she goes too long she will be extra hungry and extra difficult to get to nurse well. Breast compression can sometimes help keep a baby interested at the breast.
