cant wake new baby to nurse

[happy_momma]

M daughter is 3 days old and just wants to sleep all the time. I know thats what babies do but I have a hard time waking her to feed. I try about every two to three hours and I am usually able to get her awake enough to get on and suck for a bit but after about 10 or so minuets she is back asleep. Should I be worried that she is not getting enough? How much should she be peeing/pooping?

[blessedwithboys]

a few tips for waking a sleepy baby:

dim the lights! a newbie with an unorganized nervous system will shut out harsh stimuli like bright lights by simply putting herself int a deep sleep

skin to skin contact will encourage nervous system arousal

tickle the baby and sort of stimulate the bottoms of her feet to try to get her fully woken up

some babies can be overwhelmed by prologed eye contact. if this is your little girl, avoid it right before a feed so you dont encourage her to disengage

hth a bit! i've btdt w/my older ds who is now 14yo. i had a lot of pain meds in labor, but with ds2 i had none and he was very alert and woke himself every three hrs aroudn the clock from day one. so thats something for you to consider: if you had meds, give your LO a bit more time to rid them from her system and she will prolly be waking herself up regularly.

oh yeah, do you have your milk yet? that will also encourage a babe to want to nurse more. not all of them are too jazzed bout colostrum LOL

[Ruthla]

Congrats on your new baby!

I'm really not too familiar with what's normal in those very early days- I do know that babies nurse more at a week or two old than they do in the first few days when there's mostly colostrum- but I also know that newborns can get dehydrated very quickly, and then lack the strength to nurse properly.

If she's able to wake up enough to nurse for 10 minutes every 2-3 hours, she's probably getting enough. I suggest checking out www.kellymom.com for more information- I'm sure she's got a page about what's normal for newborns.

[luvmi4]

I would call your local LLL Leader. They can better evaluate your particular situation.

[paulamc]

First, congratulations!!!

10 minutes every 2 to 3 hours doesn't sound bad to me. I had the same problem with my LO, and my midwife told me not to worry, that they only need a few drops of colostrum. He gradually stopped sleeping so much, and so deeply, over time.

[ahdoula]

Originally Posted by luvmi4

I would call your local LLL Leader. They can better evaluate your particular situation.

: also day four: 4 poops and 4 pees in a 24hr period. But talk to a LLL leader to make sure everything's going well for sure

[k9sarchik]

Congrats on your new baby! My DS slept a lot the first week and lost weight, but it took me some time to figure out how to wake him up to nurse.
What worked for me was having to get him undressed. He hated that! But he woke up and we had good skin to skin contact while nursing.

[mrforbes]

My DS nursed about 10-15 mins every couple of hours in the beginning and he's a healthy 18.8 lbs and barely 5 months. The skin to skin really helped and I found if I left him latched on, he'd pause but then start again for a few mins. I nursed one side/session.

But to be on the safe side talk to someone like a LC or LLL leader.

[MamaKickyPants]

Congratulations! As others have said - 10 min, every 2-3 hrs is not bad, especially is she is latched on well and really drinking well(ie swallowing mouthfuls of milk) My little guy has always been a super fast nurser, the longest he ever nursed as a NB was 15 minutes. These days, 5-7 minutes is a long nurse, but he gains lots of weight.

Go to http://www.drjacknewman.com/video-clips.asp for video clips of what it looks like when a baby has a good latch and is drinking. This site is also full of great breastfeeding tips and info.

[claddaghmom]

I was worried about this too. It seems "2 hours" is really drilled into our heads, huh? My little DD would sleep endlessly. I would pop her on and she would look at me then fall asleep lol. They are just busy adjusting and healing from the birth.

[txgal]

You have gotten good advice, just wanted to pop in and say congrats. I was following you on the homebirth forums after your water broke. I'm sure we would all love to hear how things went. But only after you are settled in with your new bundle.

[Panserbjorne]

LLL is mother to mother support. If you are still having this issue I would see an IBCLC. I hope things are better! I had a sleepy babe too and it can be a major stressor!