PLEASE HELP with newborn!! - Page 2

[somegirl99]

Our guy lost 9% but then was back up above birth weight by the 8th day. I also had some IV fluids but only for about 3 hours.

We used diaper changes to wake him up for feeding, I also did some breast massage while he was nursing to help him get more milk out.

[neonalee]

Thanks again mamas. This guy is just completely sleepy now! We read replies here and other threads and stuff on other sites to keep him awake. We've tried almost everything. But we did notice that a diaper change is a very wakeful event, so I think our plan is to do a diaper change every hour (even if we don't really change it), then feed as long as he will and as long as we can keep him awake on each side, until he actually refuses to latch back on (which just happened yet again). Hopefully this will get him enough milk. DP is worried about dehydration. I'll pump minimally to keep the engorgement down in the meantime and hopefully it will work itself out soon!

[Mom2M]

Oh, I can empathize with you! DD1 was a c section and had the same issues. I was given IV fluids too which I think inflated her birth weight so that she lost just over 10% body weight. Thankfully, my ped was very BF supportive and helped me think of ways to keep her awake and to gain weight.

He suggested that feeding schedule also which was so hard overnight, especially since I know she would have slept!
He also wanted me to pump and then nurse her first for as long as I could keep her awake, DH then gave her a little with the bottle because it just kind of gets sucked down easier than nursing.
Ped. said that we would notice a big difference when she hit 7 pounds and we did, she started staying awake much easier.

Here is what kept her awake the longest for us...stripping down to nothing and having a cool washcloth available to put on her, tickling her right under her chin during feeding (that worked the best), and going outside to nurse.
The problem with using the bottle sometimes was that after she was ready and able to nurse without it, she wanted the bottle too! It took 2 very hard days to get to no bottle at all but we went on to bf for several years.

We had a weight check every couple days till she hit 7 pounds and she kept losing weight until 1 week, then started packing it on. She turned into a chunker with lots of rolls!

Good luck and keep at it! It sounds like you are doing everything right and I'm so glad you have support!

[maddymama]

Hi Mama,
The new Womanly Art of Breastfeeding describes the laid back nursing that a pp told you about- sounds great. Also in the book is a small section that talks about baby fists and feedings. Something along the lines of if the LO has tight fists then he/she hasn't eaten/nursed enough, but once the fists relax then your LO is full.
How are the diapers? Is your diaper count good? I think it's 3-5 poopy ones, and 6-8 wet ones in a 24 hour period.... I could be wrong on the #s, though.......
Good luck, keep nursings constantly, and it should all work out...........
~maddymama

[crystal_buffaloe]

I also had a late, sleepy, c-sec baby :P

If you're worried about dehydration, it's one wet diaper per day of life, up to 6 days, when it should be 6-8 every day. (So if he's 4 days old, you should see 4 diapers.)

I had never heard about c-sec IV fluids inflating the birth weight! Mine lost 9-10% but was back at birth weight at 10 days. I was more worried about it than my BF friendly doctor, who never suggested pumping or bottles. So thank you guys! (Though hopefully it won't be an issue next time ...)

Waking every hour seems a little excessive -- are you doing that at night, too? (I hope not!) My LC said that sometimes all the gymnastics to wake up a sleeping baby burn more calories than they get at the early feeding sessions. My LLL leader suggested every 2 hours and my doc suggested every 3. Of course, you feed them when they're hungry, even if it's only been 45 mintues, I'm just talking about when you should wake a newborn.

We went in for weight checks at 5, 10, and 15 days -- and were given the green light to stop waking her at 15, so now I just let her sleep! Weight gain is still great at 10 weeks and I hope it goes well for you, too.

[neonalee]

Yeah, maybe every hour is excessive. But, no we aren't getting as many dipes as we should be. We are using an ipod program to track feeding and since 3:40 this am he's nursed all of 51 minutes - in increments of less than 10 minutes.

That alternate positioning sounds interesting - I wonder if a pillow will protect the incision site though...

[jojomamma]

You poor thing. Nothing is more frustrating than wondering if your baby is getting enough to eat. Have things worked out yet???

I think he was up nursing so much before your supply came in that once it arrived he decided to catch up on needed sleep. But if you are not getting enough wet and messy diapers that is a concern and might be a latch problem.