newborn nursing ?

[bohemama]

After little miss Lainey was born she latched on like a champ and spent about an hour nursing. She woke twice throughout the night to nurse and then went back to sleep. The last time she nursed was 4am, it's 12pm now. She has woken up twice but has no interest in latching on. She's had a couple of wet diapers and a poopy in that time frame. Is this normal for a newborn? Is there something I can do to get her to latch on. She'll get the nipple in her mouth, but then she just spits it back out and genuinely does not seem interested. Any advice?

Thanks mamas!

[LuvinBabes]

Maybe she is full... i dunno for sure... i would woryy if she seems cranky or hungry and frustrated while trying to latch on

[Guest*]

My new son nursed infrequently like that until my milk came in. He did a couple 2 hour stretches, then a couple 5+ hour stretches between nursing sessions. By day 3 he was nursing every 2-4 hours and eliminating normally.

Maybe just keep an eye on her and see if her pattern changes once your milk is in. As long as she's content, gaining weight, looks healthy and is eliminating appropriately, then I wouldn't worry.

[maciascl]

A newborn going 8 hours w/o nursing would worry me a a tiny bit. I would just keep trying to get her latched on as well as try to hand express a bit of milk/colostrum onto your nipple so she knows its there when she latches on. It is most important to follow her cues & not watch the clock too much, but generally you want her to nurse about every 2 hours for now. Good Luck!

[Mrs_Hos]

I"m hoping she is nursing better now...
I would definitely do some things if the baby is not nursing for longer than 4-5 hr stints...
First, skin to skin...to wake baby up if they are sleepy, take off their clothes--even diaper if needed...stay skin to skin and keep offering the breast.

My dd had this problem...we thought she was just a 'good' baby and liked to sleep...but the longer she didn't nurse, the more lethargic she became...the more lethargic/sleepy she was the more she couldn't nurse and she went downhill fast. We ended up RESORTING to pumping and bottle feeding (which was supplemented with formula since my milk hadn't come in and the hospital grade double breasted pump every hour didn't get enough out...ugh) and she still was 'in trouble' for a while...we were almost hospitalized...sucked...I worked for 1 month to get breastfeeding back on track. (with the help of 2 LCs and all of the LLL Leaders!!!) But...we MADE it, and I nursed her for over 3 yrs. (until she just wouldn't take it anymore! )

Anyways--I'm not saying this to scare you at all...I just tell the story to let you now that it is important to feed that baby more often--that things can go into a downward sprial quickly--so try and get baby to latch on more often!
--express milk onto the nipple to interest baby
--skin to skin
--undress baby
--give LOTS of opportunities by holding baby often (and not letting others hold for long--baby needs to smell you etc)
--monitor diapers closely to ensure baby is staying hydrated etc


ALSO (almost forgot)...by not nursing more often, the baby may be not getting enough, but ALSO your breasts aren't getting the 'workout' they need to get your milk supply to increase (and to really come in). If you REALLY cannot get the baby to latch, take a break and try to pump...You can save the milk and keep trying to nurse.

Hope this helps...and hope that by the time you read this the baby is nursing like crazy!

[Mrs_Hos]

Oops...just noticed that you JUST had this baby...
Yep, the first few hrs the baby is 'alert'...then she falls into a deep sleep and may sleep a long time...this is all normal. Sorry--I thought you were past that first 'crazy' 24 hr time!
Just keep an eye out--and I'd still try often, hold baby often, and skin to skin!

[Mimi37]

DD slept most of her first two days, and was really not too interested in nursing. I think lots of sleep that early is normal. But in our case it was complicated by jaundice (if babe is not nursing enough to flush out bilirubin from her system, she gets jaundice, and then the jaundice makes her sleepier, which makes her not want to nurse... and so goes the cycle...). Also keep an eye on your bm supply -- my LC ended up having me pump for a while w/ hospital grade pump to get supply going in the absence of a good little sucker.

Just two things to consider! Hopefully she's nursing better on her own now; I wouldn't be surprised.

[Caroline]

Could she be jaundiced?

A very sleepy baby in the first two weeks can be normal, but when it is hard to wake them to nurse it is often due to normal jaundice. All of my four babies have had jaundice as newborns --- I just take them outside for 10 minutes of sun a few times a day. It's nothing to worry about when it's not severe jaundice. Once William's jaundice began to subside he was suddenly nursing every couple of hours and had periods of where he was actually awake!

[bohemama]

thanks mamas! (holding lainey right now, sorry for the lame typing skills)

after posting I remembered that a warm baby is a sleepy baby, so I took off her clothes and woke her up. She finally nursed and pretty much hasn't let go since! This is totally different from DD, she was very hard to nurse. Lainey loves the breast and does not like to be away from it for long.

Thanks again mamas!!

[Mrs_Hos]

YAY SARAH!
I'm happy she is nursing well so that you can ease your mind!