Baby feedings....is this really bad?

Question

My 5 day old daughter is being breastfed and we are doing pretty good for the most part. The only thing I am having trouble with is the fact that she is supposed to eat every 2-3 hours...most of the time she will, but sometimes I can't get her to eat until 4-5 hours...This happens once or twice a day. I just can't wake her up, I try everything!!!! And even when I do get her up, she just will refuse to eat. I told the pedi this but he just says you have to wake her up and do it....Well today I was at the point where I took a burp cloth and wet it with cold water and was rubbing it on her back and she wasn't waking up (hard sleeper and a good one!) She was a little jaundiced and she was born at 6lbs 6 oz. and she now weighs 5lbs 14 oz. so she is a tiny baby but she is gaining (she was 5lbs 12.4 oz 2 days ago)

This is so upsetting, any advice?

Answer 1

Defintely wake the baby up using cold, don't let her be warm or comfortable, she should wake up tickle her feet, ribs whatever it takes to get those eyes open and mouth open, then let her cry for a minute so you know she's up then have her latch on and just talk to her and rub on her to keep her eating, as long as she's not loosing weight don't worry yourself to much, if she were to start loosing then I would be concerned.....Good luck!

Answer 2

You do what you can that's all.  The doctor will tell you to feed ever 2-3 hours but sometimes it's just not possible.  Mine did the same thing

Answer 3

don't wake her that's not good she needs her sleep to grow and develop more don't believe that hype about feeding every 2-3 hrs if your breastfeeding you breastfeed on demand when she wants it however she wants it that's the only way to make sure she's getting enough remember breast milk goes through them faster and makings them eat more often i learned that with my first  making him wait to eat made him very gassy

also try feeding her while shes asleep babies suck even if they are asleep

but try to pump and she how much oz she is eating

Answer 4

Don't worry so much - especially since she's so young.  My son slept for practically a week solid when he was born.  Didn't eat nearly enough.  I thought I was going to have an aneurysm.  If the problem persists, then I'd worry.  If she's eating most of the day every 2-3 hours, don't worry so much.  But mostly, if she's pooping and peeing frequently, then there's your proof.  If they didn't give you a chart in the hospital, there's one in the link below.  Don't expect to follow it to the letter, but it should be pretty close.

Answer 5

I think if she's hungry, she'll eat.  You can probably call the hospital you delivered at and get a home visit from a Lactation Consultant.  But, you will soon see, babies let you know when they want food!  Congrats, I'm so happy you have your beautiful baby.  You'll have to email me and let me know how everything went.

Answer 6

she should be eating 8-12 times a day as a guideline.  how long are her feedings?  try the local hospital for a breast feeding group or LLLI.org and find a local leader who can point you in the direction of a group.  when is your next appointment with the pediatrician?  your baby is gaining so she's getting your milk.  trust your instincts.  you don't need to put wet towels on the poor child :)

Answer 7

Try undiapering and undressing her. that usu. makes them uncomfortable enough to wake up to eat. If that's not working, just encourage her to eat for longer amounts of time, once she is nursing, don't take her off the breast, just because "she already nursed for 5-10 on one side." And take heed of the advice re: cluster feeds. It is an important aspect too. If this fails too, just grin and bare it. just make sure she' s wetting and pooping enough times during the day. All my kids were slow to gain. and their fine today.

Good Luck

Answer 8

Take a deep breath. I hate when MD say that breastfeed babies need to eat every 2-3 hours. Here is the low down =  a breast feed baby should eat 8-12 times in a 24 hour period. Most babies will have a period of 3 hours or so when they cluster feed (they eat more then 1 time in that 3 hour period). When an infant cluster feeds it is normal for them to sleep about 4 hours. Add up the amount of times that she has eaten in a 24 hour period. Does she fit into the 8-12 times? If not try to get her to nurse more frequently during her awake time. I would try not to let her go 5 hours though. Try to wake her. Babies sleep cycle changes every 20 minutes so if she is in a really deep cycle wait 10-15 minutes and try again.

Good luck

Answer 9

If she won't wake up, don't worry. Babies do their growing while they are asleep. That's why she's sleeping! What the ped said is all very well and good, but sometimes they don't want to wake, and you can't make them. She'll be fine :)

Answer 10

Because of the jaundice and lower weight the doctor is gonna be seeing the baby more often until these issues are taken care of. The only thing that you can really do is TRY to feed her every 2-3 hours. As long as she is gaining weight it shouldn't be a problem. If you notice that she isn't gaining or even loses some than you may want to talk to your doctor about breast and bottle feeding until she is at a good weight.

Good luck and congrats on the baby girl!

Answer 11

Don't worry!!!  My kids did the same thing.  Sometimes I couldn't wake them at all.  Sometimes the minute the breast hit the mouth, they were out and I couldn't wake them.  I've done the undressing, tickling, cold towels, etc.  When they don't want to wake up, they won't.  Just do your best.  If it's only a couple times per day, don't even stress about it.  I have 4 kids and my third and fourth kids were sleeping through the night by a few weeks old.  I didn't wake them.  Doctor said if they went into the 7th hour with no food, to wake them, but that's usually when they would wake up anyway.  You are doing great.  Let her sleep her 4 hours.  She will be FINE!!  :)

Answer 12

Just do the best you can. Every at least 4 hours, isn't a big deal. As long as she is having enough wet/dirty diapers and she is gaining weight appropriately I wouldn't worry too much about it :]

This is a great site to go to if you have questions:

www.kellymom.com

My son was 5lbs 6oz when he was born, in the beginning he would sleep for 4 hours sometimes in between feeding, he's now 4 months and very healthy!

Answer 13

YOU SWEET THING ( SORRY.. AT WORK AND MUST HAVE CAPS. PLEASE FORGIVE)!! YOU HAD YOUR BABY!! I WAS JUST ASKING ABOUT YOU A COUPLE DAYS AGO.

OK. ADVICE. HERE WE GO.

#1 NEWBORN BABIES DO NOT NEED A SCHEDULE. SHE WILL WAKE WHEN SHE IS HUNGRY.

#2ALL BABIES LOSE WEIGHT IN THE HOSPITAL. REMEMBER MY TWINS WERE 5-5 AND 5-15 AT BIRTH.. THEY LOST SOME TOO.. ANDI WAS SCAREDTO DEATH BECAUSE THEY WERE SOOOO TINY.. THE LIL PRINCESS IS STILL OVER 5 POUNDS WHICH IS THE MAGIC BABY WEIGHT FOR NEWBORNS. SO, NO WORRIES. AND SHE IS GAINING, AS YOU SAID.

#3SHE WAS INDUCED.. SHE MAY JUST BE FINISHING HER "BAKING" OUTSIDE THE WOMB~ NOT TO WORRY. LOTS OF BABIES DO THIS

#4WHEN SHE WAKES UP LET HER GET REALLY REALLY AWAKE BEFORE YOU TRY TO FEED HER. LET HER CRY FOR JUST A LITTLE MINUTE OR TWO SO SHE WILL BE AWAKE ENOUGH TO SUCK. SHE IS  "TOO COMFORTABLE" WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO FEED HER.

HOPE THIS HELPS. EMAIL ME IF YOU GET FRUSTRATED OR NEED ADVICE OR JUST ANYTHING! OMG, I AM SOOOOO EXCITED FOR YOU!! I AM ALWAYS AWAKE ( I HAVE THESE TWINS, YOU SEE.. I WILL NEVER SLEEP AGAIN! EMAIL ANY OLE TIME)

Answer 14

Newborns do sleep longer at times.  I honestly wouldn't worry about it unless it becomes a pattern where she is sleeping through feedings on a regular basis.  If it is only happening a couple times a day, it should be just fine.  Babies need sleep also.  As long as she is growing well and is alert when awake several times through the day, it should be just fine to let her sleep!  My pediatrician's advice is, if they are growing well, never wake a sleeping baby!  ;)

Answer 15

me, my mother and my grandmother have all had this conversation before. and honestly its ridiculous. you can ignore what the pedi told you. let your baby sleep when they want to sleep. i had the same thi9ng with my son and i let him sleep and he is perfectly fine. almost all  of my friends had the same question. your child will eat when she is hungry...so dont worry unless she completely stops. especially if she is gaining weight. it also gives you a little bit of a break....so enjoy it...and let her sleep.

Answer 16

jaundiced babies do sleep more,can you arrange her bath time around her feed as this could wake her more,this sleepiness will go when her jaundice goes