So many questions

[leila03ash]

This is my 2nd child but my first one to breastfeed. My daughter weighed 7lbs 15oz at birth, 7lbs 7oz when we left the hospital and 7lbs 5oz at a 6 day check up. The dr was kinda concerned but since she hadn't lost 10% she said I could keep bfing. She is peeing and pooping a lot and eats when she wants but when she doesn't want to I cannot get her to eat anything. No amount of "baby harassment" will make her eat. The dr said to feed her a minimum of every 3 hours but I can't get her to wake up. When she is eating she eats on one side for about 10 to 15 mins but will not eat on the other side. I guess my questions are these:

-Do I continue to feed on demand or feed every 3 hours?
- if every 3 hours, how do I wake her up to continue eating?
- also random and really related, can I combine pumped milk from the same day for freezer storage?

Thank you all for any help and sorry this is so long.

[twood80]

Originally Posted by leila03ash -Do I continue to feed on demand or feed every 3 hours? - if every 3 hours, how do I wake her up to continue eating? - also random and really related, can I combine pumped milk from the same day for freezer storage?

1 & 2) My LO never slept long enough to have to worry about waiting 3 hours, but if you're having trouble getting her to wake up, it's possible she's overly warm. Try less clothing in general, and specifically taking off clothing for when it's time to eat. Catching baby during light sleep instead of deep sleep would help, if you feel the need to wake. Kellymom is a website with good breastfeeding advice, they have this page on sleepy babies:
http://kellymom.com/ages/newborn/new...sleepy-babies/

Sufficient wet and dirty diapers are good signs. Kellymom also offers this general guideline for average weight gain, although it's not granular enough to show the first couple of weeks specifically.
http://kellymom.com/bf/normal/weight-gain/

Some specific information for birth to 6 weeks gain is here:
http://kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/supp...s/enough-milk/

And if you feel like your doc is going to try to bully you out of breastfeeding, or any time you're nervous, always feel free to call your board certified lactation consultant! Especially when you're very new at it, it's a very reassuring resource to have.


3) Most moms aren't producing enough milk at 6 days to pump. However, you can combine fresh pumped with refrigerated milk within that day. Do not put fresh milk in with frozen milk (even if that frozen milk was frozen earlier that day), as it causes the frozen milk to thaw somewhat, and milk should be thawed only once and then used within 24 hours.

Good luck.

[mamamoo13]

Also...you will probably want to feed on demand BUT don't let more than 3 hours go by. Hopefully that makes sense. Basically, feed LO when she seems hungry, but also make sure you're waking her up and/or offering the breast *at least* every three hours. I am doing the same with my LO, as he has been having latching issues. (He's only 4 days old and hasn't gotten the hang of bf'ing quite yet.) Just so you know, lots of babies that nurse only 10 -15 minutes may want to nurse more often. So you may feel like, "Wow, I just nursed her an hour ago." But that's OK, in fact it's awesome.

Oh, and I agree with the previous poster who said to strip baby down before nursing. It will help wake her up and skin to skin is better for both of you anyway. So take everything off baby except her diaper. And you can either pull up your shirt or just take it off (unless you're NIP of course ).

Good luck! and it does get better. I am on my fourth child (all breastfed) and I've only been gifted with one baby that "just got it" on the day he was born. The others have all had their issues.

Michelle

[leila03ash]

Thank y'all very much. We do change diaper before every feeding which means she gets naked and cold. I also feed her in only a diaper to keep her from getting to warm and cozy. I will continue waking her up at 3 hours minimum. I would love it if she would act hungry more. I love feeding her she just doesnt seem to get hungry. I will definitely keep trying and thank you for the links!

[Darkfyre]

I agree with everything previously mentioned, but just wanted to give you some more encouragement. It really does get easier. My little one was a VERY sleepy nurser and had to be woken everytime to feed until I think 2 months. He also lost 13% of his birth weight and was a very slow gainer until 3 months. We just kept nursing. Often.
Now we have caught our stride and he knows when he's hungry! Good Luck!

[mibarra]

Will she latch in her sleep and feed? My LO would do this, she wouldn't wake up to eat either. Did you try a cool damp washcloth across the forehead to get a latch?

[leila03ash]

Originally Posted by Darkfyre I agree with everything previously mentioned, but just wanted to give you some more encouragement. It really does get easier. My little one was a VERY sleepy nurser and had to be woken everytime to feed until I think 2 months. He also lost 13% of his birth weight and was a very slow gainer until 3 months. We just kept nursing. Often. Now we have caught our stride and he knows when he's hungry! Good Luck!

Thank you so much! Definitely good to know that even if she does loose weight she is ok.

[leila03ash]

Originally Posted by mibarra Will she latch in her sleep and feed? My LO would do this, she wouldn't wake up to eat either. Did you try a cool damp washcloth across the forehead to get a latch?

Yes she does still latch, just not as well. She is getting better though. I will try the cool cloth. Thanks!

[ofthemoonsglow]

I would pee and get comfortable in a nice chair with my boppy pillow, latch my daughter on and she would nurse, fall asleep, and then nurse while sleeping. It was great and i never worried about waking her up since she nursed while sleeping. I don't know if this will work for you but you could try it. My daughter is 8 months old now and is napping/nursing on my lap right now.

and www.kellymom.com has the best breastfeeding info! The site helped me so much.