Breastfeeding Question??

a&ak · December 2012

How many times within the first day or two did your baby take to your breast? Did you supplement with any formula? Our little girl is 24 hrs old and she has been breastfeed 4 times about 15 mins a time and has not had formula supplemented yet. The nurses said the first 24 hrs is a sleeping period and they baby might not be to hungry. Just wanted to check with the other mothers out there. Thanks!!

genmccarley · December 2012

If our baby wouldn't of seemed so hungry I wouldn't of supplemented with formula but my milk obviously wasn't in yet so he would latch and nurse for a little while and than get really fussy. I found that it actually worked best if I supplemented with 1/2 oz of formula to calm his hunger and than try to nurse him after he was a little less worked up. It didn't cause any confusion for him and he didn't prefer the bottle or anything like that. He is just over 2 weeks old now and he nurses like a champ, but he also loves his paci but there is no confusion about nipples he *knows which one he wants when he's hungry. My milk came in about day 3-4 and since than he hasn't needed any formula. I think it's important to offer the breast every time you are supplementing though so that your nipples are getting the stimulation they need and baby learns how to latch properly. Good luck : )

rmaxim · December 2012

I nursed both my kids about every 2 hours until my milk came in. Frequent nursing is important to stimulate milk production, the hospital and pedi suggested every 3 hours or more. If you have a baby that wants to nurse constantly, its OK to use a pacifier until your milk comes in, it will give your nipples a break! And nipple confusion won't be a problem if LO is otherwise latching well. But really you can't nurse too much... Feed on demand and your supply will be better and your baby happier! Congrats and good luck!

ilenegrace · December 2012

I nursed every 2-3hrs as well. They said as long as they have one poop and pee the first 24hrs they are good.

Notwifezilla7 · December 2012

Keep offering the breast every 2-3 hours around the clock, even if the baby doesn't seem too interested. It's important to continue offering and have the newborn sucking to ensure good stimulation otherwise your supply may suffer. I suggest checking out www.kellymom.com for some great breastfeeding support. That site is fabulous!

boonjie2 · December 2012

My baby had a hard time getting started on breastfeeding but I didn't supplement with anything and made sure the nurses knew that and we just kept trying. He finally got the hang of things. He didnt feed for the first time until 5 hours after he was born, then he wouldnt regularly eat. After the first day he cluster fed the second day every 1 hour he was hungry only for about 10 minutes. I just let him feed whenever he wanted. Right now he is 6 days old and getting on a more regular schedule of every 2-3 hours.

StefandTodd · December 2012

I latched my son to my breast every 2 hours for the first 48 hours. It was very hard to get him to wake up in those first 24, but I would strip him naked if I had to, blow on his face, stroke his cheek, pump his little arm...whatever I had to do to get him to latch. No supplementing.

julieteve · December 2012

StefandTodd:
I latched my son to my breast every 2 hours for the first 48 hours. nbsp;It was very hard to get him to wake up in those first 24, but I would strip him naked if I had to, blow on his face, stroke his cheek, pump his little arm...whatever I had to do to get him to latch. nbsp;No supplementing.

Same here for my daughter. I'm still nursing every 3 hours at least and she is 5 days old. I make sure to unswaddle her and change her diaper before feeding so that she will be awake.

Alliebug126 · December 2012

Same here, my little guy just wanted to sleep! But now that he's two weeks old he eats like a champ!

BrittanyDoesDerby · December 2012

StefandTodd:
I latched my son to my breast every 2 hours for the first 48 hours. It was very hard to get him to wake up in those first 24, but I would strip him naked if I had to, blow on his face, stroke his cheek, pump his little arm...whatever I had to do to get him to latch. No supplementing.

Yep, I woke Amelie up every two hours during the day and let her go up to four at night (which only happened once..). It's hard to keep them awake, but it was worth it.

LittleFish1 · December 2012

I honestly was not coherient enough to count; had an unplanned csection flow for me was fine, same with latching on. My problem was that we both kept falling asleep. I'd nod off almost as soon as she'd latch on and jerk awake worried i was going to drop her or have her removed from my arms as i was asleep by a nurse... bear in mind, when she was born, i probably had't had much in the way of sleep for at least 24 hoursdue to
contractions. And DH had slept even less, so we were exhausted. We did supplement with finger feeding probably 4 times over tbe 4 day hospital stay because i was so exhausted.

Also, the lactation specialist pointed out that it is a hormone that is released during BF, esp eatly on that stimulates the milk production, but also causes the sleepyness ... oxysomething. I always mix the name of thehormone with the name of the drug.

Lucky_N_Love · December 2012

Notwifezilla7:
Keep offering the breast every 2-3 hours around the clock, even if the baby doesn't seem too interested. It's important to continue offering and have the newborn sucking to ensure good stimulation otherwise your supply may suffer. I suggest checking out www.kellymom.com for some great breastfeeding support. That site is fabulous!

This. It is true that the first 24 hours they sleep ALOT. They just through a pretty big deal As you go into day 2 keep offering every 2 hours and don't get frustrated if they aren't eating a lot each time

I agree kellymom is an awesome resource and use the LC while you're there too.

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