Newborn won't stay awake while BF

Re: Newborn won't stay awake while BF

• BabyLove987

  April 2010

  We stripped LO and used a cool wash cloth on her back when nothing else worked.
  

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• NYBrideInWI

  April 2010

  Hang in there! The first few days/weeks are really tough. We also chose to supplement in the first week because DS was jaundice. After 2 weeks I was able to go to exclusively BF and cut out the FF. At 3 days PP your milk probably isn't in yet and LO is getting colostrum - so there really isn't a whole lot for him to eat. You might know this...His tummy is about the size of a small marble, so it can't hold much. In a few days it gets to be the size of a big marble and at a few weeks its the size of a golf-ball. Picturing this helps to think about how much to expect him to eat.
  

  Is LO still sucking when he's sleeping? I remember it being really hard to know if LO was actually eating. I felt like I was BF continuously. My hospital/pedi suggested trying to BF for 15-20 minutes or so, then offer 1/2oz - 1oz formula right after BF. If LO ate 1/2oz then we offered bottle again after next BF session. If DS ate 1oz then we were to skip offering a bottle at the next BF session. I also needed to massage my BB while nursing to stimulate the milk when he wasn't sucking much.

  good luck!
  

  Married June '03. DS born Jan '09. DD born Feb '12. No, we didn't choose to be childless for the first 6 years, only the first 3.

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• PAmiler82

  April 2010

  Very very normal for newborns not to stay awake.  At three days old he's still recovering from all that work of being born (and you are too!) and likely is sleeping all the time.  As the weeks go by he'll start to perk up quite a bit.

  If I can ask, why are you supplementing?  Is there a medical reason or are you just concerned about how much LO is getting?  As pp said, their stomachs are teeny tiny and they don't need much at this point.  I agree that your milk is probably not in so it's even harder for LO to stay awake since there's not a lot of milk to get at right now.  But again, he doesn't need a lot. 

  If you feel comfortable with it, I'd ditch the formula.  A lot of women run into trouble with supply or LO preferring the bottle because they supplement with formula when they don't have to.  LO may seem hungry every hour - totally normal!  LO may want to sit on the breast for a long time (even while sleeping)  Neither of these mean there's something wrong.  That's just what newborns do. 

  Congrats on your LO!  Take care of yourself and let everyone else take care of you too!!
  

  

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• Emily88

  April 2010

  His billirubin levels were high-intermediate so we opted for formula to help the jaundice situation. I've been pumping what I could every 2-3 hours for the last 2 days and it looks like my milk is starting to come in now, so we've been using less and less formula (last feeding we didn't need any) but he's easily taking 25mL of formula/breast milk per feeding, and still rooting afterward sometimes. He does not suck at all while sleeping - he'll latch, get a few sucks in, and then nothing until we manage to prod him into sucking again, sometimes a few seconds later, more often 20-30 seconds later (assuming he doesn't lose the latch.) Sometimes he'll go minutes without sucking despite our best efforts.

  Thanks for the damp washcloth idea...going to try that now.
  

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• Flyswmer

  April 2010

  Nothing really worked for us either.  You just have to keep trying and it WILL get better.  I gave up with my son and wished I didn't.  This time around I was much more patient and now she's a BFing champ at 4 months.  She fell asleep constantly no matter what I did.  I'm really glad I stuck it out.

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• MelodyMoonstone

  April 2010

  We had the same situation.  It's so hard.  We ended up being a cool washcloth on him to keep him awake and pissed.  Only thing that worked. 

  

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• MrsJJC

  April 2010

  Emily88:

  His billirubin levels were high-intermediate so we opted for formula to help the jaundice situation. I've been pumping what I could every 2-3 hours for the last 2 days and it looks like my milk is starting to come in now, so we've been using less and less formula (last feeding we didn't need any) but he's easily taking 25mL of formula/breast milk per feeding, and still rooting afterward sometimes. He does not suck at all while sleeping - he'll latch, get a few sucks in, and then nothing until we manage to prod him into sucking again, sometimes a few seconds later, more often 20-30 seconds later (assuming he doesn't lose the latch.) Sometimes he'll go minutes without sucking despite our best efforts.

  Thanks for the damp washcloth idea...going to try that now.
  

  we had the exact same situation. Our pedi wanted us to supplement and I was really upset. She said only 15 - 20 ml after attempting to BF & rec'd Good Start because it is closest to breastmilk consistency in her opinion. We only supplemented at 2 feedings and that got him going enough to get back on track with EBF. The jaundice makes them more lethargic which then makes it harder to get going with the BF. Dr. Sears's website has some good info on BFing and jaundice - I would check that out, keep offering the breast at least every 2 hours & keep track of his stools for your pedi. Frequent and regular bowel movements means he is getting the billirubin out of his system so the more eats the better. DS was so sleepy the first 3-4 days& then it really improved so hang in there. I'd avoid the FF if he does at least 10-15 minutes on each breast & has regular poopy diapers, you don't want it to interfere with your milk coming in. I know it's hard though when the pedi makes you feel like your baby will need to be hospitalized if you don't Ff but read the DrSears info & it should reassure you that this is all very normal! You can also use a medicine syringe to supplement Formula or pumped breastmilk if need be to avoid nipple confusion if that is a concern!

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