Baby latched fine at hospital, now won't suck, falls asleep at breast...

Re: Baby latched fine at hospital, now won't suck, falls asleep at breast...

• madhatter2003

  May 2011

  You need to keep getting him awake.....strip him down, put a cold rag on his feet/back, stroke his head, etc.

  And NO MORE BOTTLES.  You need to be pumping at the very least for every bottle you give, but at this point it's going to set you back.  Focus on the keeping him awake and eating frequently. Hand express a little to get your milk to let down and that will help him want to start sucking, or put a little expressed milk from a bottle on your nipple.
  

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• agent79@me.com member

  May 2011

  Yes, tried all that. I can't NOT feed my baby. It would be cruel to starve the little guy.

  When we strip him down he screams bloody murder, and then he associates the breast with being angry and screaming. It's so difficult! He's either passed out cold, or screaming and pulling away from my nipple now.

   

   
  

  

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• madhatter2003

  May 2011

  That is why you strip them down..it wakes them up.

  Have you tried side laying? Strip him down but cuddle him in close and cover his back with a blanket.

  If he's pulling away, have you burped him? Is he taking a paci between feedings?  He may be gassy even if he hasn't eaten if he's had a paci.

  And I"m not saying don't feed him, but the more formula you use now the more your supply is going to take a hit.  Get a pump at the very least, but call an LC at your hospital and get in today.  
  

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• madhatter2003

  May 2011

  Also, are your boobs too full for him to latch? If that is the case pump a bit off to soften them up, that may be another reason he's not staying latched on...if they are too full they sort of 'slip off'.
  

  My two PCOS miracles!
  

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• srdaniel

  May 2011

  I know how it is to not be able to wake your baby up... it was really difficult for me as well.

  It sounds like you are too full for baby to latch on, try expressing a little first and/or try this. My LC recommended to place 6 finger tips around your nipple and push straight back and hold for a minimun of 30 seconds. She said this will help push the milk back enough to soften the breast so baby can latch on. She told me when you pump to try and soften them you bring all the milk to the front of the breast and it will continue to be firm.

  When your LO is latched on and able to get the milk, he should stay awake.  I had this problem when my milk came in as well, just keep trying. Just make sure whatever you do if you give him a bottle you need to pump or you will loose your supply, and catching up is NOT fun.

  

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• kesrya member

  May 2011

  I had this exact same problem, except that he never started off just fine like yours. It was really frustrating solving the problem b/c everyone and their mother had "advice" to give me that, like you, I had already tried and/or wasn't the problem.  Half the time, he would latch but immediately fall asleep and NOTHING in the world would wake him.  My husband, mother, and I - all three of us -- were doing something different to him at the same time (tickling feet, rubbing jaw, wet washcloth on naked body) and he STILL slept through it all.  I could squirt milk out of my breast onto his lips or directly into his mouth and he still wouldn't wake up.  The other half of the time, whatever I did to wake him got him so upset that he was screaming at my breast and too upset to latch.

  This all lasted for the first week straight (meaning he did not nurse a single time from my breast for the first week), then when I finally found the solution, he started slowly and inefficiently ... now at 3 months he is a champion nurser and went from the 25% in weight to 50%.

  First off, I never gave him formula - I was committed not to do this.  I had plenty of milk, so the problem wasn't lack of resources, it was getting the resources into him. So I tried to nurse him every 2 hours first, and then when we failed, I pumped for 5 minutes - very time consuming, but it helped me to establish a stellar milk supply.
  

  Everyone said "don't give him a bottle or a pacifier cause he'll have nipple confusion."  So we started by giving him colostrum and then milk in an eye dropper.  But he'd fall asleep with this, and as the week went on, his latch (which started out very strong) decreased more and more until he wouldn't even try to suck anymore. So we gave him a bottle and a pacifier, and rules be darned, he started sucking again at my breast. Never had any nipple confusion - and now he goes back and forth between nipple and bottle easily.

  One thing the two pediatricians I saw said is that when they lose weight in the initial stage, their appetite will decrease with it b/c they become lethargic. It's a catch 22, but if you can get the baby back up to its birth weight, it usually then starts to wake up and want to nurse.
  

  The other major thing that helped was what the PP said to reduce my own engorgement so that he could get on better.  I wore nipple shells when I wasn't nursing to help express a little milk and get the nipple out.  And a LLL instructor showed me a way to make a "nipple sandwich" by compressing so that the whole nipple could get in his mouth.

  It seems everyone has a different problem, so maybe none of this will work for you - but I just wanted to offer that I broke with the conventional "rules" and now I have a wonderful EBF baby and nursing is fun and easy -- so hang in there and good luck
  

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