Okay...can someone brief me? What do I do in the first 24 hours?

KatieKim0815 · November 2012

I read somewhere that in the first 24 hours baby only needs 3 solid feeds. But then I read elsewhere that I need to be waking baby up every two hours.

I am a little confused. What do I do?

FYI with DS I have no idea what I was doing and only fed on demand from day one. Since he was a sleepy newborn he didn't "demand" at all. My fault as I didn't read one book!

I am Marla Singer · November 2012

You'll want to attempt feeding at least every three hours, but baby won't be adversely affected if breast feeding initiation doesn't begin immediately after birth. They come out fully nourished. So feed baby at least every three hours until he's back at birthweight. You might have to keep him awake to get enough.

drcolleen · November 2012

There is a general recommendation of 12 feeds in the first 24 hrs of life, I'm not saying these feeds are long or at what interval but every 2-3 hours is a general guideline, a few drops of colostrum are all they really need. Being awake is a feeding cue at that age!

Sometimes just going with the flow is a good thing though.

KatieKim0815 · November 2012

Okay! thanks ladies! Can I ask another question....how do I know (only in the first 24 hours) when baby is done? I know that the first week you really want to start establishing the every two hours thing. But I remember my son was soooo sleepy in those first few days. If he falls asleep at the boob do i let him sleep? Do I wake him up? In other words, in the first 24 hours am I enforcing the sort of 15 minutes at each boob thing?

mystrana · November 2012

If you have a sleepy baby, you can try this for the first 24 hours:

Wake every 2-3 hours, undressing baby (in colder weather, this may be relative; taking off a swaddling blanket or such), and letting him feed on the first breast. If he falls asleep, tickle his feet or cheek to see if it wakes him up. If it's been 15-20 minutes or so, you can also change his diaper and then switch to the other side. Let him fall asleep on this side if he does. And then you get some sleep!

Ultimately as long as you make an attempt, you'll be doing good!

DoubleSS · November 2012

I would recommend taking a breastfeeding class - it was very helpful for me. In the classes I took, they talked about using the baby's limbs to help you know if he's done. If you pick up his arm and it goes completely limp, he's full. If there is tension there, he's not done. We used that to guide us a lot the first couple days! It feels good to have an objective way to make those decisions when you're new at it and tired and overwhelmed. HTH! You can do it!

Everyusernameistaken · November 2012

Lots of good info in this article:

https://www.thealphaparent.com/2011/12/timeline-of-breastfed-baby.html

Congratulations and good luck! You'll do great

emriley84 · November 2012

I work mother-baby and often help new moms breastfeed. We recommend attempting at least every 3 hours for 10-15 min per breast. Sometimes the baby won't wake up, won't nurse more than a few sucks, etc.

As long as the baby has a few solid feeds in the first 24hrs, we aren't concerned. But the more the baby nurses, the more milk your body will make, and it will help bring your milk in, that's why most people recommend every 2-3 hrs in the early days. We also weigh all the baby's each night to make sure they aren't losing more than 10% of their birth weight.

punkrockabye · November 2012

My baby seemed to be asleep for the first 2 weeks of her life. The entire time. A couple things I did were stroke her jawline and giggle my breast/nipple. Both were suggested in the hospital. Stroking her jaw was like making her remember to suck, and moving my breast I was told would make my nipple move in her mouth and she'd be triggered to suck. Other than that, lots of tickling [well, nothing violent], diaper changes during quick breaks, blowing on her face, taking her off and kind of giggling her around... it was very hard to keep her awake. She still loves to sleep... except now, I'm VERY thankful for that!

greeneyedjess · November 2012

When I was in the hospital, the nurses and LCs were more concerned with making attempts to breastfeed, even if he only latched for a couple of minutes, than making sure he did the recommended 15-20 minutes per side.

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Okay...can someone brief me? What do I do in the first 24 hours?

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