12 hours old i dunno what im doing

[mrsneish2b]

I had my daughter this morning at 3.25am and im lost,
we got home a few hours ago, i tried to sleep but she was snuffly unsettled etc, (first dirty nappy) so ive chnaged her, all clean and warm tried to feed her as she was sooking her hands etc but she wont take the bottle ,
i feel stupid, do newborns feed much the first few days? what if im starvng her? she last ate at 4.30am and took 30mls in hosp, has prob brought back up a fair few of that since then,

also do babies gag or wretch in the early days? ive had a baby before but have no memory of it as i was just 17 and mum kinda took over
she has been gaging and im worried she'll choke help

 

[ramblinhaggis]

Hiya, first off congratulations!

If your baby last fed at 4am she will need to feed again now. The hospital advises not to leave more than 3-4 hours between feeds in the early days as babies can get dehydrated. What was your labour like, did you have any drugs? Sometimes this can make newborns even more sleepy and reluctant to feed but generally you need to do a fair bit of persuading anyways. Keep offering her the bottle, littlr and often xxx

 

[mrsneish2b]

thank you shes asleep again, i'll try wake her, no drugs, gas and air that was all,

ahhh im rubbish at this

 

[ramblinhaggis]

dont be daft hun, you have only just had her! I felt just as hopeless with my fourth as i did my first, they can be scary wee things!If you are worried at all about anything, call your midwife, she will come out and talk you through any worries. If she really wont take any milk, i would give her a phone, just to make sure all is okay xx

beautiful name you chose too!

 

[history_girls]

Don't panic! You've just been through labour, your exhausted, hormones absolutely everywhere, probably got visitors wanting to come and a newborn baby!! You will be fine, it just is tough for the first few days.

Try feeding her again, if she won't and you are worried call the midwives or maternity unit (i had two phone numbers) and ask for a home visit asap. I did this on day 1 of being home and glad I did - they helped me relax and know what I was doing. they have midwives on call 24/7 and it is their job to help!!

If she sleeps you snooze, get OH to walk round house with baby to give you a break. Ask family to bring a diner with them when they visit to save you so you can focus on baby. White noise helps calm screaming (hairdryer or hoover etc..)

Deep breaths - you will all be ok.

 

[special_kala]

Congratulations.

Newborns can be pretty sleepy but id offer her the bottle every 3-4 hours even if she isnt interested.

She could still have some mucous hanging around which might be why she is gagging.

 

[c1reid]

My LO wouldnt eat at all first day,kept offering him everytime he woke but wasnt interested.He was very sleepy but they have also just went through the birth so natural they're tired too.My LO woke in early hours of morning (bout 24hrs later) and took a massive feed....and has not stopped since, but definately phone the MW if worried.Even if just for peace of mind. Things will get better,you've just gave birth,you're tired and its always overwhelming at first,you'll get lots of advice/people to talk to on here if and when you need it. xx

also cole was very mucousy and kept bringing it up the first day so wasnt sure if that interfered with his feeding too....

 

[xolily]

congrats! you're not rubbish, i literally had to sit with Laila for an hour at a time just to get 10ml down her! she will get into the swing of things! if you're scared of her choking (i was the same!) put a little something under the top of her mattress in her basket to raise her slightly so she's not flat on her back.. and if you're really worried, give your midwife a call.. all will be fine! xx

 

[aob1013]

Firstly, congratulations!

Secondly, you are NOT rubbish, you've just done something amazing.

Thirdly, i don't have any experience in this field, so all i can suggest is give your midwife a call? Surely she will be over today?

 

[HayleyJA]

Congratulations!
Everyone has given great advice but I'll just add one thing...
Imagine being a mum is a job. If you started a new job, would you be expert at everything within 12 hours?! No, of course not. But the beauty if being a mum is that you do it 24-7, so within a day or two you'll have everything sorted and then you can carry on perfecting things from there on.
Don't forget, you'll always get great advice on here too!

 

[Moodyelf]

congratulations on your new arrival!

have you managed to get her to take any feed yet? if not, i would do what others have suggested and give your midwife team a call to put your mind at ease.

you are bound to feel a little lost at the moment! you've been through the stress of childbirth, and are most likely sleep deprived! give it a few days, and you'll feel much more confident.

and don't worry, annabelle gagged and threw up frequently for the first 48 hours - i ut it down to left over mucus and such from the birth, and she was fine after a couple of days.

good luck with everything!

 

[Hollys_Twinny]

Congrats, the gagging sounds like mucous Hun! Defo offer a feed regular. She'll soon be hungry x

 

[soup]

congratulations. my lo didn't feed much in the first day or 2, and was very mucusy too, apparently if they are not suctioned at birth which mine wasn't their little tummys are full of mucus and amniotic fluid so they don't really feel hungry. they do have reserves for a couple of days i think.

enjoy you baby!

 

[LunaBean]

I have no advice, no babies yet..but just wana say you'll do a great job! It'll just take awhile to get into thw swing of things

 

[diz]

Congratulation honey! just seconding what the other ladies have said. Hope all goes well x

 

[inxsmhpy]

Awwww congratulations!!!! I wish my baby was only 12 hours old still-time is going too fast!!

Skyla didn't feed much at all for the first 16 hours or so she was just too tired. Hospital didn't seem overly concerned and she could have had problems because I had GD But she was fine.

I agree with what the other ladies have said just keep trying her but do try to rest- I found when Skyla did wake up she just wanted to feed and feed so I regretted not resting earlier.

Congratulations again!!

 

[Halle71]

Congratualtions. What an exciting (and bloody scary!) time.
Just a quick insight from a breastfeeding mum...
Babies are born with a bit of a reserve because a mother's milk doesn't 'come in' properly until about day four. Until then they just have a smaller quantity of the richer colostrum so she probably isn't expecting to eat a lot before then.
I would just keep offering it to her every three hours or so and she should take what she needs and build up her appetite over the next few days.
Good luck x

 

[Seity]

Congrats! Sounds like you're doing fine. I'd have been in big trouble if I'd been sent home with a newborn that soon. They keep you for two days here to make sure you know what you are doing (for the most part) and to give you a break if you need sleep those first two nights.

 

[WW1]

Congratulations!! You're doing just fine - you're trying to meet her needs and are worried enough to come here and get support! 12 hours after birth I'm not sure I was capable of turning on a computer!

As others have said, keep offering little and often. A newborn baby's stomach is only the size of a marble so they can't take much at all (it grows quickly). They do need to keep having something though so offering food 3-4 hourly is good. Don't be afraid to contact the mw - I'm 10 weeks on and I'm still speaking to the health visitor / GP regularly about Rebecca's eating. That's what they're there for.

Newborns will sleep lots - they sometimes need to be reminded to eat!

You've just done the most amazing thing ever. Try to get as much rest as you can and you'll soon be a pro. Enjoy your LO - they grow so fast

 

[mrsneish2b]

Thank you all so much for taking the time to respond, well.. its 2am and we're still up lol, i called the midwife and she advised stripping her down to nappy to get her to wake up enough to feed, so that worked, but she only takes tiny amounts each time(5-10 mls) and then sleeps for say 10 mins and we start all over again, im hoping to increase the amount so that we can get some sleep, i feel like im always offering the milk, but i guess little and often is how shes going to roll until i can increase it, I wish i could fall asleep at the drop of a hat id be able to use these wee 10 min snoozes to catch up!

thanks again and i will be back asking more questions lol xxx