4 days old and is a snacker?

[Mrs.iwnamkabb]

I'm sure this is normal but I'm unsure so ill ask anyways.
My LO is 4 days old and we're doing pretty good with the breastfeedings. He a champ. But it seems too that instead of sitting for a good 10 min on each side Etc, he's just wanting to be close to them, get a few suckles in and goes back to sleep.. We're not on a schedule yet as I just came home from hospital yesterday but how do I go about making that happen as well? I think he's getting g enough.. Lord knows I'm producing enough. My milk came in two days after he was born and I had to pump twice through the night last night for relief..
I think I need some advice..

 

[aliss]

Schedule! Oh hun you got months to go before that. This is 100% normal at his age and will be for quite some time.

 

[CupcakeBaby]

Totally normal Hun.

Be careful about pumping. Your body needs to learn how much baby needs and if you pump this early you'll actually cause even more engorgement.

It hurts for a day or two but your supply will calm down quicker if you don't pump. Xx

 

[Flower15]

Completely agree about the pump. This is how I ruined breastfeeding for me and DD, I kept getting engorged, so pumped to remove it, then I would obviously produce more milk. In the end I was producing more milk than what LO was demanding. Which made the engorgement worse. I ended up with very sore bleeding cracked nipples from the pump. It was so painful I had to stop breastfeeding

Sounds like youre doing a brilliant job of breastfeeding so far though, you both should be proud of yourselves x

 

[counting]

If he is too sleepy for a good feed there are some things you can try to keep baby awake-

nursing 5 mins, burping upright on your lap not against you, back on until baby refuses

pumping lo's arm up and down while feeding

rubbing feet and face

there are others but these are a few I used. Just keep feeding on demand!

 

[Mrs.iwnamkabb]

Thank you girls. As much as it hurts I won't pump anymore. I only did the two times last night because I was so sore but I will commit.

Does the nipple pain ever go away? I've got scabs on each of them. He's a sucker for sure!

Ill work on those methods to try and make feedings more productive. Keep your fingers crossed for me

 

[CupcakeBaby]

Do you have Lansinoh lanolin cream?

That'll help the nipple skin be less painful. As for the pain of the actual nipple getting used to feeding that can take a few weeks but it does go.

Keep it up Mama, you're doing great. Xxx

 

[Dk1234]

Just try and stimulate your lo during a feed. Encourage him to take full feeds every 2-3 hrs. Babies can be very sleepy in the beginning. My little man is 2 weeks old today and is still super sleepy. I have to wake him a lot during the day a d when he gets on the boob I often have to take him off and lay him down in front of me til he wakes up or I'll rub his jaw to stimulate his suck or ill pay his back. With my first, he was so sleepy that I use to have to use a wash cloth on his face and feet or he wouldn't wake up enough to eat ever.

 

[VGibs]

Was it a medicated birth? I guarantee he will wake up a lot in the following weeks. The little suckles are to ensure your supply is up for when he gets hungry. Which should happen very soon. Keep letting him suckle. The scabs on your nipples are not a normal part of breastfeeding. He may be suckling so much because he needs to be topped up because he isn't getting a lot at each feed. What kind of positions have you been using? Try a football hold with an asymmetrical latch and he may get more milk and stay awake for longer.

 

[counting]

About the scabs, do your nipples look a bit like a tube of lipstick when baby comes off?(angled?) If they do he may need a deeper latch from a more straight on angle. You can achieve this by making sure to only let him latch if his mouth is very wide, and push his head onto the breast, don't try and move your breast to put your nipple into his mouth. His chin should be touching your breast, but his nose shouldn't be. I'm going to link you to a page, it has a lot of good information, but if you just check out the animation of latching on a baby at the top that should help!

https://kellymom.com/ages/newborn/bf-basics/latch-resources/

This one has a good step by step description of what is happening in the animation and how to achieve it:
https://www.lalecheleague.org.nz/template/articles__information/latch-on_with_description.pdf

 

[VGibs]

VERY good resources Counting! Those are awesome links!