My newborn won't feed?

[babyjan]

My baby was born yesterday and we came home same day a few hours after the birth and last night he has not fed and when we try he struggles to latch then gives up and sleeps! So the last time he properly fed and was more alert was in hospital around 7/8pm

When I try wake him or he wakes he tries, cries a lil sucks for 2 seconds then sleeps! He hasn't drank anything this morning? What can I do?

 

[jodilee6]

If you're worried call your midwife, now!

Watch out for signs of dehydration as little babies can dehydrate really quickly - these are low nappy output, sunken soft spot, dry eyes/no tears.

Have you tried stripping baby down to a nappy and you topless and doing skin to skin feeding?

 

[LittleLala]

Definitely give someone a call if you are worried.

As pp suggested, do skin to skin

When my guy was new, I had to constantly tickle behind his ear to keep him awake enough to feed because his jaundice made him very sleepy. Give your lo tickles and blow in their face gently to see if that helps.

Good luck xxxx

 

[MindUtopia]

If you feel confident that you can get him latched on your own, if only he was awake, try changing him before a feed and keeping him undressed in just a nappy. This might keep him more alert through a feed. If even being alert, he is struggling to latch and you aren't sure how to fix it, be in touch with your midwife or better yet, find your local breastfeeding group or counselor and see if they can come over and help you to get him latched.

My daughter was exactly the same. She didn't really latch well for almost 48 hours and I don't think she really got anything at all. As a result, she lost a lot of weight and developed low blood sugar and it triggered a whole cascade of interventions that ultimately caused us a lot of stress and problems with BF down the line. If you can get it sorted now, like at the next feed, by having someone there who can sit with you and support you, that's the best thing you can do. If you aren't sure who to contact locally, call and ask your midwife or ask on local mum's groups on FB who the BF counselor they would recommend is. Alternatively, I think NCT have peer supporters in most areas. If you can find your local NCT chapter website, they might have names and contact details posted for someone you can call or text. Is the midwife coming to see you today? I know they usually do come the first few days.

 

[_Meep_]

He needs to feed and excrete to pass any meconium out, as well as to keep him hydrated and help him grow, not to mention establish your milk supply (edited to add: I assumed from the comment about latching that you are breastfeeding him, but reading back I realised it could actually be either!). So I really would ring someone if you haven't already.

Has he done a wee/poop at all? How is he doing now?

Mine was an awfully sleepy baby, and fell asleep often during her feeds, but not to this extent. It sounds like he is having difficulty latching - was he checked at birth for tongue tie or anything like that?

We used to direct our air con unit or fan on my baby when she was just born, to try and keep her awake. She was a summer baby, so it wasn't too bad, but I imagine right now that would be pretty grim! I can't think what else you can do, other than cold flannels, tickling, gentle jiggling etc. - none of which will be particularly nice for him, but he really needs to take that milk.

Congratulations on your new boy - I hope it all gets straightened out soon!

 

[sethsmummy]

you need to call the midwife straight away hun or take baby to the hospital. They can get dehydrated so quickly. If it was just a case of struggling to latch id say youd be ok to be patient and wait but the fact baby is falling straight back asleep suggests it could be jaundice related. xx

 

[babyjan]

Thanks for all the replies guys!

the midwives were coming out to see us anyways and when they came they said my house was really hot so they opened all the windows and stripped him to his nappies. They gave me lil cups to express him and tried to get him to first wake before latching him on... It was extremely hard but after many attempts and cup feeding he latches on for a bit. It still hard getting him to latch as it takes so many attempts and he gets pretty frustrated quickly.

Right now his fed from both breast and has gone to sleep... I also gave him a lil bit of the expressed colostrum with the cup. They also said its normal for him to feel sleepy first 24 hrs and it's likely he'll be awake looking for feeds tonight so we shall see

I thought breastfeeding second time around was gonna be very easy!

Oh and it's crazy how much I forgot! I feel like a first time mum tryna get him into a good position to feed. They told me to do skin to skin as much as possible so we will keep giving that a go x

 

[lau86]

Aww congratulations! My ds2 was a ferocious feeder so I was shocked when dd was like your boy! I was told to do the same, strip them off, tickle feet and express a bit and give it in a bottle. I think I have about 10ml in a bottle! He will soon wake up and then the fun will start!

 

[mummy2boysx]

Definitely call your midwife. My little one wouldn't feed. We had to cup and tube feed him to increase his appetite x

 

[_Meep_]

It's awfully hard to begin with isn't it! I was absolutely crap at it lol. But we got there in the end.

Glad to hear he has had something to drink.

 

[sethsmummy]

im glad to hear youd found a solution hun. Hopefully it will continue to get better and better xx

 

[babyjan]

I think my milk came in today as they feel fuller.. We are still struggling with latch so I've come into postnatal ward for breastfeeding support clinic and his bcg... His also developed really bad yellowy stuff coming from his eyes? I've been wiping with cool boiled water and cotton wools but midwife said to get it checked out as they are coming out a lot from both eyes!

 

[_Meep_]

Probably blocked tear ducts - classic newborn - but you're doing the right thing. Some people swear by squirting breastmilk in them. Since yours seems to have come in it can't hurt to try ...?!

 

[babyjan]

Up right now trying to wake him! His really not waking up! I've undressed him ... Took nappy off and as soon as he wakes and try put him to breast he sleeps again

He was 3.77kg at birth and is now 3.49kg which I know is normal for them to lose a bit but the Dr was saying he really need to not lose anymore! I keep crying cause I'm really struggling with bf! My boobs feel lumpy and we only manage to get him on my right side for a few mins, the left side I'm expressing into a cup and feeding him that way! I'm just so worried as I really don't think his getting enough!


His now in a vest laying on my bed cried for a bit and is fast asleep again.. Last feed was 10:30pm

 

[lau86]

Hun if you're not happy phone for advice, or get a midwife to see him again. Has had had a better feed now?

 

[_Meep_]

Oh dear, what a horrible stressful time for you. You really don't need this right now, so soon after giving birth.

Does he have confirmed jaundice at all? He seems very, very sleepy. I'm just trying to work out why that might be.

When you feed him by cup, do you use the cup itself or a little dropper/syringe?

If you use a small syringe, you should be able to just slip it into his mouth while he is drowsy. I don't know about other babies, but mine always reflexively swallowed milk, even when she wasn't entirely awake. It would take a while but you could maybe get some milk in him this way, while removing the need for him to tire himself out further by actively feeding.

And like someone else said, don't give up asking for help. It's obviously important that this gets sorted. We are all here too, to try and help you through.

 

[CurlyRose]

This sounds so much like the first few days with my little girl. She wouldn't feed at the start, then got so tired we had to undress her and keep her awake through feeds as well as set alarms so she was fed regularly. Then, when my milk came in, her already poor latch was totally thwarted so we ended up in the local postnatal ward for a night as she hadn't eaten for 12 hours. There, they tried all manner of things, but she still couldn't latch well, she had a few bottles of expressed milk before someone suggested nipple shields, they were a life saver for us. She fed amazingly using them, and although I worried about getting her off them, I always tried the boob first before putting them in and as she's grown she has stopped needing them, first in the day, then at night and stopped altogether by 5 weeks. She feeds really well now, dribbles a lot but my let down is very fast, was probably a contributor to the issues in the first place. You're doing all the right things, it will get better

 

[babyjan]

I have a good update:

Baby has now latched onto both breast!! The relief is indescribable... Seeing him feed has filled me with so much joy as I felt like the biggest failure ever! I was crying all yesterday telling myself he was better off in my belly as I can't even feed him now his out

He work around 6am and we came downstairs turned lights on and got him on to my right side which he was finding easier.. I expressed 10ml from the left side as it was extremely full. Around 9am I began feeding him the expressed milk which took time but by 11am he latched to the breasts! I think I over fed him because I literally put him on both breast not long after the expressed milk and he ended up vomiting! His now just had another feed from the left side and his sleeping

My midwife is lovely and has been calling me to check on me and I've told her the good news! I just pray it gets easier from here on... I've got quite difficult breasts, midwife said something about high fibre nipple? I think that's what I heard of the phone lol

The paediatrician saw him about his eyes yesterday, prescribed some eye solution to drop into eyes and have taken swabs to find out what it is, I'm also wiping with cool boiled water and cotton wools for now. The Drs were really scaring me saying I would need to supplement if he lost anymore weight but midwife told me not to worry and his doing well

My first boy started off struggling to feed but we it worked out and I bf for 2 years! I'm determined to make it work this time as well!

Thanks a lot guys for taking the time to respond. My last post I was just so stressed, upset and in pain from my stitches and lack of sleep but I'm feeling good now.

 

[babyjan]

When you feed him by cup, do you use the cup itself or a little dropper/syringe?

If you use a small syringe, you should be able to just slip it into his mouth while he is drowsy. I don't know about other babies, but mine always reflexively swallowed milk, even when she wasn't entirely awake. It would take a while but you could maybe get some milk in him this way, while removing the need for him to tire himself out further by actively feeding.

And like someone else said, don't give up asking for help. It's obviously important that this gets sorted. We are all here too, to try and help you through.

Thanks a lot for responding

Here's a pic of the lil cup. The midwives gave them to me and they are pretty handy! They've also given me syringes but the cups seem to do the job just fine.

They never had these ones around with my first born

 

[_Meep_]

No, I had no idea you could get those either!

I am SO GLAD he has been feeding! We had awful troubles too for the first six months, so I hate to see a mama struggling! But with time and perseverance, we got through and we're still going strong at 21 months.

It's almost good really that he puked, as now you know he got lots of milk and that you and he can do it. Lie back and enjoy the sound of those lovely swallows, knowing he's filling his little belly! Yay!