Need advice sorry so long.

[smatheson]

Hello
I have not posted for quite a while but I had my son this morning at 4:17 am. I ended up having to be induced because my fluid was low. It has been low the whole third trimester so I was monitored throughout. I was very happy though that I was able to make it to term at 39 weeks!

So a little background about his birth. Induction started at 3pm yesterday and progressed rather quickly. They started with a foley bulb which progressed me to 5 cm and then started pitocin. I waited out the contractions until around 7 cm I ended up caving in and getting an epidural. Finally when it was time to push poor little man started having heart decelerations everytime I would try to push. They let me sit up for a bit to let gravity pull him down more. After we started to push the doctor felt it was in my son's best interested to use the Vaccum to assist in delivery because poor little man's heart rate was decelerating again. He came out rather quick after that and passed his apgar scores with 9 both times and we did skin to skin contact for an hour after birth. During that hour he latched on both breasts for a total of maybe 45 minutes.

When it was time to feed again we had a little bit of trouble because it is really sleepy. He latched though and fed for about 15 minutes on each breast. Around 2-3 hours later it was time to try and feed again and he was so sleepy he would latch and then suck for a few seconds and then unlatch because he would fall asleep. I have been working with a lactation consultant all day and she does not seem too concerned that he is not exactly eating every 2-3 hours because she thinks he is just exhausted from the birth experience. She says he has a great latch and I have a great letdown with my colostrum and it is nice and thick. She comes in every hour and we try for about 20 minutes. Sometimes he latches and other times he is just too sleepy so we have been doing skin to skin all day in between trying to feed. If he goes more than 4 hours the lactation consultant helps me express colostrum and spoon feed it to him so that he is getting something.

Now, it is the end of my lactation consultant's shift so now I am on my own until at least tomorrow. She said that sometimes the nurses will get worried if he is not waking up every two-three hours to feed but to just stick to my guns and continue what I am doing because since he has a great latch and I have a good let down she really thinks he is just really tired from the birth experience. I am now nervous the nurses might push me to supplement if they think he is not eating enough. I am hoping soon enough he will be a little more alert and start feeding better.

Any tips, or advice would be greatly appreciated. Do you think that LO is just tired from the birth experience and will soon latch and eat for longer?

 

[smatheson]

Here is a picture of LO and I

 

[missk1989]

congratulations!

Yes he is likely tired so dont worry. The nurse will tell you to keep trying but he really will be fine. The first night home i set an alarm to wake when it was time to feed but he wouldnt wake up, i tried again an hour later and he still wouldnt wake up so i left him until he was ready. He was so sleepy!

Trust your consultant and your baby to know what they need. Lie to the nurses if you have to and tell them you just fed lo. Good luck.

 

[noon_child]

Your LO has already had more milk than mine had at that stage. As long as babies have fed after birth (which yours did- really well!) then it is safe for them to sleep longer. Go with the LC - I wish I'd have had that kind of support.

 

[smatheson]

Thank you ladies! He has been feeding almost non stop now since about 2 am. I can't stand how the nurses get pushy when LO doesn't eat every 2-3 hours and then when they are eating more frequently than that they tell you to space feedings out! Definitely going to go with the flow and let LO decide how much he wants to eat!

 

[Missyann]

My boy kept falling asleep at the breast or sleeping longer than 4 hours those first few days. Because I had him at a birthing center and went home 7 hours later, I didn't have nurses checking in every 2-3 hours. When the midwife called the following day, I mentioned how much he slept vs BF and she told me this was normal. He started eating more consistently after a couple of days when he had rested from the delivery.

Sounds like your baby is getting enough.