Harry keeps falling asleep + painful stitches = breastfeeding blues

[ceebee]

Hi mums - my first post here....

Harry is 8 days old and apart from a bottle feed of expressed milk at night which DH gives, I'm BF-ing all the time. Problem is, he wakes up and wants feeding but after 2 - 5 mins on the boob he falls asleep. I then have to spend the next 1.5 - 2hrs trying to wake him up and sometimes even after all that he hardly takes anything. Then he wakes up not long after as he's still hungry! So frustrating and exhausting!

Also, to make matters worse, my episiotomy stitches are really painful still and not healing that well, so sitting/moving is difficult, which makes BF-ing a sleepy baby even more difficult.

It's getting me down quite a lot. When he occasionally has a good feed I feel so much happier but most of the time I feel quite upset about it and wonder how I'll manage, especially at night, when I try to get a few hours of sleep and my DH isn't so available to help out...

Just wanted to have a moan really and wondered if anyone else is experiencing similar, either with the falling asleep baby or painful stitches causing issues...

Thanks xxx

 

[Rowesb]

Have you tried feeding laid on your side? Might not help the sleepy baby but might help the discomfort.... Sounds like you are doing really well

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[knopk@]

I agree re feeding lying down, also i used to stip A off so hw would be just in a nappy and stroke his arm or tickle a bit so he would stay awake during the feed. They do get much better.
Re stitches - highly recommend tea tree oil - a drop in a jug of warm water and pour after every loo trip. Plus let is air as much as you can. For some rubber ring is the answer

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[ceebee]

I did try that hon, but found it really awkward as couldn't see what I was doing properly, so couldn't guide harry to the right place. Not sure if I was doing it right tho. In theory does sound more comfortable! xx

 

[knopk@]

I did try that hon, but found it really awkward as couldn't see what I was doing properly, so couldn't guide harry to the right place. Not sure if I was doing it right tho. In theory does sound more comfortable! xx

It took me time to master it. Lots of pillows to make you.comfy, make OH run around bringing you stuff while you feed. It took my stitches about 2 weeks to feel better, did they give you diclofenac? If not, you can take ibuprofen and paracetamol

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[ceebee]

I'll give it another go hon, thanks. Where do you put the cushions? Also just picked up my diclofenac prescription so will try that too.... have tried the tickling, the naked thing, change half way through,burping him etc but sometimes nothing will wake him! He's one sleepy baby at the breast! xx

 

[Jajis]

I had the exact same problem after I had Alex. My stitches from my episiotomy were so, so painful that I would cry if I moved or sat in the 'wrong' way, and I hated breast feeding because of it. Alex would also go to sleep almost instantly, he just wasn't interested in feeding after about a minute (and the midwives kept telling me he ought to be taking 30 min on either side - complete bollocks, he put on weight just fine and at that time was only ever taking about 15 min at each feed - I think I have fast flowing boobs!).

To help with the stitches I sat on the sofa and used about a million cushions - I had one of those V shaped ones to sit on, then a couple behind me so that I was sitting up straight, and a pillow underneath Alex to bring him up to boob level. I also had a little plastic step to rest my feet on so that my legs and bum weren't being pulled forward.

To help with the sleeping I used to blow on his face, one of the midwives told me that stroking his face would only work up to a point because actually the repetitive motion might make him sleepier. As well as blowing, I did the other things like strip him down to his nappy and sit him up to burp him a couple of times.

Good luck, and I promise it really, really does get better. Now that my stitches are pretty much healed (don't worry I think most people heal a lot quicker that me ) feeding is much easier (in fact absolutely everything is much easier) and actually quite enjoyable

 

[ceebee]

I had the exact same problem after I had Alex. My stitches from my episiotomy were so, so painful that I would cry if I moved or sat in the 'wrong' way, and I hated breast feeding because of it. Alex would also go to sleep almost instantly, he just wasn't interested in feeding after about a minute (and the midwives kept telling me he ought to be taking 30 min on either side - complete bollocks, he put on weight just fine and at that time was only ever taking about 15 min at each feed - I think I have fast flowing boobs!).

To help with the stitches I sat on the sofa and used about a million cushions - I had one of those V shaped ones to sit on, then a couple behind me so that I was sitting up straight, and a pillow underneath Alex to bring him up to boob level. I also had a little plastic step to rest my feet on so that my legs and bum weren't being pulled forward.

To help with the sleeping I used to blow on his face, one of the midwives told me that stroking his face would only work up to a point because actually the repetitive motion might make him sleepier. As well as blowing, I did the other things like strip him down to his nappy and sit him up to burp him a couple of times.

Good luck, and I promise it really, really does get better. Now that my stitches are pretty much healed (don't worry I think most people heal a lot quicker that me ) feeding is much easier (in fact absolutely everything is much easier) and actually quite enjoyable

Thanks for that hon it does sound like your problem was very similar to mine and it's great that things improved for you. Have bought a bean bag travel cushion which I'm sitting on and that helps a bit. Harry only seems to take about 10 - 15 mins at each feeding so it's good to know your LO was fine with not much time on the boob. He'll be getting weighed tomorrow so will see how things go then... Gonna stick with it for now and hopefully, like you say, it will get easier xxx

 

[Karate Kid]

A breast feeding counsellor said to me....Watch the baby and not the clock, the feed will start with nice long rhythmic sucking and swallowing followed by shorter fluttery sucking. It may end with baby falling asleep or getting Fidgety. If it wasn't for her I wouldn't have got to this point.

Hope your stitches heal soon Hun, dose up on paracetamol and ibuprofen. If you feel they are not healing properly get them checked out
Xx

 

[Cantstop]

The first three weeks for me were absolute agony with the episiotomy stitches, I was counting the minutes until I could take the next painkillers. I got diclofenac after mentioning this to dr and that helped a bit but still hurt. After 8 days it's still quite new to you both, at this point I had a bf support worker come out to see me a few times and she helped me learn how to position ourselves correctly to feed lying down. At first I couldn't get LO in right position by myself and OH had to move her into the right place and be on hand to assist if she or I moved slightly and the latch was broken. It is something that you both learn though and eventually you will get the hang of it and it will be so much easier. I remember the night feeds, waking up, doing a feed and going to the loo downstairs and just sobbing all the way there and back and then in bed, just cos of being so tired, so sore, and feeling so rotten but this stage will just be a distant memory soon and you'll start feeling much better. When my OH went back to work I felt really empowered and proud of myself for managing on my own - some days we didn't even get out of bed but with your first so what, you CAN do that. Just make sure you get plenty of help and support during these early days as it will make it so much easier once you've got it cracked

 

[FirstBabyEek]

When I was feeding T I was told to gently rub/squeeze the palm of his hand as there is a pressure point in there that triggers the sucking reflex and should wake him enough to start feeding again xx

 

[ceebee]

thanks ladies your support really helps. Stitches are feeling a little easier now touch wood. Cantstop, that sounds a lot like me, so good to know things got easier for you and I like the idea of staying in bed all day! Firstbabyeek - will try the hand rubbing thing too!

Some good news is I had my 10 day mw ap today and Harry now weighs 8lbs, which means he's put on 200g in 5 days, so despite the falling asleep, he's getting what he needs

Onwards and upwards!! xxx

 

[Karate Kid]

Well done hun that's brilliant. Seeing the numbers creep up is so rewarding xx