Sleepy baby newborn help

[Alexis2017]

Hi I have a 11 day old baby who I am bf. This is my first baby and I am struggling along bf as he is so so sleepy. I have to set alarms to wake him for a feed 3 hourly 24/7... He falls alseep at the nipple every few seconds and needa lots of encouragement to wake and keep feeding. This is me striping him down to a nappy to wake him etc

He jad a tongue tie cut yesterday which I was told was quite a bad one and it should in time over a few days improve things once he gets used to muscles in his tongue but so far no change

Anyone had similar issue? Also some feeds last 2 hours or more at a time and when hes finished I still have milk left in my breast and have been told my infant feeding team he should have emptied it?

I just feel like there is so much advice out there and would like to hear from a mum on here whos jad similar issies feeding a sleepy baby

 

[Summerwine]

My first was very sleepy for the first few weeks. I think given how your labour went, hes probably resting up and recovering too! Everyone will give you different advice too based on advice they received or what worked for them. I would say though - what percentage of weight did he lose and has he started gaining now? If he has begun gaining, I wouldn't worry too much about waking to feed, I would follow his lead on when he is hungry.

I've never known my boobs to be 'empty' when breastfeeding. It works on a supply and demand basis, so as long as demand is there, your body keeps producing. Remember that his tummy is very small at the moment too, so depending on how much milk you're producing, you may find over the next few weeks that you have enough for more than 1 baby

 

[Alexis2017]

He lost 3% initially, then a further 20g then he gained 15g on day 8 and then hasnt been re weighted since. We got discharhed from midwifes and HV coming Monday morning to see him

We were at A&E monday as he was so lethagic and midwofe wanted him checked over and he was fine and he had gained 60g!

If i didn't wake him to feed he would sleep and sleep. Got told i need to feed 8 times in 24 hrs to stimulate milk so every 3 hours approx.

Also i seem to keep getting a sore nipple on left side so forever reason he latches different on that side.

 

[WinterWolf]

I had to wake my bub to feed through the night and it was a mission as well. I was told never let a newborn go 4hrs without milk, they don't always wake up when they're hungry and can go downhill very fast. So don't just leave him. Keep trying. He will slowly become more alert as he gets a bit bigger. We had to tickle her to wake her up and I also had to feed in the lounge with the lights and TV on so she would stir a little. If he's gaining weight I wouldn't worry about having leftover milk. Your supply takes 6 weeks to regulate itself, you'll often have too much or not enough at first.

 

[MoominGirl]

I totally agree that your difficult labour will certainly impact feeding in the early days. I had a PPH too but not nearly as severe as yours so getting feeding going will be extra hard. It sounds like you're doing great though if baby is gaining weight, you're getting plenty of wet and dirty nappies and midwife has discharged you.

Newborns can take a long time to feed. It's a lot of effort for them to breastfeed so it is exhausting for them so falling asleep at the breast is very common.

One thing that was a game changer for me at this stage was positioning. I'm assuming you're feeding in a traditional across body hold. We had latching difficulty on one side too and in hindsight it was because he had a preference to look to the left (can't remember what they called it but it's not unusual). We changed to a koala hold and the difference was massive. It forced him to open his mouth properly and I think being upright helped keep him a bit more alert. Also being upright helped with wind.

I hope that helps though as summerwine says, different things work for different people.

 

[Alexis2017]

I haf a break through last night and hr woke up nearly 3 hrly in the dot for feeds... Onky had one kinda long feed from 2 till 3ish thr other 2 he woke up, went on and fed for 40 mins... Bliss. I got 3 hours sleep in a row.

I feel better today about things

I feed him rugby ball mostly as across hold he swings his arms about and I find it difficult to get him to latch correctly as his arms every where

 

[Kitana]

How is Felix doing now?x

 

[Alexis2017]

Thur night was rubbish... He fed for 1.5 hrs then woukdnt go to sleep for 2 hours

Last night was a dream, he started stiring for feeds around the time hes due one and latched and fed well and i got 2 hrs then 3 hrs then another 3 hrs sleep!... I can fell more power behind his sucking reflex with his tongue. Ive got tobrealise hes mega sleepy between 7am and 10am so trying to make him feed then is best avoided!

My boobs are feeling a bit over full alot today... Milk leaking out.

He's fed a lot today so not sure why thats happened?

 

[MoominGirl]

Ah that's good things are going in the right direction. Tbh at this age they're still a bit nocturnal. I don't think I started the day before 12noon when he was that small lol! Definitely got the best chance of sleep in the morning.

Your supply will hopefully be starting to regulate itself and settle down soon. Though I always leaked. Some women don't after a while.

 

[Kitana]

That's good news Alexis! If you start feeding him on demand, he might start doing longer stretches in a few weeks.
Millie started sleeping longer from about 6 weeks, like 4 or 5 hours and once even 6 hours! But she clusters often in the evening which is normal apparently.x

 

[melaniepip]

I think the baby is always asleep at this age. It happens to everyone. Your baby knows when he needs to eat. If you feed him all the time and don't let him go hungry, his stomach will always work. It is best to give him a pacifier, so he does not torture himself. We also bought pacifiers for this case because the baby was sleeping all the time. And he woke up to eat only three times a day. Then everything changed. We attached teddy bear dummy clips to his clothes so he could find the pacifier when he slept. And the baby slept through the night, awake during the day.