Breastfeeding Help - New Philadelphia, OH

I agree - don't stress. At 4 days they really do sleep a lot. I have a lazy eater and a sleeper (she was sleeping through the night at 3 weeks). We could strip her down naked, flick and tickle her feet, zerbert her belly, and NOTHING woke this child. What ended up working for us was to take a wet wash cloth and wipe her down from head to toe. The cold air hitting her body usually did the trick. She was mad, but she was awake, eating and gaining weight which was what was ultimately most important.

With latching, nothing I tried worked until I started placing my thumb on her chin and gently pressing down so that her mouth was open wide enough to latch properly. She would start trying to suck before she was even on the nipple, so I'd patiently wait for her to stop and then try again. From the first time that I started doing this, I connected words with it ("Open big.") She is now 7 weeks and she understands what this means and will open wide enough to latch properly.

Hang in there and relax. The worst that can happen is that she'll be a bottle baby and many children have grown up just fine being bottle fed. It really does get better!

J.

Just follow her cues. You know what you are doing. I never woke my girls to BF. They were both fat! Just be patient with her. If she isn't on right, correct her. She'll get it. You'll get it. DON'T GIVE UP! You can never go wrong following her cues.

When I had trouble (w/latching on) I called in to the Elizabeth Blackwell Center over by Riverside Hospital. They actually helped me over the phone but you can walk in as well! It's free of charge and you don't need an appt. Definitely worth the call!
My personal problem was being engorged which will not allow the baby to latch easily. I had to pump prior to nursing for awhile to soften the breast for the baby!
Good Luck!

My first question is how much weight did she lose? She sounds a lot like my son ( my first). He was impossible to wake to eat - he was just so sleepy (which fortunately for us continued on through the toddler years). It took a lot of work and determination to continue breastfeeding. He never was "great" at it, this is something I realized more when my daughter was born as a great nurser. If you really want to continue nursing you can. Try working with her natural schedule. My son only nursed on one side for about 5 minutes every 4 hours and started gaining weight like crazy. My daughter had to nurse on both sides for 15 mins each and she gained weight at a much slower pace. She also didn't sleep as well as he did. Is there worry of her dehydrating? If she's making urine and having somewhat regular bowel movements I would give it a few days before panicking too much. At only 4 days she's still getting used to living outside the womb - obviously I wouldn't contradict what your doctor has recommended but the more you give her a bottle the harder it will be to establish a good breastfeeding latch. Good luck to you - I know how frustrating it can be. Waking my son never worked - once we just let him sleep and fed him when he woke it worked much better and he ate. I hope this helps you.

Dear J.,

I had similar struggles with my first baby. The more anxious I got, the harder the whole process was. I was very committed to breatfeeding and breastfeeding only so formula freaked me out. However, a lactation specialist told me to take the pressure off myself. To always try to breastfeed first as much as we could and work on the latching on. Then supplement with forula or pumped breast milk. She encouraged me to focus on nurturing Anna with whatever it took. AS soon as I did this it was a huge pressure cooker off of myself. Soon enough she was latching on with no problem and eventually I had trouble when I wanted her take a bottle (a problem I never thought I would have). When I had my second and third babies I was amazed at how much easier breast feeding was when you know how to do it! Relax, I bet you are doing a great job! Good luck!

I haven't had a chance to read all the responses so I'm sure some of this will be repeat suggestions, however DON'T STRESS. At four days old, you're both getting the hang of it. It can take up to 6 weeks, and sometimes more, to establish a "good" nursing routine.

My daughter didn't nurse for 24 hours after she was born- she was a GREAT sleeper, and still is, but it was very scary for me.

My best recommendation is to get in touch with the lactation consultant from the hospital you delivered at (if you delivered at a hospital). Most make this service available to mothers. If not, contact your local La Leche League group. They can provide excellent information.

Don't try to figure it out on your own. I have found the more resources you have, and even an extra pair of eyes, can help tremendously with your breastfeeding experience.

You say she sleeps until she's ready to eat, so she does eat, just not on the schedule you think she should have. Maybe she's just not the typical 2-3 hour type of baby. Don't be scared, every baby is different. Call the hospital's lactation consultants, they are more than happy to help. I know this because my aunt is one of the lactation consultants at Summa and she's really passionate about all mothers being able to successfully breastfeed. Most babies lose weight at first, but should be back up to their birth weight by two weeks old. - that's the guidline that I heard. If she not, then go to the pediatrician. Hang in there.

Oh, and the advice I got when my son would fall asleep while eating was to change his diaper first to wake him up, and leave him partially undressed while feeding. Keeping him all warm and cozy made him too comfortable to stay awake and eat.

Looks like you got a lot of good advice and suggestions on here, best of luck, and congratualations on your little girl.

Is your baby latching on well? If not you may want to contact the latation consultants at the hosp. where you gave birth. Also, you may want to try using a nipple shield that is sold at babies r us or probably walmart or walgreens or CVS. It is used over your nipple if your baby is having troubles latching on. Be sure to relax while you are nursing,put some relaxing music on and try to breath in and out slowly because your baby can feel your nervousness or apprehension. Take your time and be patient,you can do this!!! Make sure someone is helping you with a few bottle feedings at night so you can get the sleep you need to stay "sane" during this transitional time! Remember to be gentle with yourself, this is all new. Email me if you want to talk I can send you my phone number.
Good Luck,
S.

Is your baby jaundice? My son (now 11 weeks) would not wake to feed, but it was because he was jaundice. Once the billy count went down, he started to wake ever 2-4 hours to feed.
As far as latching on, now that your milk is in, try hand expressing some and putting your breast to her mouth. Maybe if she gets a little taste, she'll take to it. It can be very frustrating, but don't give up. If it gets to be too overwhelming, put her down for 30 minutes and come back and try again. Another trick is to lie in be with the baby and have a whole day of skin to skin contact letting her nurse whenever she wants for as long as she wants.

This happened to me...with my second. First stay calm. try not to get upset:) Keep attempting to feed her....it can seem scary. My daughter slept so much and was so hard to wake up the first 6 months...I thought for sure something was wrong. My sister went through the same thing. As far as the latching on....my daughter went through bouts of that the first week or so....One minute she was and the next minute...I wasn't sure. If you think your baby in't latching on at all....then I would seek so help from your local LL. However, the important thing is that you stay relaxed and calm....because these things take time and I think the baby senses it when we are stressed. Also, every 4-5 hours isn't unusual...lol...I endeed up with watermelons for breasts because my daughter slept so long in between feeedings....and then would drink a ton....lol. But this was after the first four weeks of learning to breastfeed her. It does get easier...

Good luck.

Hang in there! I had similar problems breastfeeding my now 20 month old little girl, and we're still going strong! I strongly recommend that you make an appointment with any/every lactation consultant you can get your hands on, keep trying until you find someone that can help!

Depending on the type of LC you find, some will tell you not to wake your baby, although if the doc is concerned about her amount of weight loss, of course you must. If she won't wake, she won't wake. But here's a few ideas...

Try stripping baby and yourself down so that you are skin to skin. The skin contact is very stimulating to baby, and your scent may encourage the feeding response.
Tickle little hands, feet, back, tummy, gently with your fingers. Don't be surprised if little Riley gets grumpy about it, you're irritating her, and that's okay!
When she's latched on, and dozes off, try placing a finger under her chin and gently massaging the soft area under her chin. When she's actively nursing, you'll feel these muscles working, by gently stimulating that area, you can "remind" her that she's not done.
Burp her often, even though she may not need it, the motion and disruption of feeding may also help.

You know your milk is in, make sure you are getting as much nipple in that tiny mouth as is humanly possible. You even want to get the surrounding aeorolea (or however you spell it) as you possibly can, because the more that's in there, the less pressure she's applying directly onto the nipple itself.

I had similar problems with breastfeeding, and had about 3 weeks of terrible pain (I cried every time), but finally figured out that I just wasn't shoving enough nipple into her mouth, and that I also have very sensitive skin, one LC told me it was because I'm so fair skinned that it's actually thinner. I don't know if that's true, but I was able to hang in and now I'm so glad I did.

Please, Please, Please, don't give up! It's an amazing gift you are giving your child, and you are doing a great job!

T.

J.,

Don't give up! This is the roughest patch. Babies are supposed to lose about 10% of their birth weight and have until 2 weeks old to regain it. Mine lost more and the doctors diagnosed him w/failure to thrive (ridiculous). He gained it back very quickly. Don't let the docs scare you. He will be fine. However, you want to be in pain the shortest amount of time possible! So I would suggest calling the lactation consultant at the hospital, or someone from the LLL to help. It takes some babies (and moms) awhile to get the hang of b-feeding. Hang in there!

Hi J.,
First of all congratulations!! You've already gotten alot of great advice and with a 4 day old have probably had trouble reading it all!! One thing that hasn't been mentioned though is to keep track of her dirty and wet diapers- with a breastfed baby that is the best indicator since you cant look at a bottle to see how much she's eaten. My first only woke every 4 hours or so the first several weeks then as he hit growth spurts he would wake more to eat. Just remember each baby is different but they all lose weight the first few days of life. If she isn't latching properly your nipples will get very sore so make sure she's getting your whole nipple and surrounding area in her mouth. with my second I had to kind of pick my boob up and aim it for him until he got the hang of it. Also try holding her different ways or lying down to feed her- she may do better in different positions. If she is nursing and seems satisfied afterword just wait until she cries again - if your breast feeding than bottle feeding she's going to get confused and since a bottle is easier to suck she wont like the breast anymore. Also maybe if shes breast than bottle feeding shes really not hungary for several hours. Some babies are nibblers and just like to have alot of small snacks throughout the day.
The most important thing to remember is that it is worth the effort for your baby and each baby is different and as soon as you get used to one schedual it will probably change:) good luck!!

I had very simliar issues with my daughter as well. I found a thing called a nipple guard that would go on and make it very easy for her to latch on (it made it easier for her). We used it about month and after that she was able to latch on herself. I found mine at Target but I am sure that Babies r us would have them too. Good luck

Get help - not just any help, good help. It is common for breastfeeding difficulties at the beginning - often the way the baby is latching on to your breast. Good help can help you and the baby correct this problem. Please keep your determination as it WILL get better with the right help. You can call a local La Leche League leader (they are moms who have breastfed babies that lead breastfeeding support groups). You can find the names and phone numbers for leaders near you at www.lalecheleague.org. It is very possible to get at least some phone help from them even on Labor Day. Some do home visits (for free). The La Leche League website also has some great advice - check it out. Your pediatrician is most likely not a good breastfeeding resource unless that doctor can look you in the eye and tell you s/he actually had real training in lactation. You can also call the hospital where you gave birth and ask to speak to the hospital lactation specialist (you've left the hospital recently enough to still get help from that person). You can also look up "breastfeeding" or "lactation specialist" in your yellow pages.

Most importantly - this is what you need to do immediately - go to bed with the baby and stay there for several days. Call on anybody you can to help with the housework or other kids, if need be (there is no better excuse than "I just had a baby"!). The more rest you get and the more frequently you feed the baby, the better. Feeding every 4-5 hours is NOT often enough. When the baby is awake to nurse, keep the baby awake by undressing it (down to the diaper), tickling it's back or the soles of it's feet while nursing. Wake the baby up to nurse by diaper changes, undressing, etc. IF the problem is the way the baby latches on to your breast, this can absolutely be fixed with the right help (the sooner you get it, the better and easier it will be to fix it). In the meantime, the most important thing is that the baby is getting enough breastmilk - should be feeding every 2-3 hours, no less often (even at night)! Feed the baby the pumped breastmilk any way you can (bottle if the baby will take it, or it is possible to do with an eye dropper or off a spoon or tiny cup). Formula is NOT going to solve your problems because the more formula you substitute for breastmilk, the less breastmilk your body will produce - it is a bad cycle. As long as you can pump enough breastmilk until you can get good help (tomorrow) with your latch, then use only breastmilk. If you truely don't have enough breastmilk, then use formula, but only as a last resort (the baby must be fed no matter what). Increasing your supply is easy at this point with the right help.

I know it is hard (I've breastfed two babies who both had difficult starts at the beginning). Make sure you are eating well and drinking plenty of water. Take naps all day.

If you have any questions, you are welcome to email me separately. If you do, I am willing to give you my phone number if you want someone to talk to. I am a certified postpartum doula and have had quite a bit of breastfeeding support training and help my clients through these things all the time.

Best wishes!
J. Steinbach, PCD(DONA)
____@____.com

Hi J.:
My baby was 2 weeks early and smaller than normal, so she slept a lot too during her first month. I was adement about no formula or bottles for the first two months, so here was our solution: She didn't have the energy to latch on for a week or two, so the hospital gave me the little plastic syringes to load up with pumped breastmilk. I stuck my pinky finger in her mouth with the syringe tube on top so she would start sucking, then slowly pressed the syringe down so she would get milk without having to work so hard for it. It reminded me of feeding a baby bird. To this day, we call our daughter "Bird." :)
In the meantime, I was introducing her to the breast every chance I could get. It helped if I pumped for a minute or two first to get the milk to let down, then tried to latch her on. This way, she wasn't sucking for nothing, wasting that valuable energy. Even after she got the hang of it, she would doze off while nursing and, if she didn't get a full feeding by the time she fell asleep, I would be INSISTANT with her to wake her up -- perserverance and patience is the key! I would lay her down on the couch or bed and rub her belly and legs or put a slightly cold compress on her to wake her up so she would keep eating. Don't let your baby sleep without a full feeding or she'll get into the habit of snacking, which screws up her sleep habits in the long run. It's a pain, but it's really imporant so stick with it!
After the first 6 weeks we had no problem at all and I exclusively breastfed her for 8 months. Good luck!
J.

If you by chance delivered at Riverside or an affiliated hospital, they may have told you about the Elizabeth Blackwell Center. You do not have to deliver at these hospitals to use the center though. This is a great help while in the hospital as well as when you go home. They can help with latching issues, supply problems, pumping advice/help if/when you return to work. I had quite a few problems with both of my children latching and so on. I highly recommend them. You can make an appointment and take your baby and they will work with latching. Both of my children used their tongue backwards. It took 5 weeks for my first to finally catch on and about 2 weeks for the secondto catch on. The most important thing is to keep trying, use the lansinoh, and just relax.

First of all, don't panic. My son went exactly through the same and I was very scared, my son would fall asleep after only 5 min. in one breast, he didn't make it to the 2nd one let alone 15 to 20 min. in each one. The dr. recommended to undress him completly (except for the diaper) to wake him up but it didn't work, so bottom line is they will eat when they're hungry.

By the way, it is normal for kids to loose some weight after the first few days.

If it makes you feel better, you can pump the milk and give it to him in a bottle, that way you'll know how much she ate. Maybe you can find more accurate information and support from la Leche leage, but each baby is different an not all are text book cases.

Good luck!

Where do you live? I am a midwife and can come by your house to help you out. Email me privately if interested. ____@____.com

When waking her do you try changing her diaper and keeping her undressed and unbundled to feed? Sometimes when babies are all suggled up and warm they don't feed very well. Breastfed babies feed every 2-3 hours, where bottle fed babies feed every 3-4 hours. I would venture to say that 5 hours is a little bit too long, but 3-4 hours would be ok since you are supplementing after feeding.
They expect babies to lose up to 10% of their birth weight, I'm not sure how much your baby lost but losing some is normal.
Latching on is a very hard process. Rub her cheeck with your nipple, then rub her bottom lip. When her mouth opens up wide , you push as much in as possible or else she won't latch on enough and won't get anything out and it will just be painful to you. I'm sure the hospital went over that with you and showed you how and all.
Best of Luck.

Hello, I just went through this with my niece, She was having the same problem, My mom, Baby RN, said she thought it was a growth spurt. She suggested pumping and keep trying to get her to latch on. Dont give up hun...Its not fun but SOO worth it..
I ahve a 2 month old and he had a heck of a problem with breastfeeding so I just pumped the milk to get it into him...
Hope this helps Good Luck!

Definitely call a lactation consultant. I recommend calling someone from the LaLeche League as well as calling your local hospitals to see if they have lactation support.

As for the sleeping part... as long as she is waking to eat, let her sleep. It sounds like she's getting enough to eat now - try not to worry.

I"m not sure where you live but contact the LLL (La Leache League) in your area - I'm in grove city and there is a great group of women there that would love to help you out. Also the Elizabeth Blackwell Center at Riverside Hospital is great!

Keep it up - It's hard I know! Hang in there! It will get easier!

Let her sleep and then give yourself time for long feedings. Some little ones take longer naps. Mine did. He didn't gain weight very fast so I reccomend letting her nurse as long as she wants when she wakes up.

First of all, don't give up! To get her to wake up try stripping her down to her diaper, the cooler air usually helps. She should be eating every 2-3 hours as a newborn being breastfed, especially if she has been losing weight. The hospital where you gave birth should have access to a lactation consultant, call them and see if they have specific advice. I'm sure being sleep deprived doesn't help, so try and get some rest. Other than that, it's really a learning curve so keep trying, and if you get tense/frustrated, so will she. Good luck!

I had a similar issue with my baby waking up. A lacatation consultant advised me to check on him after 2 hours while he is sleeping and look for a 'wakeful sleep state' meaning he is moving around although still asleep. This is a time to try to wake him up. Otherwise if he is in deep sleep (rhythmic breathing, no movement at all) check back every 30 min or so to see if he is in wakeful sleep. He will be too tired to breastfeed no matter how hard you try to wake him.

For the latching issue I don't have any advice other then that there is a breastfeeding group at the Elizabeth Blackwell center Thursdays at 1:30p I would recommend going to which is free. They also have lactation consultants availble for consultlation ($65 per hour) and a hotline you can call and ask questions for free.

J.,

I would call a lactation consultant. Your baby not latching on could be as simple as how you are holding her. I had problems with breastfeeding with my first child - once I called a lactation consultant, by just talking to her I fixed most of my problems. The lactation consultant can also give you some suggestions of cremes that you can buy to help with the soreness of your breasts. The few weeks of breastfeeding are the hardest - you'll go through so many emotions about whether you want to do this or not, but hang in there it does get easier.

As far as Riley not waking up remember whatever drugs you had during the labor Riley also got - my son (that's my first) was so sleepy the first week or so. You just need to pump her arm or anything to get that blood flowing so that she'll stay awake long enough to eat. In a week or so you'll see, she'll start to want to eat more often. Breastmilk is easier to digest so your 4 - 5 hours between feedings will start to be 2 - 3 hours.

Enjoy her!!
Mel

Due to different problems I was unable to feed 2 of my 4 children for a very long time. The 1st and last I was able to breast feed for 6 months, I stopped so that I could start sleeping at night. My most successful way, no pain, comfortable for baby and my self and the baby was eating, again no pain, or sores! was to place the babies feet under my arm were her face was right at the nipple. To bring her to the breast instead of my breast to her. I was admitt for the first 3 to do it the traditional way of cuddling my baby. It worked at first but not once she really began to be hungry. After about 3 weeks we were able to go back to the traditional way. Once we both knew what we were doing.
Also the bottle, no matter what it contains, is much easier for her to eat from. If you really want the full experience of breast feeding I would stop the bottle completely until YOU BOTH are experts at breast feeding. Latching on is much more difficut and a different motion for the baby to learn. La Leche offers free advice and will work with you for free. Again if you truely want to breast feed you need to get in contact with them ASAP and they will work with you! In the mean, keep practicing with your baby, keep pumping and store your breast milk for when you try the bottle again.
I hope this helps! Goodluck!

She will be fine....i refused to wake my boys up to feed every 2 hours....when they were hungry i fed them....you have to go on the baby's schedule....don't really go by the "ideal" baby feeding plan....if you go by that...you will not have time for yourself, your son or hubby.....

Have you tried undressing her a little? She won't get cold as long as she has skin to skin contact with you while breastfeeding. But the change in temp. could wake her enough to eat.

My son had a little trouble learning how to latch on the first few weeks. One of the nurses in the hospital took some formula in a tiny little dropper. She put a drop on his lips to let him taste it and then we immediately put him to my breast and tried to get him to suck. If this didn't work, we would slip the dropper into the corner of his mouth while he was still at my breast and drop a little formula into his mouth. Eventually he learned that he needed to suck from my breast to get the milk.

At four days old, she still might be tired from the delivery. I wouldn't worry too much about how much she is sleeping. I know most babies lose some weight right after they're born. She'll most likely make up for it in the next few weeks!

Good luck and don't give up! It sometimes takes several weeks for the baby to learn how to breastfeed. That is okay!