Does the Baby Need to Nurse/eat the First Night or Two After Birth?

They will give the baby formula if you request time to sleep. You have to tell them to bring the baby for feedings if you want to nurse it. I have always kept my babies in my room & they do nurse through out the night. I did request once that they keep my older son in the nursery for one feeding & then bring him for the 2nd nightly feeding. They are to follow the mom's request - unless they have doctors orders to do something else.

Newborns will nurse about every 2-3 hours - sometimes more when you only have colostrum. For me it seemed like they were always attached till they were about a month old. My hubby nicknamed me "mothership" cause I always had the baby docked and nursing - lol.

Thus far, I have had all 4 of mine vaginal, but I have heard it can be harder to find a way to hold the baby when you have a c-section. But know it's not impossible... my sister had her 5th that way and they just gave up nursing (the "baby" will be 3 in July actually 3 days before my 5th is due).

I have never had issues w/ nursing or nipple confusion when the baby gets both breast & bottles. I have given all my kids formula before they left the hospital for one reason or another... tied, sore, to many people around, or cause I'm afraid they aren't getting enough. Plus, I'm not a person who can nurse in public and tries to be respectful of others... so my kids have always gotten bottles of formula when we are out & about or when I have a family member around who doesn't agree w/ breastfeeding (my dad and grandpa & my hubby's grandpa god rest his sole). And I have weaned the last 3 when I felt it was time... my first was the only one that it just didn't seem to work, but I was 17 yrs old, didn't have any nursing support & didn't take care of myself correctly (as to eating & drinking fluids).

Good luck & congratz on the little ones!!

If you didn't get her back from the nursery the first few nights, it's because the nurses gave her a bottle of formula to let you sleep. I was always told not to let them go more than 4 hours, then wake them up if they don't ask to be fed on their own. Let me be clear that this is VERY temporary advice. Once babies are 6-8 weeks old, they can go a full 12 hours at night without a feeding, so please don't think you have to wake them when they are 3 months old. Babies have to be brought back to the pediatrician when they are a week old and if they have gained their birthweight back and the doctor says okay, you can let them go a little longer between night feedings.

Also, you may want to check the hosptial's policy. With my first three, they let me choose whether or not the baby went to the nursery at night. With baby #4, they said I couldn't even use the toilet or shower and leave the baby unattended. I had to take her to the nursery. But my friend who had a baby last Novemer said the nursery wasn't taking babies at night at all. It was room in or go home.

Good luck,
S.

yes, baby usually eats with in the first hour of birth. After the c-section with my son I was up every 2-3 hrs walking down to the nursery to feed him in NICU after he was off the feeding tube.

If baby isn't in the room with you walk down to see him/her, it speeds recovery for you.
If they didn't bring baby to you they did give her formula. And I'd switch hospitals if I were you , that is not good practice for a hospital, to give formula with out informing the parents.

Very smart question. I still am sad at some things that went on the first 48 hours when I was so overtired and confused and felt a lack of support from the hospital staff. It is great you are starting now to plan your stay.

Imagine how you want the first 24-48 hours to look like for your and your baby. Then make a list and type it out for your husband or significant other to have with you when you give birth. It will help them help you.

also, research hospitals in your area and see which are amenable to your needs. Is there a breastfeeding consultant on duty? how long can you stay in the room after giving birth? will they let you bfeed right away?

Dr. Sears "the Baby Book" is great in terms of preparing for those first few days. (I wish I had had it before I gave birth). I understand he also has a Pregnancy and Breastfeeding book which also might help with the first days after birth.

I kept my son in my room - I wasn't letting him out of my sight! I was instructed to nurse him every 3 hrs around the clock. I was instructed to write down when he was nursed and for how L., as well as when I changed his diaper and what was in the diaper. The nurse would actually come into my room overnight to make sure that he had been nursed. I was instructed to continue that at home because it encouraged my milk to come in and signaled my body to make enough milk to feed my son.

yes, they feed the baby with formula if s/he is not in your room. if they know you want to breastfeed but the baby isn't in your room at the time, you can tell them that you would like them to bring the baby in at feeding times.

Babies do not need to eat for the first day or so. I've read this in several sources, been told by midwives, and experienced it. There was one nurse I encountered, however, that threatened to give my baby "sugar water" if she didn't nurse that first day - so not all "professionals" have the same knowledge or belief. Talk with your doctor and all the nurses about what you want.

I did not let my baby out of my sight for the 24 hours I was at the hospital (but a c-section is, I'm sure, a different experience). If you have help from your husband, a doula, a friend, I would keep baby with you.

Also, NOT all babies need to eat every 2-3 hours at night. My daughter from birth slept 4-5 hours between night feedings (and made up for number of feedings during the day). Never wake a sleeping baby!

You can request your babies record's from the hospital/nursery. they have to document everything they do. they would have documented feedings.

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I am positive your child was given some sort of formula the first few nights of her life probably because of the amount of drugs in your system it was probably safer to give her formula than your breast milk. Since I am assuming that she was than breast feed after your discharge from the hospital and she is probably a great little girl and didn't even miss the first few days. Remember they will do what is best for the child not put her in harms way at any point even if you don't want to it may not be the best thing for you to do.

I see people have different opinions on this question. From the first day, I counted wet diapers as I was taught in a childbirth preparation class. I tried my best to breastfeed him a few times the first day but nursing put him to sleep. He did end up a little dehydrated. When this happens, little crystals (which precipitate from the urine) are found in the diaper. So I would try to feed your baby several times the first day.

Not a dumb question at all! I also had pre-eclampsia resulting in an emergency c-section with my first. It was terrible. Like you, I was really out of it. I honestly don't really remember the first few days with my baby :( I had my second daughter last summer by planned c-section. Lemme tell ya, wow! Night and Day experiences! You'll be amazed at how good you feel this time around. Yes, you should feel the baby every 2-3 hours, even at night. I think my second daughter went about 4 hours between nursings the first few nights. I highly recommend having the baby room in, if you can. If not, that's ok too! Just make sure that the nursery knows that you are planning on breastfeeding and that they're not suppose to give the baby a bottle. Most hospitals will put something in the crib to let the staff know that bottles aren't ok. If you find that you want to have them take the baby to the nursery at night (no shame in that, I did it my second night), just tell them to bring you the baby when he/she wakes up. My second baby had her days and nights confused at first, so I had her taken to the nursery the second night. I was just exhausted and NEEDED a few hours of uninterrupted sleep.

I wonder if maybe the staff either assumed that you knew what was going on, or maybe they did tell you that they had fed the baby a bottle. It's possible you were just out of it and don't remember. I know that happened to me with a lot of stuff. They gave us a demonstration on how to bathe the baby with my first. I don't remember it AT ALL! They also gave my husband a demonstration on how to change a diaper and clean the umbilical cord. This was done IN my room and I don't remember it at all.

Big congrats on your new baby :D

Yes the baby needs to eat during those times. They probably just fed the baby formula since you were so sick and out of it from the Magnesium. During this round you can keep the baby in your room at all times or send the baby to the nursery for the night so you can sleep. If you request no feeding of formula (I also requested no nuks) they will bring the baby back when it needs to nurse. Oddly enough I woke up just before they brought my baby every time. GL

They fed the baby formula. It's not a dumb question. It's confusing enough with having a baby, much less what you went through the first time. I will say that you shouldn't hesitate to send the new baby to the nursery so you can get some rest. You'll need it! Good luck to your family...

I will share from my personal experience that if you didn't nurse, and the baby was in the nursery, the nurses did feed your baby formula. I was furious! With my first I was very young and dumb, BUT I told everyone that I was going to do my best to nurse my baby. During the first night I was exhausted and wanted to get some rest, so I asked that my DS be taken to the nursery until he was hungry. When he showed signs of being hungry, I asked that he be brought back so that I could try to nurse him. When I awoke the next morning and realized that he had not been brought in to me during the night, I immediately asked for him. I also demanded to know why he wasn't brought in to nurse. The only answer I received was they thought I needed rest, so they gave him a bottle of formula.

Remember to make your wishes clear with absolutely everyone at the hospital! Your hubby, your doctor, all the nurses and with each change of shift nurses!

Good luck! And nursing at first not only gives your baby the colostrum, but helps your milk come in and begins the whole nursing experience.

They definitely fed the baby formula. If you want to avoid this (and I absolutely would if you plan on breastfeeding) you need to either room in with the baby or make sure you tell the nursery staff that you are breastfeeding and expect them to bring you the baby at the first signs of being hungry and that your child should not be fed formula for any reason unless you are consulted first. Your baby needs to nurse to get your milk to come and and it will come in that much faster with immediate skin to skin contact and breastfeeding. You should start talking with your OB now about making that happen while you are still being stitched up from your c-section (even before they weight and measure the baby). As long as someone is there to help you and make sure you don't drop the baby there should be no reason why they can't make this happen for you. I would also demand that I had my baby with me while I was in recovery as well. If they won't let you breastfeed right away then you need to make sure the do not feed your baby formula while you being stitched up as they can make the baby not latch on an nurse normally once you finally get to hold your LO. You have to be very vocal with the nursing staff and your OB to make sure they all know that your plan to breastfeed and that you do not want your LO to have formula.

Ok, on the other side of the fence..... It does NOT mean the nurses gave the baby formula. Here are the facts... Babies are very alert for a few hours after birth. After that they go into a natural recovery sleep. It is the way Mother Nature designed the human life cycle. In days prior to epidurals, c-sections and pitocin; the babies helped the birthing mother. Mother Nature made it so that the babies are awake the first few hours so that they can breastfeed in order to release "pitocin like hormones" into the mother by breastfeeding. This in turns clamps down the mother's uterus to keep her from bleeding after deliver... Pretty amazing the way our bodies work. The babies then go into a really deep recovery sleep... The reason being in the "old days" women would labor for days and did not have epidurals. So the mom then needed to sleep. So Mother Nature designed the babies to help the mother out in this instance & both mom AND baby recover from labor & delivery.... Pretty amazing hummmm? Many times we wake the babies up during that recovery phase by giving those baths and making the footprints, but if they were left alone, they would just sleep. The reason you do not produce milk the first few days. Colostrum is the best immune defense a baby can get, but it only takes a little bit and therefore they do not eat a lot.
Now with your case.... If you had PIH and was on Mag Sulfate during labor, (totally fine as it probably saved you and the baby); your baby tends to sleep a lot after delivery. Just as the Mag makes you feel like a truck ran over you, so does your baby. They come out with decrease tone and just not a whole lot of get up and go. Theses babies tend to sleep and since it relaxes tone, the babies do not want to work very hard at sucking ANYTHING. Not a bottle or the breast. So it is my thought and speculation that your baby was in the nursery and was probably the best baby there as those babies tend to sleep. The night shift nurses many times will not want to go and wake a mom up especially one recovering from a high risk labor and birth to also wake a baby to feed; especially if the chances of the baby feeding are low. The day shift comes on and to get things going, are more lapt to wake them to get them to feed; but a tired Mag baby & a tired Mag mom, the chances are so low, it makes no sense to do it in the middle of the night. If you want your baby out for feedings, trust me, the nurses are more than happy for you to take them.
Now with your next baby, there is only a 4% chance of you developing preeclampsia with this baby if the father is the same as the previous, so the chances of preeclampsia (PIH) with Mag is very low. So it is my belief this time around will be a totally different exsperience. You will remember more and have a beetter sense of time. Will be well rested and you will notice the delivery goes a lot more casual. The baby will be with you sooner and your baby will be a lot more alert.
Now do note that your milk comes in a day later after a c-section. SO this baby will be bright eyes and bushy tail day three and your milk may not come in until 12-24 hris later. So this time be preparred to actually nurse more frequently. This baby will not have any MagSO4 on board and will be a totally different baby. So, rest assure, your baby probably was not fed. Know that nurses are actually very cautious of this. C-section babies already have more stuff in the tummy from not coming down the birth canal, so they tend not to be as hungry and these babies tend to spit up a lot the first 2 days. So it would be a BIG mistake top formula feed them as they tend to spit up a lot. How would one explain a baby spitty formula who was not suppose to be bottle fed? So I really hopes this helpd relax you. Just know that there is a GREAT chance that is the way that played out. This time, you can tell the nurses "We request no additional feedings unless they are medically necessary & please clear those with us if needed before giving one." The nurses are more than happy to comply, actually less work..... Good luck with your delivery and your new family.

My guess is they did supplement because YES the baby does need food night and day, no more than 4 hours apart. They do sleep a lot in the beginning but all 3 of mine would go no longer than one 4 hour stretch without eating and usually ate every 2-3 hours.

yes! Every 2-3 hours after birth. Congratulations!

Keep your baby with you at all times and make sure that if you do send him/her to the nursery that they understand that when he is hungry to bring him back to you. Also, nurse as often as you can. The colostrum is sooooo important and it will also bring your milk in faster.

"They" (the experts I have heard responses on this from anyway) say the baby doens't "need" to eat anything for the first 48 hours, if it is a healthy, normal birthweight baby. But if it is in the nursery, I believe they will feed formula whenever the baby is hungry/crying, unless specifically told not to , by you. If you want to feed the baby by breast, be sure to express that wish early and often to your Dr. , all nurses ( every new shift) , and the pediatrician. Ask them to bring you the baby when it is hungry, and take it back to the nursery if you are tired/need a rest - I know it is hard to rest when all you want to do is stare at that little angelic face all night. It doesn't have to be all rooming in or all nursery, I think they will work with you, you are going to be paying them enough they ought to - my nurses worked with me.

I had c-sections too, both were relatively planned ( first one was after bedrest for high blood pressure for 10 weeks, at 38 weeks - but we had a few hours of warning, no extreme emergency) we had both babies "room out" the first night, but had them bring them to me when they were hungry/awake. I nursed from the beginning, and yes, they only get some little tiny bit of colostrum for the first couple days, but that is all they need, and it helps your milk come in faster and it is good practice for you and the baby on nursing. My babies were both brought to me whenever they were hungry and stayed with me while I was not tired, but the nurses were great and would take the babies to the nursery whenever I needed a rest/asked them. Both babies had a little card/sticker from the hospital in their bassinet that said "No bottles, please, I eat at Mom's!", they did that with all babies that mom's wanted to nurse. LOL! I struggled in the beginning of both nursing relationships, with flat nipples and had to use a nipple sheild to help the baby latch, and they both got a few little bits of bottle in the hospital - DH brough me a pump the second time around, since I had blisters form trying without the sheild for a few days. But they both nursed till 9 months, and did fine!

You are the mom, YOU decide what you want, don't let the hospital/nurses/Dr. decide for you and your baby - be assertive and make your wishes/needs known, they are there to help you!

Good Luck!

Jessie

My son (a v-bac) was taken by ambulance to another hospital with a NICU after he was born. My husband went with. There WERE going to feed him formula until my husband said no that I would pump and someone would bring it from the hospital where I was. The NICU doc said it was okay. Babies don't need to eat for the first day or two of life because they have a built up supply of nourishment. My midwife got them to release him (about 18 hours old then) to my husband as long as he promised to bring him to me at the other hospital.

HOWEVER, I'm SURE they fed her formula if someone wasn't there to specify otherwise! Rooming in is the way to go to make sure that your wishes are followed with your newborn!

With our first, (a c-section), my husband and the nurse took our daughter to get cleaned up while they sewed me up. They brought her IMMEDIATELY back to me and I nursed her in the recovery room!

JUST MAKE YOUR WISHES CLEAR BEFORE THE BIRTH AND YOU SHOULD GET WHAT YOU WANT~ I am 15 weeks pregnant and we are back to c-setions. This time, the baby will not be leaving my side at all.

PS> My son never did nurse till we got home from the hospital. (He was almost 3 days old by then. I tried after he came back to me but he just didn't want to. Once we were home, he nursed like a champ for the following 18 months!)

Not a crazy q at all!!

For about 20 years nurses woke babies and moms up to eat. That's it. They did it for about 20 years. INSTEAD what was done before, is what is done now (except in preemie cases):

The baby is fed when they wake.

That simple.

MANY newborns will sleep 5-15 hour stretches the first day or two. In fact, for the first few days that's all most do: eat and sleep. (thank god).

So if your baby woke in the night and you were recovering or had contra-indicated drugs in your system, they fed her. If she didn't wake, you fed her.

Same goes for your new guy. Never wake a sleeping baby (obvious extreme cases omitted)... but always feed them when they DO wake. LOL as if you have any choice in the matter... that particular cry is set to the decibel range of "intolerable" for human ears. :) :) :)

R

I can nearly guarantee that they fed the baby formula during your recovery. Infants feed every 45 minutes - 2 hours the first few days of life. There is no way she went all night without eating something. I teach childbirth education for our local hospital and I know at our hospital they try to have all c-section babies with mom and trying to nurse within 45 minutes of the surgery - PUSH for that! I'm sure that nobody meant malicious harm by feeding your first daughter in the nursery those first couple of nights while you were recovering, but don't let them do it again. Tell them what you want. And make sure they follow your wishes!

I'm sure that they gave your daughter some formula while she was rooming out. Especially if they were not sure if you were going to breastfeed or not, or if you had a medication that wasn't breastfeeding friendly.

This time when you go in, no matter how annoyed they may act about it, be oh-so-specific when they ask you questions about baby rooming with you or in the nursery, formula or no formula etc. When I had DS I had hoped to breastfeed (he ended up never wanting to latch.. so pumped instead) and they woke me up every 3 hours on the clock. Your little one might sleep a lot at first, but we would just give it a shot when they woke us up. After the first handfull or so of weeks he would make sure we knew if he wanted to be fed at night. I want to say the first few weeks were every few hours at night then it slowly spaced out until he was suddenly sleeping through the night around 10 weeks old.

I can tell you how we do things at my hospital. If a mom is breastfeeding and she sends her baby to the nursery, we ask if she wants the baby to be brought out to eat. We do not automatically give the baby formula. We only give formula if the mom says it's ok to give formula. The same goes with pacifiers. (Although you didn't ask about that.)

Breastfeeding moms, even those who are on magnesium, are given the opportunity to nurse their babies before formula is ever given. I didn't think that my hospital was incredibly progressive, but given that most of the other responses assume that formula was given automatically, perhaps we are more progressive than I thought.

All I can say is, if you have specific requests, make sure that those are spoken. If you send your baby to the nursery without instructions, then the nurses are left to make decisions for you.

The nurses feed the baby in the nursery, but if you want to nurse her just ask her to be brought into the room. It's usually done unless the patient is weak or needs to recover. With my first baby I was in the hospital for a week after I delivered and he was only given formula (I resumed nursing when I went back but pumped at the hospital to keep my milk supply, dumping the breastmilk as I was on medication)

With my twins (on the way) I'll nurse them during the day but ask the nurses to keep them in the nursery at night and give them formula, so I can get some sleep at night - it will be hard enough to be on my own when I leave the hospital (I had a difficult delivery and didn't give myself a chance to recover which is why I ended up in the hospital for so long, due to complications).

It's Ok if the nurse and have formula, it didn't creat nipple confusion and helps dad or others feed your baby if your milk supply is low.

I have a big collection of baby books, most seem like textbooks - I honestly found most useless in the middle of the night when I wanted an answer quickly. The best book I've found is "The First Eight Days" by Gea Meijering, sold on amazon. It is a step-by-step manual for everything you need (or want) to know during the first days, with pictures and how-to instructions (how to mix formula, how to diaper, care of yourself, etc), all the simple things we think we know but sometimes can't quite remember those first days (and are afraid to ask). I got it for me, even as a second-time mom, and wish I had had it with my first child.