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My 6 day old baby slept long and nursed long while we were still hospitalized (Monday through Thursday). He has still tends to that schedule but is not messing diapers at the desired rate. His pediatrician suggested that I wake him every 2 hours during the day for a while to increase his food supply - but he is SUCH a sound sleeper that I'm finding this difficult.
In addition.. when he is nursing I've started to pay attention to swallowing sounds... if he suckles but doesn't swallow I assume he's just pacifying and pull him off to try to wake him up again...
Does anyone have advice for me to encourage some more active feeding?
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I know it sounds mean but when my daughter was first born, she would absolutely not eat for the world! What you have to do is try and undress your baby or tickle him/her you can also rub his/her hands, head, or cheeks. You have to try and stimulate your baby so he/she does wake up, you can come up with your own creative ways. Even a wet wash cloth, I know this sounds mean and I got mad at the doctors for using this method but I would much rather my daughter eat and be healthy then feel like the big meanie! If any of this doesn't work let me know and I will tell you more things that you can try! Best of luck!
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Thanks Stephanie!
I've told my hubby that the lil guy won't even be ticklish by the end of the week the way I have to torture him... But then... there're times like just now where he wakes naturally and nurses for 3 or 4 15-20 minute clusters. The most effective method so far is dipping my fingers into my water gla__s and tapping them on his face...
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my midwife told me if you ned to wake youe baby get there legs out they hate it and they wake or change there bum
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so long as he's wetting 8-10 diapers a day your in good shape. b___stfed babys can go up to 2 weeks without pooping and be perfectly fine. i thought for sure my daughter was starving to death beause she would only nurse for short periods of time, it turned out she was just a super sucker and could get as much milk in 10 minutes as most babies get in 20. my nipples paid the price, but she did great. lol. i did the water torture with my babies too, it works.
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We ran, well walked - its at the end of the block - the boy to the Dr this morning. She checked him out and gave him a clean bill of health. She suggested that if we don;t see some diaper action in the next few days we might want to add 2 ounces of water to his routine as a stool softener JUST because we haven't seen a b___stmilk stool and could be the meconium is getting gummier in his bowel...
Any comments on that?
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How big was he when he was born? My bigger babies where all cla__sified as Large for Gestational Age (LGA). They were hypoglycemic (sp?) and very sleepy for several days. And they never nursed as frequently as the drs. felt they should. Usually by a week or so they suddenly woke up and never looked back. I tried the unwrapping, tickling feet, etc. I don't see how water going to make a difference, b___stmilk is mostly water. Can't see how it would hurt either. Good luck.
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Yes the water helps with constipation, warm it up with warm water in a bowl. You might want to add a little tiny bit of sugar to the water for taste! That is if baby is reluctant to take the water well and its perfectly safe just add a tiny bit like half a penny amount.
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if he's got a clean bill of health i'd see no reason to supplement with anything. but that's my personal view. some babies are given sugar water to up their blood sugar, i've NEVER heard of it as a treatment for constipation. personally, i'd wait it out and exclusivly nurse untill there is a clear and present need to intervein.
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It's not unusual for a b___stfed baby to go up to 9+ days between dirty nappies (I wish my daughter would, lol). This is because b___stmilk is so perfect for babies that there isnt much waste left after digestion. If the baby is exclusively b___stfed it is highly unlikely that they are constipated.
When babies feed they drain the b___st of the milk that is stored behind the nipple but there is always milk in the glands further back (a b___st is never empty) when your baby is sucking and not swallowing, they are trying to get the next load of milk to let down behind the nipple not neccessarly sucking for comfort. You can tell by the way they suck. If they suck for a few seconds and then stop and then suck for a few seconds etc they are trying to get the milk to let down. If they suck and suck and suck and are not pausing or swallowing (look at the throat, sometimes they swallow quietly) they are doing it for comfort. Babies will usually nap while they are trying to get the let down of milk and they will keep sucking in thier sleep.
The best thing to clear meconium is b___stmilk, the foremilk is a natural laxitive. Water can help constipation in older children & adults who eat solid food but it will only make a b___stfed baby wee more. Also it will fill the space in thier tummy meant for milk so they wont feel hungry when they should do.
The short but often feeds are cluster feeds, these are what increase your milk supply.
I usually change my daughters bum in the middle of a feed so the milk has a bit more time to let down and it keeps her a little more alert.
Everything sounds like it's going well, as the others have said, as long as there are around 8 wet nappies a day everything should be fine. I'll bet your babe does a big no.2 for you pretty soon hehe.
Cathy
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