Hi,
I delivered a baby girl on Nov. 20th. She was born slightly preterm at 35 wks. Her birth wt and everything was fine at around 6 pounds. My question is that I have been trying to breastfeed her and she does very well at sucking and I can hear strong gulping sounds etc when she is feeding, the problem is that she falls asleep when on the breast and then I keep trying in vain for her to latch. What can I do to keep her awake during feeds? Also, I am not sure if she is having enough so that is my other concern. What should I do? The doctor actually suggested that if she goes without feeding then I could give her formula as well by cupfeeding..what kind of cup should I use for this..pls. reply soon
Hetal replied. 1.to keep your baby awake,,as soon as you feel the sucking has become slow,,tinkle a bit just below his chin,,and thn just below ears and in front of ears,,near the cheek bone,,he will start sucking again,,
2.your baby had a full feed,,to ensure :
--1.your baby stopped sucking, is awake and is leaving the nipple,,irrrespective of whether or not you are feeling full or empty with bm in your breast.
--2. your baby is full when he sleeps approx after 15mins of good sucking and you can hear the gulping sound that has liquid passng thru this throat and you can see his throat muscles moving,,and you can feel your bm passng thru your nipples !
--3.you will come to know by the end of the week if your baby is having good feeds out of you,,he will be growing as expectd by your dr..so do make it a point to see his wght increasng every week,,howeverr, dont expect wght gain or letme say constant wght in first week after birth.its already 10days for you,,so now your baby should not be constant or decreasng by wght,,he should be increasing by wght per week.
--4.make sure to check on the total number of wet and soiled diaper,,at the same time calculate her total number of feeds in one daay/24hours,,,
your baby should be able to feed around 6-8feedings on demand and 6-10feedings of 2-4oz each)in case of f ormula or bottle)
expect your baby to have grwth spurts every week, every 2-4weeks wherein the feeds will be demanded by your baby more often,,make sure to keep him ful during tht time,,,its developmental phase and it will pas on..nevermind if he happens to ask for more,,bf more often !
--7.expect him to pass on an approx number of diapers say some 6-8wet diapers and 4-6soiled/stool diapers,,or if there is ne regular pattern your baby is following,,he will continue to have the same,,with regular feeds...with increase or decrease in feeds,,expect more orless number of diapers !
--8.about cup feeding, check my recent post to Lata G in breastfeeding board,,,i think its just today morning,,i wrote her the reply,,, where in i just discussed about alternatives to breastfeeing and avoiding bottlefeeding ! you will get in good info therein...
you can visiit la lache league org website to know more about the brands and also look at eopinions dot com as well amazon dot com,,and see if you find good brands therein !
its good sign that your baby being preterm is able to bf pretty well,,,its a good sign of heealth,,,
keep tinklng with your finger while she is feeding from your breast,,as soon as you feel the sucking is becoming slow,,it will prevent her from going off to sleep !
good luck to you and congratulations on your lil bundle of joy.
never worry about breastfeeding,,keep trying your best,,but if you see that your baby seems to be sleeping all the time or not cooperatng,,make sure to feed him well with alterrnatives to breastfeedng or bottle,,with formula or expressed BM/pumped milk...
if your baby seems to be badly hungry even after your feeds and cries,,sucks and cries and you dodnt hear the gulping sound,,sucks hard to get the milk giving you bites or his wght gain seems to be decreasng per week,,or he passes less bowels or wet diapers,,all these signs indicate that your bm is not enough and in that offerng formula is the best option ! b ready for it !
good luck to you !!!!!
Hetal replied. 1.to keep your baby awake,,as soon as you feel the sucking has become slow,,tinkle a bit just below his chin,,and thn just below ears and in front of ears,,near the cheek bone,,he will start sucking again,,
2.your baby had a full feed,,to ensure :
--1.your baby stopped sucking, is awake and is leaving the nipple,,irrrespective of whether or not you are feeling full or empty with bm in your breast.
--2. your baby is full when he sleeps approx after 15mins of good sucking and you can hear the gulping sound that has liquid passng thru this throat and you can see his throat muscles moving,,and you can feel your bm passng thru your nipples !
--3.you will come to know by the end of the week if your baby is having good feeds out of you,,he will be growing as expectd by your dr..so do make it a point to see his wght increasng every week,,howeverr, dont expect wght gain or letme say constant wght in first week after birth.its already 10days for you,,so now your baby should not be constant or decreasng by wght,,he should be increasing by wght per week.
--4.make sure to check on the total number of wet and soiled diaper,,at the same time calculate her total number of feeds in one daay/24hours,,,
your baby should be able to feed around 6-8feedings on demand and 6-10feedings of 2-4oz each)in case of f ormula or bottle)
expect your grwoth spurts every week, every 2-4weeks wherein the feeds will be demanded by your baby more often,,make sure to keep him ful during tht time,,,its developmental phase and it will pas on..nevermind if he happens to ask formore,,bf more often !
--7.expect him to pass on more number of diapers say some 6-8wet diapers and 4-6soiled/stool diapers,,or if there is ne regular pattern your baby is following,,he will continue to have the same,,with regular feeds...with increase or decrease in feeds,,expect more orless number of diapers !
--8.about cup feeding, check my recent post to Lata G,i think its just today morning,,i wrote her the reply,,, where in i just discussed about alternatives to breastfeeing and avoiding bottlefeeding ! you will get in good info therein...
you can visiit la lache league org website to know more about the brands and also look at eopinions dot com as well amazon dot com,,and see if you find good brands therein !
its good sign that your baby being preterm is able to bf pretty well,,,its a good sign of heealth,,,
keep tinklng with your finger while she is feeding from your breast,,as soon as you feel the sucking is becoming slow,,it will prevent her from going off to sleep !
good luck to you and congratulations on your lil bundle of joy.
never worry about breastfeeding,,keep trying your best,,but if you see that your baby seems to be sleeping all the time or not cooperatng,,make sure to feed him well with alterrnatives to breastfeedng or bottle,,with formula or expressed BM/pumped milk...
if your baby seems to be badly hungry even after your feeds and cries,,sucks and cries and you dodnt hear the gulping sound,,sucks hard to get the milk giving you bites or his wght gain seems to be decreasng per week,,or he passes less bowels or wet diapers,,all these signs indicate that your bm is not enough and in that offerng formula is the best option ! b ready for it !
good luck to you !!!!!