4 day old refusing the breast

[Fiver]

Falling asleep while feeding and wind are such big things with TT - they just get so tired with feeding.  Have you tried biological nurturing? (http://www.biologicalnurturing.com/video/bn3clip.html) My friend (who's a breastfeeding counsellor) suggested it for us when we were having problems at the beginning (undiagnosed TT), the idea being that baby finds the breast with as little input from you as possible.  It's meant to be more comfy and might help?  Means LO isn't feeling pressured to go anywhere and hopefully you might feel a little less frustrated, so helping LO feeling more relaxed about feeding.

Just a thought, really...

[ENMS]

I was able to give him a good feed finally, and went to get a big pump so that I can at least stimulate my supply I don't want to lose it now that it's here! Will try to feed him from a cup tonight if he cries still.  So funny Amanda, I was finally able to reach the LC I saw when I had DD and she told me to do the same thing! I tried it and it didn't work but ran out of time and will try again once DD is in bed tonight.  She also told me if I was not able to get a hold of an LC by tomorrow morning, to call her back and she would see me - although she does not usually see clients anymore as she works full time in a hospital.  I think this is just what I need to be able to hold through the night, at least I know there's potential improvement tomorrow if I can see her.  Also, the clicking sound seems to have stopped, so that has to be good news.

Thanks for your help and support xxx

[Erin M]

So glad you can see the LC tomorrow!  Hang in there, you're doing great!
Skin on skin is a fabulous idea too, I'd just keep him close by during the night and hope you can get sme good feeds in him.  (((hugs))), I know this isn't easy!

[ENMS]

Just wanted to share the good news. DS has been feeding for 1.5 hours! Almost no pain. Took a long time of skin to skin and re-learning the latch but I see a light now! And no more clicking sound. Hopefully it continues! Thanks for the advice and support!

[Erin M]

Awesome news!!!  My best latch tip (from my own kiddos) was to make sure my nipple was pointing towards the roof of their mouths, that seemed to get the asymmetrical latch that works so well.  So happy for you!

[ENMS]

That tip works very well Erin - I can see a difference!

When I do BF, it really doesn't hurt as much anymore, so that's good news. But I think that DS has a bit of nipple confusion  it takes many tries to get him to latch on properly and it's as if he's confused... he just suckles, so I remove him every time. One of the ways to make it work is to do skin to skin and then let him try to find the breast himself. Although he does not fully get to it, he puts him in the right frame of mind and it is easier to get him to latch on properly.  Any experience with nipple confusion and how to handle it? We removed the paci and he only had one bottle.

[Shiv52]

i would say just keep doing what you are doing.  Lots of skin to skin and let him find his way.  He's still very little and has been having issues for a few days so I imagine it will take the same again after the TT was clipped and the paci/bottle removed to get the hang of it.  Hopefully the LC will have some tips too xx

[Fiver]

So glad things seem to be turning a corner.  Nipple to nose was what my friend kept saying to me - I kept having my nipple pointing too much towards her mouth so needed to move her back a bit.

[ENMS]

On the good news side, he just latched on well on the first try! On the bad news side, he lost 40g since yesterday. I know that's a lot at this point, I'll try to feed him as often as I can today to have him gain back some of that weight. I guess if in 24 hrs he hasn't lost more it means things are really turning around.

[ENMS]

He drank for 10 minutes and then fell asleep and I just cannot wake him up. I'm never going to get him to gain weight if he keeps us that way. He seems to have his day and nights mixed up. He'd sleep all day if we let him!

[Erin M]

Ugh, we were day/night reversed here too in the beginning.  I would change James' diaper and then leave him just in a diaper while he nursed and tried to keep him up however I could - wet cloth, tickling, rubbing his hands, etc.  At night Dh and I would just end up taking turns holding him until neither of us could stay awake anymore at which point I'd put him right next to me and try to keep him asleep as best I could.  The standard advice for reversal is to try to keep them in the sunlight during the day, out around the family (if he's anything like James he'll sleep through it anyway) and keep nights quiet and low key.  We started a BT routine as soon as he could stay awake through one too just to indicate that it was now time for night sleep.  Most babies have it sorted out by 6 weeks (which I'm sure seems an eternity to you right now) but it starts to get better before that. 

Glad the latch seems to be getting better!

As for weight loss, what are you looking at right now in terms of birth weight and current weight?  I'd look overall right now.  Hang in there!

[ENMS]

That's exactly what we're doing for days and nights. He sleeps downstairs with us during the day, in the light, and did sleep through all the noise DD was making this week-end.  So hopefully it'll get settled in a few weeks.

For the weight loss, he was born at 3,950 and now weighs 3,621.  So not quite 10% yet which is ok I guess, especially since things are starting to get better, I think I'll 'reset' as of today and give it 2-3 days to see if it gets better!

Thanks for the support, it really makes me feel better

[Fiver]

Where weight gain/loss is concerned in the early days, there are more factors involved other than just what LO is consuming - if you had any IV fluids during labour, these can contribute to an inflated birth weight.  Keep on going and when you next get him weighed, if there seems to be a "problem" then, going back to see the LC might be a plan as there may be other factors at play.

[Erin M]

According to what I've always heard, babies should be back to their birth weight by 10-14 days old, so you've got some time.  I found with mine once their latch issues sorted out and my milk came in, their weight really took off.  I can understand your worry, but it really sounds like you're doing great.

[weaver]

Yes, do give yourselves a couple of days before worrying too much about weight.  It's just so brilliant that he's latching well! 

Our LO had weight issues in his first week, as it took him days to get the hang of feeding.   Our MW recommended feeding him very strictly every three hours, even if that meant waking him up.  I actually did every 3 hours round the clock for 48 hours and then she said to stop - go for every three hours during the day and then let him sleep at night for as long as he'll go.  That way he gained weight *and* he started to learn day and night.  It worked well for him and I hope to do something similar for little one on the way.