4hr routine for big newborn??

[Lewa2]

Liam is 7 days old and is a bit of a sleepy baby. He's also very large, born 9lbs 15oz. I'm a bit concerned that he isn't feeding enough. He has 6 or 7 feeds over 24hrs. He feeds well and I seem to have an abundance of milk, he also has a wet nappy at every feed. Last night he went to sleep at 6pm, woke at 1am for a feed (had to strip him down to his nappy to wake him properly) and again at 7am. This seems like a fantastic sleep routine for an older baby but is it alright for a newborn? I wake him up during the day if its more than 4 hrs between feeds - any earlier and I just fight him to stay awake for ages so he doesn't feed any sooner!

So I guess I'm asking for advice on if I should wake him more often or if you think because he's such a big baby he's ok to be on the 4 hour routine already?? I plan to weigh him on Monday at the clinic to make sure he's still gaining weight. Thanks for any opinions

[*Ali*]

Tracy did recommend at least  3hrly feeds until 3mo as they have such small tummies that feeding less often does mean they may take less over all.

The WHO and LLL recommend 8-12 BFs a day for the first 6 weeks (maybe longer).

Having said that I do know of even small babies (some premature) who feed 4hrly from birth.

Have you spoken to your dr or midwife/health visitor? What do they think?

When I had mine I was advised to wake them after 3hrs of sleep in the day and 4hrs of sleep at night for the first two weeks. That meant roughly every 4 and 5 hrs I was waking to feed as they fed for about an hour each time. They soon started waking more during the day and night though and were less sleepy.

Is he having plenty of wet and dirty nappies? Have you had him weighed at all since he was born? Had he lost much weight? Do you feel he is having a decent feed each time and draining the breasts? How long is he latched on for?

[Lewa2]

He was weighed twice in hospital and had started regaining weight by day 4. I haven't weighed him since then but I will on Monday when the clinic is open. I'll talk to the health nurses there and see what they say as well. His latch is good and he seems to drain the breast well and have a wet nappy at each feed. Even though this is my third, they have all been so different that it is impossible to compare! I think the weight will tell us if he's feeding enough.

[Fiver]

I'd probably wake if it was me. Newborns are notoriously sleepy and do sometimes get more sleepy if they're not eating quite enough.

All that comes with the caveats of wet and dirty nappies and reasonable weight gain.

[Lewa2]

I weighed DS on Monday and he had lost weight (even though he had started to put some on in hospital). Spoke with the health nurse and I started waking DS more often for feeds. Today is D Day - if he hasn't started to put weight on I'll have to take him to the paediatrician straight away. We'll head to the clinic after breakfast......Fingers crossed!

[*Ali*]

Fingers crossed waking him helps. How often are you feeding him now?

Have you seen our tips for feeding sleepy babies? Tips for Sleepy Newborns

[Lewa2]

Not good news - he's lost another 30g. I have to feed him every 2 hours now as well as pump and give him ebm whenever I can. Seeing the paediatrician tomorrow to rule out anything more serious.

Ali I did read the tips, thanks. He feeds well when we do skin to skin and he's a bit cold, and being tickled mercilessly!  Poor thing!

[katie80]

(((Hugs))), Lewa. My DS was also big (10lb1), but not so sleepy so I never had an issue with that (my DD was the sleepy one). I know it's hard to know he's lost weight, but keep feeding and he'll gain it back. You're still in the early days and have ample time to make lots of milk. My DS seemed to lose a lot in the hospital (although he was carefully monitored because he was out of the normal weight range), but what my LC told me was to not worry too much, because even though the amount seemed bigger, percentage-wise it wasn't as big of an issue. It sounds like you're getting lots of support now, which is great. Keep up the good work, those sleepy ones are tough (I much preferred my crying to be fed newborn ).

[*Ali*]

Just remember it's not forever. He'll be back to feeding at longer intervals soon I'm sure.

[Fiver]

Hope it went ok. Did you have any fluids in labour as they can artificially increase birth weight and make it seem like they've lost more than they have.

[Lewa2]

No fluids in Labour - I was wondering why the paed was asking about that! DS has lost 12% of birth weight so I have to supplement with 4 bottles of 60ml a day for a week till I see the paed again. I can pump about half of that without going overboard so will have to use formula for the rest

To top it off, I've got my MIL telling me stories about when she had her children the hospital gave the babies a bottle of formula and it all turned out alright for her. I know she means well but I know all too well what can happen when you supplement as my first son never got off formula even though I tried for 7 months to do everything possible!

[katie80]

(((Hugs))) hon, hang in there.

[cuckoochick]

Hugs sweetie, you will do all you can

[koe2moe]

Lots of hugs that he gains weight soon!!!  Pumping is hard!!  Fx for u

[Fiver]

Get him to the breast as much as you possibly can (if you can do every 2 hours, that would be fab!) and pump on top.  Yes, it's a hard slog, but it will be worth it (and always give a BF before any FF - also, if you offer any FF, do it during the daytime and not evening/night as your prolactin levels are higher during the hours of darkness so any FFs will have less of an impact on supply if given during the day).