Do Not Wake a Sleeping Baby?

Please let him sleep. He needs it to develop properly. I myself sleep 10 hrs a night. I love my sleep.

it sounds like you are very smart on this subject! (speaking of hind milk and all) do NOT supplement with formula! all a certified lactation consultant in your area - independent from a hospital if possible - or your local La Leche League. You can find them all on google and give them a call! they are ready to answer your questions!! and for a bit of humor on the subject, go to http://www.thecowgoddess.com/ and search for breastfeeding comics!

also ask WHICH chart the doc is using: the one for formula-feed white babies? or the new one released by the World Health Organization (WHO) to chart breastfed babies only? they are very different...

Lactation Consultants in Florida
http://www.breastfeeding.com/directory/states/florida.html

La Leche League of Florida
http://www.lllflorida.com/groups/index.html

Good luck, God Bless and follow your instincts!!

--E.

It sounds like he is doing great! He is actually doing what he needs to- rest. Babies grow/gain weight when they are resting so it is actually a good thing that he is resting so much. Also, if he wasn't getting enough he would not be resting for four hours. Babies will wake when they are hungry. From the wet diapers and stools he is getting enough.

I agree with the other Moms to contact the LaLeche League, they can connect you with other Moms and give you advise on the day to day issues that come up. They are also better able to gauge his weight gain instead of comparing him to "cow" babies! Breast fed babies tend to gain weight a little slower in the beginning because your full milk takes a bit to come in and it gives time for the baby to develop his digestion system.

It is so easy to doubt yourself as a new Mom (and Dad)and try to resort to what we have been conditioned to think is "safe" in our mind- formula and bottles. Your baby does not need formula or a bottle. No baby does. God gave you everything you need. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables and drink lots of water and your baby will have only the best.

Please keep strong and get some advise to help you and Dad through this learning stage.

Go Mom!

A.

Hi N.,

Nutritional supplementation is not just for milk supply. Sometimes the milk is not nutritious enough. Your son is looking for nutrition. A GOOD multivitamin or a GOOD prenatal is absolutely necessary. If you are already taking one, it may not be absorbing into your system for the nutrients to get into your milk. (Our milk in these times cannot be as good as it was when were eating completely nutritious food. There are too many processed foods passing chemicals through our milk. Our grandmothers didn't have this problem.)He needs his nutrition to give him the energy to work for his food, just like us....

If you milk is richer, your son may eat more. If it's just a matter of the breast, try pumping and see if he'll take the bottle. I agree with Maria, keep him away from processed formula as long as you can. Call the Laleche League for help. That's what they are there for!

Good luck to you and your little one.

M.

Do not wake him if he is sleeping, he is more than likely content. Enjoy sleeping and be happy he is sleeping for such a long period of time in the night, do not be worried about it. Babies all start sleeping longer at different ages. I recommend switching breast after 5-7 minutes on one side and then putting him on the other side. My first child only breast 5 minutes on each side, but my second child breast feed 10 minutes on each side. Each child is different and requires different amounts of food.

Hi N.. You do not say how old you baby is, but I am assuming between 1-2 months. Green stool can indicate fore milk/hind milk imbalance. I had a friend whose child had a problem with this. I know she nursed exclusively on one side for the entire day and then switched at night to the other side. She kept that up, and it seemed to solve the problem. It will be hard on you physically with engorgement on the other side at first, but your body is smart, and it will adjust. Be prepared to pump or hand express a little if you need to on the side you are not nursing on.
That weight gain you stated does not sound alarming. You must remember that the weight charts are put out by formula companies and are based on formula fed babies. Breast fed babies will often not "measure up" to formula standards becuase the breast milk is entirely bio-available...no waste by-products, hence the very different stool from a formula fed baby.
Four hours is not a too long time to sleep, but if you find your baby sleeping for longer and longer periods and being tougher to wake up, THAT would be alarming.
I hope this helps.
A.

You can call the 24-hour toll-free La Leche League help line: 1-877-452-5324

You can also go to meetings locally for free.

But I would DEFINITELY call and get advice. Please don't supplement with formula - it will affect your supply and it is not nearly as good for your baby. I know some women have to use formula, but what you are doing for your baby is SOOOOO GOOOOD and will benefit him for the REST of his life!!

Do NOT supplement with formula what you are encountering is a low sucking problem his sucking muscles aren't strong so even if you gave him a bottle you would have to force feed it to him and you can't just give him formula and expect it to work you have to experiment there is absolutely nothing wrong with your milk supply and formula is extremely bad for weight gain it doesn't give them what they need it over feeds them and makes there stomachs bigger not solving the problem. What you need to get is a breast shield! THEY ARE AMAZING! My son had the same problem as soon as we started the nipple shield he was fine because he doesn't have to work for it he is still sucking but the milk flows out the boob into the fake nipple so a tap will let it flow into his mouth but he still has to sort of suck for milk to come out you boob it's amazing!! They are like 6 bucks and you can find them at most stores. I just put mine in hot water first before putting it on the nipple. GOOD LUCK!! Oh yah I tried finger feeding mine and spoon feeding him but he just wasn't really havin it. And we had the weight gain problem too. Mine was worse though because we were trying to flush all the bellirubin out of his system. Nothing really worked til we gave him the breast shield now he eats like crazy! The milk will come when he needs it not when the doctors want it to. But mine changed farely fast when I got the shield because he was eating more. He's now 7 weeks and since the shield he's gained 3lbs!

I'm not a lactation consultant (I would suggest you call one- you can find them with La Leche League and they're very helpful), but my thought of the bat is, why are you changing breasts? If you want to increase the amount of hind milk he's getting, then keep him on the one breast. Then give him the other one the next time he eats. Also, when I was pregnant the first time and learning about breastfeeding, our instructor said that babies are just like adults. If they need to burp, all they need is to be sat upright and they'll burp. So, I don't know that you really need to "burp him". I never burped my daughter and she did great. Again, I would call a lactation consultant- they'll know more of the correct questions to ask to help you solve your particular problem.
Good luck, and hang in there! It's worth it!
J.

Have your pediatrician or lactation consultant check to see if he is tongue tied. I had never heard if this but recently saw a show were the baby was not nursing good because of this. It can be fixed easily and he will eat good after. Have it checked soon or your supply will decrease.

As I read your post, I realized that there is something going on that I didn't quite catch the first reading.
Check for low muscle tone in the mouth area. A specialist in speech and oral motor therapy can give you a consultation for this. If you need the name of a good one, I have it. She takes insurance, too. Pediatricians don't usually see this sort of thing. Two of my 4 children had this problem, which was not obvious and they did have problems with weight gain in spite of all the nursing they did. If the baby's mouth gets tired, he won't want to nurse. He might be so exhausted he sleeps a long time. Without a diagnosis, I can't say for sure, but it's easily corrected and treated if this is the problem.

Good luck!
M.

My mother had the same wory. My sister would sleep most of the dayand night. Mom went to wake her and she wouldn't wake.
Yaken to the hospital, they found out she was diabetic. We high sugar level diabetics love to sleep. Have him tested for diabetes and have hhis digestive system checked out maybe a blockage

have you tried pumping after feeding to get the hind milk, or putting him back to the same breast after the burping, just changing positions to trick him?

and also in a response to another earlier response, I am a nurse and I know that the growth charts are NOT put out by formula companies, they are put out by the American Pediatric Association. They are changed yearly or so based on weights collected by pedi's.

But your the weights you gave don't sound terrible. Ideally a baby should be back to birth weight by 2 weeks. And like another comment stated all babies grow at different rate. If your pedi was REALLY concerned then he would be having you do weight checks.

Try not to worry too much, seek help from La Leche, or a lactation consultant....

It actually sounds like he's doing really well to me. My pediatrician said they get a full supply of milk in 7-10 minutes on each breast, including hind mild, as long as they are actively nursing the whole time. She actually had me trying to cut BACK to that amount of time. He has plenty of wet diapers, which I've heard is the best measurement. And the weight gain seems pretty normal, actually. Maybe a little lower than average, but every child is different. As long as he seems full (which he must, since he's sleeping for 4 hours) I think you can rest peacefully with him. And be happy for that extra sleep! Many moms are not so fortunate!

Let the baby sleep if he wants to sleep. My daughter from the time she came home from the hospital slept for 5 hours straight. Consider yourself blessed as a lot of new moms dont get that much of a break!
About the milk, if you think your mil supply is ok but you want him to get the rest that he is leaving behind, pump it and give it to him first when he wakes up next.
If you think you need to increase your supply herbally I found some great mothers milk tea in the organic section at my local grocery store. But pumping would help that problem too.
Good luck!

I'd try pumping and supplementing with that.

Hi N.,

Will your baby nurse *while* sleeping? We have spent many, many hours doing this. During times when my daughter is very distracted during the day, it's been her main source of calories on occasion. She will root, latch, nurse and swallow all in her sleep, no learning curve involved (for her). I had to learn to side-lie and sleep, but the little one seemed to know how to do this naturally.

Also, the # of diapers seems normal and (if I remember correctly) the weight gain seems similar to my daughter at that age. She was slow to gain too, but she definitely caught up. I think if # of diapers is normal and there's some steady gain, there's little to worry about.

let him sleep and just continue what you are doing breast feeding. he will get it.

I have thought of pumping and feeding your baby breast milk from a bottle. This way you will be able to get the hind milk. If you have a plentiful supply of breast milk this sounds like a better idea to me then supplementing with formula.

At 6 weeks you should start seeing your baby sleep longer, my son had just dropped his first feeding around that time (we were feeding approx every 3 hours--so he starting sleeping at night about 6 hours at that time (From 9pm to 3am).And was sleeping 8 hours by 10 weeks and 12 hours by 14-16 weeks--this is not uncommon esp if they are on a sleeping/eating routine--there clock starts to set and they can sustain much longer between meals. And 15 min may be long enough for him to get hind milk--babies all nurse differently, some take much longer to eat while others eat much slower. If he is sleeping longer that means he is satiated to do so, so my gut reaction is that he is getting hind milk, and though you are concerned I don't think either of you have reason to be. Just wait for his next wellness and see what the pediatrician says.
I'm not sure what you mean by the measurements you gave--they look like you're giving feet/inches? or are they lbs and oz?
Again all babies gain differently too--most double their birth weight by 6 months (but some do this much faster).
If you are concerned that he is not getting the hind milk, I would pump right after he finishes nursing. If you don't have much left, he is probably just a fast eater, if you have a lot more and it seems like hind milk, then you can save it (there are many resources regarding freezing and keeping BM) and then start substituting one of his breastfeedings with the bottle of BM (after 6 weeks there should be no concern for nipple confusion) just use the 0 size nipples which will make him work for it like he does BM. Have your husband give him the bottle. This will work well for two reasons: he can then have time to bond with the baby and you can then pump during that time to keep up your supply. I know many parents that do this for the dad/baby bonding reason alone.
Finally, Fl Hospital (and I'm sure ORMC does this too) has a weekly mom lunch which gives you free access to Lactation consultants (vs paying $100)--if you are still worried I would either try to go see one and see if they have any concerns (they will observe you and your baby BFing). Call the hospital--the number I found was with all the stuff they gave me when I checked out of the hospital. And if paying isn't a concern--make a private appt with a lactation consultant--you will definitely get your money's worth.
When you do go to your wellness, listen to your pediatrician. If he/she thinks you should start supplementing with formula--it's not the end! Don't beat yourself up over it and don't feel guilty about it! We have it so beaten into us that we are bad mommas we have to use formula--I was a mess when I was forced to stop BFing for medical reasons, but my son is absolutely wonderful and I don't regret it at all! Do what is best for the whole family!