newborn feeding - what to expect?

[LeBFG]

I'm thinking in advance about what to expect for DC2. I bf DS1 successfully til 17 months so I'm not too worried about post-newborn phase. But I missed out on his newborn bit as he was early and tube-fed.

When in hospital I won't have access to MN either!! So, how soon after birth should I expect DD to start suckling? Do/should they get the colostrum straight away? When would the hospital suggest giving fluids (I think my sister's had a bottle the very first night) - should I refuse if it's very early? Is pumping really that good at getting milk to come in/boost milk supply or should I just place faith in my baby?

Thanks for any/all answers .

[dorapeppageorgenoddy]

There is a good thread at the moment about a 4 day old bf - which may also help and of course the site kellymom is the guru info for breastfeeding - my ds1 took 4 days to feed and 7 weeks of a nightmare until it clicked so like you I was anxious of how it was going to be with no.2 and wanted to get it right - but it could n't have been better and hope your no.2 is too- straight after birth I pulled him up onto my chest for skin to skin and he fed straight away - it was amazing (I know it's not always like this but after no.1 it was great) so just try and be relaxed don't worry about them not having enough etc - lots of skin to skin lots of small regular offerings and the first 24 hrs it is normal for them not to feed much as can be a bit sleepy -

Good luck with upcoming excitement

[dorapeppageorgenoddy]

Just adding more direct answers rather than (normal) ramblings -

Basically colostrum will come in after birth but don't worry about measuring how much etc if all fine at birth just offer the breast regularly, have lots of skin to skin and he/she will get what she needs.

In regards to fluids if everything with baby is normal you should n't need to offer anything the hospital offer fluids if they are not feeding/dehydrated or unwell - usually if its a feeding thing they give 12 hrs and will check blood sugars and only if they are low will they need to give formula or breast milk from a bottle. But with healthy you and healthy baby I'm sure you will establish breastfeeding if you want to -

In regards to pumping again if all well you shouldn't need to - think tribal/olden days women have been feeding their babies without equipment for a longtime so you shouldn't need to - however the flipside pumping can be great if needed to establish milk supply, bottle feed but with your milk etc -

My first would nt feed just would not suck at all - so after 12hrs they had to syringe feed him colostrum, he stil would not feed and was just happy lying on a cushion being 'fed' they then had to give him one formula as he was getting a bit poorly and so for 4 days I was in pumping 4hrly and then feeding him my milk from a bottle - we went home doing this...so
There is a place for a pump but like I said no.2 just got it from birth but ironically even though feeding like a trouper apparently was losing/not gaining enough so we had to syringe feed him top ups after each feed to get discharged from the MW -

I think if I had a 3rd I would nt bother with top ups etc and just feed but who knows -

Anyway rambled again....

[MediumOrchid]

If you're able to feed right away do. Basically you can't feed too often in the first few days. Don't worry
about sleep the first night, just feed as often as you can. Regard any sleep as a bonus! And make sure the latch is right from the first feed - get a midwife to check a feed, and make sure when the feed is finished that your nipple is nice and round - flattened means the latch isn't quite right. You may know this of course! Good luck and hope it goes well.

[leedy]

What everyone else said - when DS2 was born in November, I just latched him on as soon as possible after he was born and then pretty much whenever he seemed to want it. Be aware that on either the first or second night (it was second for me) baby may want to be on you/latched on ALL THE TIME, this is totally normal and helps your milk to come in.

No need for any supplementary feeding or pumping, milk came in on Day 3: apparently it can come in sooner on second pregnancies, according to the midwife.

[LeBFG]

Well, I obviously hope for your experience leedy! I expect this is what will probably happen. I was just wondering what to do if this doesn't happen. In particular, when the hospital might suggest giving fluids and whether I should accept. It's interesting to know they should be checking blood sugar levels dorapeppageorgenoddy - I shall look out for it if it becomes an issue. Thanks for the book recommendation Welovecouscous I'll check it out. And I didn't know about the flattened nipple either, so tis noted.

[SleighbellsRingInYourLife]

How soon after birth for suckling - ASAP

There's no reason to wait (unless there's a problem with you or the baby that means you can't)

I had DD3 for skin to skin while they stitched me up post-CS, and latched her on as soon as I got to recovery.

After a straightforward natural birth you could be doing it moments after birth.

IME the baby will be tired the first night (only had CSs though) so often sleeps more than feeds. Then the second day and night they just Ho for it - feed and feed and feed to bring your milk in.

I don't know why you think they will be worried about supplementing with anything else. All things being equal, they don't do that IME.

The thing that I found really tricky second time, and you might even more so given your previous experience, was how giant a nipple is compared to a newborn baby's mouth.

Your most recent experience of feeding a toddler will bear no resemblance to trying to get a newborn latched properly. I felt a bit daft asking for help from the MWs, but I needed it at first.

Oh yeah - your milk coming in can be a total game changer in terms of feeding. A baby that has been doing fine on colostrum can start to struggle to latch onto rock hard engorged breasts that spray milk everywhere.

But you might find (fingers crossed) that the milk coming in is less dramatic than first time. My boobs were pros second time around. They seemed to just know what to do :o

Oh and - don't express unless you have to. The most efficient way to stimulate your breasts to produce milk is to put your baby to the breast. No expressing machine can match that.

Best of luck :)

[CitizenOscar]

I had a post partum haemorrhage so was separated from my DS for 2-3 hours after birth, during which time he tried to suckle from my DH - soaking his tshirt!

By the time I got back, he wasn't interested in feeding anymore. Midwives gave me plenty of time but after 12 hours or so they started urging me to try a bit more determinedly to get him feeding, as if they told the doctors they'd start talking about supplementing (although MWs were happy to wait up to 24hrs I think).

We got going ok after that, but had to express & syringe feed for a couple of days as feeding from one breast was tricky (both had cannulas in our hands so difficult to get comfortable position).

He did get a bit perturbed by my enormous boobs once my milk came in but after that it was pretty plain sailing til we stopped a year later.

Good luck!