https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 10 Oct 2026 02:08:07 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/breastfeeding-n00b-i-have-questions#post-1643947 Mon, 19 May 2014 08:31:50 +0000 Mae 1643947@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks for all the advice! </p> <p>Regarding keeping her awake.. We try everything! We always strip her down and change diaper. Then if that doesn't wake her up turn on all the lights. Then when nursing my dh sits next to me and tickles her cheek/chin/back/hands/feet. Sometimes he will bicycle her feet or use a cold wash cloth on her. But sometimes none of that works! For 2 feelings last night I had to give up and pump and feed her that bc it was just impossible to keep her awake enough to nurse. </p> <p>Looking forward to ped today! I hope/expect the jaundice might be gone and we can get his blessing to do maybe 4 hrs at night. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/breastfeeding-n00b-i-have-questions#post-1643766 Mon, 19 May 2014 06:31:42 +0000 Adira 1643766@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: </p> <p>1) Jaundiced babies tend to be sleepier than normal, so the fact that she's so sleepy is normal and definitely makes curing jaundice harder. We had the SAME issue with Xander and were instructed to feed him every 2 hours. It was soooooooo hard because we had to wake him up and get him to latch and then he'd just fall asleep on the boob and I wasn't sure he was eating effectively or not! What I did was just try to keep him awake for at least 10 minutes per side while he was eating, and that was a HUGE struggle. We'd often have to strip him down to just his diaper and I'd tickle him while he was eating to keep him awake. And yes, in general, nurse as long as they want, but if you know that she's fallen asleep while nursing and she's just comfort sucking, it's okay to pop her off and switch sides or something!</p> <p>2) Yes - if you just finished nursing and she wakes up 20 minutes later rooting, feed again!!! You're basically going to be nursing around the clock for the next couple weeks! It's soooooo hard, but it DOES get better and easier!!</p> <p>3) For the first two weeks when we were dealing with jaundice, we ALWAYS woke to feed. I was given instructions to feed every 2 hours, but at night, I'd go as long as 3. Jaundice makes babies sleepy, so we often had to wake up Xander. We usually did it by changing his diaper! And then I'd pop him on the boob and try to keep him awake as best as possible. Definitely the middle of the night feeds were the hardest because he was sooooo sleepy!</p> <p>If you're dealing with jaundice - you HAVE to feed her. Don't just let her sleep. Jaundice MAKES her sleepy, so you'll have to wake her up to get her to eat. We had to do this for two weeks until Xander was back up to his birth weight and given the clear from jaundice before we were able to go to feeding on demand. Good luck to you! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/breastfeeding-n00b-i-have-questions#post-1643734 Mon, 19 May 2014 05:53:25 +0000 Pumuckl 1643734@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: Okay here's my 2cents:</p> <p>1.) I felt as though I had the sleepiest nurser on the block. He'd ALWAYS fall asleep. A trick the LC and midwifes taught is in the hospital helped though: Nurse them in diapers only. This way they aren't as warm and are less likely to fall asleep. So for the first 2 weeks of LOs life, our routine was getting him undressed and in a new diaper before each feed and then either in another diaper or back in cloths when we were done. Worked rather well for us.</p> <p>2.) Yup, feed her when she's hungry. I tried to go 2h from start of the last feed to start of the next feed (but sometimes those feeds would last 40-50min - so not much downtime).</p> <p>3.) My midwife was okay to let him sleep at night once he was back to his birthweight. He would wake up about every 4-5h on his own because he was hungry. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/breastfeeding-n00b-i-have-questions#post-1643656 Mon, 19 May 2014 00:38:15 +0000 ScarletBegonia 1643656@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I found that the only thing that helped my nipples was colostrum - once my milk came in I continued to hand express a little milk and leave it to dry there, but the colostrum was what really soothed them. If I remember with future babies, I will express and save some colostrum for nipple purposes! That shit is gold! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/breastfeeding-n00b-i-have-questions#post-1643629 Sun, 18 May 2014 23:50:18 +0000 fussygal 1643629@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>1) I had a super sleepy lady, too. Until about three weeks she was always asleep at the boob. I tried everything to wake her, but what worked best was to lay her flat on her back. I'd have to do it every time I switched sides. It did feel like she nursed forever, but she slowly got more efficient.</p> <p>2) yep, just feed, feed, feed! For us nursing on demand = feeding all. The. Time. </p> <p>3) I'd check with your ped about what they recommend. Since she's jaundiced they might want her to wake often at night, even though she's back up to weight, to flush it out. That's what our ped recommended (Our DD was jaundiced, too). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/breastfeeding-n00b-i-have-questions#post-1643591 Sun, 18 May 2014 22:18:38 +0000 Emsmems 1643591@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>PP gave you lots of great advice, I just wanted to add one thing. A high bili can cause a baby to be sleepy, so you definitely should wake to feed until you get the ok from your Ped to stop.</p> <p>Good luck! I know it seems like nursing is all you're doing but you will be thankful later when your supply is nice and strong! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/breastfeeding-n00b-i-have-questions#post-1643566 Sun, 18 May 2014 21:57:40 +0000 mrskc 1643566@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>1) My son was super sleepy nurser at first too. I used to do diaper changes in between each side to wake him up a little and tickling his jaw or ear (?? I can't remember exactly now) helped. Is she actively suckling for 20 min up to 40 min? When she's done sucking, try switching to the other side. </p> <p>2) Yes, if she's rooting, offer her the boob. It's so exhausting and it feels like you're constantly nursing but she is signaling your body to make milk. </p> <p>3) We were doing every 2 hours for the first 2 weeks and I believe up to 4 at night and then just fed on demand after that which was still like every 1-2 hours anyways. And the 2 hours in between feedings starts at the beginning of the feeding. So you would feed 2 hours from the time you first started the previous feeding. </p> <p>My son had slightly elevated biliruben levels. I nursed him like crazy every 2 hours and by the next day at his check up he was fine. Still slightly elevated, but since my milk had came in, his ped wasn't worried at all. How are her stools? She should be having at least 3-4 at least the size of a US quarter per day. Are they yellow &amp; seedy?? That's how I knew my milk had came in was when his stools changed. </p> <p>I hope you can get it all sorted out with your ped tomorrow! Your routine of nursing, pumping and formula sounds exhausting! Hang in there! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/breastfeeding-n00b-i-have-questions#post-1643552 Sun, 18 May 2014 21:48:49 +0000 LovelyPlum 1643552@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>One other thing: I pretty much stopped wearing a shirt and just sore a nursing bra and a long sleeve comfy cover up that I had (like a button up sweater with no buttons). Easier boob access! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/breastfeeding-n00b-i-have-questions#post-1643548 Sun, 18 May 2014 21:44:29 +0000 gilmoregirl 1643548@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My nipples were a mess and I thought for sure they'd fall off instead of heal, but heal they did. It took a while though. Like two Weis at least? Gel pads helped, earth mama angel baby nipple butter like mentioned before, and I was told to use bacitracin but that was bc I got a few infections. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/breastfeeding-n00b-i-have-questions#post-1643543 Sun, 18 May 2014 21:33:59 +0000 mamimami 1643543@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Whenever she wants to nurse, nurse. My babies were like that, too. It could be maddening, But hey, it helped me have a great supply, we bonded great and they were happy and healthy. Dig in and watch some series :). And keep waking her to nurse until you're 100% sure your supply is fine. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/breastfeeding-n00b-i-have-questions#post-1643529 Sun, 18 May 2014 21:23:35 +0000 Canoli 1643529@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: just went through this with my LO. I use coconut oil and earth mama angel baby nipple butter and they healed pretty quickly. Fun stuff right? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/breastfeeding-n00b-i-have-questions#post-1643527 Sun, 18 May 2014 21:23:08 +0000 swedishfish 1643527@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: Earth Mama Angel Baby nipple butter. Lanolin didn't help the nipples cracking but the EMAB nipple butter was a godsend. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/breastfeeding-n00b-i-have-questions#post-1643525 Sun, 18 May 2014 21:21:23 +0000 Mae 1643525@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Any tips for boob healing while constantly nursing? Her latch is ok now but for the first 3 days it was really shallow and my nipples are all torn up :( I feel like they can't heal bc they are always in use. I have lanolin and medela gel pads. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/breastfeeding-n00b-i-have-questions#post-1643514 Sun, 18 May 2014 21:16:29 +0000 jedeve 1643514@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Get cozy and just nurse. It sounds impossible but it doesn't last forever. I remember 1.5 hr cluster feeds in the evening. Fun times! After a few weeks I called an LC who told me yes, it was onay to cut him off after 20m/side. So we would put on a 40 min tv show and watch it everytime he needed to eat.</p> <p>I had no idea I would spend that much of my day nursing. The first time he nursed in the hospital he nursed for about three minutes and I naively thought that was it, every four hours! Surely not every other hour for an hour! But the days of constant nursing don't last forever. Set up a station with water, tv, snacks, and a nursing pillow and get cozy. Good luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/breastfeeding-n00b-i-have-questions#post-1643192 Sun, 18 May 2014 18:42:17 +0000 Foodnerd81 1643192@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>One of the best pieces of advice I got was "even when you think she can't possibly be hungry again, try feeding her anyway." </p> <p>I pretty much let c nurse as long as she wanted, which was loooonnngg. She was a huge comfort nursing boob monster- even at almost ten months when she is sleepy she can't still take 30 minutes. That early it was constant. Once she was back to birth weight (a few days) I did not wake her to eat but she never went more than four hours from start to start anyway. </p> <p>I never supplemented but it sounds like you could stop now. You want to make sure your body is getting the right cues. </p> <p>The constant feeding won't last forever, but it might last a few weeks. I recommend starting a new series on Netflix or on demand! Get comfy and always have a full cup of water in arms reach. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/breastfeeding-n00b-i-have-questions#post-1643165 Sun, 18 May 2014 18:25:48 +0000 danda 1643165@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This sounds a lot like what we went through. We were admitted to the pediatrics unit of the hospital for the bili lights for 24 hours on Day 4. Possibly our case was more severe since we needed the lights. My daughter was born 2 weeks early which made her very sleepy and she had a jaw asymmetry which made nursing more challenging. When she was born her first few nursing sessions would last less than a minute before she fell asleep.</p> <p>Here's what we did based on advice from the pediatrics unit:<br /> -nurse for 10 good min per side (baby actually sucking, not asleep) and constantly waking baby to keep her going<br /> -feed baby pumped milk after nursing<br /> -begin the nursing sessions (wake baby) at least every 2 hours during the day and 3 hours at night<br /> -to ensure long term milk supply, pump milk 15 min after every nursing session to give after the following session </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/breastfeeding-n00b-i-have-questions#post-1643162 Sun, 18 May 2014 18:24:23 +0000 Mrs. Champagne 1643162@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I did 15 mins per side. I would keep awake with cold wash cloth rubbed on his back if he fell asleep or pass him to DH because he had cold hands. Usually had him naked and changed his diaper in between boobs to wake him up</p> <p>Woke him every 3 hours at night until he reached birth weight. </p> <p>Also (I didn't know this!) the two hour timer starts at the START of each feed. So if you start feeding at noon and it takes an hour you should start again at 2. You might already know that but it surprised me! </p> <p>And I think you will really know when your milk is in. I woke up with huge rock hard boobs the morning it came in. So if that's happened to you it's probably in! </p> <p>Good luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/breastfeeding-n00b-i-have-questions#post-1643138 Sun, 18 May 2014 18:08:52 +0000 artsyfartsy 1643138@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would just nurse her as much as possible. Get comfy, turn on some Netflix, and have hubby bring you delicious food. That sounds sucky to have a baby latched on all the time, and it is, but it's good for her and your milk supply when it comes in! It doesn't last forever either. ;)</p> <p>ETA: we didn't wake to feed. They told me to in the hospital but T wasn't having it. So I stopped. Babies know when to eat and when to sleep is what I believe. If your baby is truly hungry then she's going to wake up! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/breastfeeding-n00b-i-have-questions#post-1643132 Sun, 18 May 2014 18:03:34 +0000 Greentea 1643132@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: yes yes yes. LO was a little jaundice so the ped said do more frequent feedings. They took an hour and she ate again after 30 minutes (so she ate every "hour and a half.") We set the clock for every two hours at night. I basically nursed her forever. If she needs to eat and was too sleepy we changed her diaper and got her naked first. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/breastfeeding-n00b-i-have-questions#post-1643054 Sun, 18 May 2014 16:40:15 +0000 bookwormmama 1643054@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>1. Yes nurse her for as long as she wants. Since you are having supply issues and it is early on I would nurse her for 15-20 minutes on one side and then move her to the other and let her go as long as she wants. It probably won't be more than 20 minutes if you do 20 on the first side. Then start on the side she nursed less on at the next feeding.</p> <p>2. Yup I nursed DS anytime he acted hungry or fussy. There were definitely nights when he was on my boob all evening...it sucks, but it's important for your supply...cluster feeding is a natural thing babies do. My pediatrician said they are kinda programmed to do it, even though DS was at birth weight at 5 days old and I didn't have any supply issues. It's just part of their programming I guess!</p> <p>3. I woke to feed DS every 2-3 hours the entire first week (we were in the hospital for 72 hours) but he was back to birth weight at 5 days so my mom (a lactation consultant) told me I didn't need to wake him to feed him. He woke up less than every 2 hours to eat at night anyways. If she is not at birth weight and you are having supply issues I would try to wake her every 2-3 hours. Changing DS's diaper first always helped wake him enough to eat...if you aren't doing that maybe try?</p> <p>It sounds like things are getting better and better for you guys though! It's hard in the beginning (even with few issues), good job! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/breastfeeding-n00b-i-have-questions#post-1643047 Sun, 18 May 2014 16:36:27 +0000 Applesandbananas 1643047@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My LO seemed like he was constantly attached and he had transfer issues due to a tongue tie. Have you had your LO checked for ties? He also was a very sleepy eater, they said it was because he had to work so hard to transfer it just exhausted him.</p> <p>Honestly though, it sounds like normal newborn nursing. My LO cluster fed like a beast even well beyond the tongue tie being corrected. </p> <p>Good luck :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/breastfeeding-n00b-i-have-questions#post-1643034 Sun, 18 May 2014 16:26:52 +0000 lawbee11 1643034@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: </p> <p>(1) I'm not sure about this one. My LO never nursed for very long at each session. Since your LO is so young I'd probably just let her nurse as long as she wants. </p> <p>(2) I nursed my LO anytime she rooted in the beginning. I know it feels like you're constantly nursing but it won't always be that way. </p> <p>(3) I woke to feed. I fed her at least every 3 hours. I know some say never wake a sleeping baby but I did not want to risk hurting my supply that early on. We're at almost 10 months EBF and I've never had to take any supplements to increase my supply. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/breastfeeding-n00b-i-have-questions#post-1643033 Sun, 18 May 2014 16:25:32 +0000 matador84 1643033@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I went through the same thing with ds. Truthfully, I just kept my kids on the boob pretty much all the time. Unless they needed a diaper change or burping, they were attached to one of my boobs. With dd, I never paid attention to which side/how long like I did wth DS because looking back I was so hyper neurotic...I think because the hospital gave me too much info about when/how much/how long, so I obsessed way too much. With dd I just went with it basically off how full I felt on each side. </p> <p>The best advice I can give is to just go with it. I didn't nurse DS enough until I figured out oh the reason he is crying all the time is because he's hungry. I spent all this time trying to figure out why he was crying thinking there was no way he could be hungry. I didn't nurse him remotely as much as I did dd. Literally, I just laid in bed for a few days and nursed her as much as possible. DH brought me everything I needed. I know you're recovering from a c so spend all your time in bed nursing the little one.</p> <p>Eta-nurse the baby in only a diaper...the skin to skin will help wake </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/breastfeeding-n00b-i-have-questions#post-1643032 Sun, 18 May 2014 16:24:28 +0000 swedishfish 1643032@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Hmmm...I always nursed LO for 10-15 minutes per side. We were instructed to wake her at night until she passed her birth weight (which was also 8lb4oz). My LO lost a lot of weight in the hospital because she was so sleepy and sick due to meconium in the amniotic fluid so she wouldn't nurse much. It took her a few days to become more alert. Once she passed her birth weight we took her cues. We let her sleep at night until she woke up to eat. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/breastfeeding-n00b-i-have-questions#post-1643027 Sun, 18 May 2014 16:19:04 +0000 Mae 1643027@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So we just brought our 5 day old home from the hospital on Friday and feeding her is definitely our most stressful thing right now. I know there is no one-size-fits-all answer for most of these questions but was just hoping people could sort of tell me whats normal/not-normal or give suggestions? </p> <p>In a nutshell-- LO has(had?) jaundice at the hospital and we were instructed to start supplementing with formula to make sure she was producing enough diapers to work the biliruben (sp?) out of her system. She has not had light therapy but the feeding is definitely working bc her levels were dropping at the hospital and she's getting less yellow. Appt at the pediatrician tomorrow afternoon to check in again (and probably ask all these questions again). So our leaving the hospital instructions were to breastfeed every 2-3 hours. If she doesn't feed for at least 15 min then pump and feed that, then supplement with 30ml formula. So we do the feeding routine (which takes about an hour) and then when she's done set a timer to do it all again in 2 hrs. Sometimes though she is clearly hungry/rooting sooner than that then we just do a feed then. </p> <p>Issues:<br /> 1) She is SUCH a sleepy nurser. She always falls asleep on the boob and I have to constantly wake her up. They say to let her feed as long as she wants on each side... but how do I know how long she wants to? Occasionally she'll pop off and refuse. But usually it seems like she would keep going in the cycle of my waking her up and nursing forever. Like as long as 40 min on each side and still going... do I just nurse her like... forever? </p> <p>2) If I just finished nursing her for say... an hour. and she was asleep at the end of the session and seemed happy. and she wakes up crying/rooting 20 min later... nurse again? Again... do I just keep my boob in my mouth basically always? lol</p> <p>3) do you wake to feed? if you did, for how long? So far (knock on wood, dear god knock on wood!) she has slept pretty well at night. Our issue is that she does NOT want to wake up to nurse at all. So I end up having to pump because I can't even get her to latch on she's so sleepy and uninterested in nursing. Seems like if she's happy sleeping... let her sleep. (She was almost back up to birth weight prior to leaving the hospital and was born at 8lb 4oz so she is a decent sized baby). </p> <p>I'm hoping a lot of this gets sorted out at the ped tomorrow because I guess I feel like the schedule is just sort of killing us because she never seems hungry when "they" say she should be (i.e. more during the day, less at night) and I'd really just rather stick my boob in her mouth whenever she cries (or roots/sucks her hand/seems hungry) and see how that works out for her. But I don't know if she's too young for that? Thoughts/opinions/advice welcome :)</p> <p>ETA: the ped at the hospital said I could discontinue formula when my milk came in and I *think* it came in because I went from pumping 7ml to 30ml on average and also my boobs feel bigger and LO has a milky mouth when she is done eating. But I"m not sure it is in ENOUGH to stop-- so I'll check on that with the ped tomorrow. Also she is making diapers like a champ (12 yesterday). </p>