This seems so cliché, but I wonder if we brought a different baby home from the hospital. We are home from the hospital *this* afternoon, and he has been feeding vs comfort nursing from 7pm to 1 am. I've tried swaddling and putting him down into his co-sleeper completely asleep, but 15 minutes later he is rooting around and screaming. Is this normal or my new normal??
-
Totally normal. My newborn (now 6 weeks) was like that the first 2 weeks...it is exhausting but it will pass. Hang in there!!:-)
-
@autumnlove: Oh, thank goodness! Just hearing that is enormously reassuring. Seriously, the hospital gets the super sleepy easy time...
I love this community! -
Oh yes. My DS nursed constantly. Especially the second night, but it did last a few weeks. It establishes your milk supply. Have lots of snacks and water nearby!
-
Congratulations!!! Yes, this is the new normal for new mommies. Hang in there, it gets better!
-
Normal, normal, normal!
Just roll with it Mama, get comfy on the couch and let everybody pamper you while you look after baby!
-
Congrats!! Totally normal
it was every 30 minutes it seemed that way for the first week.
-
Normal. I couldn't get any rest with my newborn LO in the co-sleeper. She wanted to eat constantly. I found that if I slept on the couch and put her in the bassinet ten feet away I could get two hours of sleep at a time.
Congrats and sweet dreams!
-
Congrats! I would say normal too! But my baby was like that from the get go. We got NO rest in the hospital!
-
@MamaJ: @sylvie_b: @Kemma: @HLK208: @Corduroy: @shopaholic: Thank you, ladies! Knowing that it is not only expected but self-limited got me through that first night.
I'm not sure how in going to deal with all this pain, though. He is so tiny that I can't get any sort of deep latch on him, no matter how hard I try. Nursing him feels like he is actively sawing off my nipple with a plastic knife.
-
@Espion: My LO nursed essentially all night the first two nights home. She's done it some since then but I've also gotten a few four hour stretches of sleep! BF ing is way harder than I ever imagined.
-
@Espion: totally normal! Helps establish supply.
As for the pain, some soreness is normal...I would use lots and lots of nipple cream (I liked mother love because its easier to spread than lanolin) and express some milk to put on your nipples and let them air dry. It will get better!!!
Are your nipples looking the same when they come out of his mouth as when thy go in? Or are they looking like new tubes of lipstick?
-
@hilsy85: Lipstick. I know (or I've read) that this is due to a shallow latch, but he can only fit so much in there. Most of the time it just hurts like crazy. Other times it is toe-curling, excruciating. Even if I try to get a deep latch, he likes to reposition himself into a "chewing the nip off at the base" latch. I'm marching into the lactation clinic first thing Monday morning, because enduring possibly 6 weeks of this is unimagineable.
-
@Revel: Amen, sister. I'm partly glad the newborn stage is fleeting and it's partly lucky he's cute, lol!
-
@Espion: have you tried different holds? i found that i could get the deepest latch with the football hold, starting by baby laying down parallel to my leg and me leaning over her (i know i know, its bad form but at that time i was in survival mode) to get the deepest latch possible, then slowly sitting upright and holding the back of her neck so her latch stayed put.
-
@SleepyMonkey: I will definitely try that. Now, in fact.
-
There may be some goo you tube videos too. Seriously pinch your breast. To make it flat and shove it in.
-
@Espion: definitely a good idea!! Also have them and/or his pedi check for lip/tongue tie, specifically posterior tongue tie..that's a common reason for lipstick nipple/shallow latch.
-
As others have said, totally normal! Baby is helping your milk come in and helping establish your supply.
As for the latch, if you're having pain I always recommend seeing an LC. My DD is 6.5 weeks and I'm still healing from nipple trauma that occurred in the first two weeks. If it weren't for my LC I would have quit breastfeeding altogether. Even if the LC comes and says you're doing everything perfectly, I think that reassurance is so important for a new mom.
Congratulations! You're doing great!
-
Yep, C is on his 14th or maybe 20th - I've lost count! - feed of the last 24 hours. An LC could work wonders for you. I was ready to quit day 3 when my baby was hungry, screaming, couldn't latch, and I didn't have that wonderful magical hospital call button anymore, that I could just push and help would arrive
Keep going!If they check for tongue tie and decide to clip it - C was back to normal about 2 minutes after as soon as I nursed him so it wasn't a huge deal!
-
Agree 100% on the tongue tie... LO's was borderline but it was still impacting his ability to transfer. He had a decent latch but just couldn't get enough and zonked from exhaustion before getting full so he wanted to nurse every 30 minutes or so. I was having to top him off with a bottle of pumped milk to get him full. As soon as the tongue tie was fixed, he was able to get satisfied nursing, no pumping and bottles needed!
it was every 30 minutes it seemed that way for the first week.
Reply
Subscribe to our newsletter
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
20 comments