S/O PSA about newborn feeding

amother

↑ Vanilla ↓

Sun, Sep 22 2024, 6:06 pm

amother OP wrote:

You're generally right, but in the first few days who knows how weight gain is going?

Our pediatrician and our hospital makes new babies have an appt within 24 hours of leaving the hospital.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Sun, Sep 22 2024, 6:10 pm

amother Vanilla wrote:

That doesn't really make any sense. How can a baby be dehydrated if they are having enough wet and dirty diapers?
Also if you were waking your baby to feed, but there were supply issues I don't think it would have made much of a difference.
I am sorry you went through that. It sounds terrifying.

I don't know, maybe it has to do with electrolyte imbalance? I know adults can get dehydrated even if they drink a lot of water because they pee out the water and whatever electrolytes they had... I honestly don't know, but it was what it was.

True that in my case I may have still had a problem, but what if the more frequent nursing would have positively affected my supply? Or what if that little bit made all the difference? Or what if I would have noticed there was a problem sooner?

My goal here is that FTMs are aware of this type of scenario before deciding not to wake their newborns every 2-3hrs. It is the info I was never given to make an informed decision based on all factors, rather than just following advice blindly.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Sun, Sep 22 2024, 6:13 pm

amother Vanilla wrote:

Our pediatrician and our hospital makes new babies have an appt within 24 hours of leaving the hospital.

BH that's smart

Now I am thinking of all these details I never thought of... This happened to my baby within 24hrs of leaving the hospital... So maybe the hospital should have caught this before releasing us?? Would they have been able to tell??

amother

↑ Vanilla

Sun, Sep 22 2024, 6:13 pm

amother OP wrote:

both

Thats definitely long for during the day. Always wake every 2-3 hours during the day, but at night 4 hours shouldn't be a problem for most babies.

cupcake123

Sun, Sep 22 2024, 6:17 pm

OP I'm so so sorry you had to go through that it honestly sounds terrifying.
However for all new moms please don't wake your baby at night unless a Dr specifically tells you. If a baby is eating every 2 hours during the day and having wet diapers he can sleep.
I remember one of my baby's slept 6 hours straight as a 2 week old I freaked out and the dr said its ok and I shouldnt wake him.
(never happened again or to any future children 🙃)

amother

Waterlily

Sun, Sep 22 2024, 6:17 pm

amother OP wrote:

both

4 hrs between each feeding is only 6 feedings a day, 2.5-3 hrs between each feeding is about 9 feedings per day. So that’s a pretty big difference, especially if milk supply is also an issue.
Feeding every 2.5-3 hrs during the day and having a bigger stretch at night, where baby misses 1 feeding, they’d still be getting 8 feedings a day, not 6.

amother

Sienna ↓

Sun, Sep 22 2024, 6:20 pm

amother OP wrote:

Was it dehydration or bilirubin? Those are 2 completely different things.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Sun, Sep 22 2024, 6:27 pm

amother Waterlily wrote:

That's a really good point!! Also thank you Vanilla and cupcake123 for differentiating. I guess in that newborn stage night and day were the same to me, and to the baby there were no different sleeping patterns yet. But I guess if it's only half of the day with wider spaced feedings it would be less likely to cause such an issue.

amother

↑ Butterscotch ↓

Sun, Sep 22 2024, 6:27 pm

Sounds like it was a severe case of jaundice? My baby also went back to the hospital on day 3 for severe jaundice. It has nothing to do with dehydration and nursing though. They did rant about my milk but that’s what they like to say when the bilirubin is high. So I pumped in order to keep giving breast milk. Sounds like they did the same ranting to you. But it has nothing to do with your milk or wake ups. If you needed rhogam that’s the most likely reason it happened.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Sun, Sep 22 2024, 6:29 pm

amother Sienna wrote:

Was it dehydration or bilirubin? Those are 2 completely different things.

It was both; the bili was ok at discharge, but the dehydration made it shoot up. Doctors said it was because the baby's urine and bowel movements eliminate bilirubin from the body, but since the baby wasn't getting enough fluids the bili was not being flushed out enough.

amother

↑ Ruby

Sun, Sep 22 2024, 6:29 pm

amother OP wrote:

4 hours usually

That’s way too long to go during the day. Newborns need to eat every 2-3 hours and sometimes they will eat more frequently than that. 4 hours is just too long.

amother

↑ Sienna ↓

Sun, Sep 22 2024, 6:30 pm

amother Butterscotch wrote:

I've had three babies that had bilirubin issues.
One had to stay in the hospital for an extra 36 hours, one had to go back to the hospital when she was 5 days old and one was able to be treated at home but needed a bilirubin blanket.

The doctor said it had to do with the fact that my blood type and my husband's blood type although they were both positive, are different.
My kids with my husband's blood type were all yellow.

For the record, as soon as I realize that it might be an issue, with some of them I tried formula and some of them I just breastfed and they all needed the same treatment.

amother

↑ Sienna ↓

Sun, Sep 22 2024, 6:33 pm

amother OP wrote:

This is what they always say but from my experience with my kids and quite a few of them needing to be treated for jaundice, this isn't really true.
See upthread.

amother

↑ Butterscotch ↓

Sun, Sep 22 2024, 6:33 pm

amother Sienna wrote:

It is almost always about blood types being different. And they never tell you that you are a risk and to look out for it. And they often blame mothers for it when it’s really not their fault nor is there anything they can do.

amother

↑ Sienna ↓

Sun, Sep 22 2024, 6:39 pm

amother Butterscotch wrote:

Exactly. By one of my kids, they were 3 days old and the dumb PA tells me that I should just completely stop nursing and only give formula because obviously the baby is not drinking enough.
My baby had wet diapers, ate nicely, was not losing weight. And they wanted me to just stop nursing all together! For 48 hours!

Had it been my first kid I probably would have been scared into it but since it was 15 years later, and my third bili baby, I already knew that that kind of thing doesn't work for kids that are just going to need phototherapy.

Instead I got a bili blanket & we treated at home for a few days.

amother

↑ OP

Sun, Sep 22 2024, 6:45 pm

She was definitely dehydrated, her tongue was dry and everything, and nonstop crying. That being said, she was Coombs positive. They kept her and did a bili blanket, but the improvement after they gave her a bottle of formula was immediate.

For you experienced bili baby mothers, what would you advise to a mom who was released with a baby whose bilirubin was being watched? How would you advise to take care of them to avoid these issues?

amother

Freesia

Sun, Sep 22 2024, 7:06 pm

Op you are a great mom! Bh your baby is on the mend, refuah shleima!
When my baby was 3 weeks old she was sleeping a lot/not waking to feed often on her own. I was trying to wake her up during the day and she just wanted to sleep - then I noticed she was hot. Later on that night my pediatrician sent us to the emergency room.

She had a virus which caused the high fever, etc., and bh recovered. We were admitted to the hospital for 2 days I think, and she went through lots of tests (that’s how they told me got a cold/virus)

It’s not something to scare you at all, apparently it’s more common than we know but I had never heard about or experienced this bh.

Until 6 weeks, any fever in a baby is really important to call your pediatrician about and can often end up at the hospital to ensure baby is ok.

This was not my first and it’s important for all to know that, it had not happened with my others bh.

amother

↑ Butterscotch ↓

Sun, Sep 22 2024, 7:08 pm

amother Sienna wrote:

Always pushing formula for it. When it has no effect at all. I also stuck to my guns and was really upset at the ignorance.

amother

↑ Butterscotch

Sun, Sep 22 2024, 7:09 pm

amother OP wrote:

Lots of sun light, I think I’m going to get the light from a gemach right away next time and not let it get so high.