my sons doctor wants me to feed him every 2hrs but i cant get him to wake up for him to eat. what can i do??

Question

my Son is 10 days old and was born premature. since his birth his weight has been declining but we were told that it was normal for a newborn to lose 10% of their birth weight but at his appointment today we were told he cant lose anymore weight. i feed him as often as i can and try to wake him up every 3 hours but all he wants to do is sleep and im afraid he might lose more weight. what can i do???

Answer 1

Are you breast feeding ? I stripped my son down into his diaper, fed him one breast, then changed his diaper and redressed him to continue feeding on the other side. Gave him a chance to wake up for each side. Worked well for me, you could also use a cold cloth, blow on him, tickle his feet. If your bottle feeding, do the same half way through, ensure he burps and start again. Good Luck.

Answer 2

My daughter was born at 25 weeks, but by the time she came home from the hospital (over 3 months later); she was on feeds every 4 hours. Have you asked the doctor if feeding your son every 3 hours might be better? Sleeping is just as important for growing as feeding is. And maybe the extra hour or so will help him to stay awake better for the feeds and maybe even eat a little more.

You could also ask about milk fortifier and calorie boosters to add to the feeds. If you are breast feeding, ask about Human Milk Fortifier. That's what I used for my daughter.

I'm a little skeptical as to why the Pediatrician wants to push for feeds every 2 hours. If your son is 10 days old and home from the NICU already; he couldn't have been that premature that his weight is such a huge issue. My daughter came home at 3 months old weighing 4 pounds, 14 ounces, and they weren't pushing feeds on us like that. You should call the Neonatologist and ask him/her what she/he thinks. It just seems a bit odd to me. How much does your son weigh now?

You might benefit from joining the following on-line support group for parents with preemies:
www.preemieparents.org

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 3

I had a premature baby. 28 weeks. I think the first month I fed the my son every 2 hours but that was in the hospital. If he is small they want to get your son to the point where they are not worried. Not really. My son never lost weight till he got an infection. Make sure he eats everything.
Good luck. The feeding I think is the hardest thing of it all.

Answer 4

My son was born premature & under weight. The doctor put him on a special premee formula (by Enfamil) that had more calories to help the baby gain weight. For the first week the docs feed him every 2 hrs while he was in the hospital. I thought that was too much & only fed him when he cried cuz he was hungary or every few hours, he gained weight just fine, but I think it was the special formula that really helped. Talk to your doc & see if you can get him on that. If he is on that & he's not gaining, you really need to wake him up every two hours until he starts to gain - don't have the lights too dim & don't rock him - that'll help to put him to sleep instead of him focusing on eating.

Answer 5

My niece had the same problem and was worried sick. First of all, if you are nursing, you need to have your doctor make sure that you are not sick. It is good for the baby for you to nurse when you are sick but you might need an antibiotic especially if you had a c section. Second, he is sleeping and hard to wake because he doesn't have the energy to wake up and eat. The more you let him sleep the harder it will be for him. Every two hours, strip all his clothes off him, change his diaper, and if you have too, wipe him with a baby wipe. Wake him and make him mad, not so mad to scream and not eat but enough to stay awake. While feeding him, wipe him with a wipe or flick the bottom of his feet. At first it will be hard but as he gets some good feedings in, he will be hungry.

Answer 6

The stripping him down is very good advice. If, however, this doesn't work or he falls back to sleep while feeding you can try either tickling his feet or (yes it sounds bad, but I'm a nurse and sometimes you have to) lightly flick the soles of his feet with your finger or lightly pinch them. I know, sounds awful, but you don't do it hard enough to really hurt, just to be uncomfortable enough to wake him up. I feel for you, you must be exhausted. I am sure you will do fine and he will be fine. Keep up the good work. Oh, don't do the oil thing without express permission from the Doc. It could really give the baby an upset tummy or loose stools.

Answer 7

Hi sweetie,

I know just what you are going through. My little angel was a premmie and also has a severe form of reflux (OTR). At first she had to be fed two hourly and she just wounldn't wake up. Her weight was like a yo-yo and still is.

There were so many people offering advice and i found it all very stressful and to be honest I was also frightened. In the end I worked out that she wasn't staying awake because she was too comfy.

So every two hours I would very abruptly wake her, change her butt and wash her fash with a cold face washer. Then i would carry her (not very gently) out to the lounge and would feed her. If she fell asleep and was still feeding I would let her go BUT if she fell asleep and wasn't feeding i would rip that bottle out of her mouth and wash her down again on the face with that very cold face washer and i would repeat this until the bottle was gone.

I also made it a point never to let her get to comfortable when feeding. I know its seems very cruel and lets face it we dote on our little ones but sometimes these hard things have to be done.

My little angel is now 6 months old and is now on 4 hourly feeds. Most people can't imagine whats its like to have a baby who must still have regular feeds, her weight is still like a yo-yo and its still a battle at times to keep her awake.

Keep your head up and try not to stress. Remember there are others mums out here who know exactly what you are going through.

Answer 8

Our son was full term but slept an unusual amount in the first month and I had to keep waking him for feedings.
Some of the things we had to do were get a cold (make sure its cold or it won't work as well) washcloth and dab it on his face and neck.

We would gently squeeze his feet and legs and do bicycle movements with them to get the blood flowing and help him wake up.

We sometimes undressed him during a feeding to keep him awake. (Yes he chilly. that was how he stayed awake)

Try playing some upbeat music. I have a Disney movie CD with all of the upbeat lion king and little mermaid songs that I would turn on and sing and dance with him to for a few and that would get him awake.

Sometimes if we just unswaddled him and let him hang out he would wake up as well. Just anything that gets them un-cozy should work.
GOOD LUCK!!!

Answer 9

Try your best to wake him take his clothes of and rub him with a baby wipe or and honest to god Ive seen nurses in the hospital do this flick the bottom of his foot. If you just can't wake him wait a little bit and try again. Remember sleep is important for growth and development too so don't worry if you miss a few you're doing your best.

Answer 10

you have to be persistant at waking him up. Especially being premature, he needs to eat. With my children, it helped to move them around, talk loudy (dont yell) to them and try rubbing his back, most newborns dont like that to much. Just keep at it because he does need gain weight. they already said he cant lose anymore and thats scary. Better to have a tough time than your baby in the hospital w/ a feeding tube. Good luck =)