Nursing a 3 day old newborn, should he nurse whenever he wants?

Question

Our baby is 3 days old and my wife is nursing colostrum, not milk yet. She nurses for about 20 minutes and then he falls asleep and wakes up 15 minutes later wanting to nurse again. I can tell because he cries until I offer my pinky finger and he sucks so I hand him to my wife but she says she already gave him enough and shouldn't give him more but I see that he wants more and insist. I don't want to argue with my wife. What do we do?

Answer 1

YES! Babies that young KNOW how much they need. Colostrum is not very filling, and is very easily digested. A newborn is going to nurse almost constantly, and your wife needs that nipple stimulation to help bring her regular milk in.

Newborns should always be fed on demand, not on a schedule. Not feeding the baby when he is hungry can cause slow weight can and failure to thrive.

Answer 2

An infant especially that young should be fed as often as HE wants not the mother. especially if he is falling alseep. my son did it all the time but Iloved to nurse and it never bothered me. Nursing is better for babies but it is harder which means they dot get as much for as much energy as they use. When my son was learning to eat by mouth the nurses wouldnt let him try for more then 20 minutes if he ate it all great if not the rest went in by tube feeding because he needed the calories. And when he was learning to go to breast he was weighed before and after to make sure he got enough and if it wasnt I had to give him a bottle even when he was asleep I had to wake him up. But once we got home he just ate when he wanted no matter where we were or what we were doing. and it paid off. If your wife is having troubles see if she will pump 1 side while she nurses the other. Then youcan bottle feed him the breastmilk when he cries in a few minutes and then the next time he can nurse the other side and so forth that way you can be a part of the feedings to. her milk will come in good and Mom isnt doing it all and getting warn out. Then later she can pump and you can feed and give her a break completely. Make sure you get the baby for her at night so she can sleep a bit longer while you change him and bring him to her. If he doesnt sleep with you. Congradulations on your son :)

Answer 3

Things will get better when your wife's milk comes in...your baby will become more full after each feeding. Until then, he will likely want to nurse around the clock. Just bare with it, things will get better shortly. Think of it this way, your baby is hungry and expects a steak dinner...what the colostrum is like is a turkey sandwich. It meets their nutritional requirements, but certainly isn't satisfying.

I'm also thinking that because he is falling asleep nursing he isn't actually full when he falls asleep, thus when he wakes up he wants to resume feeding. It may also be that he is falling asleep sleeping and then when he goes through his sleep cycle and gets to a lighter stage of sleep he realizes mom isn't there anymore and is looking for the comfort that nursing offers.

Your wife could try to make sure he is awake during the feed and not just "pacifying"at the breast...is he swallowing? This may help to ensure he is really eating and not just snoozing.

Good luck and congrats on the new babe.

Answer 4

Some babies have a very strong sucking reflex when they are born, and thus want to nurse ALL the time where others are more content just to sleep. Nursing a newborn is extremely tiring work so while it's ideal to nurse your baby on demand there is only so far you can take that before you are simply too exhausted to do it. Nursing very frequently in the first days (i.e. before milk comes in around Day 4 or 5) helps to establish a very good supply so it's important to nurse often enough, say every 2 to 3hrs from the start of one nursing to the start of the next. Nursing for 20 minutes with only a 15 minute break inbetween (as stated in your question) is NOT enough for a woman who just gave birth, she's too tired!! Do suggest she nurses each side one after the after if your baby stays up long enough for it, as that promotes a healthy supply from the very beginning.

When your wife thinks she's not due for another nursing, try going for a walk with your newborn to give her a breather. I would have LOVED my husband to have done that with our girl. Often a change of scenery is just as effective as mommy's breast at calming a little one down.
Congrats on your baby.

Answer 5

Sometimes babies just need the comfort that comes from sucking. So nursing your son often not only gives him food but much needed comfort. I don't find anything wrong in nursing a baby as often as he wants for the first several months. It also helps for lactation - the more you feed, the more milk you have. On the other side you have to understand that your wife is exhausted from giving birth and only the prospect of having to nurse around the clock might throw her into despair. Especially if this is your first baby and she is not experienced. She might not be able to relax so milk comes out easily, she might be in pain and her breasts might be getting sore. All this makes breast feeding not such a pleasant experience in the beginning. After engorgement and sore breasts are gone, then breast feeding becomes a pleasure and gives you a much needed rest - then it becomes a pleasure and your wife will probably not mind to nurse him often. Until then you have to be patient and not make her feel guilty if she doesn't want to nurse him every 20 minutes. 8 to 10 times in 24 hours should be enough until she gets used to it.

Answer 6

The first week you can tell your wife that she will be a cow. Soon enough your baby and your wife will get breastfeeding down to a near science and your baby will nurse for a good amount of time and then sleep and/or be peaceful for a few hours where you can almost clock the every 2-3 hour feeding and your wife's breast will ache if your baby takes a little bit longer nap. Everything gets a lot easier with time. Before long, your wife will be able to breastfeed in a crowded room with no one knowing and everyone thinking the baby is just asleep. Good luck!

Answer 7

It would be best for the baby to let him nurse on demand. This will stimulate milk production and also comfort the baby. I know the early months can be frustrating when baby seems to want to nurse ALL the time! Hang in there, as long as he is latching properly, the time between feedings should increase after a while. You might also check with your local La Leche League for more info or help. =)

Answer 8

your wife should not let the baby go for more then 3 hours at a time between nursing. it is supply and demand, the baby is obviously not getting enough for the feedings. she should wake the baby while swiching breasts, changing the diaper etc to keep him awake longer to nurse more. When her milk comes in, the baby will not nurse so often. your wife needs to get a good breast cream (like lansinoh available at walmart, the tube is about $10.00, but it lasts forever) to keep from getting sore. good luck, encourage her to stick with it, the first 10 days are the hardest.

Answer 9

Like the other person said the first 2-4 weeks are the hardest on mom and dad. Let him eat on demand. As tiring as that is going to be for her the baby knows what he needs and when he needs it. If she doesn't want to nurse that often I suggest getting a good breast pump. That way she can pump and give him that so he's not hanging onto her every 20 minutes. Best of luck!

Answer 10

pacifiers are kinda hard to break. i never had one because my mom thought that people only used it to shut their baby up rather then see why he/she was crying. iv never had a baby so i don't know but congrats on your baby and good luck. i hope you get some good answers for this because im sure it's very stressful for both you and your wife. if the answers here don't help ask a doctor. i know when my brother was born my mom tried to breast feed him and had a hard time with it so she started just giving him formula. i read somewhere on here last night that if you breast feed and your baby wants more a few minutes after you feed him then the breast are making fatty milk or something like that and he has a higher chance of getting the fatty milk. aw what's the baby's name?