Author: Diary of a Quitter
Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 2:00 am
Hello & congrats on your new baby.
I’m pretty sure that feeding problems are common for a lot of babies, regardless of possible NAS.
My daughter was born long before I ever used opiates, and the first couple of weeks she had a bit of a hard time getting the hang of nursing. One jerk nurse even told me my baby didn’t "like" breastfeeding…I told her to get out of my room and not come back.
Anyway, if your baby is sleepy during feedings, one thing we found helpful was to undress our daughter. Lots of skin-to-skin contact with mama while nursing can really help the sleepy babies…and it’s just good for baby and mom too.
If your baby is distracted when trying to feed, then going somewhere private can help. Dim lights, quiet room if available or use a nursing cover or a blanket.
If he’s having trouble latching, check to see that his lower lip isn’t tucked in, that was a problem that quite a few of my friends had with their babies.
Also, if your wife is stressed about the feeding issues she might have problems with her milk letting down. If so, the baby might suck and then give up when not much happens. If that’s an issue she could try to get her milk to let down with a breast pump, and then get the baby to latch once her milk has let down. Pumping will also keep her milk supply up while you’re dealing with this, and the pumped milk can be fed to the baby via bottle if needed. Though you might want to hold off on that if you can because you want him to get the hang of nursing first if at all possible.
You want to be sure that your baby is getting enough milk so he doesn’t get dehydrated – is he wetting his diapers? If he is, then that’s a good sign. Tiny babies don’t need to nurse for that long to get full, their stomachs are so little. But they do need to nurse often, both to get enough nutrition and to get mom’s milk supply up to speed. So nurse as often as he wants to!
The La Leche League might have resources for you as well. Keep trying – it should get easier!
