Dealing with meds that make a baby sleepy

[@llli*ormomofmany]

Has anyone got a baby to nurse when they were on meds that made them extremely sleepy? She just isn't latching on with any sort of vigor...not enough to get any milk, and it's taking her 1/2 hour to drink 2 ozs. They want her to increase her feeds, and I want to scream, because it takes so long to get her to take the 2 oz.

I have a call into her ped. cardiologist to see if there is an alternative, but if there isn't....I have no clue what to do. The LC (the IBCLC) was almost in tears hearing how little sleep we were getting and what we were dealign with. She had no luck at all getting her to latch on or even take the bottle more energetically.

I've read a lot on switching from bottle to breast, but all the info assumes baby has an energetic latch on the bottle. I've seen nothing on my situation..has anyone BTDT?

__________________________________________________ ______

So they cut her dose and she is definately more alert, and we're having some more success at nursing....have a couple of questions

1. It seems like now that I'm getting enough EBM to not need to give her formula, her poop is greenish more then yellowish. Does that mean she's not getting good quality EBM?

2. When she does nurse, sometimes what I get pumping is more, and other times it's less. It's like sometimes it stimulates my supply and I produce more in the pumping (after the nursing and the bottle feeding). Is it ok that I get less milk pumped after she's nursed?

3. Can you do an SNS with a nipple shield? She seems to really need the shield, so I'm not ready to ditch it. I'm not sure I want to do the SNS but I"m considering it, I can't afford to buy Lact-Aid so it will probably be Medela from the hospital . I remember it being incredibly ackward, but I'm so exhausted spending so much time just giving her milk. I"m thrilled she's nursing but discouraged at spending over an hour between nursing, bottle, and pumping.

[@llli*esthervegan]

If your baby is not able to suck she will have to go to the doctor to be fitted with a tube into her tummy. if your baby is on medications that make her too sleepy to take a bottle or too sleepy to nurse she will need to get her nutrition in a manner that bypasses her mouth.

[@llli*auderey]

[@llli*lidarln]

my little boy wasn't on meds but for the first 3 months or so he took forever to nurse day and night because he would suck suck sleep for 10-15 minutes, suck suck sleep again, over and over again, we even went to the ER for dehydration once.

some things that worked a little bit for us was 1. strip him naked and 2.to use a very cold washcloth against his cheek immediately before feeds to wake him up

I should warn you it also caused him to pee immediately and pissed him off entirely.

i hope the ped has an alternative for you or you find something that works

[@llli*phi]

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this!

Have you tried spoon, cup, or syringe feeding? I would try to avoid a feeding tube if at all possible after seeing some pretty negative consequences with my nephew. If it is necessary, then it's necessary. However, maybe using an alternative feeding method until your baby is strong enough to suck better might help avoid that. Hopefully someone with more experience has some additional ideas.

[@llli*phi]

Here are some links for alternative feeding methods:

alternatives to bottles

tools for feeding

This cold washcloth thing also worked really well for a friend of mine who had a sleepy baby early on.

[@llli*aprilsmagic]

I wonder if a Haberman feeder would be easier for your baby, and make it less likely for her to fall asleep while eating, as any little sucking will get milk out of it. However, it is not an ideal set-up for a baby who also nurses because of that. But if an NG tube is our other option, I would try the Haberman first. You can get them online from Self Expressions. You need multiple parts, which makes them expensive, but

[@llli*ormomofmany]

They mentioned the possibility of an NG tube, but I'm going to fight that at this point because she is still gaining 1/2 oz to an oz a day. She's 8 lbs. 6 ozs. as of this point and just 4-5 days ago she was 8 ozs. 1 oz.

I'm hoping maybe they can cut her dose or something. They mentioned cutting the midnight dose...maybe that would help?

[@llli*auderey]

cutting doses seems like a good idea, when she's ready for it, even apart from the feeding issues. what a tough problem. glad she's still gaining. good work!