Newborn too drowsy to feed
My cousin had a baby last week and she was asking if she should be concerned if her newborn wasn’t drinking regularly. It’s a common concern as so often newborns are too drowsy to feed well and sleep for very long stretched. If you are battling with a drowsy feeder, you need to watch for two things:
- Jaundice can make babies very drowsy - If your baby has a dark complexion (more than you would expect) or is slightly yellow, ask your doctor to check her levels as she may need to be under lights for a day or two. High levels of billirubin do make babies very drowsy.
- Feeding – you want your baby to have 6 – 8 wet nappies a day and to gain at least 100g a week (hopefully a little more than that). If this is the case, she is feeding enough.
- I recommend you wake your baby four hourly if they are not waking this often, just during the day. This helps them establish day night separation. Leave her to sleep as long as she wants at night.