Expert: ruth kraft - 10/6/2010

Question
Hi I have a 15 day old little girl and I noticed that she will sleep at night for
6-7 hours without eating. Is this normal? Also I am not sure if I have
enough milk for her. I tried to pump my milk but I only got 3 oz in 2 hours
of pumping. How can I make sure that she gets enough nutrition? And
one last question is it normal for breastfeeding  baby's not to go #2 for 3-4
days? Please let me know I worry for my baby's health

Answer
At 15 days old most babies are still waking and eating often. At leave every 2-3 hours and should be. Your baby should be having 6-8 wet diapers a day and preferably more, plus having dirty diapers.Typically babies have just as many dirty diapers as wet diapers but not always. If you are supplementing with formula then that explains why she isnt pooping as much. If you are not supplementing then you should wake her to feed her more often.  I suggest you go to www.drjacknewman.com and view his videos that show you how to make sure the baby is getting enough. 3 ounces is actually a good amount of milk for only a 15 day old baby. SO I know you have the milk, I would suggest feeding her more often. She should be alert several times a day, plus nurse throughout the night, and have the wet and dirty diapers. After 4 weeks or so she may have less dirty diapers but will still have many wet ones.  After 6 weeks, if all is well, then letting her sleep longer through the night is an option. If she is lethargic and also not having wet diapers you need to take her to the pediatrician ASAP and get ahold of a lactation consultant to check out her latch.

I hope that helped!
Ruth Kraft
www.honoringwomen.com