In a message dated 8/11/03 12:04:12 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

> I'm thinking those frequent
> night feeds the first day our two are important to establishing milk supply
> and keeping babies from losing too much weight.  I'm often faced with a
> sleepy newborn during the day who we have difficulty waking to latch, who is
> not gaining weight, and is spending the night in the nursery being consoled
> by a nurse instead of eating!
>
Jennifer,
I agree. We have been giving out Jan Barger's paper "Baby's Second Night" to
all our mom's & encourage them to read it so that they will understand what is
happening, esp on the 2nd night. when we come back the next day, they usually
remark that their baby did exactly what was mentioned on the paper. As a
nurse who has worked in hospitals for most of my 35 yrs as a nurse, I have seen
that babies tend to sleep best from 6am-12n and are most wakeful from 10 pm-4
am. I will tell moms to be sure to get their naps during the morning or
afternoon. If requested we will place a sign on the mom's door that says "No visitors
at this time-mom is sleeping--please check in at nurses' stations."

I have also noticed that most moms who spend the 2nd night feeding the baby
all night, see their milk on the 3rd day! Now baby is getting food & really
starting to gain weight. My daughter just had her 2nd baby. The baby had to spend
6 days in the hospital for antiobiotics & phototherapy. She did not
supplement & did not have to pump (they allowed her to board in the hospital at no
additional cost). she was called to come to the nursery whenever baby needed to
eat (if baby was not in her room). Baby Noah's birth wt was 5 lb 4 oz, lowest wt
was 5 lb 1 oz & on day five he weighed 5 lb 6 oz. I saw first-hand just how
supportive a hospital & staff can be for a mom, even when baby is in special
care nursery. I was very impressed with North Florida Regional Hospital in
Gainesville.

Laura Hart
Winter Park, FL

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