3 Days Old Baby Doesn't Eat Or Cry

My 3 day old daughter will only feed for 5 min at a time. She is never hungry - it is hard to even get her to do the 5 min! Also she won't cry; she never cries.

Is something wrong?



Baby Help Line:

How Much A Newborn Baby Eats Day By Day

Congratulations on your little girl! I don't think you need to worry and let me tell you why and what to look for.

During the first few days, a newborn baby really eats very little at each feeding.

Studies have shown that during the first few days outside the womb a newborn baby eats roughly this much:

• During day 1, a baby eats around 1 table spoon per per feeding;


• Day 2, slightly more,


• Day 3, 2 table spoons,


• Day 4, 3 table spoons and


• Day 5 4 table spoons or more.

So as you can see, a newborn baby drinks very little at each feeding in the beginning, but it tends to increase relatively fast.

Newborn babies often also sleep very much and don't cry much at all. (You can check this baby sleep schedule per month. Some cry, but certainly not all. Premature babies often don't cry at all; they can't in the beginning!

Signs That Your Newborn Baby Is Eating Enough

What you should look for is that your daughter's poop goes from the dark sticky meconium to regular baby poop. Yellowish if you breastfeed, light brown if your baby is formula fed.

Babies also pee very little during the first couple of days, but within 2 days, she should wet some 5 or 6 diapers per day.

If none of this happens, contact her doctor to get an evaluation.

But most probably, you'll see a change within 2 days in how much she feeds and pees.

Regarding the crying, it may take a week or two before she starts communicating more by crying. So relax and enjoy this very first period; life is likely to be less calm quite soon.

Again, congratulations and good luck!

Paula

More About Newborn Babies

• Newborn Baby Milestones


• How Often Should A Newborn Baby Pee?


• Newborn Baby Hasn't Pooped In Two Days

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