# How often should a newborn nurse?



## Udder Folks (May 24, 2013)

My goat delivered her first babies last night - a beautiful little girl, and a boy. I keep seeing the little boy try to nurse - he gets on the teat for a few seconds, and that is it. I haven't seen the little girl nursing at all today, and when I put her under her mom and try to offer her the teat, she doesn't take it at all - just walks away and lies down. Is this normal? Are they tired after being born? I'm worried about the little girl.


----------



## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

Feel their tummies and see what they feel like. They should feel round and somewhat full, but they should neither feel empty nor should they feel tight or hard. Sort of like a water balloon just filled to where it JUST starts to stretch but is still squishy. I have babies almost a week old now and i rarely see them nurse but they are growing like weeds and their tummies always feel just right. If they just feel really empty then I would start to worry. Normally a baby not getting enough to eat will holler. Sometimes babies are exhausted after birth, and they do sleep a lot. My most recent set of kids were born bouncy but the last ones this doe had slept pretty much the first four days. I think I started to tick them off because I kept waking them up to check on them.


----------



## WarPony (Jan 31, 2010)

Also, in answer to "how often should they nurse", this is hard to say because some like to sip a little often, others like to latch on and get a whole belly full at once but not very frequently. And some moms don't really let them nurse for a long time so they have to grab a nip 30 times a day.... but others will let them get a belly full so they might only drink a few times a day... So i wouldn't let it worry you that they don't seem to be nursing while you watch UNLESS they are crying and looking for teats and have a really empty belly.


----------



## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Sometimes newborns drive me nuts. They can lay around alot the first few days.
They go with gusto & mama walks away after several seconds.
Then you have the ADD years where kids suck for two seconds, lay down & nap then get up for another few slurps.
So long as they arent all sunken in & crying. 
Shoulders to hips should be a fairly even straight line.


----------



## Udder Folks (May 24, 2013)

Thank you! Sighs of relief ...


----------

