Breastfeeding

[Eva79]

Long story short...we lost weight after birth as my milk hadn't come in. Was told for 15 days that DS latches on perfect and some mums just don't make enough milk. I was told to top up with formula which broke me as it made me feel I've failed.

Bub was putting on decent amount of weight (230g in 3 days) having 4 breasts and 60mil formula topup. Was told reduce the formula as there has to be bm as well, he couldn't have gained as much with formula topup only. Give a chance to my breasts to work harder. I did and he lost 40 gramms by day 19. Ended up in hospital. Where I've met our angel, a lactation specialist. She had obsereved a feed and told me his latch is seemingly ok and he's getting milk but not as much as he could with a proper latch. So we were tought how to do it right and reduced formula and added in double expressing (OMG!!!). 110g weight gain by next day. Kept on going. 8 days down the line we're reducing formula gradually.

But it is insane. Little man is on the boobs 40min to 1hr then 30 minutes to an hr rest and here we go again. 2nd day now. I'm expressing more than ever before, so he is increasing the supply (my clever little cherub ❤).

How long is he gonna carry on with 24/7 nursing? He is spitting up a lot...should I keep him off between sessions longer?

Is Lansinoh safe for him if I use it after each match? He'd get it app 18 times a day, well what's still on it after 25- 30 minutes.

Btw how am I still awake? 😀

[Lovefood1984]

I don’t have any advice on how long he’ll keep nursing 24/7 but I wanted to say kudos to you for sticking with it! We had latch problems followed by top up formula issues (bubs was in pain after having regular formula and screamed from one feed right to the next) followed by latching only with a nipple shield to 6 days bf exclusively to being told to top up and express to get supply up where I lost the plot when bubs stopped latching at all and I gave up. Bubs is now on formula with a bit of expressed where I can. All that on top of sleep deprivation and I commend you with sticking with it so far, it’s soooooo hard. With regards to Lansinoh I believe it’s safe for you to use after every feed and I the advice is to feed on demand so I wouldn’t try and get him to go longer ever with the spit ups, plus with my experience there is no way you can get them to go longer, they’ll jut scream the place down and then be too unsettled to eat x

[Eva79 in reply to Lovefood1984]

It is so hard and such an emotional rollercoaster. Formula babies thrive as well, my DD was formula fed with a starter of breast.

Was told unfortunately 50% of mums give up as they don't get the right advise and help, the answer to weightloss is formula 98% of the time as midwives are not properly trained and experienced to spot a bad latch. I got lucky with the experienced specialist at our local hospital. She's the main reason DS isn't on a bottle. Tbh sometimes it seems like the better thing to do but then I look back how much we both worked for it and we keep going.

You did amazing too x expressing when you could just sleep is a hard choice to make yet you do it cuz it's great for baba x

And thank you for your advise regarding the lansinoh 😊

[Lovefood1984 in reply to Eva79]

I truly agree with getting the right help. I think if I’d known more (time between feeds so we didn’t get to 7hr situation) and better help latching ( everyone just seemed hell bent on ramming my boob into her mouth) I might not have given up but we didn’t get proper help until she was 3 weeks old and by that point I’d muddled through myself (it was me that tried the shield in a last ditch attempt at 2 weeks old not any advice) By that point I was happy with my decision as I’d tried my best, I think if I’d got as far as you I’d be determined to stick it out too xxx

[Kempton]

It felt like my baby was permanently attached to my boob when he was first born. He also lost loads of weight and so I started expressing and supplementing feeds with expressed milk. Not sure if you do it, bit if you express at the same time as feeding, the milk flows more quickly as the baby stimulates let down better than a pump.

I know it's so so hard, but it won't be like this forever. Could you give him a bottle of your expressed milk after or before a feed? A few times a day? And id defo recommend giving a bottle of expressed milk at bed time. If I gave one at 10 my baby would sleep until about 3am so I was less tired!

Just keep going. If baby is feeding ok then he will only get stronger and better at feeding. They really do get better at it and feeds become so much shorter. Set up a feeding chair. Make sure you have water, snacks, your phone and remote within reach, and just get comfortable feeding.

I'm 9 months in and it's an absolute doddle now, but it wasn't at all to start. Hope this helps. Feel free to pm me if you need any advice or help.

[Lamb82 in reply to Kempton]

Well done you! Bf nearly broke me and I didn't have any of your issues to contend with. My lb is a regular nurser and would only go about 1hr between feeds, he is now 13 weeks and it's more like 2hrs which happened a few weeks ago. He did start to nurse less at night sooner though, about 3-4 weeks he could do a 4-5 hour stretch. Of course your lo could be very different but to say it's normal. Lanolin is safe after each feed and would advise to look after your nipples as much as poss! If you want to use it less then a tip I was given is to express a little milk when they unlatch and rub it in, worked wonders for me.

[Shafiay]

I had the same issue and had to do exactly as you did at hospital. Needed to stay overnight and pump after each feed and topup. Once he reached his birth weight I had to wean off formula as I hated giving him that and DS is now 2 months. He goes without feeding for an hour and a half. Feeds are shorter now and is sleeping more at night. It definitely gets shorter and quicker with larger gaps. Wish you all the best xx