Breastfeeding

[Shisha1]

Hello , I had my daughter 5 weeks ago and I am breastfeeding. My daughter has been getting 2 or 3 formula bottles a day too since she was 2 days old as i couldnt keep up with her constant feeding as my nipples were really sore and cracked. As much as i wanted to give up BF I didn't and haven't still lol . Some days are good and some days i want to give up again.

I am having issues with my daughter latching , especially at times she wants to cluster feed but I can't keep up with her as she gets so agitated and is on and off for hours at a time. I always offer both breasts until shes finished but she still seems so hungry and upset when she cannot latch . Her clusters last for upto 5 houra sometimes and there is like a 10 min to 30 min break between them. I think she gets agitated when my flow slows down but sometimes i dnt knw whats wrong as she suffers with colic sometimes and has trouble going to the toilet which she is on lactulose for. I feel like some days she is so miserable. Following advice on kelly mom i am reducing the formula by an ounce every 3 days as i only want her to have breastmilk but feel like it may not work due to her latching issues, but we have come down to 5 ounces a day from 8 and she is coping with that.

[Chloe0789]

Who put her on lactulose?

Are you on Facebook, there’s a breastfeeding group, breastfeeding yummy mummies

[Shisha1 in reply to Chloe0789]

My g.p as she was not pooing for 3 days at a time and is very uncomforable the days she does not go. Thanks I will have a look at it

[claire16c]

Hey well done for following the kellymom advice- that’s fantastic!

If your nipples are cracked and she’s feeding for hours it sounds like she isn’t on quite deep enough. Bf shouldnt hurt or cause cracking. And that is some long feeds.

At 5 weeks old it can be normal for some babies to start to poo less often but before this it can be a sign of not taking in enough milk. I am shocked a dr gave you lactulose. Bf babies are rarely constipated. Breast milk is a laxative. Personally I wouldn’t be using it. Seek help from breastfeeding professionals. You can call the National bf helpline. The Facebook group breatfeeding yummy mummies also has trained admin x

[Shisha1 in reply to claire16c]

Hello thanks for the reply they do not hurt anymore it was just the first week i am fine now when she feeds. I have spoke to breastfeeding councillors who were brilliant and advised that as long as she has several wet nappies she was getting enough milk, thankfully shes constantly wet lol. She is on the lowest dose of the lactulose and i was hesitant to give her it bit she is in a lot of discomfort with going to the toilet that its trial and error with it just nw and the paedetrician advised it was ok to give .

When she latches well she feeds deep, i can see her swallowing, and shes getting the fore and hind milk lol . The days shes been to the toilet she feeds every couple hours but when shes in pain i think its for comfort she wants to feed a lot but i was wondering about a toungie tie as i have followed all the advice its just hard seeijg her upset and agitated when shes hungry as i do try different positions too it all depends sometimes she cn latch with no problems but most of the times its a struggle.

[Shisha1 in reply to Shisha1]

Also she has been having problems with her bowels since she was born

[claire16c in reply to Shisha1]

Babies who only drink breastmilk dont really get constipated due to the milk being a laxative. Sometimes formula can cause constipation in babies up though - so hopefully once the formula is reduced this will help with this also! So its great youre working on this! It is normal for babies to sometimes screw up their faces or have wind etc as digestion is new to them so try not to worry. Thats good she is making lots of wet nappies. But not pooing every day under 6 weeks is a sign you should get baby checked out for milk transfer problems which it sounds like youve been seeking support so thats good. Thats also great it doesnt hurt now. It sounds like you just need to make sure shes latched on really well each feed. Definitely have a look at the facebook group for some support. Keep going youre doing great! x

[Shisha1 in reply to claire16c]

Thanks for the reply i went onto the group and some lovely ladies reassured me. Her latch is good when shes on but its rarely like this i feel that there maybe a tongue tie fom the way she moves her mouth around and she also fusses more during a cluster session because she struggles to stay latched as the feed progresses. She spits up milk after most feeds, sometimes its curdled too and she always has the hiccups. Is this normal too. She is also very gassy constantly farting but this relates to her not pooing enough i am sure as she is always straining to try and go

[claire16c in reply to Shisha1]

Yes hiccups are really common! And so is some wind. And a bit of milk coming up. So sometimes it can be hard to tell what’s normal baby behaviour and what is something on top of that but it sounds like you’ve managed to improve things over time so that’s good. Glad the group helped. Keep posting for help when needed , I’m on there too x

[Shisha1 in reply to claire16c]

Thanks again its hard not knowing sometimes even though i have my mum a d husband helping. It has been hard getting face to face support which i think you need but obv understandable due to the virus that we need to seek different kinds of support

[claire16c in reply to Shisha1]

Definitely. I volunteer in bf support and weve had to move our help online/telephone/video. We wish we could still see mums in person!This virus is awful x

[Shisha1 in reply to claire16c]

Yeah i had a video call with a nurse the first few days after i came home. Since then the latchings got worse and me not knowing about a tongue tie either. These things arw difficult to solve over a phone but it is amazing at how alternative ways of support are being offered x

[claire16c]

Also it’s not you not being able to keep up with her - it sounds like baby is having problems extracting the milk efficiently. Could be a change in position needed or a tongue tie x