BF help - before I give up!

[snowydrops]

This is my third post for help on Mumsnet after failing to get through to one of the several BF helplines I've been given numbers for. It's very frustrating that when women need help with this there's no one to offer it!

Anyway DD2 is 10 days old now. I've struggled / am struggling with thrush and v sore nipples but have found treatment and they are improving so that I am able to feed again or express.

During my time of being v sore I expressed and fed DD from a bottle. Yesterday she was snipped for a posterior tongue tie. We now are in a situation where she will not latch on for the first 30 mins of a feed. She will come to the breast and sort of have a short suck and then either fall asleep or pull away and attempt to relatch. This is obviously highly painful but also really frustrating as each feed takes us 1.5hrs minimum and usually ends in us finishing with expressed milk in a bottle because she simply won't keep sucking (I guess I'm out of milk).

I have no idea what's going on and am wondering if I should keep expressing between these marathon sort of feeds that leave her unsatisfied or just forget that and focus on the BF?! The thing is I know she is not satisfied with just the breast as she is screaming for more and I get the feeling it comes out incredibly slowly for her which is why she is either falling asleep or giving up.

Help!! With DD1 I managed to breastfeed for 8wks but we had to top up because I never seemed to have much milk (advice of midwife) I then expressed for 4 months and took dompeeidone to increase my supply but I know you can't get this anymore and I'm worried we are heading the same way now.

I can get to a clinic tomorrow but in the meantime can anyone advise what to do tonight?

We have tried shields (fail because she unlatches so much and we've done skin to skin all day today, I've tried 'relaxed feeding' and she didn't latch on to anything. I've just started taking fenugreek and milk thistle to up my supply.

I feel as if the whole BF thing is severely hampering our first few weeks together as I am just dreading each feed as I know she won't latch and it will be a screaming match and an unhappy mum and baby. I really want to BF but feel it's making me depressed to keep experiencing failure at every feed!

Can anyone offer any help or support? Thankfully DH is incredibly supportive otherwise I think I would have lost the plot by now.

[tiktok]

Really sorry you have had no joy on the helplines - have you not been able to leave a message to be called back by the NCT line? They will def get back to you.

It sounds a really difficult first 10 days :(

It sounds as if the heart of the matter is the latching on - I don't think there is an issue with supply (at least I don't see any evidence of it in your post). Someone who knows what they are talking about needs to observe a whole feed - are you still in touch with the midwife?

I don't know what 'relaxed feeding' is, sorry.

Things to try:

• co-bathing (babies often self-attach beautifully in the bath - obv you will need help getting her in and out the bath) - just let her lie downwards on top of you IYKWIM
  
  
• mother-and-baby dance (see you tube) which is another way to support self-attachment
  
  
• biological nurturing (ditto)
  
  It also sounds like you need some help re the tongue tie - what did they tell you about the success or otherwise of the snip?
  
  Hope you get good help soon.