Would it be a disaster to introduce a couple of bottles of ebm?

[purplegiraffe]

Ds is 2 weeks old and I am bf on demand. I am in complete agony doing it, despite advice from NCT and others. During the latch on, I feel as if I am being stabbed and I am reduced to tears every time.

The pain wears off after a couple of minutes, but I really am finding it an ordeal, physically and mentally.

Would it be a bad idea to express some milk during the night for feed just to give my nipples some rest? I worry that ds will start to reject the breast if I do.

[moondog]

Ah,you poor thing.
EBM not a bad idea but i don't know if I would do it at night as night feeds important for builiding supply.
How about giving in the day and going for a nap?

Have you tried the silverette breastpads and lansinoh cream? Been checked for thrush?

[moondog]

What i mean is that it is a bit early to be replacing night feeds but deffo an option further down the line.

[purplegiraffe]

Thanks for replying. I have the lansinoh, but haven't heard of the silverette breast pads. What do they do?

I had thrush last time and dd had it in her mouth too. Ds has no sign of it though.

[moodywren]

If the pain goes away after a few minutes it sounds like your let down reflex. Midwife told me to try using a warm flanel on my breast before feeding to encourage the let down and take deep breaths and relax. It does ease off once breastfeeding is established.

[moondog]

Silverette

Our own Hunker's website very usefull too. Here

[LardyMardyDaisy]

As moondog says, it's a bit early for introducing expressed feeds; i was advised not until 6 weeksish. I really feel for you though. My letdown was very painful to start with, but it did get better (although at 8 months it's still a bit ouchy). I found taking a deep breath in and counting to 10 as I breathed out (through gritted teeth!) helped. By the time I'd finished counting it had usually stopped.

IIRC (see how quickly one forgets) it started to get better around the three weeks mark so hang in there.

[moondog]

Toktok (fount of all b/feeding knowledge) says you can stop expressing at any time if things are gonig ok.I just worry a bit about night times so early on.

[moondog]

start

[purplegiraffe]

Ok, I won't express for night-time feeds just yet. I do really want to continue, but the pain, and the anticipation of the pain when he first gets hold, are making it a real psychological ordeal.

And one of the articles on Hunker's website just made me cry and feel even more crap!

[ilovewashingnappies]

See someone in person and let them see you breast feed regularly. Mega worth it.

My baby had a bottle now and again from birth and she can flit from nipple to teat so well. However some babes don't....

If its agony I reckon...er...mixed feeding (pleased don't shun me...] is better than Mum in mega pain or giving up breast feeding.

Maybe you could try a small bottle then get back on breast. I know the advice says 6 weeks but I know many succesful breast feedders who gave bottle earlier. Just make sure you do lots of breast feeding two. (so maybe a bottle every few days)

Do you have an expressor? Sometimes Health visitors can hire out mega fast ones so you don't spend loads or take hours pumping.

Good luck xXx

[ilovewashingnappies]

P.S. bit of formular so you can have a rest won;t kill your baby

[I will now cover myself so that the things pelted at me don't hurt too much]

[verylittlecarrot]

sorry it's tough at the mo...

have you seen the Jack Newman videos on getting a good latch?

(apologies if you already have)

getting the latch fixed will be the key to sorting the pain out, and will help everything else fall into place. It will get better. You are riding out the hard bit right now. hang in there!

[saturn]

hi purplegiraffe, we introduced a bottle of expressed milk from three weeks. I read somewhere that as long as it wasn't more than one bottle a day there shouldn't be nipple confusion, although health professionals advise to wait 6 weeks - I have two friends who took this advice and their babies have never accepted a bottle. don't think I could have continued breastfeeding without the break once a day. not sure about giving one bottle of formula a day, I thought that interferes with milk production? but I'm not an expert just thought I would share my experience with you. do feel for you remember all too well what it was like at the beginning of b/f my dd - she is now 5 months and we are still exclusively b/f and I never thought I would say this but I actually enjoy it and am so glad I stuck with it despite all the pain. good luck with whatever you decide

[moondog]

Purple,which article was that?

[BabiesEverywhere]

I can't find the quote but whilst Tiktok did say you can express any time you want, she also said that in order to keep up milk supply the mother would have to express at the same time the baby is feed the bottle of EBM. It is bad for supply to go many hours between feeds when establishing breastfeeding.

Hope I remembered correctly.

[BabiesEverywhere]

It does get much easier. I had a lot of pain at the beginning a combination of a very strong letdown pain and cracked nipples.

I used lanhisoh (sp) cream for the cracked nipples and the letdown pain went away at some point. According to my blog I was starting to enjoy (and not dread)breastfeeding by the time DD was a month old.

My DD and I still enjoy our nursing sessions and she is a bonny 17 month old.

[TigerFeet]

I had the let down pain too - about 30 seconds of feeling like someone was shoving a hot poker into my nipple when dd latched on. I can't remember when it stopped but dd can't have been very old. I really enjoyed breastfeeding after that

tbh I wish we had introduced a bottle as early as this - just one a day. We waited until dd was nearly 2 months and she was so happy on the breast she refused bottles until she was about 6 months old I think.

It seems like a huge thing now but trust me, you'll look back in 3 years' time and be struggling to remember how long the pain lasted, as I do now! Persevere, you are doing well, keep going

[tiktok]

Hope we can help you, purple. Yes, expressing is possible at any time, as long as it is not done to increase the gaps between breastfeeding enormously, as that impacts on supply esp in the early weeks.

But purplegiraffe, if your pain is on let down, you will experience it when you express, too

However, as you say you experience it as your baby latches on, it makes me think this is a question of positionining and attachment....and this is fixable in most cases. Has anyone seen you feed? From start to finish? Someone who really knows what to look for?