End of tether with BF please help

[FeastofBeans]

My DD was born on Thurs by cesarean (not what I wanted but she was breech). She latched well from the start but my milk hadn't really come in, but I had a bit and she was really happy to go for it. We were supposed to go home yesterday but she had lost 10.6% of her birthweight so made us stay in and insisted on 20ml of C&G with every attempt at BFing. I was unhappy about this.
Now she is stuffed full of C&G and not remotely interested in breast. I want to persevere as I think it was only a matter of time til my milk arrived (have expressed a bit by hand) but as I say she is no longer interested. They won't let us leave til we've sorted the feeding, which I feel we could've done easily if formula hadn't been introduced. I just want to get her home and get us into a routine but now it's all been messed with.
I just wanted the best for her but I don't know if I stand a chance now, should I just give up? 

[RitaMorgan]

They can't make you stay if you don't want to - if you feel you would do better at home then go home.

One day of a little bit of formula isn't the end of anything, of course you can still breastfeed! I would consider cutting down on the formula to see if she feeds better if it was my baby I think, and just putting her to the breast really frequently for a day or so, then maybe re-evaluate? Could you call one of the breastfeeding helplines for advice?

[ChunkyPickle]

My milk took most of a week to come in after my CS, my baby also lost 10% and what fixed it wasn't formula, wasn't topping up with expressed breastmilk (that just gave me bruised nipples) it was sitting on my settee with my baby and giving him a nipple every time he opened his eyes.

They can't make you stay, and I can't imagine being stuck in hospital longer than strictly necessary (I couldn't sleep, felt grimy etc. getting out was the best thing for me)

tell them to send a health visitor/midwife to your house to check up on you (that's what they did with me)

[Mummawummadooda]

The hospitals do seem rather quick to foist bottles on you.

Stick to your guns. Ask for maternity nurse visit and health visitor to come to your house fast. Phone the NCT for advice, their helplines were great I found. It took me the best part of a week to feel I was getting milk in and about 3-4 to feel vaguely confident. Its not a fast process. Your baby will only be taking a small marble sized mouthful so its not gallons at a time and it will be frequent.

Babies lose weight initially, don't forget she's been fed solidly by your tubes for 9mths so its not surprising to see a small dip initially, this will then pick back up. Im not a nurse though and don't know much info on your personal predicament. Best advice I can give is trust your instincts.

[StarlightMcKenzie]

Offer a feed every half hour or so during YOUR waking day and every time it is demanded during the night. Ditch the formula.

[FormbyDoula]

It's a shame they have done this to you, but it is not the end and there's no need to give up BFing if you don't want to.

How are they feeding her the formula? If you do agree to give her any more, tell them to cup feed - try not to use bottles as it is too easy to drink from a teat and may make her lazy at the breast.

You do not have to consent to the formula top-ups. Losing 10% of her birthweight is fine as long as other signs are good - is she having some wet nappies? At 3 days old she should have around 3 in a day. Tomorrow she'd have about four and then when your milk comes in it will 5-6 per day and at least a couple of pooey ones too.

If she is having wet nappies then she is getting enough milk. Then you should see her weight steadily increase.

If you feel you will be better off at home then they cannot force you to stay.

Keep your baby close, do lots of skin to skin and feed her every time she opens her eyes, as ChunkyPickle said!

[tiktok]

It's not the case that wet nappies is a sign a baby is getting enough milk. Assessing this - getting enough milk - needs a few different signs, and wet nappies is only one of them. As you say, formbydoula the early signs include the number of poos and not too much weight lost.

Surprised they reckoned a 10.6 per cent weight loss meant formula at every feed, feastofbeans - usually, this would mean paying attention to milk transfer and feeding more often, but maybe they felt extra milk was a matter of urgency. But as others have said, it does not mean breastfeeding needs to be affected.

No need to insist on a cup and not a bottle. There is no evidence that using a teat makes babies 'lazy' . Feeding from a cup is v. difficult with a term baby. Use a cup if you prefer, but as long as she is getting plenty of practice at the breast as well, it's not essential. 'Confusion' between teat and nipple is over-stated, IMO, and leads to a lot of anxiety :(