Starting to have wobbles about bf - anaemic after PPH, 3 week old DS

[HolidaysQueen]

My DS was born 3 1/2 weeks ago. I lost 1.5l of blood and was borderline for a transfusion as my iron levels are down at 7gdl. As I was asymptomatic we agreed that I wouldn't take the transfusion so that baby and I could get home. Instead I'm on iron supplements and they're hoping my levels will be closer to normal by 6 weeks. However, I was told by my HV today that anaemia can make my milk supply low. If I'd been told that the anaemia could do this then I would have taken the transfusion as I really really want to bfeed successfully.

However, I'm now having a few wobbles about bfeeding and not sure how to help myself and my baby. I've been concerned for the past week or so that my supply is low, because he has been getting crankier each afternoon/evening - continuously feeding and delatching himself but then immediately making all the signs of hunger and getting unsettled and cranky if I don't let him latch straight back on. He was a big baby 4.1kg (9lbs) but lost 10% and put on very little weight btwn 2 and 3 weeks (only 50g) and is now classed as 'slow weight gain' by HVs and is only just back at birth weight. He's gone from 85th to 50th percentile and they want him to be weighed in again at 4 weeks and i'm worried he won't have gained anything. We already give a formula bottle last thing at night because I have been finding the continuous unsatisfied cluster feeding exhausting (I guess made worse by easily tiring with anaemia) and this is the only way to see him satisfied in the evening.

My DH hates seeing me upset and exhausted like I am this evening and is suggesting that we maybe give him an extra bottle of formula to take the pressure off me, but I'm loathe to because I don't want to wreck my supply further and end up on a slippery slope to full formula feeding if I can help it. I have started trying to express in the mornings so am sometimes able to give a mixed EBM/ff bottle at night, and I'd love to be able to go to full EBM if at all possible, so going to 2 formula bottles a day seems counter to what I'm trying to do.

DS doesn't feed very well at this time of day - delatches a lot, sucks nipple rather than feeds properly etc. In the mornings and middle of night he is fine so he can do it, and I'm finding it exhausting trying to encourage him to feed properly. Today he has been cranky all day - didn't even feed well this morning - and at 6.30pm I ended up giving him the 2oz I'd managed to express for tonight because he had been feeding continuously for nearly 2 hours and I was shattered (been feeling increasingly tired the past few days). He polished that off and passed out and is finally happily asleep in his basket, but that of course makes me feel like he got absolutely nothing from me in those 2 hours at the breast and his hunger was all solved in 5 mins at the bottle.

Any tips on how to up my supply and also any tips on how to encourage my DS to feed properly in the evenings - how to stop his continuous delatching and how to stop him just sucking nipple. I really need to feel like he feeds well the next 3 days before his weigh in so I feel confident when talking with the HV that I can continue bfeeding rather than worrying about his weight. Also any good ways of explaining to DH why a second formula bottle may not be the way to go even if it does seem like the best way to help me at the moment?

[chibi]

he may be having a growth spurt

please contact a bf counsellor who can come and watch you feed
phone numbers for bf hotlines in margin of this website

provided baby is latching well + transferring milk ok slow growth isn't bad in itself, he may be 'catching down' growth - some babies are born bigger than they are meant to be iyswim

see a professional (bf counsellor NOT midwife or HV well intentioned as they are they don't have the training) to find out if this might be the case

I lost 700 ml blood during my cs and also anaemic - doesn't have to be a death sentence for bf but you need good advice + support

congratulations on the birth of your son + hope this helps

[HolidaysQueen]

Thanks chibi. Thanks for reminding me about bfeeding counsellor - the NCT runs a clinic on Monday so I can see the counsellor then immediately after my HV check and get her to spend more time with me if we need it.

It's one thing thinking your baby may not be a great feeder and needs help, or that you just need to relax more, but it feels really horrible to think that my poor DS is maybe desperate for food and I can't provide enough But after a bath last night and a reasonable night's sleep (miraculously only one wakening after his really cranky day - think he had exhausted himself), I feel better able to continue as we are for a few days especially as I get in-law help today and then DH all weekend so not on my own until Monday when we see HV first thing anyway.

[MrsWaggsnapps]

Hang in there, the grumpiness and delatching do sound very typical of a growth spurt (I can remember DD doing this - ouch). Have you checked out the kellymom site this has some great advice about the different stages of breastfeeding.

I found going to a BF support group invaluable, sometimes it has been the only thing that's kept me going.

Also (I'm sure you've been told this over and over), give yourself a break from everything else - you are recovering so cooking/cleaning/pretty much everything that doesn't involve feeding yourself and baby, should go by the board for a while.

Good luck and I hope you feel better soon

[e14mum]

Had same thing. If I'f known I would have taken transfusion too... However, took a lot of persuasion for anyone to admit that anaemia could be causing low supply. DD was just losing weight every time we weighed her.
Don't worry yet, wait and see what happens next weigh in.
Hope this helps

[HolidaysQueen]

Hi all -

Just wanted to update you as things seem to have taken a turn for the better.

As suggested, I've made a couple of changes to my diet (more red meat and iron-fortified cereal) and am making sure I get a lot more rest - before when he slept I was tempted to race around doing stuff if I wasn't tired but now I'm forcing myself to sit down and put my feet up. It helped having DH and in-laws around over the weekend to help me do this. Anyway that seems to be helping a lot - he fed okay on Friday but then on Saturday and Sunday my breasts suddenly felt full and sore for the first time - I'd never had that feeling before so realised what I had been missing! I think all his fussing had got my milk supply moving, finally!

He fed like a demon all weekend, slept lots, farted and pooed a tonne and even seemed to be outgrowing his newborn clothes by Sunday night On Monday he was weighed and had finally got above birth weight. In fact, he put on a huge 9oz - which I am convinced was all over the weekend! I burst into tears on the HV I was so happy. She also happens to be a trained BF counsellor so spent some time with me yesterday checking things out. His latch is great so we just talked through things I can do to keep my milk supply going - a few more tweaks to the diet and yet more rest seem to be the order of the day

Thanks so much! I was getting to the end of my tether and it was really helpful reading your good advice and support. I'm hoping DS continues on this path but at least I know now that I can get my milk supply moving and might need to make changes if it starts getting low again.

HQ xx

[fondant4000]

Well done HQ. I was anemic after both my dds, and bf both of them beyond a year.

That said, you really do need to look after yourself well so that you enjoy bfing and also (for me) I got pretty bad mood swings when low on iron - not great when you're getting sleepless nights.

It didn't help that the hospital forgot to tell me I was anemic, I realised it because of various symptoms