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How can I get help??? Breastfeeding

6 replies

NCPuffin · 27/11/2018 16:33

My son is 10 weeks old. Weight gain has been an issue from the start. He had his tongue tie divided at two weeks but I can count the number of times he has latched on properly and without it causing me discomfort on my ten fingers. I have seen midwives, my health visitor and a private bf counsellor. They have all said my technique is fine. The paediatrician insisted last week that he should be gaining 200 grams per week. He gained 45 over the past 6 days, and the HV suggested topping up with expressed milk but didn't seem too concerned. The GP suggested only expressing to see how much he actually drinks. We've settled for a mix of EBM and formula, as exclusively expressing isn't going to work for me.

I feel that there must be something else going on if I'm feeding on demand (and more) but he's not gaining properly. I think that if he latched properly everything would resolve itself. The fact that he can't even though I'm doing everything right suggests to me that there is something wrong with his mouth/ tongue/ jaw and how they move. I really want someone to look at this properly. How do I go about this? Surely it shouldn't be such a battle to get a baby to grow and there's clearly something wrong with him? The GP said to ask the paediatrician, but the next appointment we have is for something unrelated with a different doctor. We are not seeing the same paediatrician again until the end of January. So, what kind of help can I get in the meantime?

OP posts:
blackcat86 · 27/11/2018 16:38

Have any of the professionals you've seen noted any issues with baby? Did anything come up at the 6 week check? DD (15 weeks) really struggled with bf. She would have a bit but not enough despite a really good latch. Apparently bf is actually really hard work and the nurses told me that baby needs 30 good suckles to even start getting a decent let down. I was beyond gutted because I really wanted to ebf but she was losing weight and not feeding properly. We started giving her 'cocktails' which was as much ebm as id managed to pump in the 3hrs before, topped up with formula. We could see what she was having and note it down for her next apt. She went from 4lb 10oz at day 8(born at 5lb 1oz) to now being 11lb 7oz when she was weighed 3 weeks ago. The national breast feeding helpline are good and you can also message them via Facebook.

NCPuffin · 27/11/2018 17:02

That's exactly what I'm trying to get them to look at, whether there is anything wrong with him. Am going to try the cocktail method for the next 48 hours, although I'm not entirely sure what the reasoning for trying it out was, rather than doing it as a permanent thing. He was well when he was examined a week ago, but the paediatrician didn't pay much attention to his face/ mouth etc, other than to say she thinks he still has a slight tongue tie (which I doubt).

OP posts:
blackcat86 · 27/11/2018 17:18

See if it works OP. DD didn't like bottles of just expressed milk or formula but pop them together and she was away. If baby takes to it and feeds well then it may be a winner. I guess trying it may tell them whether he's just finding bf hard work or if he may have a bigger feeding issue.

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blackcat86 · 27/11/2018 17:19

I should add that they might say to try it because the end goal would be to get him back on the breast. Personally we found bottles that she would feed from (She has nuk size 1 med flow) and kept to it because it worked. I couldn't trust her back on the breast in case she then refused the bottle and lost weight again.

UnderTheSleepingBaby · 27/11/2018 17:44

Tongue ties can reattach so if you have a some local who can check it again then it is worth doing

britnay · 27/11/2018 18:26

www.laleche.org.uk/
I have found these people to be absolutely fantastic. Find a local meeting or volunteer. Sometimes they can help just on the phone, but chatting in person is better if you can. I was in absolute agony with my first, but she really helped and things started to improve almost immediately.

HV was useless!

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