Breastfeeding ever get better ?!

[dontfollowmeimlosttoo]

Hi everyone !
Long post alert
Really struggling at the moment...

Baby boy is 7 weeks old, exclusive breasted ( not sure how we are getting by but we are )

Tough from the start - undiagnosed tongue tie until 4 weeks... the usual shallow latches, him with milk blisters on lips, slipping off latch, cracked nipples etc !

Anyway 3 weeks post tongue tie and it's still awful. Every feed is painful even when I latch him on deep he pulls himself down or off so he is just suckling nipple!

His weight is fab was 8 pound 2 now 13 pound up two centiles .However I believe it's at the expense of being at the breast very frequently due to inefficient nipple feeding plus I have lots of milk which flowsfast so I think he just gets it somehow

To top it off silentreflux has been mentioned as hiccups after every feed squirming on breast and expressed milk when we tried that via bottle , frothing after feeds and trying to swallow milk that's coming up poorbaby.. just started ranitidine ..

Question is I don't know how much longer we can go on likethis I literally have no sleep all night as feeds take up to an hour keep un latching re latching only having a little bit then coming back an hour later .. I am getting 1-2 hours sleep if that.

The problem is he isn't the best with bottle either and tends to fling hands everywhere and only take in a couple
Of ounces if that.

I don't know what to do I go to breast support drop ins via nhs have paid private lactation consultants etc and everyone says the latch is fine and he is feeding beautiful and gaining weight - however this really isn't the whole picture. I am so stressed how baby can only stay on latch 1 minute or so and then crying frustrating trying to get back on and when he is on it's like he has teeth !

Has anyone been in this situation did u manage to get through ? Really considering formula as he just doesn't seem to be happy at the breast at all but because he is such a grazer I would be worried at overfeeding him formula as he usually is feeding every 1-2 hours.

Any advice please , anyone been in similar situation? Thank you in advance.

No expert because I never formula fed but I believe it causes worse issues with reflux than breastfeeding so I don’t think it will make life easier, harder if anything on your baby. Ask your GP or health visitor for further advice on reflux, maybe something can alter in your diet to help.

It does get easier, it can be a nightmare during the first few weeks but once they get older it becomes easier (like everything really). You’ve got through almost two months of breastfeeding, it would be a shame to quit now!

Oh and if you have a breastfeeding support group in your area try that too.

It took me 9weeks for one boob to settle and 11 weeks for the other to settle. Much muuch longer than anyone else I knew who had struggled with bf. I'm now 8.5 months in and it's the best thing ever and I relish every single feed. I'm glad I persevered and I hope it settles for you

I don't remember when it got very easy for me, the cluster feeding went on for a while. Maybe 11 weeks? He still feeds a lot, but it isn't hard.

Have you had his tongue tie fully checked again? With one of my boobs I used to have to hold it squished a little for him to keep a good latch, now I don't need to but i don't remember when that stopped, might be worth you trying though to keep him correctly on the boob.

It will get better. If you don't feel up to it though then mixed feed for a while with the ready-made bottles and see how you get on then. We haven't used any formula, but the other breastfeeding mums who went to mixed feeding seemed to have more luck trying Hipps Organic milk, some of the babies rejected other formula types.

Good luck!

You poor thing, it sounds very hard on you xx I had a very hard tart to breastfeeding too, also tongue tie but division (twice!) made no difference - it just suddenly stopped hurting when she got a bit bigger. Not much comfort when you're going through it! But honestly it won't be like this forever.

I was very damaged, thought my nips would never be the same - loads of lansinoh or other suitable moisturiser between feeds and using gel breastpads really helped me - the cotton ones felt like they were ripping my nips off every time I removed them!

For me the biggest issue was sleep, I thought I would surely die especially in the first couple of months as she fed ever 20-30 minutes for weeks. Side lying to feed/sleep made a massive difference, can you try that? Don't believe the scare stories about co-sleeping, if you follow the ISIS safe sleep guidelines it is actually just as safe or safer than baby in their own crib. I also found my fussy, struggling baby would actually feed much more calmly and stay latched better side lying (maybe guess because I wasn't holding her at an angle she wasn't comfortable or jostling her when I moved?). Please give it a try, or laid-back feeding if you're not comfortable with co-sleeping - could be a total game changer.

If his tummy keeps giving him gyp it's worth considering other possible causes than reflux as there may be something behind this - could be his bad latch means he's taking in too much air, or possible allergies (my baby had CMPA and was the grumpiest ever, I was so astonished by the change in her when we finally went dairy free). Don't let people tell you it's "just colic", colic is a description of symptoms not a diagnosis! But as others say a certain amount of fussiness and periodic cluster feeding is just normal newborn behaviour, it will pass.

Most importantly know that your efforts are not wasted, you obviously want to do this and it is legitimate for you to struggle to achieve that goal - it is not pointless or a waste of time and energy. It is also fine to stop if that's what YOU want, but if it is important to you know that it is valuable, it IS hard sometimes, and you are not alone! Support from like-minded people is so important - Breastfeeding Support and Information UK is an amazing Facebook group that got me through weeks of pain and struggle - still bf my 2 year old now, thanks to them, and loving it

Good luck! xx