Shit hospital care - newborn feeding

[BeastOfBODMAS]

This is long, sorry, I’ve tried to be concise

DD born Monday at 37+5 by EMCS after failed induction due to (incorrectly) predicted at

Sounds like you’re doing great. In my experience paediatric teams are very quick to give formula top ups but if she’s feeding well at the breast and you’re getting lots of wet nappies then I would just stick to BF.

Sounds like you are doing a wonderful job

Sounds like baby is happy and contented if it was me I would stop the formula, keep baby close and just feed feed feed. I wouldn't watch the clock juwatch your baby. Can you have a day on the sofa with lots of skin to skin.

Your diet sounds really good, are you taking a breastfeeding supplement. Oats are really good for milk production.

La leche league are a great support and their book the womanly art of breastfeeding is amazing

Can you get baby weighed again soon

Presumably she's being regularly weighed and you won't be discharged from the midwife until she reaches her birth weight so I'd just continue with the breastfeeding and see how she goes. As long as she's feeding regularly and has times when she's alert and content between feeds, I don't see a problem in dropping the top ups.

Thank you all, I called and spoke with a midwife at the hospital this morning for a second opinion. Said I’d been discharged with a feeding plan for breastfeeding on demand which the midwife yesterday changed to include formula top ups, we had tried but they were not being accepted.
She asked me 101 questions, much more thorough than yesterday’s appointment, and said I was absolutely fine to drop the topups and revert to plan A.
Feeding is still going well with lots of skin to skin.
We’ve a weigh in appointment for first thing tomorrow with usual midwife who agreed with plan A . Hope to be able to update with a good result and vindication for the collective wisdom of MN!

@BeastOfBODMAS

Thank you all, I called and spoke with a midwife at the hospital this morning for a second opinion. Said I’d been discharged with a feeding plan for breastfeeding on demand which the midwife yesterday changed to include formula top ups, we had tried but they were not being accepted. She asked me 101 questions, much more thorough than yesterday’s appointment, and said I was absolutely fine to drop the topups and revert to plan A. Feeding is still going well with lots of skin to skin. We’ve a weigh in appointment for first thing tomorrow with usual midwife who agreed with plan A . Hope to be able to update with a good result and vindication for the collective wisdom of MN!

Excellent news 👍

Excellent! Nice one OP.

Well done. Go you two!

I think your problem was being discharged before b/feeding was fully established. My 1st born was jaundiced and lost about 12% of her birthweight, but we were in hosp for a week so they seemed less concerned. Just feed feed feed on demand. If there’s lots coming out then there’s plenty going in. Find your local breastfeeding support group. I would still be trying to feed every 3 hours. It sounds like it’s going pretty well though op considering.

Join breastfeeding and lactation support UK on Facebook. It’s an amazing group and the admins are trained bf supporters. I’m sorry you’ve had such poor support in hospital, that was my experience too.

It sounds like she is doing exactly what she is supposed to. Congratulations, enjoy your baby and your breastfeeding journey. It’s hard work in the early days but the bond is incredible and so worthwhile

Oh and enjoy the eating! When baby cluster feeds you get to cluster feed. It’s marvellous

Glad to hear that OP, hope it all continues to go well for you both

How did the weight check go?

Baby is stuffed to the gills, shitting like a demon and sleeping deeply in between trying to digest it all.

You've got your answer right there!

High 5 for a milk drunk baby.

A 90ml top up sounds far too much for a week old baby.

How did today's weigh in go @BeastOfBODMAS how are you doing?

Hi! Today weigh in was interesting. We saw our usual midwife who saw us daily days 1-4
so knows us
DD weighed at 40g more than day 3 when we were readmitted - MW said “good steady 10g per day gain” then realised weight was 20g less than Day 5’s topup pushing MW weighed her (on different scales)

Our MW said she is inclined to treat day 5 weight as mismeasure. Said “if I was to refer you to paeds now their first question is how does she present, I would have to say as a healthy well fed baby, alert, good colour, visibly chubbier than day 4”

Plan is to keep bf on demand but min 3 hourly, weigh again in 2 days with same MW & same scales. If not progressing then, revisit topups - I’ve ordered a haaka pump to arrive before the next appt

So not straightforward but much more coherent than last time!!!

That's great. Honestly sounds like you're smashing it to me.

Fwiw I try (& I say try if she won't she won't) get her to feed 2 hourly during the day and no less than 3 hourly at night. I've had 9 children (youngest is just 1). And have been breastfeeding continuously for near on 20 years.). I've had early (37/38 weeks) and small babies (smallest was 5,9 at birth) and experienced c section babies too. Your baby sounds like my 37 weeker. He was sleepy, jaundiced and small. As he was my 4th (& it was 15 yrs ago!) they didn't rush so quickly to top ups. But when they kept being mentioned & frankly I was dealing with 4 kids, a husband working long hours and I couldn't handle the ideal of a steriliser... I went in with my 2hrly feeding and 3 hours at night. He gained weight nicely once he got going.

Oh and many congratulations!! You got this!!!

Try the top ups after every feed but don't stress if they don't go in, focus on bf on demand. Pop her on if she as much as squeaks. And get her weighed every other day until you're sure she's gaining fine

Sounds like you're doing amazingly well OP, you sound very knowledgable and on top of things. Especially considering you've only just given birth!

I had a very very similar experience with my eldest and I was so stressed (I'd even say traumatised, sounds a bit over dramatic but it really was such an awful experience!) I just jacked in the breastfeeding and moved fo formula. I've met several others who did the same. It was such a horrible time. Well done for your persistence.

If the baby is gaining weight, having plenty of dirty and wet nappies, and not overly sleepy, there is no need to change anything you're doing

(not really relevant, but I love your writing style OP : funny, clever and angry - my favourite combination)

@onlyreadingneverposting8 thank you for the advice, you certainly sound like you’ve experienced it all across 9 babies!
She’s wanting to cluster feed for a chunk of the night, so she’ll be fed at intervals of 30 mins to 1.5 hours as requested. The 3 hours is the the max we will go before waking for a feed but whenever she wakes, she’s changed and fed.

I feel like she hasn’t yet settled into a pattern for her alert vs deeply asleep times as we’ve been back and forth to the hospital daily at random times and the car sends her right off, but hopefully this will come soon.

@Wilkolampshade must be functioning better than I think!