Have I messed up Breastfeeding??!

[LAsandkicksup]

Sorry shamelessly posting for traffic. New baby arrived Friday at 37 weeks and is in NICU. On the Friday tried expressing colostrum with syringe and got around 1ml in total in the day. I was very dehydrated and couldn’t keep any food or water down until Saturday. Also had some issues with the c-section and needed a very large dose of local anaesthetic so All nurses said this was fine.

Saturday started to get a bit more colostrum expressing by hand every 3 hours. Then was told I’d get a pump in the evening. No one knew how to use the pump and no lactation people around on weekend but I tried
and got nothing out of it. I then went down to NICU to tell them and baby was off feeding tube and starting a feed schedule - had to be formula due to an issue with blood sugar. I then went down every 3 hours Saturday night and they let me latch her on to suck for 10 mins before each feed which she did but I don’t think she was getting anything. But they said it should help bring in supply.

At handover a new nurse started feed without me so I again pumped and nothing came out - day 3 at this stage, baby also v tired and struggled to latch on but I didn’t realise I should’ve been trying to pump or hand express in between this. Breasts are now very sore and feel like they have rocks in them. I have diarrhoea and v dehydrated again. I was sick and exhausted last night so I missed two night feeds and just couldn’t wake myself up to express in the night. It’s day 4 now and I’m worried I’ve messed it up now and she will have to be formula fed.
I was hoping maybe combination at this stage to get some breast milk into her.

is there anything I can do or anyone been in a similar situation and salvaged it?

Nothing but mixed messages here and I’m exhausted in pain and worried about baby so it’s a disaster. For example one midwife told me that I could damage my breast tissue using the pump which has put me off using it, one told me to use it till it’s painful, nicu nurse told me I was risking tearing my breasts using it till it’s painful and to go back to hand expressing. One told me baby latching is enough, one said I should’ve been pumping alongside this!

Congratulations on the birth of your baby :)

Please don't be hard on yourself.
My baby was born at 36 weeks and my milk didn't come in for 4 days after even after some hand expressing.

I bought a manual pump first just to get things going and then moved up to an electric pump after a few days and it really helped to establish my supply. I did combi feed my baby as obvs wasn't producing anything in the hospital.

I'm shocked at how your midwives have been regarding the pumps. Are you still in the hospital? Can you see if any of the breast feeding advisers (?) are in today to try get some advice?

You havent messed it up. Keep using the pump (not all women can express but have no issues with a milk supply for breastfeeding) lots of hand expressing and putting baby to breast. It will come

WTF is going on with the midwives?! No wonder BF rates are so bad.

Congratulations on the birth of your baby. I hope it’s a short stay. DS spent some time in neonates and I didn’t really realise how often I should be pumping etc. Exclusively breastfed him for 2 years after that first week.

Sounds like your milk has come in if your boobs are like that, keep trying with the breast pump, every couple of hours (maybe go every three overnight!). Get someone nice to show you how to use the pump properly. Or YouTube it.

Milk produced with a pump is not the same as what will be produced for your baby.

All the “damaging your boobs” stuff is bollocks if you’re using it properly.

You haven't messed up at all. Milk can take longer to come in after a csection, especially if you had significant blood loss.

Hard lumpy boobs sounds like your milk coming in. Obvs keep an eye for infection, but a degree of engorgement can be normal.

Keep well hydrated, try to eat well (avoid anything sage or peppermint, including tea) keep pumping as often as you can bear. Putting the baby to the breast for 10 mins before a bottle is a very good way to do it. I did combo feeding for 4 whole weeks before switching to ebf (it just got to the stage where I was offering a bottle after a boob, and the baby just didn't need/want it any more)

congrats on your baby. Breasts are rock hard because there is milk in there. Start expressing by hand to try and relieve the pressure. Might mean your milk is starting to come in. Try and breastfeed your baby again. Hopefully milk supply will start increasing

You haven’t messed it up at all, you’ve just had a challenging start.

That rock hard, painful feeling is probably your milk coming in. That takes a few days with a C Section. You can gently hand express a little bit, maybe in hot shower, to reduce the discomfort then you just need to keep trying to latch her on (hopefully with knowledgeable support). If you’re not getting any help in the hospital, trying calling the La leche League for a bit of support.

When you’re trying to get her to latch, make sure you’re as comfortable as you can be and try to relax. Hand express a tiny bit so she can smell it then put her to the nipple. There are some really good videos and pictures online that show the best angle. Make sure that you are really well hydrated and keep eating. Some babies take a little while to get it, especially if they’ve had formula top ups. My oldest wasn’t in NICU but had to have several days of formula top ups because she wasn’t regulating her blood glucose. We had a shaky start but in the end I breastfed until 22 months.

You will both be OK. These few days are really hard but you will get through them. You can breastfeed if it’s what you want to do, but if circumstances mean that it doesn’t work out then that is OK as well. As long as your baby is fed, that is all that matters.

Congratulations on your new baby. I think if your breath feels hard then they must have milk in them so all the pumping has been worth it. I was told to pump x8 a day with at least x2 being at night as apparently you make more milk or increase supply at night. It is really hard to establish breast feeding after a cesarean so you are doing a great job. Just keep latching the baby on whenever possible ask to see a breadt feeding adviser if there is one (like hens teeth) or ring la leche league for support. Hope you are feeling better soon.

Also, an electric pump is efficient for pumping large volumes of milk once you're established. But I find a hand pump, or even just expressing by hand, more helpful at this stage. You soon get a feel for how to encourage the milk to start flowing. The loud electric pump just made me tense up, and then the milk's not going anywhere!

Breasts are now very sore and feel like they have rocks in them
This is what happens when your milk "comes in". I bet if you pump today you'll as some milk expressed 🙂

Oh it so hard when your little one is in NICU. I’m shocked at the lack of help you’ve been given.

You haven’t messed anything up - it can just take a while for your milk to come in, especially in these circumstances. Stress hormones inhibit milk production.

The one right bit of advice you got is that latching your baby as often as possible is great for your supply, even if they don’t get anything. It’s also lovely and comforting for your baby.

What you need to try and do is pump every three hours using a double electric pump - hopefully the hospital have supplied a good one. The temptation is to turn it up to the max to get maximum milk but don’t do that. Start of gently and don’t turn it up too much - it should definitely NOT hurt. It will probably hurt a bit though if you pump while engorged.

Hard as it is (and I get it, it is really hard) try not to miss sessions (but don’t beat yourself up if you do!).

If your baby is latching but not feeding I would not count that and stick to your three hourly schedule. Perhaps have a photo or video of your baby with you when you pump - happy hormones help your milk production.

Also just do as much skin to skin as you can as it stimulates the right hormones (oxytocin).

ps: I pumped for 4 months for my NICU baby!

You sound as if you’ve had a really tough time. I don’t know if this will help, but when I was on a large maternity ward, there were mums who had no intention of breastfeeding; no pumping, no giving their baby a single feed and their milk came on day 3 the same as everyone else’s. So I would see how things go today. If the milk comes in today, breastfeeding will be more dependent on your baby’s ability to latch more than anything else. Good luck!

Don't be afraid of asking other mums. When I was in the postnatal ward I helped out a few new mums (it was my second) who were having no support from midwives at all and clearly struggling. Might be worth posting on the local bf support group too in case one of their counsellors can come to help. But you should be getting this from the midwives so do push for it.

I am so sorry the advice you've been given at the hospital has been so patchy and inconsistent. Congratulations on your baby! In addition to what has already been said here (ie it's not too late, you're doing a great job, pump 8x a day) please ask to see the infant feeding team.

Sounds like your milk has come in now. Keep trying with the pump, it should eventually start to increase, and keep putting your baby to the breast, that will help the milk come in

Op, my youngest was born at 28 weeks. I used a pump to express while he was nasally fed, until at 32 weeks when he began to suck. I had a c section too.

can you see the baby and bf ? Hopefully both will home soon. Don’t give up, I bf mine until he was 2.

always painful at first until you get used to it. Congratulations !

All of the above, esp the skin to skin as often as you can. Try expressing after a hot bath or shower which can be much more comfortable. And I know you said you had been ill anyway but be on guard for mastitis which is so common, feeling sick and shivery might mean you need antibiotics, esp if breasts aren’t getting fully drained regularly. Wishing you all the luck in the world!

Thanks so much everyone for your help and reassurance! I went down this morning and locked up a bit of a fuss and a lactation consultant has just left. Helped me come up with a proper plan of expressing and how to help what she said are blocked ducts! Turns out I’d been told lots about stimulating but I wasn’t actually then expressing anything so no wonder everything was getting blocked! Seems so obvious now when she said it! Hopefully things will start to improve soon.