Breastfeeding

[anon7683]

Hi would love someto advice.

my son was born on the first centile and was jaundice so had to do triple feeding. I was pumping using the medela symphony and have elastic nipples. Last week we got off all top ups and my baby gained 60g a day.

my husband was giving expressed milk bottles at night so I could rest. The pump has become uncomfortable for my nipples as they were swelling in my flanges. I tried breastfeeding at night but he is sleepy and my supply is a little low at night and I’m exhausted. I’m not sure what to but thinking to add formula for the nights. What are peoples thoughts? I’m frustrated I can’t get the pump to work but worried about damaging my nipples

How old is your baby?
not feeding or expressing at night will diminish your supply quickly
find a more comfortable pump / speak to a lactation consultant to help

Sorry OP I don't have much advice but wanted to give my sympathy, must have been so hard for you 🫂

Mine was 2nd centile and I think mild jaundice as we managed to escape the triple feeding. That must have been so tough.

Have you checked with the health visitor? I'm not sure about elastic nipples, I know it's good to get the right size flange so you don't hurt yourself.

Not sure how old your LO is, I found the haakaa really useful to collect some letdown while feeding on the other side, it felt like no more work really since I was already feeding. Built a milk stash that way and it meant when DH used that to feed our baby, I'd miss a feed or two and that meant I got more out of the pump.

Edit: just to add, I agree with PP, really important to feed or pump between (I heard 1 and 4am or 2 and 5am) so not to reduce your supply. I pumped between 6 weeks and 3 months and DH would take him for 4-5 hours at night so I could sleep. Depending when he took him, I'd set an alarm to wake up and pump during that key window.

Definitely recommend going to sleep as soon as baby is asleep - if you can get them down in a cot or hand them off in the evening - and getting a break then. Mine was in a bedtime routine from at least 3 months and I'd go to bed as soon as I got him down.

Lastly, it depends what you want and how you're coping. You've already been through the triple feeding. If you want to prioritise breastfeeding and maintaining supply, I'd ask for support with pumping effectively, are there any breastfeeding support groups in your area? I started cosleeping with LO once his circadian rhythm started to show, and after his first stretch of the night in the bassinet - DH would keep an eye on us with the monitor, while working downstairs. Still doing it and that actually felt more restful than waking up in the early hours to pump both sides with a manual pump, store the bag etc.

Sleep deprivation can really affect your mental health though and if you're really struggling then it's fine to give formula if that will help you be the best mum with some rest. I would never tell anyone otherwise.

That sounds so tough, well done on powering through and getting your little one’s weight up.

Unfortunately you really need to feed at night to maintain supply, particularly between about 2am to 5am. You’ll find your supply is a lot better then than the 7pm-11pm ish slot. Would it be an option for you to go to bed super early, husband gives bottle for the first feed(s) overnight when your supply is low anyway, then you get up to breastfeed and/or pump for any feeds after say 2am?

To keep your supply high you need to feed him whenever he wants to be fed and wake him up feed if necessary. Unfortunately this does mean DH plays less of a role in feeding and you'll be tired at first. If you are comfortable, I would recommend (safe) bed sharing. I would not have been able to successfully breastfeed as long as I did for mine without doing this!

Have you checked your flange size properly? You can get tools from momcozy that help. Lanolin in the flange helps too.

Plus decreasing the power of it if it's causing irritation.

I think one bottle of formula a night would be fine - I did this combi feeding. Same time every night, and same amount of oz. You will still need to feed / pump at least once to keep supply at this stage.

Night times are when we get our supply up. You really need to nurse. Nothing is more efficient than your babyz it's literally their jobs to get supply up..

Can you do a baby mini moon for a bit. Where you and baby just go to bed and just feed as much as possible while someone looks after your needs. Telly and some box sets or something?

If you can't face the slog then there's nothing wrong with formula OP. Sounds like you're doing amazingly well.

The symphony doesn't go very small. You can get silicone flange adaptors which make it a lot more comfortable. I wish I'd know they existed when I was triple feeding. As soon as I got some adaptors for my normal pump my "supply" increased 3 for. It would have got the midwives off my back to show I was a actually producing milk, the pump was just useless for me. Unfortunately, you just need to feed loads. You can do it from bed and just spend the next three weeks in bed if it helps

Might have the wrong sized flange which is whats causing the pain, I advise to directly breastfeed as much as you can as it will improve supply a lot better than a pump can and feeding through the night as tiring as it is will also help, maybe get your husband to care for everything else and you just focus on yourself and baby, it does get a lot easier after the initial few weeks and if you can safely bed share I can guarantee that will help, I'm still breastfeeding my 19 month old and it made a world of difference to getting enough rest, she still feeds in the night but I don't notice as much tiredness because I still bed share

I'd recommend you speak to an IBCLC lactation consultant about this. You do need to be feeding or pumping at night, that's when your supply will be naturally higher, and especially important in the early weeks. I personally found it worked best that I went to bed early evening and my DH stayed up with the baby (he'd bring her for a feed if necessary), then we'd swap about midnight/1am and I'd co-sleep the rest, doing side lying breastfeeding so I could just let baby stay next to me and not have to transfer her. Do a nappy change before a feed to wake baby up. I never got much when I pumped but baby was EBF and has grown fine. If you want to EBF, I think you need to just commit to breastfeeding directly and getting your DH to do everything else. Giving formula won't help increase your supply.

I feel for you, I hated it. It was so painful and I barely got anything. I resented my baby sleeping peacefully and me having to set an alarm to pump. I was knackered, couldn’t sleep in the day. The doctor told me to pump through the night and just snuggle in bed during the day like it was the best thing in the world. I was bored, in pain, knackered and couldn’t sleep as had a baby on me constantly. It really was the worst time of my life. We switched to formula initially for night time and combifed from then on. It really changed my life. I was no longer grumpy, tired and resentful. I actually started to enjoy my baby!

Agree with others that you will need to feed/pump at night to maintain your supply.

Definitely get your nipples measured by a lactation consultant. I also have elastic nipples and found silicon inserts to be helpful.

Agree with others if you want to breastfeed you really need to be either feeding or pumping overnight otherwise you will struggle to continue. I’m currently breastfeeding my second baby, 3 months old, breastfed my first up to 16 months and I tried every pump you can think of and I just never got along with any of them really! Nothing is better than having baby on the boob because that is how they put your order in basically and tell your body how much it needs to make for the baby you have.

I’d delegate everything else to your husband and just have you focus on feeding if you do want to continue to breastfeed x

Introducing formula will not improve your supply and feeding on demand, including through the night, will help. If your DC is sleepy at night/supply is low then that’s as it’s supposed to be as your DC is likely seeking comfort rather than food. IME confidence came with time that my body and my baby both knew what to do. I just had to make it happen by latching him on. My DS was born at 36w, was jaundiced and low birth weight/slow gainer too.

I committed to breastfeeding and prioritised it over everything and got DH and my mum to pitch in with everything else. EBF is a hard road at the beginning but it gets easier, and if you have more DC in future it’s like riding a bike. Hang on in there if you can. Once a routine is established it’s totally worth it.

If you add formula again your supply will reduce.