Help - think I did something really wrong!

[Dreemagurl]

Desperate for some advice please ladies. My 2 week old DD has not settled into any feeding routine as yet and I have been bf on demand. My supply usually seems to be plenty although she has just been through a growth spurt which was exhausting - feeding CONSTANTLY. She's got a bit of a cold - very snuffly and sometimes finding it very difficult to breathe - because of this since yesterday morning she's only been able to latch on for 5 mins at a time and I was feeding every half an hour more or less. Was so exhausted last night and she didn't seem to be latching on at all and had used all my expressed milk that in desperation we tried to top her up with some formula. She didn't like it much but took about 100ml. Wouldn't settle for another hour or so and then finally fell asleep in my arms about midnight. She then has slept almost constantly which has made me really worried that I've done something wrong by giving her the formula. I managed to wake her about 5 and she latched on for 5 mins but went straight back to sleep. We couldn't get her to wake until we gave her a bath which also seemed to help her breathing which was becoming scaring laboured. Had a 15 min feed about half 7 and now straight back asleep. Is this ok or should I be worried? She hardly seemed to sleep yesterday so she must be very tired but I'm worried that she's not getting enough food if she's not waking up for feeds. Sorry for long rambling one but am terrified I've done something really wrong!

it sounds ok i think.
she may just have been really exhausted and is catching up on sleep.
since midnight she has had a 5 min feed and another 15 min feed is that right?

feedwise i think she is fine. i would just keep an eye on her.

how is her breathing now?

don't think formula has done anything to her, she is prob tired and a bit run down from cold.
I am no expert at all but here is what I would do.
I would wake her every 3 hours, if she's not waking for feeds. if your supply is good and fast let down, she may be getting enough in 15 minutes.
if your very concerned, offer her expressed milk top ups. you can give her an oz or 2 before trying to feed her rather than after, which might give her the energy to feed longer from you.
also, if you go to doc, you can get saline nose drops which work very well to clear up little noses.
hope she feels better soon.

I wouldn't worry about one long sleep, she had a hard day, and the formula would keep her feeling full.
Keep offering the breast, you would be surprised what they can get down them in 5 minutes. If this went on for a few days, I would look for medical advice. Are you using Karvol or similar to help her breathing? DS has a cold at the moment and I have a bottle of baby nose clear oil (smells like vicks) which really helps. I think you are supposed to put it in a vapouriser in the room, but I put a few drops on a hanky and tucked it out of reach in his cot.

How's her breathing? You said laboured - just need to watch for stridor (I think) - so is her chest/ribcage sucking right in? Call NHS direct if you're worried.

That aside, she's probably exhausted from the cold. You can squirt a bit of breastmilk up her nose to clear the airways. Also feed her so she's as upright as possible - when you've a blocked nose, lying down makes it worse.

Dreemagurl please don't worry. Personally I think there are 2 issues going on here, the snuffly nose and the formula.

Please don't worry about giving her the formula, it is really not worth worrying about but if you want to continue bfing I'd put the rest in the bin.

Secondly the cold is making it hard for her to feed. You could try putting her in her chair in the bathroom whilst you have a shower, the steam should relieve her nose a bit. You could also try a Nasal Aspirator, I got my from Boots, and Saline Drops. Also, please take a look at what Kellymom has to say about bfing, babies and colds.

Don't forget, you've done a lot of the hard work already. You've fed for 2 weeks already and managed to get through the 2 week growth spurt. She has a cold and it will get better. You're doing fine and it will get easier, I promise

Babies do get colds - about 10 to 20 in the first year. So don't worry about that. If her chest is sucking in when she breathes you need to get it checked out, but I doubt it is any more than a cold.

In terms of the formula - it will not harm her. If you are worried she no longer wants you milk, worry not. She's knackered (as I bet are you which is why you are not seeing things very clearly :) ) - we've all been there - pick her up every three hours and nurse her, she'll get through it.

Incidentally you could try sleeping yourself. :)

I would try saline drops for her nose too - someone on MN gave me that advice a couple of weeks ago when DD2 had a nasty cold at 3 weeks old. I found that if I gave the drops before a feed, held her upright for a bit and then fed her, she would feed for longer and it wouldn't wear her out as much. She also slept loads (although not in one long stretch as her snuffles kept waking her)

Don't worry about the formula - you haven't hurt her but agree that some expressed top ups might be a good idea - then DH could help?

OP if you don't want to do the top-ups you could just try feeding her every 2 hours instead. Some Mums find this much less hassle than expressing.

Dreemagurl, sorry I don't think I worded my last post quite right. You can do the 2 hour feeds if you are worried about your baby's intake but personally, from your original the 5 min and 15 min feeds in the night sound fine.

Hope she is feeling a bit better today and you are managing to a bit of rest

If you are still worried you could try ringing one of the bfing helplines as they might have some more tips for you.