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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

Having real trouble breastfeeding :(

46 replies

PDR · 22/02/2011 21:47

My baby was born on Saturday night so he's 3 days old now and I am having real trouble feeding him.

I think I must be doing something wrong becuase my nipples are very sore and are bruised purple in the middle... but when I asked the MW if I was doing it ok she said yes

I fed him after delivery for 5-10 mins then up on the ward again only 5 mins. On Sunday I kept trying every 1/2 hour to feed him as he was very shakey and had low blood sugar - in the end the MW said I needed to give him some formula so I did.

Since then at home I have been trying at the breast for 20-30 mins but then I give up and give him formula.

I can get him to latch on but he kind of falls off again after a few sucks and it goes on like that until he either falls asleep or gets frantic.

Sorry this is a really long random post but if anyone has any advice for me that would be great.

The MW is coming back on Thursday so I will ask for her help then - I have called the NCT helpline but so hard to explain to someone without them seeing how I am doing it IYSWIM...

OP posts:

Meglet · 22/02/2011 21:49

Does the maternity ward have a bf counsellor. Our one did so I went up there to see her. Much easier sitting with someone for 30 mins than chatting over the phone.

I'm sure someone with more knowledge will be along shortly .

UKSky · 22/02/2011 21:53

Get in touch with your local surestart centre where they should have a breastfeeding group. They also have a specialist breastfeeding midwife and trained helpers who should be able to help out.

Sore nipples are very common when first starting breastfeeding.

I'm sure you're doing fine, but just need a little help. It can take a bit of time until you are both comfortable - don't forget you're both learning something new.

Good luck and I'm sure everything will work out fine.

Original poster

PDR · 22/02/2011 21:57

Is it going to harm my chances of sucessfully feeding him myself by giving him formula now? I don't want to shoot myself in the foot, but I don't want it to be traumatic for either of us and/or starve the poor thing!

OP posts:

thisisyesterday · 22/02/2011 21:59

i would really try and see someone before thursday if you can. if your midwife wasn't that helpful then maybe see if there is a breastfeeding counsellor who could come out and watch you feed?

thisisyesterday · 22/02/2011 22:00

LLL Okehampton: - 01837 55805

01803 840109

LLL Torridge & NW Devon: - 01409 240202

LLL Totnes & South Hams: - 01803 868471

try one of these numbers for La Leche League. They're generally happy to talk at ANY time (my local leader was talking to a mum of a 2 day old at 3am the other morning!!!)
If they aren't in a position to answer you'll get redirected or go to answerphone normally... so if you want to call now then don't worry about annoying people.
I only say that as when i had probs with my first I was always worried that people would be too busy to come and see me!

babybear5 · 22/02/2011 22:01

Congratulations. As a midwife I know what you mean saying it is hard to explain to someone over the phone. I have breastfed my babies and still had problems with cracked nipples etc, even though i am supposed to know what i am doing so I am sure you are doing really well.
What i would say is, keep going but perhaps you could contact your health visitor and see if she would visit. She would also tell you when the breastfeeding support group is on. I would also phone the maternity unit and request that your midwife visits tomorrow, dont wait for her to come thursday. They wont mind, they are there to help and good luck.

Original poster

PDR · 22/02/2011 22:17

thisisyesterday thank you I think the NW Devon & Torridge is my nearest one but still quite far! I will call them in the morning.

I will ask MW to come out tomorrow - will probably be a different one to the one I saw last so maybe that's not such a bad thing - another point of view and all that.

I know it can be painful to start but so hard to know what is normal and what is not IYSWIM! I don't want to carry on doing it wrong if I am...

Going to try again in an hour anyway... hopefully my milk will come in tomorrow and DS might wake up a bit [must not complain about sleepy baby!]

OP posts:

japhrimel · 22/02/2011 22:28

Yes, formula could afffect bfing - it works on supply and demand and you need your LO to be suckling. Plus formula is given in huge quantities for newborns so it fills them making them far less interested in feeding. You can hand express colostrum into syringes or cups - its only a few ml max each time though.

Look on youtube for Dr Jack Newman - he has videos on latching with newborns.

gaelicsheep · 22/02/2011 22:30

I know I bang on about this, but ask someone to check for tongue tie. Falling off the breast is one of the signs, as are sore nipples with an apparently good latch. It may be nothing of the sort, but after struggling for months when a tongue tie wasn't spotted I would urge anyone to rule it out ASAP.

StealthPolarBear · 22/02/2011 22:31

can you call the AN ward & say you need to see a midwife tomorrow?
Is he havng wet and dirty nappies?

ThatVikRinA22 · 22/02/2011 22:56

....and dont give up, and id try and stop the FF.

i was so pissed off to get no support with BF, i had a home birth and i was convinced i was doing it wrong despite my DD gaining weight, no sore nipples, but my lack of confidence and some very very crap advice from a very outdated health visitor had me give it up after 6 weeks....and i cried and cried as i so wanted to do it, persevere and get some advice - think i contacted the la leche league in the end but no one came to see me and i gave up. i would hope things might be different now - this was 13 years ago

foxytocin · 22/02/2011 23:05

The ABM has a good presence in North Devon and Somerset. The list of support groups are here for a search to see if one is nearer to you than the LLL one. Their Helpline no is 08444 122 949 and is open from 9.30 am to 10.30 pm.

National Breastfeeding Helpline is 0300 100 0212

foxytocin · 22/02/2011 23:12

another thing to try is exaggerated attachment as pictured on pg 10 of this pdf document or pg 9 of the booklet to get the baby on and to stay on.

you could also try hand expressing some milk and feed by syringe or a small cup (a cough syrup measuring cup is ideal) just another idea

good luck. ring a helpline in the morning.

Original poster

PDR · 23/02/2011 11:22

Right the MW is coming out again later so that's good.

I had some sucess last night - 10mins possibly 15mins but not non-stop I kept having to re-attach him so not sure how much he actually got. He slept for quite a while afterwards before he was hungry so assume he got something.

Milk has come in today so am hoping for more sucess. Have bloody urine infection and it's so painful so been out to the GP this morning and DH has given him formula. I think I will express some milk later to give him in a bottle instead of the formula. Will this help keep my supply up does anyone know?

There is a support group here on Friday morning so going to give that a go :)

OP posts:

StealthPolarBear · 23/02/2011 14:17

Glad it has been slightly better.
Expressing at this stage, especially given you have had problem, probably isn't a good idea. Some women do express exclusively and find it's OK but lots would find it affects supply. As a one off I'm sure it would be OK but probably best to avoid it if you can.
Hope you get infection sorted quickly

TittyBojangles · 23/02/2011 16:40

If you are on antibiotics just be on the look out for developing thrush - jsut something to be aware of. I wouldn't express either as it is just adding extra problems, but you need to really try and not use formula as this will just cause your supply not to increase to your LO's needs. So I guess expressing is better than ff if you HAVE to be away from your LO.

I hope the mw is helpful, is there a bf group you can go to or an infant feeding specialist who can come to you?

japhrimel · 24/02/2011 18:59

Expressing is better than formula, but don't do it if you don't have to. Just take baby everywhere you go at this stage.

Original poster

PDR · 24/02/2011 19:18

MW has been out today and said I am not doing anything wrong... baby is just very sleepy

Spoken to very nice lady from the surestart support group and she has given me some tips eg. take a bath with the baby which I have done but he didn't do any better really... I also tried getting him going with the bottle then switching to the breast so he was awake/interested in feeding and he fell asleep on me!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can get him to latch on he just doesn't stay on IYSWIM. It's not nearly as painful as before when he does suckle now either so that's good I guess.

MW said he was looking a bit jaundiced and has lost 8oz (5 days old today) and she said I should express milk for him and then top up with formula.

I managed to express 3oz this morning and 1oz this afternoon so not very much really...

Really don't understand why I am having such trouble with such a natural thing :(

OP posts:

TittyBojangles · 24/02/2011 19:34

Lots of women struggle at first - just look at all the posts on here!! So don't worry about that, it's normal, you are not alone!

Did your mw give you any tips on how to increase the amount of bm your LO is getting? As topping up with formula will of course impact on your supply, and getting more bm would be a much easier than doing all 3 (bf, expressing, and ff).

Can you go to bed with your LO for the day, top off, baby in just a nappy and feed at the slightest squeak?

Remember your baby is ONLY 5 days old, he wants to be with you all the time, for comfort as well as food.

Expressing that much is great at 5days. Remember how small their stomachs are at this age - they really only need a little bit of milk to fill them up :) I only get 3oz per pump and my LO is 16 weeks and I've been regularly pumping for weeks, so you are doing really well

I know you have spoken to the NCT, do they have someone local to you? Or is there someone more specialised in bf than your mw you can talk to? Or try one of the other helplines? Maybe ring the NCT back nd tell them what you've been advised to do and see if they have any other suggestions.

Original poster

PDR · 24/02/2011 19:40

Hey he just managed another 5 mins or so and he was suckling the whole time :) :) :) Back to sleep now though! So different to DS1 who used to cry all the time!

The NCT bfeeding woman "local" to me is quite far away and I really don't feel like going that far. I am going to try the support group tomo morning though - where the woman came from and she said she was going to bring me a book which might be helpful.

OP posts:

EauRouge · 24/02/2011 19:47

Brilliant, glad things are getting better! Yes, BF is natural but so is walking and we don't all get that right the first time it's perfectly normal to take a while to get into the swing of it. As everyone else said, just get loads of skin-to-skin, lie on the sofa just BF and watching telly. You might find this site useful. Good luck, hope things continue to get better :)

japhrimel · 24/02/2011 19:50

To express to keep supply if LO is not taking milk, you need to be expressing at least 8 times a day. A pump isn't as efficient as a properly feeding baby so you need to express just as often, if not more, than the baby needs to be feeding (every time you give a top-up, you should express and ideally express at least that much milk).

3oz in one go on day 5 is excellent though and even 1oz is really worth it - you just need to express more.

Keep waking him up at regular intervals and feeding him. Express for top-ups (or your supply will drop and you will lose options).

Remember - every drop of breastmilk helps.

runnermum2 · 24/02/2011 20:11

I only managed to express 1 oz this am and DD is 16 weeks. Usually I can get 3. So today it just wasn't happening but waht I'm trying to say is that you're doing just fine!

CrystalQueen · 24/02/2011 20:19

You said the MW said your baby was "looking jaundiced". If that is the case you need to be waking him up to feed, and certainly don't wait for more than three hours. (I wish someone had told me that at the time, and not days later). Good luck with the pumping, it is hard work.

girliefriend · 24/02/2011 20:26

You sound like you are doing really well, you are expressing more than I could when dd was that age!!

My only advice is keep going and know that it DOES get eaiser!!! If you can get to 6 wks it suddenly gets so much eaiser for you and baby.

I found going to a local support group really helpful not just for advice but as a way of meeting other mums who were all just as sleep deprived!!

My dd was a very sleepy newborn and I used to do things like walk my fingers up her back and take her legs out of her baby grow to try and wake her up when she was feeding!

Also I used to express what I could to top up the evening feed as this is when I found my milk supply to start to wane slightly and also I used to top up with formula if I was flagging. Although I was fortunate that dd didn't have any probs with nipple confusion which some babies do.

Good luck and congrats xxx

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