mw advise re: ff 4 day old

7 replies

nailak · 27/07/2011 00:52

So my friend just had a baby. She wants to bf, she had morphine during labor. Baby sleeps 3 hrs then latches on 5 - 10th mins, she is worried as dd1 cluster fed, latched on for hours. Mw advised top up ff, imo bad idea as milk supply not established yet. opinions please? And yes she asked my advice.

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wrinklyraisin · 27/07/2011 01:45

Definitely don't top up with formula just yet. Tell your friend to continue offering the boob as often as she can to help increase her supply. It's early days.

Solo · 27/07/2011 01:48

Ditto wrinkly. Wish MW's knew more about bfing!

ChunkyPickle · 27/07/2011 02:12

I had morphine during labour (induced, didn't even take the edge off - to think I'd originally asked for paracetamol!). My milk took 5 days to come in, and he would also only pop on for a few minutes then off again.

My MW didn't even suggest formula top-ups, although they said they'd revisit if he lost 10% body weight (nearly did) and hadn't started gaining again within a week.

Persist - if it's a for couple of minutes or 20 minutes, every hour or 3 hours just keep offering - the cluster feeding will come next week I expect!

RitaMorgan · 27/07/2011 06:58

Can she wake him more frequently? Or take him to bed with her skin to skin so he has free access to the breast? I don't think 3 hourly is going to be anywhere near often enough for either of them.

hiccymapops · 27/07/2011 07:11

I really would wait and see how her weight gain is first. Dd is my 3rd dc, and I've always breastfed, but she is feeding completely differently to the boys.

It sounds like she's very similar to your friends dc. She seemed to sleep constantly, and hardly fed at all. I remember telling the midwife that I'd timed it, and it really was about 6 minutes every few hours. Nothing like the boys, who would feed if I tried them while asleep, or woke them (which I did if I thought they'd slept too long without food, I'm always a worrier!)

I was extremely worried and convinced she couldn't be getting enough. But I had to just follow her lead, and it seemed she knew what she needed better than me.

As I said, I wouldn't worry (although it's hard) unless she doesn't start to gain weight. Little angels or laleche (or something like that it's called) may be a good idea to call for advice and put your friends mind at rest.

Original poster

nailak · 27/07/2011 11:55

thank you, everyone seems to be on the same page as me, i told her to wait until the baby is 2 weeks and check weight gain

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Original poster

nailak · 27/07/2011 11:55

but why are mw's so clueless?

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