Unwell and breast feeding

[Milliebow]

My dd is 3 weeks old and we have been breast feeding well from start with good latch on and no nipple soreness. Weight gain has been good. Sorry if this is tmi and a bit of a moan.

For the past week however I have been increasingly unwell and nauseous. Meaning that I have have not been eating or drinking nearly enough. Add to this the general exhaustion of a newborn and the stress of dh's relatives visiting and I am at the end of my tether. My stomach had felt off/painful all week and I have had loose poo/diarrhoea. This morning I vomitted a few times. Thankfully it has now settled and I have managed some fluids and toast.

DH came home from work early, after some convincing about how unwell I was. He took dd off me this afternoon but she really struggled to settle. As she was crying downstairs I really didn't get any rest. Last night as well she was up most of night and whingy/crying as if she had colic. This morning she slept for me but fed every 1 to 2 hours, she usually goes 3 at a time.

My breasts feel empty and even now after managing some fluids and a little food they still feel empty as if she has just had a good feed. Dd was getting frustrated at my breast which made her crying and throwing herself around worse. Ended up giving her a bottle of formula to get her to settle at 8pm. She's asleep now, but I'm at a loss as to how to handle this. On the one hand If she settles after formula and that means I can have some much needed rest. On the other I'm worried about loosing my supply if she isn't feeding from me, but feel my supply has dwindled already ?due to dehydration. My plan is to see how full my breasts feel when she next wakes up and take it from there. Perhaps topping her up with formula or giving her this for the next feed if my flow is still sluggish. I'm not sure if the frequent feeding today was a growth spurt or because she was getting very little off me. This afternoon she definitely wasn't satisfied however after taking both breasts.

Sorry for long post. Finding this all really hard. Felt as if I was starving poor dd this afternoon. Any advice would be welcome.

Your baby's still tiny so your bound to be tired anyway. But being a bit ill on top will make you feel run down.

A lot of women worry about supply and that they aren't feeling full. This isn't realy anything to worry about the only time you stop making milk is if your breast feel full. You never run out of milk, if baby's had both breast and still seems fussy just offer the first breast again. This is called cluster feeding and often ocures in the evenings with young baby's.

Dehydration can cause a dip in supply but it should only be temporary you just need to feed, feed and feed and things should be fine again within a couple of days.

First off dont panic. Do you have any help? Can dh take tomorrow off to help you out?

You need to feel better and get better. Try and continue to eat and drink. Get a water bottle and take sips from that. Settle yourself down in front of the tv all comfy with the remote, and food and drink within reach and baby nearby. When she needs to feed you'll be ready for her.

When she sleeps you need to sleep. No updating Facebook r coming on here. Just rest.

Don't feel guilty about feeding her a bottle of formula. Your supply will not dwindle by missing a feed. Your boobs might feel uncomfortable though! Needs must. My ds had a bottle if frmula at day 3. We still fed till he was 23 months. Dd is 13 months. Still feeding.

On the weekend don't try and tire yourself out by doing too much. Get dh to take her when she's not feeding and get some sleep. Or go out for some nice lunch and dh is in charge except when feeding. Or you might even want to give her a bottle (dh can try giving her that)! If you are worried about supply you can pump it out and give it her in bottle

You are doing so well. You just need some rest.

Hmm. I think it would be best to keep feeding direct as much as possible, actually and trying to keep your own fluids up. Dehydration can have an effect on supply but it tends to be temporary. There's no reason to worry you wouldn't be able to get it back. Also, avoid anti-histamines and decongestants as they can affect supply. Normal paracetamol is fine but lemsip for example isn't.

It's fine if she's had both sides to go back to the first side - this will also help your supply. But possibly also, this feeling "empty" and the frequent feeds are a red herring - 3 week olds do tend to feed a lot and their patterns change frequently at this age. It's possible she might be coming down with something too which would make her feel unsettled. If you feel comfortable to, it might be best if you can have her in bed with you and a bottle of water and/or dioralyte with you to keep sipping, that way she will feed when she first gets peckish rather than waiting until she is hungry, she won't be as impatient and it's lots of stimulation for your supply rather than a bit every few hours.

Remember also that every time you are feeding her you're giving her antibodies to whatever you've got which should help prevent her getting it, or help her get over it much quicker if she does get it.

Have you seen a doctor? I'm sure it's just a virus but if it's been increasing over the last week it might be worth getting checked out.

Thanks miggril. I know that breasts produce when the get the signal from sucking even if they aren't full. Just disheartening and was beginning to worry me as she was only latching on for a few mins and the screaming and fussing. Changed sides several times but didn't seem to help. Getting really unsure about whether she was getting enough.

Will keep persevering though. Now I've had some rest I'll dig out a DVD and stick at it when she next wakes up.

Thanks everyone else for replies. I cross posted. Feel a lot better with the reassurance. My mantra is fluids fluids fluids. Bertiebots DH is also unwell although not as bad as me so fairly convinced this is viral.

It is possible that there was another reasion for the fussing. Baby's who are offered a bottle after a BF will often still take milk as once they start sucking the milk just keep's flowing, they can't control the flow the same as with BF. They then pass out from being over full (just like if you've eaten a big sunday roast) and it seem's like they where hungery becuase the bottle seems to have setaled them.

Even if it is just a virus I'd see the doctor just because you've given birth so recently. I became ill with an infection after a c section and struggled to breastfeed through the worst of it. I did supplement with formula and as I got better and could eat properly again my supply seemed to improve and I managed to get to a point where I was exclusively breastfeeding. I don't know if I made it harder by supplementing but it might reassure you to know that even IF it does affect your supply you can readdress the balance as your body gets better so don't worry about needing to top baby up so you can get some rest.

Your immune system might be a bit fragile at the moment though (no idea whether it is, but it might be - giving birth is a hell of a toll on your body!) so I'd definitely see the doctor if it goes on much longer than a week. Just to make sure anything viral hasn't turned into an infection of some kind.