Any advice for a newbie?

[glitternanny]

What do you wish you had known from day 1? (well we are day 4 but you get the idea)

DS is feeding but ended up with a top up of formula last night cos we weren't sure why he wouldn't sleep in his Moses basket. He probably had about 60ml across two feeds one a top up and 1 exclusively formula. (made me feel awful but hey)

He is sleeping after feeding from me but not liking his basket!

He's now had wet and dirty nappy since we got back from hospital yesterday lunchtime.

MW is due here today but I had started writing a really long thread but it disappeared.

He feels like he's pinching me when he feeds - and boy does it hurt! I do try and get as much of my whole nipple in his mouth but it's still a pinching/bruised feeling - is that normal and I just need to toughen up?

Gonna sort the steriliser, bottles and pump today.

Hang in there if you can. I'd say definitely get the MW to check your latch. It could be that it'll take time for it to feel comfortable or it could be that it's just not quite right and there's just a tiny adjustment that could sort it all.

I had trouble at the start and a fab midwife just sat with my for twenty minutes trying loads of different positions and holds. Poor DS was bawling his eyes out but it was a necessary evil to just sort it out once and for all. She helped me latch him on, let him suck for a few seconds, checked his suck and asked if it felt ok. If it didn't she got me to latch him off, move him about a bit and latch him on again. It was amazing how different the latches felt. It all seemed so complicated at the time but the midwife said, quite honestly, that it would be shit for a week and then it would start to get easier. And she was right. At first every feed was a battle, wriggling the poor child around, latching and de-latching, but slowly slowly it got better and suddenly I realised that I was barely paying attention to him feeding, I was just pointing him in the general direction, he was doing his bit and I was relaxing watching the tv!

If your midwife isn't very good, there are some great videos on youtube that can help. Basically you need to be holding your DS so his nose is level with your nipple, wait till he opens his mouth wide, tilt his head a little and really get the whole nipple in his mouth. You actually have to be quite forceful usually - I was quite surprised at how rough the MW seemed but actually it was completely necessary to give DS the right idea. He's 11 months now and pretty much helps himself if I sit still long enough!

WRT to sleeping in the basket, that has nothing to do with feeding. Loads of babies take ages to get used to the basket/cot regardless of feeding. Don't worry at all about giving formula top ups - my DS was a terrible sleeper so DH used to give him a bottle every evening while I toddled off for a couple of hours' sleep. I couldn't express so it had to be formula and it was fine, made no difference to my supply and meant that I could persevere with feeding. Without the top up I might have given up due to lack of sleep.

Go with the flow as much as you can. Forget routine or sleeping in a basket for the time being. You're getting used to each other, so just go with what works and a routine should develop over time. Good luck, hope your MW is helpful!

Of course he doesn't like his basket - he's been cuddled 24/7 for the last 9months so anything which comes between you and him is a bad thing in his eyes!

Our DS1 suddenly discovered sleep when we discovered swaddling when he was about 3 days old - might be worth a try but not for all babies - DD hated it and would fight her way out!

Has your milk come in yet? (boobs like concrete blocks!) no harm in giving formula - dependnig how much to want to ebf (sounds like you're open to it which takes a lot of pressure off you) can I recommend that if you decide to do a couple of top up feeds that you don't do them in the evening/overnight as this is when your body is workjin gout how much milk to mnake for the next day and will therefore have the worst impact on your supply.

IIRC days 4-7 were the most painful for feeding as I got used to being chomped on, by day 10 it was fine - you sounds pretty well clued up on what to look/aim for with latch, have you tried stroking his nose with your nipple to make him tip his head back - ideally your nipple wants to be pointing at the roof of his mouth rather than the back of his throat

If he has had wet and dirty nappies then milk/colostrum is going in and coming out so all is workjing and you must be doing it right! Just keep doing it, little and often - very often!

Oops, seems to have turned into a lecture hope some of it is useful