Tips needed for attempting to BF after starting on formula ...

[kdiddy]

I gave birth 3 days ago to a gorgeous little boy. All went better than I could have hoped and he (and I) are really healthy and happy.

I had been planning to BF and was preparing for that to happen. It was in my birth plan, and as everything went so straightforwardly with my birth the hospital discharged me after 4 hours. Tried to BF DS after the birth; he obliged a bit, but was very tired so not for more than 5-10 mins or so.They did give me the option of staying in because I said I'd like support to get BF going, but they also said the ward was jam-packed, hardly any MW on, and I would probably be better relaxing and home and taking the support of the community MW, NCT, LLL etc. It being 3am, and me being tired, knackered and emotional, that's what I did.

Since then I had huge problems - he just didn't want to latch on - freaked out crying, wouldn't take the nipple etc. I spoke to community MW day after the birth and she said don't worry, they don't all feed in first 24 hrs, just keep skin-to-skin going and keep offering the breast. Arranged for another MW to come round today and kept going.

Last night he had a meltdown and spent hours screaming, sucking his fists, I thought he looked like a hungry baby to me. But thought I could wait for MW to come this morning. Tried expressing colostrum with hand and pump, didn't get any. MW today basically said he was starving and he should have been feeding every 3 hours from when he got home. Got him on formula straight away, she tried to express colostrum from me, couldn't get any either and said basically my breasts couldn't get any out .

I am going to keep trying to express and hopefully have some success with EBF but I have been so low and sad today as I feel I have let my DS down. Logically I know he's ok but am so disappointed and pissed off at different MW advice. If I'd known what to look for, and not been rushed out of the hospital, wonder if it might have been different.

Anyway - I am still going to try and BF but wondered if anyone had tips on how to get it going after starting on bottles and formula. I just want to give it my best shot.

Sorry for the essay.

That sounds awful, poor you! I don't have any advice but I'm sir you have a great chance at establishing BFing. I assume your mill hasn't come in yet? It will be easier when it does. Has the midwife looked at your latch? I suspect the beat thing would be to call one of the BF helplines, hopefully someone will be able to come and see you. MWa are sometimes not the most helpful people when it comes to BFing. There are lots o very knowledgeable posters on this topic and I'm sure someone will be along soon with good advice. In the mean time I would try to BF as much as possible, but be careful with your latch. If it hurts for more than a few moments there could be a problem with your latch or positioning.

at my typos. Good luck and congratulations.

Firstly, congratulations! :)
Secondly, has your milk come in? Do your boobs feel massive, tender and fit to pop?
If it were me at the next feed I'd give him a small amount of formula to take the edge off his hunger, while having skin to skin, and then have another go at bf. Make sure you're getting a good latch, his bottom lip needs to start near the bottom of your aereola with your nipple almost pointing up into the roof of his mouth. It is completely toe curling for the first 10 seconds, remember to breathe :)

Make sure you're taking care of you, eat well and make sure you're drinking lots and lots and napping when the baby does. Avoid caffeine. Oats and fennel are rumoured to help with supply and let down and I figured it couldn't hurt to eat a bowl of porridge or have a cup of herbal tea.

Lastly, go easy on yourself. You've nurtured your little man so well, don't let one small aspect make you feel sad.

Thanks for replying, it's really helpful.

No the milk hasn't come in yet, so I've been trying to express and stimulate the breast anyway to keep going. I will keep going with the skin to skin, and encouraging him onto the breast without becoming a woman on a mission. Think he could tell how stressed I was last night.

I feel a bit better now, it wasn't helped by DH's grandmother telling me today the baby weight would be harder to lose if I didn't BF ... !

Tell them all to do one and hibernate until you feel better. I remember howling like a loon those first few weeks at absolutely anything, and quite frequently nothing.
Don't get stressed about it, just keep persevering. When your milk comes in it'll make things easier.

Congrats on your DS kdiddy! I had very similar problems to you with milk taking ages to come and contradictory advice - DD got dehydrated and ended up having lots of formula to start with, she was 2 wks old by the time we finally got to almost exclusively BF (I kept giving 1 bottle a day, but that was just my choice).

I'd echo suggestions to see a BF counsellor - I phoned the NCT helpline (you don't have to be a member) and they gave me a contact for someone local who I went to see and was great. She suggested practical stuff re feeding positions to help with latching on and also crazy sounding things like getting my DP to dribble formula onto my nipple from a bottle while I tried to get DD to latch, to encourage her to suck from me. That one worked! Also just staying in bed with your baby and having lots of skin to skin - this bit can actually be enjoyable.

I also saw BF counsellors from the local Surestart - they will come to your house so if they still exist where you are, do phone and get them round, they are feeding specialists whereas most MWs aren't.

I did express a lot as well (a lot as in every 3 hrs rather than a lot of milk, it was literally a few drops to start with) - if you haven't got an electric pump I found it much more effective than hand expressing and your MW may be able to lend you one, or you can hire them from the NCT.

It's hard but try not to worry too much, it's still really early days, you're doing everything you can.

Hope this helps, good luck and congrats again.

You still have every chance of making BF work, honestly, 3 days is nothing. In the next couple of days your milk will come in and wham, you will have so much milk you won't know what to do with it all!

If your DS is struggling to latch when milk comes in, try hand-expressing a bit first as the bowling-ball proportions and hardness can make it difficult for babies to get a grip. If you put your thumb on the top edge of your areola and index finger on bottom and kind of roll them both toward your nipple, you should be able to get some milk out that way. You are attempting to squash the areola between your fingers, not the actual nipple.

There are lots of helpful videos here on what a good latch looks like etc.

Best of luck, I am sure you will be totally fine.

Not a lot of advice, but a hopeful message here. My DD was in special care for the first week and berry tired for a week after that. We didn't even start BF until day 8 and she didn't really properly feed until 2 weeks in. She was getting all or most of sustenance from formula until then. We are now 7 weeks in and she has 1 bottle at night (DH giving it as I type!) and the rest BF. the bottle is my choice to keep her flexible and give DH some cuddle time! It can and does work if you persevere.

Just keep expressing, when I started I was getting 2 - 3 mls and the MWs were really impressed so don't stress.

def go and see your local breast feeding councillor, I used to go to support groups near me and overheard a few of them telling mums that non alcoholic beer is good to help build your supply, something to do with the yeast. If cosleeping is an option then do it as it will also help build your supply, expess in between feeds hard work but you'll def get there!

Oh my goodness.....what a mess the people whose job it is to help you have made :( :( :(

Your baby is 4 days old - easiest thing is just to pretend he is a day old and start again :) Use biological nurturing positions, lots of skin to skin, let him self-attach, have a bath with him lying lengthwise, and just let him discover the joys of bf with no fighting or pushing or struggling.

I would be unsure if you need to bother with expressing, to be honest, esp as you are having problems with it - seems to me a huge faff when things could just right themselves. Keep up the formula as a means of ensuring he does not go hungry/thirsty and stay calm with him :)

A call to any of the helplines is a good idea.

Thanks so far everyone, it is really encouraging after such a few days of highs and lows!! I'm determined not to give up so rang nct this morning - really helpful woman who was also surprised at lack of support but gave some good tips. Milk has come in now so have expressed some which DS has had; and as a last temporary resort I tried nipple shields today which have worked to some extent. He's had 4 feeds now using those but I know I need help for the underlying issue.

So am going to kidnap community MW tomorrow until she shows us where we need to adapt! Thanks again though, really needed some suport