Breastfeeding, unwell and baby refusing to eat

[lizzywig]

I woke up on Friday with the lurgy and was worse yesterday but today I can?t even get out of bed. Very bad, cold, thumping head, temperature, sore throat, cough and aching all over, suspect the flu, possibly just a nasty cold. Thankfully DH is here today (tomorrow he?s back to work) and able to look after 11wo DD. The last few days she?s been becoming more fussy about eating, keeps taking herself off and taking up to an hour to eat (normally takes around 30 mins). Today DH has been bringing her up to me in bed but she?s pretty much refusing to eat. She will be desperate for it but keeps taking herself off, bobbing up and down and crying when she is latched on.

Subsequently DH gave her a feed on some expressed milk which I had thankfully frozen, she gulped 5oz down in 5 mins!! I wondered if she could have caught my bug, took her temp, was 37oc, so we took her very thick dress off and it?s gone down to 36.8oc, so not given her any calpol as we think she?s ok. Then I wondered if actually the problem is me, I have tried expressing and only got half an ounze out in 30 mins, normally I get 3oz out in 20 mins.

I wonder if this bug has reduced my milk supply? I have done a bit of online searching and it doesn?t come up, just says you can carry on feeding when unwell but to keep your fluid intake up. Let me tell you, if I drink any more liquids I may as well move into the bathroom!! I?m also drinking lots of herbals (fennel, camomile etc tea).

It?s upsetting enough not being able to look after my baby but I?m really worried about my supply now....I only have three sachets of expressed milk left. We occasionally give her a bottle of formula at bedtime so I?m not adverse to using it but I don?t want her to become used to it over mummys milk. Any ideas?

It can happen that milk supply dips for a short while during an acute illness like yours, lizzy - best thing to do is to carry on doing what you are doing, with plenty of opps for feeding, and when it's too much, to give the expressed. This situation does not last more than a day or so, usually, so hang on in there, and hope you get better soon.

Get in bed with her and do skin to skin all day if you can. Is she your only child?

If your supply has reduced, don't panic - it's not as fragile as we're led to believe! The best way to stimulate supply is skin to skin and frequent feeding, which may mean just as frequently as she wants to feed, don't stress trying to get her to take extra, or if feeds are taking longer or less long than normal. Just go with it and trust that she and your body know what to do, as long as they are left to it with no interference.

No need to take extra fluid - just make sure you're drinking to thirst and enough that your lips do not become dry (useful early indicator for dehydration).

Her nose may be blocked - try squirting breastmilk up it (!) - it will loosen the snot and help her latch.

Skin to skin will also help keep her temperature regulated as your skin temperature will change by 1 degree to help keep hers stable.

Have you had any decongestants e.g. lemsip?

I did have some lemsip yesterday and a strepsil but nothing today, oooh actually I did have some cough medicine and some paracetamol....?

Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it. I would do the skin to skin thing but if I'm honest (and perhaps this is totally selfish) I feel so unwell that I'm struggling to stay awake. I've literally just picked up the laptop to post this and now back off to sleep. I'm finding her fussiness really hard to deal with, I'm not naturally patient but have developed buckets of it since becoming a mum (yes she is my first) but it seems that when I'm unwell I find it really hard to be so patient when she can't feed. All I want to do is sleep and get better and fast so that I can look after her tomorrow.

I did wonder if her nose was blocked so will try your tip - interesting! I will perceviere with feeding her when feeding time comes around, I just don't think I can manage the skin to skin thing all day long.

Lemsips have a decongestant in which can in theory affect milk supply, so I'd avoid them in future, but don't worry for now - it should catch up again as long as you let her feed as much as she wants.

Can you not do skin to skin, or at least close contact, and sleep at the same time? Just make sure she is well away from the edge of the bed, sleep on your side facing her, duvet up to your waist, it can touch her feet/legs, that's okay, blanket over both of your tummies and dressing gown or thick cardigan over your exposed arm. You'll naturally find you curl around her in a C shape so your legs stop her wriggling down under the duvet and your lower arm stops her wriggling up under the pillows.

That's what I would do anyway, but not for everyone I suppose :)

lizzy, maybe your baby's frustration and upset is also to do with the changes in her little life when you are poorly - less cuddling and closeness and interaction with you? 11 week old babies certainly know when things are different between them and their mums...and we can't explain to them what's going on :(

When you feel better, she will be better too :)