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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Waiting for milk to come in

60 replies

igggi · 19/05/2012 07:31

Sorry if this topic has been asked a million times, in hospital with only ny phone and could really use quick, MN advice!
Have spent a second night feeding newborn ds2 throughout the night - literally hour after hour. Knackered and nipples chewed to death! Midwives talking about him feeding so much as my milk isn't in yet, have been offered a formula top-up as well.
So questions are - how long till this magic milk arrives? (Ds born Wed pm). Should I accept top-up? Can I have reconstructive surgery on mangled nipples or will they heal themselves?
TIA

OP posts:
BertieBotts · 19/05/2012 21:10

Big hard boobs are def a good sign! There must be something in there :) Yes it's normal for them to lose weight.

Original poster
igggi · 19/05/2012 23:42

No way would it take my mil a whole week Nicklebabe!
I await tomorrow morning's breasts with interest!

OP posts:
LAF77 · 20/05/2012 09:45

Congratulations iggi so pleased for you! Hope your milk arrives this morning.

Beware the breast tissue in your armpits when it comes in. It may feel quite painful!

loopydoo · 20/05/2012 09:57

If you feel very engorged, hand express a little off for about fifteen seconds just to soften the breast slightly and that will make it easier for a good latch.

Original poster
igggi · 20/05/2012 10:23

Do you know, I got up today thinking "wtf is that growth under my armpit?" and also "since I think that's the milk now in, why is feeding harder?" AND THEN log in to MN and find my questions have already been answered!
(Wonders what my next question will be!)
Oh thanks Laf for congratulations, it does feel absolutely amazing and I am trying to be worthy of the wee mite and stop complaining!

OP posts:
LAF77 · 20/05/2012 14:34

iggi enjoy every precious minute. My DS is almost 2 months old! Regarding your armpits, if you have access to a hot water bottle, put it under your arms, it will soften the tissue. Congratulations on your milk arriving!

nickelbabe · 21/05/2012 11:40
Grin

Glad to see it's all going to plan

I found as well, that if I sort of held my upper arms close to my side when I fed (I know it's hard to do when you're holding the baby!), it kind of seemed to push more out into the baby.
that might have been a complete illusion, but it made me feel like I was doing something productive! Grin

Original poster
igggi · 21/05/2012 18:52

Haven't tried the arm thing yet, though I do often imagine rivers of milk to try to help things get moving!
Went to a bf clinic today, great latch there, not so great at home but definitely better. If only all feeds were daytime ones, I'm so much better prepared for them than the exhausted sore, trying-to-stay-awake night-time ones!

OP posts:
marshmallowpies · 21/05/2012 19:38

igggi yes if only I could get a latch as good as when the MW is watching at the bf clinic, all my troubles would be at an end. DD seems to perform beautifully when a MW is observing her...

Original poster
igggi · 21/05/2012 22:04

Marshmallowpies it bodes well for their performance in intervies, surely?!
Have just had meltdown while trying to assemble my new medela pump - a part is missing, I've to brave town/john lewis' tomorrow with a newborn Hmm

OP posts:
Herrena · 21/05/2012 22:12

Is it ok to hijack thread with a quick question?

When my DS was born, he barely showed any interest in feeding for the first 24 hours and ended up lethargic, dehydrated and passing urates in his nappy. Midwives said he needed fluids immediately and there we were on formula.

I'm pregnant with DS2 now and would really like to try BF again, but want to avoid a repetition of last time. Loads of posters on this site have said 'let them sleep in the early days, they'll let you know if they're hungry' but DS1 never did - he just got to the stage where he was too lethargic to do anything :(

Any advice on how to establish BF with a newborn would be very welcome.

Apologies for hijack OP (and congrats on your DS2) Flowers

loopydoo · 21/05/2012 22:19

Skin to skin is the key. Keep them on you all the time and encourage them to feed by letting them pat and lick and smell you.

tiktok · 21/05/2012 23:04

herrena - it's incorrect for babies to sleep for long hours in the newborn period, and people who say this on mumsnet are usually put right :) Babies need the opportunity to feed from the very start.....if a baby is held close, skin to skin, and is not experiencing side effects of pain relief, they usually do feed often. If they are not getting anything after a few hours, then the mother needs help to hand express colostrum. The baby can then have this off a spoon.

It's poor care from the midwives to leave it 24 hours and then say you need to give formula :( :(

loopydoo · 21/05/2012 23:14

It's a shame tiktok but the postnatal ward I'm helping on at the moment seem to be the same. I have seen a couple of mums hand express and give through a syringe which is better at least but the vast majority are told to give formula to make sure they're 'getting enough'.

lilbreeze · 21/05/2012 23:32

I've also seen midwives offering formula in the first 24 hours when mums are worrying their babies aren't getting enough Sad

melliebobs · 22/05/2012 03:37

Mine took 4-5 days. The feeding till then was bloody relentless. I never knew until the mw tolde that although colostrum is really high in calories it's not enough to fill their tiny tummies Sad

marshmallowpies · 22/05/2012 06:41

I was at least offered donor milk instead of formula when my milk wasn't enough.

I was told 'you need at least 5ml of colostrum to fill her up' and was recommended to try and express using a pump. Half an hour pumping got me 0.5ml and a cracked nipple. In that situation I was very grateful to have the donor milk.

I did manage to get more colostrum via hand expressing & using a syringe - we got about another 4ml into DD thanks to a very patient MW who showed me how to hand express. If you can get similar help, that might work for you - good luck!

tiktok · 22/05/2012 07:30

:( :(

There is usually no need for formula, even when milk is 'slow' to come in.

Colostrum is made in tiny quantities - babies take no more than a few mls at a time. It's simply not true that it is not enough for babies - as long as the baby can get it, of course.

It is normal for babies to feed many, many, many times in the first days - 20 times or more is what is observed when there are no interferences, though of course some of these feeds are very short.

Mothers need support and care during this time, of course, and the babies and mothers need to be close together to make this intense time easy and pleasurable.

Herrena · 22/05/2012 07:52

I've found a link on how to hand express (from Stanford Uni ) and it seems quite good so may help (I got a bit out now and I'm only 30 weeks)!

So keep them close, keep trying to feed and when in doubt, hand-express. Thanks all Thanks

Hope all is going well OP. Is there someone else you can dispatch to town in search of pump parts? I would delegate if I had the option!

nickelbabe · 22/05/2012 11:30

Herrena - :( about your DS1.
If you think they're not waking often enough, you are allowed to wake them. Sometimes they're just so knackered that they can't iyswim.
DD only fed every 5 or 6 hours in the first 2 days, and even when my milk came in, it wasn't very frequent.
I would say, to ease your mind, then if your newborn isn't waking on his own, to wake him every 4 hours to make sure he feeds.
It won't harm, and as you say, you don't want to risk the problems you had.
It's likely he won't follow the same pattern, though :)

nickelbabe · 22/05/2012 11:32

it does seem to be a pattern these days for poor post-natal care to mean that MWs don't notice or care, and then just say "formula" when it's too late!
Rather than try to help in the early hours.

the worst thing is, that it's lack of time on their part (normally) because they've got far too many mothers to look after.

Original poster
igggi · 22/05/2012 12:15

Thanks Herrena remembered I have to wait in for midwife, so sent DH alone to talk breasts - he managed fine Grin
I think when formula top-ups were mentioned to me on day 2, it was only because I knew through experience of ds1 that colustrum would be enough that I was able to say no with confidence. Woman working at bf clinic said they offer formula to get you out of hospital quicker (ie through weight gain).

OP posts:
Herrena · 22/05/2012 12:20

Thanks nickelbabe - I will definitely be waking DS2 whether he likes it or not

I did get a bit concerned on the first night (DS1 born at 5.30am) that he hadn't had much anything and decided to try sticking him on. I got him out of the cot, rang the midwife's buzzer and sat there waiting for about 20 min (it was around 10ish).

A midwife turned up and I asked for some help getting him to feed as I wasn't sure I was doing it right. She gave me a sarcastic look and said 'Well it does help if they're awake you know.' We tried to get him going, he wasn't interested. She left me feeling really stupid, with a parting shot of 'They wake up when they're hungry, stop worrying.'

A few hours later, his 'perfect latch' was deemed to be all wrong and formula was immediately applied Angry

I'm glad that I'm going into it with a bit more info under my belt this time!!

nickelbabe · 22/05/2012 12:42

Herrena - horrible attitude. :(

iggggggggggg i think that's a bad attitude too - it shouldn't be down to weight gain! you should be helped with everything you need, and physically recover.
DD wasn't weighed in the hospital.

Herrena · 22/05/2012 13:10

Lol at igggi's poor husband!

I think the midwives are going to have me down as a right cow handful this time because I will be full of my own ideas rather than blindly doing whatever they tell me! Grin

The experience with DS1 may prove to be an asset really; even if they do say DS2 needs more, I will have the confidence to say 'He's not lethargic, he is feeding, he's not passing urates, therefore he's not having formula so piss off.'

Obviously if he is doing anything worrying then I will be good and do as I'm told....