Advice needed for the days before milk comes in!

[babyblabber]

so am having DC2 on tuesday by ELCS and am starting to get worried about breastfeeding. i've heard that milk can take an extra day or 2 to come in after a section, is this true?

DS was 11lbs and overnight on day 2, into day 3, fed almost non-stop for 17 hours. my nipples were in shreds, DS was getting almost as much blood as milk (TMI, sorry!) and one of the midwives sat me down and told me i'd have to give him one bottle a day due to his size. i really really want to avoid that this time but was thinking of maybe giving formula once or twice before milk comes in if this baby wants to feed constantly to give myself a break. what do you think?

i know baby on boob will help stimulate milk so will still put them on as much as i can bear it but last time by the time i got home both boobs were in bits and i had a crater of a wound on one nipple so was never comfortable feeding from that side, got mastitis etc. would it be ok to use nipple shields pre-emptively? i found DS never got enough milk through nipple shields but maybe it'd be ok before milk comes in as baby won't be getting much anyway? they can suck away and hopefully encourage the milk without causing pain/damage.

also thinking of using a soother from very early, just for 10 mins or so to give myself a break.

for completeness, DS's latch was fine, checked by loads of people, and i'll use lansinoh and breastmilk on my nipples of course but it didn't stop the problems last time.

any other advice greatly appreciated, really want to get off to a better start this time!

You have my deepest sympathy and I hope it is bett for you second time round. I found Lansinoh rubbish to be honest on cracks and cuts but what did work for me was clay powder from a health shop. I made a paste with the powder and used it on a breast pad, it was instant bliss and easy to rinse off before feeds. It really helped with the healing...
I have heard massaging the breasts before birth helps, but I also used a dummy as dd2 was using me to comfort feed, suckle constantly .

Cannot help with some of your questions, but I had both my DDs via csection, and my milk came in before I left hospital on both occasions. I left hospital on day 4 or 5 the first time (I think - its all a blur) and this time around, I had the section on the Monday morning and was discharged on the Wednesday so my milk came in v fast. I was feeding pretty much constantly, as neither of my babies did the whole newborns-sleep-all-the-time thing! Little brats! ;)

Good luck - try not to worry too much. I expect some other posters will be able to offer better advice!

Non-stop for that long was surely a mistake. Your baby wasn't taking milk for all of that time, so this time ask your dh to help to soothe your new baby in other ways to give your nipples a rest x

Sucking is really important for establishing a supply in the early days. Limiting feeds will not help, especially after a C section.

OP- Most hospitals are really good now at giving immediate skin-to-skin after a C section. Ask if you can have as much as possible.

Using nipple shields pre-emptively is not a good idea, they can cause milk transfer problems. I know you had your latched 'checked' before but a good latch is not a painful one, no matter what it looks like.

The MW you saw before was very wrong about giving your DS a bottle because of his size- there isn't a size limit for breastfeeding.

Is there a local BF counsellor who you can chat to about things before and after the birth of your baby? It sounds as though you were given some really duff advice last time and having the right information and support can make things so much easier.

Here is some information about BF after a C section and here is a list of LLL groups.

Good luck with the birth :)

There's no evidence to suggest that having a c-section delays your milk coming in. I had one and my milk came in on day 3 / 4 as per pretty much the norm!

As for what happened with your DS, I really think that you were given bad support there. Having a big baby does not mean that you will be unable to sustain them with just your breastmilk. Instead of telling you needed formula, the midwives should have helped you to correct your latch to prevent you from bleeding as you did. In fact, what the midwife told you doesn't even make logical sense as for example, my DD who is now 6.5 months old was 16lbs when we started weaning a few weeks ago and she is EBF and she was definitely fine on just breastmilk!

I know you said that latch was checked but who checked it and also was he ever assessed for tongue tie as I think this can cause bad latch in general?

I think that formula very early on can interrupt you establishing your supply as can using nipple shields. You need to have baby making direct contact with you in order to get things going.

I actually partly disagree about the latch.
My ds2 had such a powerful suck that the nipple tips just blistered and than bled and I think it is quite likely this is what you mean. There was nothing wrong with his latch either.
I would contact a breastfeeding adviser now for some advice to keep you ahead of the game. And like others have said, it is quite likely you DC2 will be different.
If it was me I would want to avoid formula, I would choose a dummy over that if necessary.
All the best.

There was nothing wrong with his latch? Who told you that? If it caused so much pain and injury then what made you think it was right?

This is a good page about latching and has lots of useful links too.

His latch was checked by about 3 midwives in hospital and I got a private lactation consultant out when I got home. I really don't think that was the problem, more the marathon feeding on day 3 which wrecked my newly feeding nipples and then they never had a chance to recover. That's why I really want to avoid the same thing this time around. DH will be there to help during the day (have to stay in hosp for 5 nights) and I will use soothers for small breaks but I'm Telly just trying to think of ways to keep baby happy without feeding until I bleed.

I know now that big babies don't need formula which is why I defo din't want to give a bottle a day (in fairness to that midwife I think she could just see how in bits I was and was trying help) and i don't intend to limit feeds but I am thinking that rather than a 17 hour stint if this baby is the same, I could feed for a few hours but then give formula to hopefully satisfy baby for a few hours just on day 3/4 if milk isn't in so that my nipples get a break.

Something I've wondered about, having also had a 11lb-er dc1 whose sugar levels did actually dip so had to have a few formula top ups over those first few days is, I've heard people talking about colostrum harvesting for mothers with gestational diabetes. I think the babies whose mums had GD are at far greater risk of low sugars and so you can express and freeze (poss directly into syringes) in advance. Like I say that's only something I think I've heard and wondered if it might be a good idea for the future...