help needed...pleaseeeeeeee :(

[InTheNightGarden]

feel like poop....

Had my beautiful little boy on Saturday, making him 4 days old, I breast fed until this morning... my nipples were cracked, sore, bleeding and all I wanted to do when he latched on was cry or scream because it hurt so much!

I'm now expressing my milk and feeding it to him in a bottle...(feel like a failure for doing this!!) I'm expressing every 3 hours and only getting 50-60ml each time and that takes about half an hour to get out! I demand feed ds, but he seems to want more every time!

My question is, if anyone knows how many ml a 4 day old baby should be having and how much I should be getting out when I'm expressing?!

Any help/advice GREATLY appreciated.

congratulations on your darling and well done for keeping on going, don't give up. it seems that your DS is a little expert and in wanting more milk each time he knows exactly what he needs - lots of milk to

1)flush that meconium out and
2)create, maintain and secure his milk supply for the next months which has to be done now. the more you pump the better it is for your supply which will be established in the first 6-8 weeks.

when my DD was born for the first week or so she cluster fed for several hours in a row so if you are expressing maybe more often. drinking his fill every three hours is probably not enough for a newborn anyway, every hour would seem more reasonable, and also very important to establish your supply.

so keep going, you are amazing amazing amazing and so is your body - get some good nipple cream and hopefully a good advisor/breastfeeding consultant if to hand. good luck, and please don't be disheartened. try to bear the shooting pains and other discomforts, give your DS as much milk as he demands and you can pump, eat every hour and drink at least a litre of water an hour or whatever you can manage, it will get easier. just remember you are doing the best for your DS so ignore the "boobie-traps", most importantly claims that you have a low supply and need to top-up. utter bollocks!!! keep pumping!!!

i meant also to get across that only your DS can know how much milk he needs so let his hunger guide you. fingers crossed.

Hang in there - it does get easier!

Have you got some lansinoh or other nipple cream to help you heal? My ds took a huge chunk out of my nipple when he was a similar age and that got me through. Perhaps some panadol might take the edge off during feeds till you heal?

Everyone varies as to how much they can express but that sounds like a decent amount especially so early on. I am absolutely no expert but remember at our antenatal classes being shows some small marbles and being told that was the babies tummy size - tiny!

Might be worth contacting your nearest la leche league or Breastfeeding network contact to get your latch checked etc in case a change of positioning could help.

Hang on in there, the pain doesn't last forever. I was crying and swearing like a trouper every time ds latched at that age and we came close to giving up many times but at 16mo we are still going and it was totally worth the effort. Good luck!

just to add, 50-60ml is a very decent amount to be pumping so that sounds really great.

oh i remember those 1st few painful days too, so you have sympathy! 1st, Get your MW to check your latch and positioning.

I think it's quite a normal amount that you are expressing, the kellymom website (www.kellymom.com) says expect 0.5-2oz (I think that's like 20-60ml) from a pumping session on both breasts. Baby's tummy is tiny at 4do, so 60ml should be heaps for 1 feed. They appear hungrier if you bottle feed as they get the milk much faster so their need to suck isn't fulfilled as well (comfort sucking). You know he's getting enough if you get 6-8 wet nappies a day.

Your engorgement will go down in a few days (take some panadol/neurofen to help) then things become easier too.

Lansinoh for your nipples... totally amazing stuff. Someone also recommended Jelonet dressings (ask in pharmacy) to heal cracks. If you're desperate ask your MW about using a nipple shield too.

You're doing GREAT those 1st 2 weeks are incredibly tough but it does get a million times better soon.

Everyone here has great advice which I agree with.

I was the same as you - expressing in the early days and while I can't answer your question about how much 4 day old babies need/want, I was going through my txts yesterday and on day 4, I had txt DH (I was still in hospital) to say I'd just pumped 33ml from my left boob! I was well chuffed lol! So 50-60ml from both is amazing. Keep expressing and pump for a while after no more milk comes out, that will help you will produce more.

Just a suggestion for the pain - by my second week I was exclusively expressing and giving it by bottle as the pain was so bad. I went to a breast feeding group and the midwife there suggested to try bf once a day for 3 days then increase to twice a day for 3 days, then 3 times a day for 3 days etc. This totally worked for me as a month to the day after DS was born, it became a whole lot easier and I could bf at every feed! It still hurt a little but was bearable. Now DS is nearly 11 weeks and I love bf him!

Keep going, you're doing amazing. It will get better, honestly!

Everyone here has already given you great advice but just wanted to add encouragement - you're doing great and 50-60ml sounds like a good amount 4 days in.

Try and get to a bf group/seek out someone to help you with the latch as this can often cause soreness. Sometimes you just need to adjust the baby a few cm to make a huge difference.

I did a lot of expressing at first as DS wouldn't latch but I went through the pain stage when I finally did. What I'd say is be religious with paracetamol & ibuprofen and also applying lansinoh after every feed - even if you don't look sore, it really helps.