Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Infant feeding

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

Flip

1 2 3 4 5

Original poster

Help for baby who doesn't want to feed and is losing weight

113 replies

hunkermunker · 10/07/2006 21:34

When i had my ds i despearetly wanted to bf, but i didn't really have a clue what i was doing. i had read all the leaflets and websites etc but when putting it into practice it was not as easy as it all sounded. the midwife who had delivered my ds was going off shift about an hour after he was born and although she did stay with me trying to get him to latch on for a bit all she did waskeep shoving my boob in his mouth. she didn't actually tell me anything i could do to help things. then a few hours later another midwife came around and said if he hadn't fed we wouldn't be able to go home and i should give him a bottle cos he would be starving as he hadn't fed since he was born. i still desperately wanted to breastfeed and thought in the comfort of my own home i would manage it.

i am still trying to perservere but now HV is not happy because he has lost weight. tbh he doesn't feed well on breast or bottle (he has some EBM) - he has something called floppy larynx syndrome which makes it difficult for him to breathe when feeding. they want to put him on some increased calorie formula and if he still fails to thrive he will have to go to hospital.

i hate the fact that he doesn't want to feed let alone breastfeed. he has been known to go 9 hours without a feed cos he just refuses to take anything and then i doubt he's even had enough. going to still try and keep up with the breastfeedingm but i can't help but think it is all gonna end very soon

OP posts:

Littlefish · 26/07/2006 08:42

Bamboo - yes, best buddies do home visits. Below is a link to the Surestart website. There are a few in your area - I'm not sure which one is closest.

I also agree with hotmama that the hospital will almost certainly have a feeding advisor. Jump up and down and shout until you get to see them. Which hospital are you in? Russells Hall or Birmingham?

I will also speak to a friend of mine who is a midwife in the area and is also a best buddy to see who you should speak to.

Which NCT counsellor did you arrange to see? Was it the scottish lady in Pedmore - she is linked with Stourbridge NCT.

Hang on in there - I will try my hardest!!!!!!

Sure Start Children's Centres and Local Programmes

Finally - if you need anything which a total stranger can help with, let me know - I'm really close (only about 20 minutes away).

saggarmakersbottomknocker · 26/07/2006 08:52

BBL - sorry to read that your ds is in hospital. Will check back in later to see how you're getting along. Hope you get some face-to-face support very soon.

kayzed · 26/07/2006 08:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Littlefish · 26/07/2006 09:31

Hi Bamboo - how are things now?

I've spoken with my friend. She says that Brierley Hill Surestart have Best buddies, so give them a ring.

I've got the correct name and contact number for you for the community midwives at Russells Hall. They have lactaction spuporters there who would be able to help you. Please e-mail me on

littlefishyone (at) hotmail (dot) co (dot) uk

and I'll give you all the details.

bamboozleslover · 26/07/2006 19:19

no stourbridge NCT told me they only had a trainee .. :S stange!! the LLL lady gave me all the details for the breastfeeding drop in clinic at russells hall, thanks anyway!what best buddies is your friend part of?my email is tobys_mummy at btinternet . com

Littlefish · 26/07/2006 20:48

Bamboo - I've e-mailed you.

nappyaddict · 28/07/2006 05:30

good news everyone! toby got weighed sunday and was 8lb 2 so had put on 14 oz in 10 days .. making up for lost time i think!and was weighed again today and is 8lb 9oz so a further 5oz in 4 days .. i am very annoyed though as i was looking through his red book today and looked at the weight that he was when he supposedly lost weight. i noticed it had been converted to 7lb 1oz when it should have been 7lb 4oz. so in actual fact he was back to his birth weight and although it took a while and was slow he never actally lost weight GRRR! i'm really grateful for them creating extra worry and stress for no reason ... NOT.

nappyaddict · 28/07/2006 05:35

oh btw i changed my name!! and i forgot to say this is due to him being on a high calorie milk..unfortunately the majority of his feeds are taken this way now, but i guess at the end of the day he needs to be healthy and gaining weight and for him breast isn't best - well not exclusively anyway.

tiktok · 28/07/2006 09:46

nappyaddict (ex-bamboo!): it's great your little boy is thriving now and the fact he has gained weight so well shows that the only thing stopping him from doing so was the way breastfeeding was not going well. Nothing to do with flopoy larynx or anything physical - just the fact you had really crap support for breastfeeding, useless information from healthcare professionals, and a health visitor who couldn't read a table accurately and worried you about your baby losing weight.

You have hung on in there so long, and tried to get help many times.....but if the right help and support had been there from the start (and read the first post on this thread again to remind you of how badly you were treated) you would have been spared a lot of grief.

When things are a bit more settled, think about writing it all down - you could even print out the threads and send them to your HV, to the PCT in your area and if there is one, the local infant feeding co-ordinator. Your story is all there

LaDiDaDi · 28/07/2006 11:02

Hello nappyaddict, loving the new name . it's great that as tiktok says there wasn't a physical problem with your lo but sad that you didn't get the support you needed. My dd is also on high calorie milk (Nutriprem 2) as she was prem and didn't gain weight on breastmilk alone. She has three bottles a day and breastfeeds overnight and between bottles. I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone in needing to give your lo formula and that as you say the most important thing is that he is now thriving .

oranges · 28/07/2006 13:34

so glat everything is okay. just wanted to say - I had something very similar, ds was readmitted to hospital and given formula after I failed to feed him properly, but my milk supply stayed and I managed to get him back to breastfeeding. You've tried so hard, don't give up yet.

nappyaddict · 28/07/2006 22:37

oh, did i forget to tell you all that he doesn't in fact have floppy larnyx - the camera showed it was working absolutely fine. he also had a barium swallow for reflux and they said although they couldn't see much reflux going on he DID have uncoordinated swallowing whatever that is (which could be caused by some reflux but they aren't 100% as the test does not always mean your baby has reflux - pretty pointless test then if you ask me!) anyway i'm going on holiday monday so i will probably be a bit busy getting ready over the weekend so if i'm not around see you the 15th august!

LaDiDaDi · 29/07/2006 10:14

Have a lovely holiday, you deserve a break after all of the stress you have had.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5

Swipe left for the next trending thread