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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

Bottle feeding ds2 for two days, can i now breast feed? could use some help

36 replies

fryingpantoface · 10/01/2014 19:56

I'm hoping for some advice.

ds2 was born on Wednesday. It was a very quick labour (15 mins) and my body went into shock. I tried breast feeding but there was nothing there and ds was also in shock. So we decided to give a bottle, which i was happy with.

now colostrum has come in. This didn't happen with ds1. Literally there was nothing in my boobs with ds1 so we ff. Nothing ever came in, either milk or colostrum.

i am debating trying ds2 on the boob as i wanted to breast feed for at least the colostrum stage. Can anyone tell me if it's worth giving it a go/any advice? Or has that ship already sailed?

I'm on my phone so sorry if I've posted in the wrong place.

OP posts:

Watto1 · 10/01/2014 19:59

No harm in trying! Hope it goes well for you.

SeashellHoarder · 10/01/2014 20:02

Congratulations!

That sound like it would definately be worth a go if you want to try and breast feed.

I would first feed him on each side for 15mins or so then top up with formula until your milk comes in.

I would try to feed 8 times a day to encourage the milk to come in.

I would not stop the formula altogether as he has got used to having a full feed rather than colostrum which is just a teaspoonful or do each feed.

Disclaimer - im not a professional. Have breast feed 1 dc and bottlefeed 1.

kippersmum · 10/01/2014 20:03

Definitely try it, DS2 might just latch on, you never know. I'm not a qualified BF expert tho :( Give LLL or a similar group a ring & ask for help.

My 2 DC's are now 6 & 7 but I remember calling a breastfeeding helpline with DC2 at 9pm one night & getting the most wonderfully helpful mum talking me through how to make sure DC2 was latched on correctly. Good Luck!

DickCrack · 10/01/2014 20:04

No it's not too late. Keep putting him on, every 2 hours or so day and night. His tummy holds around 7 ml at 2 days, you only need to produce just over a teaspoon of milk at each feed to fill him up so don't think you need to be making a bottle full or it won't be enough.

DickCrack · 10/01/2014 20:05

Ps I'm a trained bf peer supporter. I'd go for it and not top up with formula but keep offering the breast if you want to bf, more demand means more supply.

JuliaScurr · 10/01/2014 20:05

No idea if it will work for you, but I mix fed dd from day 1. The only advice I got was from a very old book which was very clear to start both asap and that was fine. So I'd try bf and see how it goes - it will take a few days to get established probably I think, but the colostrum is very good for immunity, so worth getting that if poss
Of course, loads of people will be delighted to tell you you're doing it wrong. Ignore them.
good luck

SeashellHoarder · 10/01/2014 20:06

Well, I'm not sure that a newborn tummy only holds 7ml, my dd took 60ml on her first night in one feed...

Monetbyhimself · 10/01/2014 20:07

Definitely worth a try. My furst BF experience was a disaster, second time around it worked like a dream.

JuliaScurr · 10/01/2014 20:10

that was X -posted with Dick, not a reply
Dick may well be right to get your milk going
letting your baby try the bottle will get him used to both

GColdtimer · 10/01/2014 20:11

I would really urge you to post this in the breast feeding topic as you will get great support. Just report your post and ask to move it.

I am sure the advice would be to keep putting him to your breast and not topping up as you need to stimulate supply but I could be wrong.

Good luck!

DickCrack · 10/01/2014 20:12

Seashell if you google you'll see lots of sites stating newborn baby tummy capacity is 5-7 ml, yours must have been exceptionally big

Bottle feeding ds2 for two days, can i now breast feed? could use some help

fishandlilacs · 10/01/2014 20:16

Congratulations on the birth of your baby.

Go for it, feed on demand don't top up, just feed as much as baby wants.

make a nest in your lounge with cosy blankets and cushions, remote, magazines, snacks and drinks to hand, breast pads and nipple cream (lansinoh is heaven for sore nips) and just rest and feed and cuddle. Lots of skin to skin contact, drink plenty. Breastfeeding is a great excuse for cake!

It shouldn't hurt if you have baby in correct position, get midwife to check the latch.

and good luck xx

Original poster

fryingpantoface · 10/01/2014 20:17

I've reported it, thanks!

ds isn't that hungry, he had a bottle a bit ago, but I've put him to my boob and he sucked about six or seven times, then fallen asleep with my nipple in his mouth

I'm not sure I'm doing it right. I'm going to call for peer to peer support tomorrow morning i think. I have flat nipples. Does that make a difference? I genuinely know nothing about the whole thing

OP posts:

Jennyl131 · 10/01/2014 20:23

No harm in trying, give it a go and see how you get on, see each and every bf you can manage as an added bonus for you both & don't beat yourself up if it doesn't work out. DD would only take breast after I bought into the nipple confusion thing and refused to let her have a bottle or dummy until she was over 6 weeks old. As a result ds1 had expressed colostrum/milk from day 2 or 3 at least once a day, tho I switched to mixed feeding from around 6 weeks (it's hard to express and look after a newborn and a toddler) DS2 has been fed only breast milk but again at least one bottle ebm a day, there's a BIG gap between him and the other two though, so there's more time to express. At 9 months he's had more breast milk than either of the others, but the point of all this rambling is that all babies, mums and circumstances are different, do what works for you and your family, if you want to try to breast feed, then give it a go, that ship has certainly not sailed!

MNHQ

RebeccaMumsnet · 10/01/2014 22:27

Hi all,

We have moved this thread over to Breast and bottle feeding at the OPs request.

tiktok · 10/01/2014 23:45

It's only Friday. No need for formula. Speak to the midwives and get things going :)

tiktok · 10/01/2014 23:46

Giving formula will undermine your wish to bf. no need to get your baby used to the bottle as early as this.

Joskar · 11/01/2014 15:59

It's not too late. My milk didn't come in til day 6 and I had to mix feed ebm and formula until my baby was 8 weeks because she was breast refusing. It was really hard work to express all the time but it was totally worth it. I love breast feeding. It's a million times more convenient than bottles and just a really lovely feeling. The more you feed the more supply you'll have. Keep going. You can do it!

Superworm · 13/01/2014 00:13

My milk came in in day 5. I boobed DS at every squeak and had to constantly wake him because he was jaundice. He never lost any of he birth weight. Colostrum is amazing stuff...just boob, boob and more boobs.

callamia · 13/01/2014 13:03

Don't worry about whether it's too late - I didn't start until day 5 because my son was in NICU, being bottle fed.
We had help from a bfc and things went well after the initial few days (where neither of us knew what we were doing!). I hope the bfc can be helpful to you too.

JuliaScurr · 13/01/2014 14:12

how's it going, op?

Original poster

fryingpantoface · 13/01/2014 15:17

Badly to be honest. The peer to peer woman came over. My nipples are flat, my boobs are painfully engorged, and i feel miserable.

ds is currently having two bottles of expressed milk a day, the rest formula. Will keep trying

OP posts:

Midori1999 · 13/01/2014 15:28

Two bottles of expressed milk a day is fantastic! Any breastmilk you give is of benefit. It would obviously be easier in the long run to be able to just BF if you want to though, as breastfeeding, expressing, giving bottles of expressed milk and making up/giving bottles and all the washing/sterilising that entails is hard work.

Peer supporters are great for support and help (I'm one myself ) but they don't usually have the training or experience to advise if you are having difficulty, so you might find an actual breastfeeding counsellor more helpful and your peer supporter can give you the contact details for one.

Joskar · 13/01/2014 21:55

Try biological nurturing. Google it. It's a great way to feed. It changed my life.

Sorry you feel so miserable. Your hormones will be playing merry hell too.

You are doing a wonderful job. Good luck!

theshooglypeg · 13/01/2014 22:05

You're doing a great job OP, and many congratulations on the birth of your baby.

I found it really difficult to get going with BF at first. I had one flat nipple, then they were both really painful, then my supply didn't seem enough...but we got there in the end and are now nine months in and still going.

You could try calling the La Leche League's helpline for additional advice: see www.laleche.org.uk

Your midwife can also help you: I found it useful to have her watch me feed and help me adjust my latch.

On the flat nipple issue, I was advised to try using an ice cube to draw it out - I felt a bit pervy but it did help. I also used a nipple shield for a while, to make it easier for my baby to latch on. Shields are enormously controversial and probably not a good idea to use this early on, but my own experience was that they helped me keep going.

Good luck!

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