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

[fryingpantoface]

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.

[intheround]

My milk took 3 days to come in and it took me 2 weeks to get BF sorted. I almost gave up- DS struggled to latch correctly at first. My boobs were really engorged and I found that expressing some milk to soften them a bit meant he got a much better latch. You are aiming for him to get a mouthful of boob rather than a nipple
It's really ok to mix feed- the nipple confusing thing is not as common as people make out BUT the more he sucks the more milk you'll make.
Why not set yourself a target of two weeks? A friend of mine did this but at the end she decided she would try one more day and then continued for a year!
this may help
kellymom.com/ages/newborn/bf-basics/latch-resources/

[Joskar]

Hi. Hope you haven't given up yet. The "natural" thing really upset me too. It's so hard and I felt really angry. Please give biological nurturing a try. If you Google it you'll find a video. It absolutely saved my sanity. Also lansinoh religiously after every feed.

You can do it! Good luck.

[TheseAreTheJokesFolks]

with fenugreek!

[TheseAreTheJokesFolks]

Hello OP

I have bf three and had sore nipples for at least two weeks until they became desensitised/toughened up. Lansinoh cream saved me each time.
Natural doesn't always mean easy or pleasant but don't give up! [tea] - breastfeeding tea with fenugreek helps supply.
I googled biological nurturing...turns out i have been doing this without knowing it there was I thinking I was just being a lazy slattern

[mumofthreeboysS]

Worked 'for' us not off!

[mumofthreeboysS]

frying hope it's going ok? Just wanted to say I'm on week 3 of bf my 3rd (failed with ds1 and 2) and I also find it so hard- labour was easier! I have good and bad days, still hurts a bit and more often than not I don't get the latch right- it is a really tough learning curve- and ds had tongue tie too so I had over a week of really painful nips before it got snipped. My only advice is keep asking for help. Go to support groups if poss or get someone to come out and help with the latch. Take it one day at a time and don't be hard on yourself if you're struggling. My DH does a few bottles in the evening (usually one expressed one formula) so I get a rest and I don't care that they recommend waiting to 6 weeks before introducing a bottle- doing this has kept me going so it's worked off is. Good luck

[TinyTear]

Buy Lansinoh for the nipples and apply liberally after every feed. leave the breasts to 'air' and that should help the soreness... after a couple of weeks should get much better and i stopped needing Lansinoh after about a month/6 weeks (growth spurts made it be needed again but not long)

[beth27123]

I don't often post here as I don't feel like I have the experience of most but I understand your position. Don't stop asking for help, keep pushing for it. Yes breast feeding is natural but it isn't instinctive, it takes time, patience and a lot of cake.
It took us several days to get DD latched and only stopped hurting last week at 4 weeks. It shouldn't have hurt but i took too long to get the help I needed.

[fryingpantoface]

Thanks everyone.

he managed to feed from me today but only for about 20 mins, my nipple is so sore.

the midwife is coming over tomorrow so will ask her to check the latch. I did feel crap when i read somewhere that breastfeeding is the most natural thing, it doesn't seem to be that natural for me at the moment!

i want to achieve my goal of a week bf, then see how it goes. Just trying to take it one day at a time

[vichill]

My baby was nil by mouth for the first 3 days and a I was stressed didn't bother expressing. On day 4 I started to feed her just as the milk came in and boobs ballooned. She thrived and my supply has always been great.

[Rosieliveson]

Congratulations

Nipple shields may be a good idea if you have one nipple which won't behave. I used them from day 4 as DS couldn't latch due to tongue tie. Phased out by about 3-4 weeks.

I found my nipples seemed flatter when I was engorged. It was like they were stretched!! Applying a warm flannel or taking a warm shower and hand expressing could release some pressure. You may get more nipple for your little one to latch then.

Am not an expert in any way. Just have personal experience. DS now 4 months

[theshooglypeg]

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!

[Joskar]

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!

[Midori1999]

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.

[fryingpantoface]

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

[JuliaScurr]

how's it going, op?

[callamia]

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.

[Superworm]

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.

[Joskar]

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!

[tiktok]

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

[tiktok]

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

[RebeccaMumsnet]

Hi all,

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

[Jennyl131]

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!

[fryingpantoface]

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

[fishandlilacs]

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