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.

[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

[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.

[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

[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.

[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)

[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

[mumofthreeboysS]

Worked 'for' us not off!

[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

[TheseAreTheJokesFolks]

with fenugreek!

[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.

[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/