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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

lactation aid and domperidone hell - sympathy needed :(

49 replies

oncemorewith · 12/09/2014 23:21

My son is 3.5 weeks and I'm on day 11 of using a supplemental feeding tube and have been taking a mammoth cocktail of fenugreek, tea and domperidone for a week. I'm about an inch away from packing the whole thing in and having a bottle fed baby (it's either that or putting him on e-bay for a dollar reserve...). Does it get better or am I flogging a dead horse?

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mausmaus · 12/09/2014 23:24

is he drinking regularly? gaining weight? nappies full of piss?
if yes, great. no need to do anything more other than eat balanced and drink plenty.

MagpieMama · 12/09/2014 23:28

What's the reasoning behind all the lactation aids? I ask because people can think they have supply issues when they're actually producing enough.
PP put it quite well actually!

Original poster

oncemorewith · 12/09/2014 23:33

He is now that he gets 60ml of formula 8 times a day. Before that he wasn't (which was why I was put on this regime). He never quite lost weight but it wasn't being put on fast enough and the gain was trending downwards.

He now seems to be doing fine, the bigger problem is my mental health as I spend 1 hour feeding, 30 mins pumping whilst he screams, 30 mins trying to settle him, another 30 mins pumping (possibly whilst he continues to scream, then (if I'm lucky) he sleeps the last 30 mins before I wake him to do it again. All this results in a baby getting 70% (or more) of his food from formula and possibly 50mls of expressed breast milk a day. I can't really see it getting any better.

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Original poster

oncemorewith · 12/09/2014 23:35

Hi Magpie, he was having a couple of slightly damp nappies a day and often with urates and crap weight gain. Hence the feeding tube.

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helensburgh · 12/09/2014 23:38

Domperidone?

My daughter was taken off that due to risks.

I'd ask re its use?

Original poster

oncemorewith · 12/09/2014 23:48

I don't have any of the risk factors for problems so my m/w is happy to prescribe it and I'm happy to take it (10x10mg a day). It seems to have improved things a bit.

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MagpieMama · 12/09/2014 23:50

If you want to continue to bf then get some real life support, have you been to your local support group? Or tried the LLL or NCT helplines?
If you want to switch to bottle feeding formula, then do. There's no shame in it.
Your mental health is important for you both.
It's obvious from your posts that you want the best for your baby and you've worked really hard. You're doing a great job.

Original poster

oncemorewith · 13/09/2014 00:16

Thanks Magpie. Therein lies the problem... I don't want to bottle feed but I feel as though I'll end up doing.

You're right I should try the helplines. I feel as though I've harassed my poor m/w enough :) so someone else to talk to is a good idea.

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Zara8 · 13/09/2014 05:58

You need to get more RL lactation support, immediately. The regime you are currently doing is not sustainable (I've been there) and it needs to change or stop soon so you can enjoy your baby and get on with life.

As my MIL (who bf all her children) said: "it's not supposed to be this hard". It's meant to be just a way of feeding your baby, not daily penury.

A proper lactation consultant could provide you with more ideas and a new plan that could help improve things. But constant expressing and taking lactation aids, that's just shattering.

I didn't want to move to FF either but after no improvement on the BF despite getting expert help, when I did move to bottles everything became 1000% times easier and my state of mind improved immeasurably. I'm sure it things would've got better in the same way had bf improved but sadly it was not to be the case!

Try and find help this weekend - many lactation consultants do weekend visits. Good luck OP.

tiktok · 13/09/2014 07:44

Are you in the UK? This doesn't sound like the sort of help someone would be getting here.

Whatever. You need an experienced, knowledgable person to review what you are doing, and ASAP.

That is a massive amount of formula. If you want to bf, that would need to gradually reduce. But you do need expert help.

Good luck.

Waffles80 · 13/09/2014 09:29

Please call La Leche - www.laleche.org.uk/

I'm no expert, but 30 mins pumping doesn't sound right to me - it's not the quantity you pump, but the frequency which will stimulate supply. You schedule sounds punishing; you need to be kind to yourself and enjoy your new baby.

Original poster

oncemorewith · 13/09/2014 11:02

Thanks for the thoughts all. No I'm not UK - quite the opposite :)

I've seen two LCs so far. The first just gave me the SFT, told me how to use to use it (if anyone ever tells you to "just pop it in the corner of their mouth" shoot them - there is no "just" involved) and sent me home with no further instructions. My long-suffering but wonderful midwife found me an appointment with another that gave me the three hour schedule. They said things like "and then he'll sleep till the next feeding" - not particularly realistic.

I'm seeing my midwife on Monday so I'll talk things through with her. It's nice to hear others say it shouldn't be this hard. As this is my first I don't have much to compare to.

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Superworm · 13/09/2014 20:39

Are the issues around getting him latched on or is it he's not getting enough when feeding?

hollie84 · 13/09/2014 21:46

So you've been using all this extra stuff since he was 2 weeks old? In what way was he not gaining fast enough at 2 weeks - was he not back to birthweight?

Original poster

oncemorewith · 13/09/2014 22:04

SW - he wasn't getting enough when feeding. His latch isn't perfect but it's easily good enough (yes I am always trying to improve it!).

Hollie - he was gaining weight slowly (70g in 3 days) then slower (60g in 4 days). When he was put on the SFT he gained 180g in 2 days which brought him back up to birth weight at 2 weeks (just). Since then he's put on 300g in 5 days and the next weigh in is tomorrow.

I'm resigned to using the SFT and I can see why etc but I need a long term plan for how to use and, more importantly, how to get him off it. This is the thing the LCs seem to have missed so far.

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hollie84 · 13/09/2014 22:13

What was suggested before the SFT and formula? How often were you feeding, how many sides per feed etc? 70g in 3 days sounds ok to me, 60g in 4 days sounds a little slow but all the formula, drugs etc seems like a huge reaction.

Original poster

oncemorewith · 13/09/2014 22:23

My midwife was also opting for a more relaxed approach (which I was happy with) involving pumping, fenugreek and maybe domperidone but she recommended trying a drop-in lactation clinic at a local hospital. I went because I noticed he was getting more and more lethargic and the wet nappies weren't happening. The LC there gave me the SFT and sent me home.

I tried to reduce the amount of formula he got but we were stuck in a daytime vicious circle of feeding a hungry but tired baby for approx 2 hours then him sleeping for 10 mins before we started again. The feeding was clearly crap as he swallowed at most once a minute (but always a good latch). Midwife got me an appointment with a different LC and they immediately upped the formula and put me on the three hour regime.

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hollie84 · 13/09/2014 22:27

OK, so before the pumping etc - was he feeding frequently or not interested? Was his latch good - were you sore or your nipples misshapen?

mausmaus · 13/09/2014 22:33

has he been checked for tongue tie?

WottaMess · 13/09/2014 22:35

You say latch is good but has he been checked for tongue tie? I've been where you are literally and at 9 days had a 50% tt snipped which revolutionised his ability to get milk from me almost instantly. We still ended up mix feeding as my supply just wouldn't build up enough but found a regime which worked for us - bf only overnight (much easier) a formula dream feed before our bed and in the day bf followed by top up. It was dropping the pumping that saved my sanity. I hated it and it took up all the time I wasn't feeding. Did my head right in.

Bf is good but happy mum is way better!

Original poster

oncemorewith · 13/09/2014 22:46

Before the three hour regime he was feeding very badly every waking minute and barely sleeping, unless it was whilst feeding :) My nipples were sore not (I think) because of a bad latch but because of the constant use.

He had a very minor tongue tie snipped at the second LC visit. The paediatrician said it might make a slight improvement but don't expect a miracle!

I agree it's the pumping that will kill me. The three hour thing is just how lots of people (admittedly not me) choose to do it. It's having to pump so often that stops me leaving the house even. Does anyone have any thoughts on how often/how much/for how long I need to do to build up supply? At the moment I pump immediately after feeding to try and empty both breasts, then again an hour before feeding. I do at least 10 mins each side. I do minimal/no pumping at night as I've decided sleep is more important and it's the one time that he sleeps.

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hollie84 · 13/09/2014 22:53

What are they saying the problem is then, why was he feeding constantly but not transferring milk? Were you helped with positioning and attachment?

A baby should be better at getting milk than a pump, so putting the baby to the breast at least 10-12 times a day and offering both sides at every feed is preferable to pumping.

Jims · 13/09/2014 22:54

That sounds like a really hard schedule to try and keep up with.

If you're keen to persist with pumping to supplement, I'd seriously look into getting a hospital grade double pump. I hired one direct from medela with ds2 (who wouldn't feed due to sleepiness - which was down to an infection and we ended up in hospital) to keep my milk flow up and it was brilliant. I could get the same amount in less than 10 minutes than I could with over 30 mins with the medela swing.

www.kellymom.com is brilliant for advice on all things breastfeeding or pumping.

Original poster

oncemorewith · 13/09/2014 22:57

The initial problem was definitely me. I was producing almost nothing. The long term plan is to increase my supply - hence all the pumping...

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Original poster

oncemorewith · 13/09/2014 22:59

Sorry, I should add that the pumping isn't intended to produce the supplement (or at least I don't think so!) but to increase the supply so he doesn't need supplementing.

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