Bloody miserable first night

[TwigletFiend]

I am at the point of total despair.

First night home with my 48 hour old DD and she will not settle. She has been feeding almost non stop since 10, just after she obviously cleared a blockage of some kind and did 4 consecutive poos in about 15 minutes - her first since meconium during birth. We stayed in hospital because of the meconium and latch issues, which I thought had improved. But there must be something wrong for her to be still wanting to feed after nearly 5 hours on and off feeding. Latch must be wrong or supply insufficient maybe? Whatever it is, I am in tears and exhausted, going on for 22 hours awake now. I need to vent or I'm going to scream, which won't help the feeding issue at all. I feel like the worlds most incompetent mother right about now.

I also had a quick birth and similar first 72hr! We took shifts sleeping and minding baby 24 hr.
I Co slept lying on my side and she came on and off the boob. DH couldn't feed but could cuddle!
She pooed and weed rapidly. Tummy learning how I guess.

7 weeks later she sleeps well in a basket waking for 2 or 3 night feeds. :)

This will pass, honestly. :)

She is just new and frazzled after the sudden birth!

...oh and the hormones can make your nips hurt like hell for a few days. Convinced something was wrong so consulted an expert who ground her teeth at the "breastfeeding is painless" message clarifying it should be "but may hurt/be uncomfortable right at the start". Ir causes anxiety when latch etc can be fine! Get help if it continues past about a week.

Agree - DD's latch was fine but her incessant sucking made my nipples crack and bleed after a few days. Once they'd turned into rubber we were fine

You are definitely not the worlds most incompetent mother! You are doing brilliantly and have done an amazing thing. I felt exactly the same in the first few days. I actually felt like walking out of the hospital. It will get better though and things usually feel better in the morning. I had terrible issues breastfeeding initially but now my little one breast feeds like a dream. - it will improve honestly. When I was in hospital and totally exhausted the midwife showed me how to feed lying down so you can rest a bit more when feeding. Maybe google how to do it if you're not sure.Hope you get some rest and feel a bit better soon. Sending you lots of virtual support!

Ladies, I cannot tell you enough how grateful I am. Sorry to be a drama llama, but genuinely thought one of us might not make it through the night at one point, I was so tired. DD been asleep for nearly 2 hours now, relieved she is getting proper rest at last. I have managed a couple of catnaps on the sofa and have had probably an hours sleep total. Grim, but I'm hanging in there!

Thanks to everyone for the information. Going to get MW to check latch today and also see if I can find a BF support group or something to get a second opinion. Nipples are feeling rather bruised and battered after the feed a thon - to clarify, the first 5 seconds or so of a feed are a kind of sharp, tingly painful, then it feels more like nipple tenderness rather than pain. I'm hoping its just the girls not being used to this much being chomped on?!

Again, you've been invaluable. to everyone.

Glad you've made it through! Now go back to bed!

Well done OP and congrats on your newborn!

DO NOT MOVE OUT OF BED for the next few days!! Eat, nap and feed your baby.

Honestly, it is hard but every day is easier than the last

The one tip I have is to get some Lansinoh nipple cream and put in one every time you think about it. Literally, you cannot use enough.
I did this after advice from mn and didn't suffer a cracked nipple or anything during 18 months bf'ing. Ok, maybe I was just lucky but honestly, that made the difference to me being able to carry on in the first couple of week.

Have lots of

My friend is a midwife and she said that breast feeding is like buying a new pair of shoes... At first they bloody kill but each week they get more comfortable until it is a perfect fit. Looking back that is exactly it! I nearly quit a few times but got told to decide how I felt about it on a good day. On a good day I would tell myself to go for another week and then one day I stopped waiting for the good days because it had just become the right fit. Be patient and use all the support you have your hormones will mean you need lots of chocolate of course. Enjoy every moment

That initial pain sounds like your let down. It can hurt. Just count slowly to 10/20 and it should be gone.

You're doing great! It gets better!

How are you feeling now op?

Get some lansinoh OP, spread it on your nips every chance you get! It helped heaps! Eventually your girls will get used to it!

Sounds like you are doing great and your post made me smile as it REALLY took me back to our first night at home with DS! He's 11mo now and the memories all seem so hazy and dream like! Congratulations on your lovely new squishy!

Twiglet what you describe sounds exactly like my experience of my letdown for the first week or two. It felt like knives going through my breast and really made me catch my breath, but eased after a week or so.

Learning to feed lying down saved my sanity and has saved me days of sleep during DD's short life.

Short life so far, I should say!

Hi OP hope you are getting to grips with everything.
Have confidence in your body! Bf requires quite a bit of self belief & not hearing incorrect info. Lansinoh cream is brilliant, it really helps. Slather it on at all times.

I found first couple of weeks very tough. My boobs were so sore from constant feeding. I got nipple shields to help over the most demanding days which were a godsend. Slapping on lansinoh also helped.

I fed lying down when exhausted and DP was very good in doing the non-feeding bits and saying the right things.

It has got easier as ds and I get to know each other and find a routine. Feeding is less often and there's much more enjoyment. I really hadn't anticipated what a slog the early days would be.