BREAST FEEDING QUERY, HOPEFULLY FOR TIK TOK (sorry long)

[robbosmum]

sorry if you are fed up of these queries, i have read old posts, but am 1st time mum and 1st time poster----.I have a lovely tho fractious 10 week old daughter. She is being fed ff 2x a day and breast the rest.(at the moment) There were a few probs at birth with me, so she was ff in the hospital. She has always been a difficult feeder and after the hv suggested feeding her only at night with the breast,and ff during the day to keep her weight up, i stayed in bed for a week to try and improve my supply. Usual Hv very supportive (often comes up with same advice as tik-tok)but after seeing different hv today at weight in lo has gained only 2ozs in 2 weeks. I dont want to worry, but she has horrendous colic, (cried non stop for 5hrs last night didnt know what to do,) she is addicted to infacol.....Advice required please....is 2 ozs normal

I dont want to give up breast feeding,,,i have had such a struggle all the way thru,and its making me quite down. hv (not my usual one) asked me what i wanted to do? Said i would give it another week and assess weight then. She was 6,11 at birth and is now 9,6 It just makes me lose more confidence, i could sit and feed her for 90 mins and she be crying at the end of it, and thru sometimes thru it. Nappy are ok, lots of wetones and she poohs every other day

ok, if you want to breastfeed then ditch the formula.
supplementation will not help your supply. the more you feed her the more milk you will make.

it is normal for babies to be fractious in the evenings, and many babies like to cluster feed (ie, have lots of feeds in a short space of time) in the evening too.

there is absolutely no reason why formula would make her put more weight on compared to the same amount of breastmilk, so that really shouldn't be an issue.

perhaps she cries during feeds because she has wind? try burping her part way through and see if that helps.
I assume you're feeding her on demand?

Hi Robbosmum.

It's hard isn't it?

Some babies just cry.It doesn't mean that they are necessarily hungry.

She has put on weight,if not a lot and the nappies sound great.

Have you the confidence to phase out the formula feeding?
The problem is,that at this stage,formula can reduce your supply.Then,as happens,people lose confidence in their ability to breastfeed,up the formula and before you know it,breastfeeding is over.

Do you have a breastfeeding support clinic that you could go to for some face to face moral support?

The best way to keep your supply up is to feed often,stay calm (hard to do!) and forget about all the million and one other things that need to be done.

Have faith in yourself and your body.
It made a baby and it can feed one!

XXX

yes, demand feeding , i do wind her part way..thanks for the advice, am considering dumpinf f. totally. hv only sugested it to give me some fest at night,as she was feeding non stop every hour and and half ,but not settling at all between feeds

also, have you considered cranial osteopathy? what was her birth like? did you have an assisted delivery?

thanks moon dog, no bf clinic that i know of i will try and find one.. this is the hardest thing i have done in my life, i just want to do the best for her

her birth ws ok,,i haemorrhage needed lots of stitches and nearly arressted, so a bit crap really.
wil cranial help the colic? i keep telling her and me that she has 2 week for it to go as she will be 12 weeks then

The cluster feeding is very tough.
I think this is where a lot of people lose faith.They think the baby isn't satisfied.

However,it should be viewed in a different way.The sucking boosts supply in the future.
After a long hard night's furious sucking,my milk supply was always up the next day.

Don't give up.
You've done the hardest bit and you're doing a fab job.
That colicky crying generally sorts itself out by about 3 mths which is a very liberating time.Feeding usually sorted,you fell more your old self and can whizz off with them at a moment's notice with nowt but a spare nappy.

I had the baby from hell.
(Cried for 5-6 hours every night for seven weeks.)
Cranial osteopathy definitely helped.

it can help, we had great results from it, as did several of my friends.
babies can go through quite a lot of trauma during the birth, getting squashed and stretched and all that.
IMO it's definitely worth a try

Yo are doing the best for her Robbosmum.
You really are.

The helplines are great if you want to talk it over with an experienced bf counsellor.

The Assoc. for Breastfeeding Mothers' one is

0870 401 7711

They are lovely people.

google for breastfeeding cafe, they should have a list of ones in your area

thanks both of you..... encouragement always makes you feel a bit better....
at least she has gained weight, have to log out for bit....crying baby

A cheering word and a 'well done' really make a difference I know.
I would make sure you only hang around people who are supportive of you breastfeeding.

Your HV may be supportive but she is on dodgy ground with the formula all day suggestion.
Undoubtedly this would have a major effect on milk supply.
Have you tried expressing?
Very handy if you need a bit of a break and keeps your supply up.

It sounds fine,really it does.

It sounds as though you're doing a great job.

I'm a bit confused as to why you have been told only to BF at night though? If you are concerned about supply, I'd have thought that you'd need to bf on demand day and night. I'm not a breastfeeding counsellor so, I won't pretend I know everything but I don't see how formula will help her gain weight more then breast milk.

We had awful trouble BF in the beginning - DS was ff in the hospital and we spent many days/ weeks in tears. He was a huge crier - he'd scream for hours on end, sometimes most of the day and all night. He just grew out of it. I had plenty of milk so knew that he was getting enough. I think he was just really fussy. We persevered though and it worked out well in the end. He's 15 months old is is still BF - those difficulties seem like a distant memory. Our doctor always said if there were enough wet nappies and he was ganing weight, even if only a little, he was fine. Just remember that things will get better.

Things that helped (if only a little)

• a sling (life saver)

• lying him, face down accross my knees - he seemed to like the pressure on his tummy

• music

• Rocking/ swaying/ singing/ shhhing (although I think this all comforted me more than DS)

Helpful links:

kellymom

La Leche League Helpline: 0845 120 2918

NCT Breastfeeding helpline: 0870 444 8708

I hope this all makes sense... I'm sure tiktok or mears will come along soon.

Good luck.

Aw, robbosmum, you sound very down.

From what you say, I don't think bf got off to a good start, and this can sometimes have a long-term effect...not helped by continuing to give formula, unfortunately. Bad starts to bf need more breastfeeding, not less, and boo to your HV for suggesting anything else

One week's weight is not an issue - it's the overall gain you need to look at. Your baby is gaining slowly, and some babies do. It's normal for them. Maybe your baby would be happier eating more, I don't know. Just as concerning is the crying and the distress. I wonder if she would be happier with no formula at all, and more breastfeeds? If she is happy on the breast or close to you, and doesn't cry, then this is not colic - it's a baby who needs comfort and closeness. It's hard to say from your post what is the right picture, though crying through the feeding is difficult, and not reassuring.

Formula will not help with the colic, if this is what it is. If it's a question of your baby needing to feed more effectively and more often, then it might help - but the same result can be achieved with breastfeeding, if the bf can be fixed so it is better alll round.

OTOH, maybe your baby simply needs to feed more and to feed more effectively.....a breastfeeding clinic or baby cafe or support group where there are people who know what to look for would help you.

I think you need expert face to face help, from someone who will listen to you, who understands your desire to bf, and who has the knowledge to support you to make bf better.

Robbosmum get yourself checked for aneamia as you had a pph. Also agree with the others to ditch the formula & bf on demand. Could you try taking your LO to bed for a day or two & just relax & bf. Best wishes xxx

thanks mamama,
hv suggested weeks ago as she felt i was going into pnd with the stress of worrying about lo... no-one was more delighted than her when i saw her the following week having spent days in bed just bfing,, with lots of skin to skin and baths together, did ring la leche at the time of belt and braces and they were v helpful. posted on mn today because i thought we were doing really well, ditching most of formulae,, the weigh in brings new insecurities i suppose, along with the fact she has been more unsttled than usual, the last couple of days.. looking forward to seeing my usual hv i think.

(by the way, not dissin anyones advice re: call for tik tok.....its just reading old posts everyone seems to really respect her comments,, all advice welcome)

thank - you everyone......you are all wonderful
will go for face to face help, and ditch formula completely.... will let you know how i get on.
re: crying thru feeding i wonder if i am just trying to feed thru colic, becos i know shes not wet etc.. so its a bit try everything,, tik tok youre right she also does like a cuddle, which of course i cant, and wont resist giving her

Carry your baby around with you - often the movement helps the wind come out....