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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

Has anyone else had this problem...?

21 replies

Daisypops · 28/01/2007 22:10

Our baby girl is 18 days old and I bf from birth. She wasn't getting enough so after much discussion we decided to 'top her up' with formula. Now she will not latch on to me at all. After a shocking day yesterday with tears from both me and baby I decided to formula feed and express my breast milk and give her that in a bottle. The problem is now that I am expressing there is about an ounce each time. I sit for 30 mimutes and it just drips and one 'jet' squirts out. The midwife called today and said its because its a different type of stimulation. I am disappointed that I can't breastfeed but I couldn't have a hungry baby, she is much more content now. I suppose I'm just wanting some reassurance that I've done the right thing and I'm not on my own. Thanks. xxx

OP posts:

hercules1 · 28/01/2007 22:12

Do you still want to breastfeed?

hercules1 · 28/01/2007 22:15

Sorry but it sounds like you got inadequate advice. Expressing is no indicator of supply and sadly once you started topping up the stimulation wasnt sufficient. It is possible to go back to exclusive breastfeeding if you get the right support and advice from nct or la leche.

If you are happy with your decision then really dont stress about it. You are certainly not on your own.

shonaspurtle · 28/01/2007 22:20

There have been lots of discussions on here about how hard it is to get much out when you're expressing at first. If you're planning on doing it for a while then the good news is that it does get easier .

You might want to borrow, hire or buy and electric pump though.

I've no experience of this but I think it is possible to kind of "reverse-wean" your baby back on to the breast if that's what you'd like to do. I'm sure there are people on here who could give you pointers if thats what you want to try, or maybe contact your local La Leche League or NCT breast feeding group for help?

There have been loads of posts on here with people in exactly the same position as you and I'm sure they'll be on to give you support.

That's great that your baby is more settled now. Must be a big relief

minipluffmum · 28/01/2007 22:22

you did so do the right thing! I was exactly the same and had to give up on BF much sooner than I would have liked. The problem is, 18 days in, you're still bursting with hormones and getting used to the whole culture shock of the new baby so it's no wonder that you feel so upset. You are absolutely right to put your baby first and you will probably benefit from a little one who sleeps through earlier.
Don't worry, just keep reminding yourself that you're doing a great job!Oh, and my DD is 16mths old and is very healthy and happy despite the lack of booby juice.

Original poster

Daisypops · 28/01/2007 22:24

Hercules, Yes I would still like to breastfeed but she wasn't getting enough. I was trying to get her to latch on for 2 hours yesterday, it was so frustrating, they say 'stay calm' but I was getting upset because my baby was.

Whats nct? How would they get me back to exclusive breastfeeding?

TBH she always took ages to latch on and seemed to fight against me although when she was on it was lovely. My milk was also quite watery, I ate all the right foods but its still didn't satisfy her.

OP posts:

Original poster

Daisypops · 28/01/2007 22:28

Thanks for the responses.

Mini- LMAO at booby juice! Its nice to know that I'm not on my own.

Shona- I had an electric expresser but it doesn't seem to pull hard enough . Even when I do it with that I only get about 2 1/2 oz each time.

Now shes having 3-4 oz of formula every 3-4 hours, is this too much? I'm worried about overfeeding now.

OP posts:

minipluffmum · 28/01/2007 22:28

here's the link Daisy - www.nct.org.uk and they are a great charity.
Take some advice about reverse weaning if you think you are up to it. I know what you mean about it being lovely when they are latched on and feeding properly. Just remember, you don't have to and it doesn't make you a bad mum if you continue to bottle feed!

shonaspurtle · 28/01/2007 22:31

have a look at this thread which seems similar to yours and might be useful.

The National Childbirth Trust, La Leche League both have helplines that you can phone for advice on breastfeeding and they might also be able to get you in touch with a counsellor who could see you face to face and help you with positioning etc.

I got help in the early days from my local hospital who ran a breast feeding clinic. They are the only reason I'm still breast feeding now.

mollymawk · 28/01/2007 22:33

In case you decide to continue with the breastfeeding - my ds1 was very "fighty" in the early days and struggled so much that it sometimes seemed he did not want to eat at all. I found that swaddling him quite tightly before I fed him was really helpful as it seemed to calm him down and at least made it possible to keep him still using less than 4 hands! Good luck whatever you decide.

shonaspurtle · 28/01/2007 22:35

Daisy - seriously, 2.5oz is great at your stage! Little and often is the key. Don't overdo it or you'll get sore (I'm speaking from experience here.....)

It's important to express about 8 times a day as that's what will help keep your milk supply going while your baby isn't feeding directly from you. You should try if possible to express at night as well. Don't worry about not getting much - babies are much better at getting the milk out of you than a pump.

CanStarveWillStarve · 28/01/2007 22:37

Daisyops - I also had an electric expresser, but couldn't get much out either. It's no indication of supply at all - I'm still bf'ing my nearly one year old.

If you want to bf your dd you still can with the right support, but you have to really want it.

shonaspurtle · 28/01/2007 22:37

To echo minipluffmum, if you decide to ff then that's fine too obviously!

Not trying to push anything on you, just giving you the information incase it's of use to you.

marthahm · 28/01/2007 22:45

daisypops, i'm with minipluff. have also had the same situation.
i don't think that there is anything i haven't tried to be able to exclusively bf.
you may have more luck than me because your baby is much younger.
no one who hasn't been through it can know how horrible it is when you're fighting your baby to latch and feed. i have cried so much trying with my lo who is now 12 weeks.
if you were going to try going for bf you should take to pj's for 2 days and get loads and loads of help so all you have to do is eat loads of carbs-rice, potato, pasta... and feed your baby.
i think the key is why she isn't latching on well. if she's fine once on don't beat yourself up about what you eat. have you considered taking your lo to a cranial osteopath? they may be able to balance the jaw and help with the latching. maybe there's a tongue tie that needs looking at.

with me after many many tears had to admit defeat as dd had dropped from 75th to 9th centile and nothing was increasing my milk supply enough.

however, what did help with expressing as much as poss was-
using double breast pump to express
drinking hot water with fenugreek seeds in-found them at health food store.
trying to distract myself with tv whilst expressing-made huge difference
also-for the seriously dedicated! -pumping in the middle of the night.
as much sleep as poss.-get someone to wheel lo around or sleep with her in your bed so you get skin to skin contact
feeding your baby is so hard and so upsetting when it doesn't work out well. i am still devastated having finally given up trying to bf after doing everything possible since new year to get back to exclusive bf.
good luck. i decided when it got to the point where i spent most of the day in tears every day, dreading the feeds, it wasn't worth it anymore.

Twinklemegan · 28/01/2007 22:49

Daisypops - Firstly, I am not an expert - not by any means. But DS and I had severe bf difficulties from the word go and ended up mix feeding.

What do you mean when you say your milk didn't satisfy her? It's quite normal for newborns to want to feed very frequently. It's also pretty normal for breast milk to look watery. How's her weight gain?

You're definitely doing right by expressing while she won't feed directly. I really sympathise with you though - it can be pretty demoralising sitting there for ages with that thing attached to your boob and hardly anything coming out. And I remember all too well what it's like having a baby who refuses the breast - it's so upsetting.

Like the others have said, if you still want to breastfeed it might well be possible to get it going again. How many days has she been refusing the breast? Definitely, definitely contact an organisation like the NCT - someone may well be able to visit you at home to talk things through. I expressed and formula fed for several days btw when I was experiencing real problems and I did manage to get my DS back on the breast.

But I totally agree that if you're happy with your decision then go with it and don't feel guilty - you have to do what's right for you and your DD. If you feel you've done the right thing, then it's the right thing.

Sterny · 28/01/2007 22:57

Hello,

I am an expressing queen! My DS was born prematurely so couldn't bf while he was in intensive and then special care. Here are my top tips for getting as much milk as poss:

Rent a high quality breast pump, I can get 100mls each side out with mine, with a mini-electic one it is only 10mls per side
Pump both breasts at once. I have a fab bra which enables me to do it hands free
Express every 3 hours inc. at night.

Don't be put off trying to bf again. My DS only got the hang of it at 4 months (but he was premature and late developing his sucking reflex)

And PLEASE don't beat yourself up if you end up switching to formula. You can only do your best. You are not on your own at all, I have been there. It will get better, I promise xx

Twinklemegan · 28/01/2007 23:11

Ditto to everything Marthahm has said as well. I too am still trying to get over the whole experience having only just found out that tongue tie was the reason for many of our problems.

Have you had problems latching her on from the beginning? If so, please please get her checked for tongue tie. Don't assume that someone would have spotted it. If there is a problem there, as you are still trying to bf they might be able to do something.

hercules1 · 29/01/2007 17:32

Daisypops, the quality of your milk is not affected by what you eat, really it isnt. You cannot tell the quality by looking at it either, no matter how watery it looks.

The NCT have breastfeeding counsellors who will be able to give you correct advice on getting back to breastfeeding if you so wish. Their services are free as they are volunteers. Please do get their advice if you want to breastfeed.

meanscottishbint · 29/01/2007 20:11

hello, i'm sorry to hear taht you are having a tough time with the feeding. I have had a similar experience and did mix feeding for the first couple of months and then gradually got to exclusive feeding. I just wanted to reassure you that this does not mean the end of bf if you do still want to continue.

Original poster

Daisypops · 01/02/2007 17:00

Thanks for the responses. On tuesday night i decided to have some skin to skin with dd as i wasn't breastfeeding. We were totally relaxed and i had no intention of trying to get her to bf, but she wriggled her way to my breast and latched on I couldn't believe it. Still bf but having to top up with formula. x

OP posts:

shonaspurtle · 01/02/2007 18:02

That's great Daisypops!

Twinklemegan · 01/02/2007 21:43

Daisypops - that's great news. It's exactly what happened to me. I was resigned to having to give up breastfeeding as expressing was driving me crazy. Then one day DS started rooting for the breast and when I offered it he just latched on. It wasn't always that easy, far from it, but it really gave me hope and I was able to carry on breastfeeding in combination with formula for another 4 months. Hope you manage to get back to exclusive breastfeeding though if that's what you want.

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