I need bf advice for my friend please....!

[theUrbanDryad]

My friend has a ds a little younger than mine (think he is 17 weeks) - she struggled to establish bf-ing as she had a C-Section and lack of post-natal support. She mix fed for the first few weeks, then managed to drop the formula altogether. but now her ds is whingeing at the breast, doesn't latch well and is generally very unhappy. he had been putting on weight whilst on the bottle but has now stopped. she has been trying to express now every day for 2 weeks, but every day she only manages 2oz, with an electric Medela pump. i don't know what to tell her (other than hoiking her down the Baby Cafe with me tomorrow!) and am hoping someone here will be able to help!!

TIA!

bump. Hunkermunker where are you?

she needs to increase her milk supply by feeding baby as much as possible as frequently as possible (and more frequently at night cost that's when milk production hormones are highest) just keep putting baby on to the breast and avoid formula, within 24-48hrs her body should have caught up and be making enough milk. hth

try expressing in the morning when stocks are plentiful!

UrbanDryad, I am no expert but have a dd of similar age to your friend and just went through a period of very little weight gain. Was told that exclusively bf babies plateau in terms of weight gain around this time so as long as he is gaining some - even if slowly - then weight prob not a big issue (better to check whether he is alert, and producing wet and dirty nappies aplenty)

Your friend could try a local bf group if she can track down one, to check latch. And, as others say, feed more often - rather than expressing which is tedious and not as effective at emptying the breast as a baby, maybe offer another feed somewhere quiet with little to distract baby. At this age they get so interested in the world around that they can get fussy and distracted at the breast.

Take her to BF cafe. She needs support to get breastfeeding sorted out Why express if baby is directly breastfeeding? Is she FF and expressing? Expressing does not stimulate supply as well as the baby does. Difficult to tell from your post what is going on. More details needed really.

she has cut out the formula completely which is great! she tries to bf as much as poss bit her ds fusses at the breast which is very frustrating for both of them! he takes a bottle of EBM no problem. i think (in my uninformed opinion) that he has got used to the bottle and now struggles with the breast's slow flow. i have heard this can happen??

anyway, must go as is nearly time for her to pick me up for Baby Cafe!!

That is a possibility. If she is uptight worrying about whether he will take the breast, that may transmit to him increasing the fussiness. Babies all go through fussy periods and often faff about. I would try and ride it out if I were her and avoid giving a bottle for a while if possible. Be interested in what the thoughts at the baby cafe were.

Baby Cafe weren't overly helpful, tbh. i don't think she asked the right questions. English isn't her first language and she sometimes struggles with phrasing things but i didn't want to leap in and take over!

will pass your advice on, Mears, thanks a lot!

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why is my link not working?

cut and paste this

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when did links change?

not sure about links!

my friend is Czech - she speaks excellent English, having lived here for over 8 years, but she has a strong accent, and the Baby Cafe is always very busy with only one advisor! if you can get hold of someone then it's good advice, but it's the getting hold of someone that's the hard part!

the thing is, how do you be less anxious without getting anxious about being anxious? does that make sense? i'm lucky in that i've always had a very relaxed approach to bf-ing, which i think has helped, but given my friend's rocky start i think she finds it diffcult to not be anxious IYSWIM! i think she needs to drop the bottles altogether for a little while, but it's very difficult not to give in when he is fussing and crying at the breast, and obviously hungry!

would mixed feeding be such a terrible thing? i didn't want to suggest it because she worked so hard to drop to the formula, but if it helps her ds be more settled she might be able to relax and offer the breast more? of course, then she has a dip in supply.....oh gawd, it's so difficult isn't it??

i agree that some babies go thru a distractible phase around this age and are difficult to feed. it also doesn't help that their weight gain levels off which can add to her worry. as already mentioned try to feed in a quiet maybe darkened place. and don't let him get upset by insisting he feeds. maybe put him on a bit more often than she had previously.

i also had a rough start and i was lacking in confidence early on. i remember walking around the house feeding her, sometimes humming, sometimes reminding myself to trust my body and to trust my baby. also when dd would pop off one side, i would swap and offer the other.

also remember to look at the baby. is he happy and content after a feed? still weeing and pooing as normal? (my dd around this age started to poo once every 6 days, and pooing even every 10 days is still normal)

visit kellymom.com and search 'distractible baby' sorry, one hand typing