Breastfeeding advice

[Rosieposie9]

Looking for some advice on breastfeeding a newborn please.

My baby was born yesterday and came out very battered and bewildered looking after a long labour and a fairly brutal forceps delivery. Her face is quite swollen still and paediatrician think she has some facial nerve damage which should hopefully calm down in a few days. Unfortunately it has meant she hasn't been able to breastfeed despite routing for a nipple right from the very start, she just can't latch on. We've kept trying since then and she still hasn't been able to so have given her formula. I would still like to be able to try and breastfeed her but am concerned at how long it can be left before any chances are gone. We have had to stay in hospital and the breastfeeding specialist has been to see us and couldn't get her to latch on either. My milk hasn't come in yet and I don't even know if this is likely to make it any easier for her but at the moment she tries to latch, sometimes manages to for a couple of sucks and then drops off and gets frustrated.

Has anyone got any positive stories of not been able to breastfeed from birth but managing to pick it up a bit later?

Could you express with a breast pump and get milk supply started that way? Not ideal for your nipples but might work

Sounds like youve been through the mill! Hope you’re feeling okay and congratulations :)
Have you tried holding her head and physically putting her on your nipple? Obviously not forcibly! I struggled with latch due to tongue tie and a midwife pushed my sons head on to my nipple which meant he latched on. She told me they’re not supposed to physically touch you but it made such a difference for me! Breastfeeding gets so much easier as time goes on but it’s very tricky in the early days x

Congratulations!

What advice did the infant feeding lady have for you? Has she shown you how to hand express? You can use the expressed colostrum to feed your baby which means there's no need for formula if you don't want it.

Have they shown you anything like cup or finger feeding for the short term? Don't panic about how long you have to get bf started. As long as you get your supply going you can work on getting baby feeding from the breast gradually. You need to be expressing every 2/3 hours ideally including at night. Once your milk comes in you can swap to a pump.

I highly recommend contacting la leche league. They have a helpline or you can often contact your local leader directly (have a look at the website) they'll be able to help you get the bf experience you want

Your milk won’t come in for a few days. As pp has said you can harvest colostrum in the meantime and feed that. Turn there will be no need for formula.

I would also second contacting LLL.

With regards to positive stories. I have four month old twins that spent their first month in NICU. I harvested colostrum until my milk came in (on day five!) and then expressed until they were strong enough to latch. They are both now ebf.

If you’re determined enough it can be done Good luck and congratulations