Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Infant feeding

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

Flip

1 2 3 4 5

Original poster

Advice on feeding a two day old baby

103 replies

EdieMcredie · 16/09/2007 21:08

My baby is two days old and im planning on BFing. However milk not in yet and so I bought some formula to supplement. Of course all my midwives told me to get rid of it so I have. Tonight I will have no formula. Im managing to put her on my breast loads and she does suck but nothing much coming out and so I need more reassurance from people on here that she will be ok!!!

I just hate to think of her hungry and it's getting me down...

OP posts:

CantSleepWontSleep · 18/09/2007 08:35

Congratulations Edie .

Original poster

EdieMcredie · 18/09/2007 08:39

Thanks Daisy that's really kind!

Yes I have some Lanisoah, will be putting it on regularly.

Thanks again

OP posts:

Lorayn · 18/09/2007 09:53

Well done Edie. For persevering!!! I know how distressing it can be.

Jackstini · 18/09/2007 09:55

Yea! Well done Edie - that's fantastic to hear. Really pleased you are getting on well with it now

jumpyjan · 18/09/2007 10:05

Well done Edie. So pleased to hear its working out.

Like I said before, it does get easier.

foxybrown · 18/09/2007 12:46

Yay Edie! Well done!

Original poster

EdieMcredie · 18/09/2007 17:01

Yes im just so glad we did!

Some more advice-is it still ok for me to express so DP can give the odd feed? He is really keen to get involved but don't want to confuse her with the breast/bottle changes.

OP posts:

tiktok · 18/09/2007 17:07

At four days old, you have enough to do, Edie...there is plenty of time for your dh to be involved with the feeding later, and he will have plenty of opps for cuddles even now.

My personal feeling is that expressing could be an extra thing to fit in, and there is no time at the moment. Also, it is not good to express in order to leave a gap between breastfeeds, until bf is well-established (that's not my personal feeling - that's a fact!)

Lorayn · 18/09/2007 18:33

Personally I would probably prefer not to have to express milk too as I found it to be yet another job!
If you feel you desperately need the break then do it, just try to keep to the breast as often as you feel up to it.
Remember breast is best, but a baby needs their mummy to be as calm and stress-free as possible

spottyshoes · 18/09/2007 18:59

Hi Edie
I was told not to express if you dont have to before 6 weeks as it can interrupt your milk supply. I did try it at 4 wks and found it sooo difficult and painful. at 6+ it was so much easier, milk supply was fully established and I had settled into a nice routine by then so had the time to do it.

cashmeresox · 20/09/2007 15:13

Hi Edie
Congratulations! BFing can be so so difficult but you are doing brilliantly by the sound of it. My ds was in SCBU for a little while and they advised me to breast feed, express and use formula which I did (he left SCBU at 3 days old) until he was around 5 weeks old when I felt able to purely breast feed which I was able to do successfully until he was around 9 months and I got very ill(not baby related!). I found expressing very time-consuming and actually found it easier to just breast feed. I would certainly echo Lorayn's advice and remember - being a brilliant mum isn't just about these first few, sometimes difficult, weeks and months. More than anything babies need love, cuddles and a loving, calm environment. For most of us that is a challenge in inself! Keep going with your breast feeding - it does get easier and you will start to feel much less worried about the whole feeding thang. I hope you can take some time to enjoy your wonderful newborn however you decide to feed!

Original poster

EdieMcredie · 20/09/2007 19:20

Thankyou!

Still getting on really well. Have taken advice on board and won't express until later. The breast pump is useful at the moment just for pulling my nipples out a bit when she finds it too difficult, (apparently they are a bit inverted although are getting better).

BFing feels like hard work still but every day it's getting easier and im going to stick at it. Getting through the painful bit at the moment, and also the bit where they just seem to feed constantly!

Thanks everyone xx

OP posts:

Elasticwoman · 20/09/2007 20:50

Edie, well done for getting through such a difficult start. I hope your blisters are gone. Raw white cabbage leaves in the bra can soothe if you are sore in between feeds.

Breastfeeding is like learning to drive. Can be v difficult or almost impossible at first but if you stick with it, can become second nature in time. And yet some people seem to just get in and drive off without any effort at all! Or so they would have you believe.

FAR26 · 20/09/2007 20:53

Hi EdieMcredie - congrats on your little one (well done! My labour was half the length of yours and I thought THAT was hard!)and very well done on your breastfeeding so far. I was sore for 10 weeks for several different reasons but the thing that kept coming up no matter who I talked to was 'the latch'. BFing is a skill that has to be learnt by both you and your baby. The things that helped me were - my local La Leche League Leader (try saying that 3 times fast!!) - you can find details on the La Leche League website. They also have an article on that site called 'The Mother baby dance' which is all about latching in loads of detail & talks about differnet positions for feeding (sometimes that can help ease nipple pain if you're sore). There is also a good informative site by an American paediatrician called Jack Newman (just type his name into Google). It has latching checklists and videos (!) and info to guide you how to know if your baby is getting enough etc.
Some people find BFing so easy but it can be really hard. You're doing a fantastic job! It's the most wonderful thing once it all settles down. I'm still BFing my little girl and she's 9 1/2 months now! One final bit of advice that someone gave me - for now, you're job is to feed and nuture your baby. So cuddle up nice and cosy and let everyone else worry about the chores etc. If people want to help you (and most people I found want to help you by feeding/holding the baby, ask them do something else like make a meal/clean dishes). If you want to chat/want any more info/support just shout. I've loads of stuff saved on my computer about BFing from when I started.
Good luck - hope it all goes well!

buninoven07 · 20/09/2007 20:55

As a fairly new mum I've found bf much harder than I imagined but try to hang in, my little Jozef is 3 weeks and 2 days and we are still learning. Last week I was almost considering trying bottles but I've found ringing helplines and bf drop-ins helpful. One word of warning once you find a way of bf you find that works don't change (I've had conflicting advice and forgot for a while what was working).

Last week I was made to feel a failure by one health 'professional' who told me I was doing it wrong, (how when the baby has put on weight at each weigh in!). Last Friday I was really starting to stress, I rang a helpline who told me of a local bf drop in and that's really helped.
My health visitor was really supportive when I told her how confused I was, she didn't want to give me new advice as I was so confused.
So stick to your guns when technique is concerned. Do what works for you, but remember it might not always work, but don't stress and keep calm.

One other thing don't worry if you have a few days or nights in a row when your bundle of joy really does try your sanity, it may well be a growth spurt whn baby demands you pretty much constantly and is trying to get your body to up the milk supply. (We has 4 bad nights between the hrs of 7pm and 1am.
)
Now, I take a feed at a time, some are good, some are bad but we keep going. At the end of the day as long as you do all you can (within reason) to take care of the babe things will sort themselves out (that's what I keep telling myself anyway.)

Good luck - it''s not just you out there, there must be 100's of us!

Original poster

EdieMcredie · 20/09/2007 22:15

Thanks guys

The thing that gets me sometimes is all the 'rules' there seem to be about BFing. It's like anything else, the seems to be some kind of underground group of people that you don't know about but then you become one and it's so weird! The analogy about driving is good-I can imagine that once I have mastered it I will not be able to imagine how difficult these early parts were.

Sometimes I think all this feeding is making me feel a bit depressed but im hoping that will pass too-think it just takes a lot of adjusting when you are expected to be on call night and day for somebody or something.

Far26-Think I will have a look at those techniques and aslo think I should learn some new postions-at the moment the only one we seem any good at is the rugby ball one. Interesting what you said about my labour-I know some others have far longer but actually it was bloody hard and I don't think I have given myself the opportunity to really recover from that-mentally, I guess.

Of course having stitches doesn't help as the BFing means im sitting in the same-often not truly-comfortable position for long periods at a time.

Thanks again everyone for all your support and advice-if it wasn't for MN I would have certainly given up by now and I really don't want to do that!

OP posts:

wolfmama · 20/09/2007 22:27

Yey for breastfeeding. Latching on is the key. Even after several weeks of what appears to be succesesful breastfeeding, some babies/mums still have probs which are solved by getting a better latch. Dr Jack Newman is the other good resource website (in addition to Kellymom posted by someone a few days ago). Hope I'm not saying what others have said, I haven't time to read the whole thread. Good luck to all you breastfeeders. Get all the support you can in the early days and you CAN do it

lorisparkle · 20/09/2007 22:51

have not been able to read whole of thread but sounds like you are working really hard at this. it is certainly worth it in the end. I really struggled for the first 6 weeks or so (they seemed like an eternity but it is really not that long) but I am still bf now at 15 months.

Anyway if you are having problems bf sitting up then try lying down. It is a godsend. You get to rest, everyone is more relaxed.

keep at it! - oh and congratulations!!!

MaeBee · 21/09/2007 09:42

hi edie, and others!
i too found bf really hard and painful for 6 weeks. its very trying and difficult for some of us and i didn't expect that at all. i felt depressed and miserable cos it was so painful and troublesome. but edie, this is also a time the "baby blues" kick in so you might be feeling this anyway.
we are now up to 1 yr of bf and im so glad i stuck with it. it is hard work but everyone on this thread has great advice. the main thing i think is to work it out between you and your baby though, cos its a very personal and intimate thing. its a bit like sex in that its about 2 individuals getting it right between them rather than some universal techniques that suit everyone. BUT getting tips to try is useful too! it helped me to think about it in those terms, it might not you.
good luck!

BlueChampagne · 21/09/2007 11:35

I was there 4 weeks ago with ds, worrying about dehydration and tying to hand-express colostrum onto a tea spoon. Our trouble was latching on - breast shields did the trick, with the loan of a breast pump to tide us over, and now we're going great guns! But the emergency formula is still in the cupboard, as psychological prop if nothing else (and 'cos binning it would be wasteful).
Good luck!

lorisparkle · 21/09/2007 12:17

Just wanted to say that a really agree with maebee. One of the good midwives said that your lo has a lot to get used to and learn aswell. They are used to food on tap and this latching on and sucking thing is not always that easy. My lo took a while to realise that it is suck suck and wait as the milk comes in waves not one constant flow.

Hope things are getting a little easier for you - keep asking for help and support. As bf is so individual different people find that different types of advice and support helps them so if the first person you ask is no help ask someone else! I rang up LLL and they were great. I sat crying down the phone as she calming gave me a few things to try. It made me feel a lot better.

Lorayn · 21/09/2007 12:25

Edie, if bfing is tiring you out maybe you could look into co-sleeping, it isn't for everyone, and I didnt even realise it was what I had done til I came on MN, but it really helped me and ds with sleep.
x

FAR26 · 21/09/2007 16:05

Hi again, just remembered another bit of useful info my La Leche League leader told me. Breastmilk is easier (and so is more quickly)digested than formula. That's why a bottlefed baby maybe only needs milk every 3-4 hours whereas a breastfed baby can feed every 60-90mins!!!!! In the early days I felt like my baby needed fed on the hour, every hour, for an hour!

Also, re your labour. I defintitely found i needed time to recover mentally and emotionally (as well as physically!). It's a heck of an acheivement and a big strain on your body.You've spent the last 9 months making another human being and bringing her into the world. Wow.

Elasticwoman · 21/09/2007 16:43

Apart from co-sleeping, Edie, you could also consider feeding while you are lying down. You may like to get help with positioning from a bfc but the principle is the same: put baby's nose to nipple so that she has to open really wide to take it in.

Original poster

EdieMcredie · 21/09/2007 18:03

Sometimes she takes ages to latch.

OP posts:

Flip

1 2 3 4 5