just spent 20 minutes expressing by hand and only got a few drops

[Hopeitwontbebig]

I had my beautiful baby daughter yesterday by cs. I was getting a fair few drops of colostrum yesterday, I got sore so put on some Lansinoh but she then rejected me and got upset. Today Ive been taking peppermint water for trapped wind in my shoulders. The miwife gave me a 1ml syringe to express into and I've only managed a few drops into it. I've been topping up with formula because she's hungry and has been getting upset.

Any advice?

Your milk wont have come in yet and it really is only a few drops the baby takes anyway of colostrum. Sorry but if you go down the route of giving formula your milk wont come in.

You need to demand proper help from the staff.

If they are useless then get on teh phone to the nct or la leche.

First of all HIWBB - congratulations on your beautiful dd!
Please, please do not worry about the 'few drops' that is all your baby needs for the first few days. Your milk will probably not come in fully until day 3 or 4. Your midwife should be advising you NOT to top up with formula as it is your dd's suckling that starts your 'let down' and also builds up your supply.
Lots of time in bed with her, skin to skin and feeding on demand as and when she wants to is the best thing.
Squeeze a few drops of colostrum out at the end of a feed and rub onto your nipples to stop them getting sore. Also keep clothing away from them as much as possible.
Good luck and hope the wind is better too!

You don't get much colostrum anayway - but it is very rich.

I can remember only getting a few drops of colotrum for ds in the first day or so - and that was with the help of the midwife. Fortunately, it was a UNICEF Baby Friendly hospital, so they never but me under pressure to give formula, but just kep t on helping getting the drop or two of colostrum and by day 2 or 3, my milk had come in.

Hi

I had to express colostrum for the first two days, because it took that long for dd to get the whole breastfeeding thing. She soon got the hang of it though, but there was never more than 1-2mls of colostrum. Once the milk came in on day 3, there was loads.

Re: the pain, everyone told me that if I could bear it for two weeks (bleeding nipples, blistered nipples, etc) it would stop start to get better.

After two agonising weeks, lots of nipple cream and regualr application of cold gel pads, etc it really did get better and didn't hurt at after that. I think both me and dd just got better at getting the right position.

If it doesn't start to get better after a week or so, I'd suggest getting in touch with an NHS or NCT breastfeeding counsellor. They'll be able to sort out the position thing for you.

Good luck!

This sounds like a situation in which you are not getting the right info - no one gets more than a few drops of colostrum in the first days, and 20 minutes is far too long to be sitting expressing colostrum ....

It is no good to express into a syringe - no one can aim that precisely!

You can take a large spoon, and hand express onto that, if you need to.

If your little girl is term and healthy (ie not in special care) then sit or lie back with her, skin to skin, and let her snuggle and cuddle and latch herself on.

She does not need formula, we can be pretty sure of that, unless she is in need of it medically, and it will prevent her being interested in the breast (because she will be zonked out).

If you are still in hospital, demand some decent bf help.

You can also call any of the helplines.

HIWBB - let us know how you are getting on - fingers crossed you are getting the support you need from the hospital. I had a CS and having to press the buzzer every time your baby needs feeding so she can be passed to you is not the most relaxing way to feel! Hang in there

hi all, thanks for advice. TBH midwives arefantastic here and have been trying to get the right advice for me. I think they just aren't putting pressure on me to let me recover from cs. I'd rather have it that way than feel bullied iyswim. I feel quite chilled about it all, therefore think I am more likely to make a success of bf in the end. thanks again, your advice hasbeen brilliant

I@ll keep you updated.

x x x x x

Congratulations on the safe arrival of your DD

How much peppermint water are you drinking? I did see a reference that peppermint, in significant quantities, is a herb taken to help dry up milk - although it does say that some women see a reaction to much smaller amounts (www.kellymom.com/herbal/herbs_to_avoid.html). I really doubt it's a problem and I don't want to worry you, but if it's strong and you've been drinking a lot you might want to look for an alternative wind cure!

Probably longer term once your milk comes in, but has anyone shown you the Marmet technique for hand expression? Might help you once you're milk's come in

Many congrats again and hope you get things sorted soon