struggling with breastfeeding (nipple shields, not producing enough milk)

[hermitzero]

Hello,

I am a first time mum and my baby boy is 8 days old.
I would like to breastfeed my baby but I am really struggling.
When I first breastfed him, he could not latch my left breast so I breastfed him only right breast. Not surprisingly he cried a lot at night. I gave him a ready made formula, which is 70 ml and my baby easily finished a bottle of the formula. I continued breastfeeding him from only my right breast but I got a sore nipple. I ordered nipple shields, one from Medela, one from MAM. Both worked well and I could start breastfeeding him from my left breast.

The problem is it seems I do not produce enough milk for my baby. Every feed, I spend more than 30, 40 min on breastfeeding but he is still hungry and I ended up give him formula, 90 ml to sometimes, 120 ml.

I do pump breast milk with silicone breast pumps but I only collect less than 40 ml. I give my baby the breast milk first and then give him formula.

These days, every time I feed him, I feel like I am a failure. Using breast shields is not a permanent solution and it doesn't look comfortable for my baby. My breast milk is not enough to feed him. I feel sorry for him and I started to feel depressed.

Could anybody advise me what I am doing wrong? Would it be better to give up breastfeeding and just go for formula if it depresses me?

Is there anything I can try to breastfeed him, to produce enough milk to the point he feels full and satisfying?

Would my baby be able to latch on without nipple shields when he grows old?

Last question is is there any place / website where I can get advice?

There is an organisation called La Leche League who can offer you help and support.

www.laleche.org.uk

8 days in with a rocky start to breastfeeding can seem like you're at the bottom of a dark pit. But, I had similar rocky starts with both of my babies and ended up 100% breastfeeding and feeding to over 1.5 years for both. My DS2 came home from hospital entirely formula fed and I was expressing only at that point, probably getting similar quantities to you.

Having said that, if it's causing you pain and depressing you then you can choose to stop and move to wholly formula feeding. I'm not going to tell you what you should do, it is absolutely your choice.

For me, I had a lot of support from my partner so that I could solely focus on feeding and expressing. When my nipples had been shredded too much to feed, I would express as much as I could. One thing to know about expressing is that even if you're not getting much out the stimulation will help with increasing your supply. I used Lansinoh religiously and used medela nipple shields for a while as well. If the latch was hurting, I would always break the latch and try again, sometimes changing position or even express a little before trying again.

Try not to worry or stress about the mixed feeding, formula is a useful tool to help you whilst you're healing and increasing your supply. It may be that you can continue mixed feeding, or move towards mostly breastfeeding with one or two formula feeds, or you might end up dropping formula feeds altogether. Any of those outcomes will be absolutely fine for your baby.

Congratulations on the arrival of your little one, btw.

There's a great Facebook page called mixed up infant feeding support group thats all about combi feeding and how to do it, it's run by a lactation consultant who can advise on successfully combi feeding or relactating, if that's what you want x

It can be so hard! I felt like I was never going to get to grips with it but 2 and a half years later I was still breastfeeding

Your breasts don't empty they continuously make milk sometimes my baby was feeding for hours on the boob as long as they are gaining weight it's all good

But if it's sending you into misery no one will think any less of you for going 100% formula so don't feel guilty about it

It is so tough tho also took about 5 months before I had pain free feeding 😭

Babies grow whether breast or bottle fed .. first time motherhood for me was stressful as your worried bout baby, changes to your relationship and life role and your body has been through something major and needs to heal.. .. and milk supply can take weeks to produce enough.. this site talks bout pumping kellymom.com/ages/newborn/nb-challenges/maintainsupply-pump/. I mixed fed both kids and they’re 9 and 10 now and no one asks breast or bottle? Do what you can manage and get as much rest and cuddles in as possible.. and help.. be kind to yourself above all, as long as the child is fed somehow and loved, your doing great.