Moving from Formula to Breastfeeding

[NewStressedMum]

I had a really horrific birth experience which led to my baby being formula fed whilst in hospital. I'm home now and my baby is 6 days old. My milk supply is late coming in so the majority of her feeds are formula I'd love to breastfeed so I'm pumping and trying to get her to take some breast milk via spoon and through nipple shields which isn't really working. I have a lactation consultant visiting me tomorrow but is it too late for me to get onto a breastfeeding journey....any advice, stories etc. welcome

It's absolutely not too late!

I was in this position, and managed to EBF for 6 months. I'm still BFing my DD at 12 months.

My advice would be to ditch the pump and just spend a few days putting your baby to your breast as much as possible.
Newborns can extract milk better than any pump, and having him/her physically close to you will send messages to your body to produce more.

Make sure you're drinking and eating plenty.

Good luck! You can do it.

Definitely not too late!
I’m assuming you’re using nipple shields because she’s not latching on without?

The best thing to do is let her sleep on you and have as much skin to skin contact with your breast area as possible.

When she is asleep, rub your nipple on her nose and she will hopefully start rooting around and latch on. Asleep/drowsy is sometimes easier than awake because their little baby instincts take over without distraction.

I'm sure the lactation consultant will give loads of advice. Keep massaging your breasts to try and draw the milk down before a feed and yes, try putting baby on as much as possible.

I used shields from about day 7 until 7 months - every feed! Babies can get enough through them - despite people often saying they don't, so if you need them that's fine! There are also different nipple shields available if you find some uncomfortable. Are you using lansinoh and drying your nipple in between?

Good luck!

p.s. I don’t think you should feed her with a spoon, the goal here is to teach her to suck properly. So if you’re expressing milk, give it to her in a bottle.

You can also start a feed with a bottle and then when she is sucking, do a quick switch and try and pop your shielded nipple in instead.

Good luck! Keep trying and make sure you eat and drink before every feed too.

Sorry for all my many posts, but just to say I agree with pp. Dry your nipples and apply Lansinoh after every single feed. Religiously.

Other people can help look after the baby, but only you can look after your nipples, so prioritise it. Same goes for personal care/ stitches/ regular toilet breaks/ showering etc.

Thanks so much everyone. The lactation consultant was great. We're trying our best to do ad much BF as possible but still having to supplement with formula but it's a step forward