Getting back to ebf hope please

[AspieMumma]

Hi, I have a week old, at 3 days he had lost to much weight and we were admitted to Peds and put on a feeding plan for triple feeding. However the breastfeeding part wasn't going well at all he just wouldn't latch.Yesterday he had a tongue tie assessment which resulted in a division and his latch did improve but he's still struggling . Often just screaming at the boob. Has anyone had experience where they've gone on to be able to bf exclusively and wean of the bottle feeds?

Congratulations on your baby.

The short answer to this is yes, but you need support. Ideally in person support.

both NCT and Association of Breastfeeding Mothers have helplines that can support today, now.

have a good for breastfeeding support groups in your area (if you feel able to tell me where in the country you are I might be able to direct you)

qualified in person support is invaluable in these cases.

To help now, how many weeks were you when baby was born?

are you expressing to support supply?

have a google for laid back breastfeeding. This position supports baby’s natural instincts around feeding. That can support latch.

check out Emma Pickett and Olivia Lactation Consultant on Instagram for support to. Kathryn Stagg can be helpful if baby born between 36 and 38+6 weeks.

you’re doing great, there are loads of people out there who’d be able to support either for free or for a fee.

Yes, I did. There was no tongue tie, just problems with the latch. I remember those screaming at boob times and they were awful. Hang in there.

@vincettenoir how long did it take you ?

You can but you need support and a precision approach. You need to know exactly how much formula you’re giving and reduce it down day by day by a small amount. What top up plan are you on at the moment? The best way of preserving bf is to bf first and then offer a small formula top up after each bf. Sometimes the less good feeding plans don’t take this approach.

Absolutely I didn't ebf until 8 weeks with one of mine due to tongue tie. As above get in person NCT/lactation support as baby and you need to learn how to feed. It takes a couple of weeks from now and then about six weeks for your supply to settle. But breastfeeding really is a journey and there are so many aspects to the learning curve. I say this as someone feeding multiple little ones now.

I was advised to immediately stop the formula top ups and only offer noob after tongue tie release...So OP you don't necessarily need to do it very gradually at all. Get tailored advice to you.

I'm expressing so his top ups are currently only breast milk, sometimes formula if he needs a little bit more. I'm planning to go to a breastfeeding group on Tuesday and have been getting support from the infant feeding team at the hospital

It was working well from about 3 weeks in. It’s easier said than done but do you best to keep offering / attempting the breast without getting too disappointed on the occasions it doesn’t work out.

I also brought a sterilised tube on eBay and did some finger feeding to help with the transition away from the bottle and that seemed to be helpful. Might be worth a go.

Currently I'm pumping so his top ups are breast milk, trying him on the breast first or if he's too upset a little bit of expressed first and trying again

This is all sounding super positive.

do give the helplines a call if you need some support between now and Tuesday. Together they are 24 hours.

great you have the infant feeding team at your hospital. Even better if they have an IBCLC you can ask.

Triple feeding is hard work. It can feel super overwhelming but it is temporary and with support you can reduce the top ups.

If the majority of top ups are expressed breast milk that is much easier than if you’ve got to build a supply to replace formula.

@Flittingaboutagain that is good advice, I am actually a trained supporter but always offer more cautious advice online when I’m not in full possession of all the facts. Someone going from 100ml of formula top ups a day for 2 weeks for instance wouldn’t be able to just stop them as they wouldn’t have build the supply.

OP - as you’ve maintained a good supply, j would focus on getting positioning support etc, sometimes you have to be more forceful/hold them harder than you think to get them to latch, other times a totally hands off biological nurturing approach works well - have you tried that?

Yes I agree with PP about the helplines. I gave them a call a few times and found them soooo helpful. I think they are volunteers and they provide such an important service. I’m really grateful to them.