Mixed feeding struggles 8 days old

[Millennial92]

Hi, please no judgement please. There is a reason for mixed feeding my DC2 who is now 8 days old. When DC1 was born I decided to exclusively breast feed. It was a traumatic labour which I won't go into but by day three, we realised my breast milk wasn't in and DC1 was jaundiced and starving. We had a lactation consultant who came out and said she never ever does this but give her some formula. She refused which resulted in a 4 day hospital stay until weight was up, my milk didn't come in until we got home and relaxed which by then nobody trusted my breasts to feed DC1.

When DC2 arrived I swore I was formula feeding but she wanted the breast which I gave and then topped up with formula. My milk came in on day 3/4 so I offered the breast and still do every 2/3 hours and then top up with formula. Now, she does look for the boob and I'm slowly producing more milk however she just falls asleep shortly after latching! I managed to express 30 mils of milk today but she wouldnt take the bottle for me, only Dad and then had some formula and now I think we are over feeding her!

I keep saying one more day! Because of DC1, Dad doesn't trust the breast to feed her exclusively which is putting the pressure on to top up and also more pressure on myself to express, plus offer the boob plus formula.. I know I need to make a decision but I can't say I 100 percent trust my milk either and I'm really tired..
Just to add, I only get just 15 mils from both breasts then have to pump again to get 30 mils..

It's not that I think formula is wrong obviously my DC1 is very healthy and strong and really thrived when on it I just feel a guilt because the bonding and nutrition aspect for DC2.

My advice is stop pumping and giving bottles and just get her on the boob. As much and as often as possible.

that’s the best way to get your supply going.

as long as she puts on weight and has wet and dirty nappies then she is getting enough.

don’t measure and don’t compare quantity with formula

Formula, bottles, expressing small quantities, all this will work against you. Put all bottles to one side for the next 6 weeks.

The only thing that truly increases your supply is feeding and skin to skin. Hold that baby close all day and night and feed feed feed.

Do you have a good latch? Sometimes a bad latch is the reason for falling asleep quickly at the breast as not enough milk is coming out. Make sure as much as possible of the areola goes in the mouth. Do the hamburger hold and sort of flip the nipple down from the tip of the nose to encourage her to open mouth wide.

I don't really understand the whole "not trusting your milk". Your DH needs to get with the program, quick, or he will sabotage the whole thing. Of course your milk is enough. If there are plenty of wet nappies, she's fine.

Thanks for advice! Our midwife told us she isn't putting on weight quick enough which frightened us a little. I've been offering her the breast which she'll latch on 1/2 times per day, I'm expressing every couple of hours and only getting 90 ml if I'm lucky so she gets one bottle of breast milk a day but the rest is formula and she seems much less sleepy and happy... Essentially we were starving her a little. At this stage I need to accept she has gotten some breast milk and I'll continue to express but I think we are happier with bottle feeding. More importantly she is happy but I'm essentially happy to have made the decision. I do have a lactation consultant coming over next week so things may change.

I completely agree.

ETA: sorry, I just read your update. Good luck!

OP I think listen to the consultant, but it will all come out in the wash :)

I brought home twins from NICU who were fed on NG tubes if you know what those are, and had to have hi-cal formula to survive! I ended up sloooowly transitioning to mixed then largely bf and they breastfed every day till 10 mos.

You absolutely can do it if you want, and any balance of formula and bf is okay.

@123EndOfRope67 i should of mentioned she wasn't having many wet nappies a day. She wasn't sleeping well and now she's having plenty of wet and dirty nappies and having good sleeps as she's full.

I get no milk from my right breast it all comes from the left, I'm not sure why... I've been offering this breast every couple of hours and she's having none of it and gets a good 10/15 mins from right side.. I have been massaging, trying to hand express, and getting nothing! I can also see the difference when they fill up as one hangs way more than the other... I said this to midwife who couldn't see a reason for this and has never heard of it happening before.

That's reasurring. I have been looking online alot about eventually being EBF despite the formula and getting mixed advice. Some say baby will prefer bottle and some say it's absolutely possible. I feel being relaxed myself is helping us breastfeed just a little longer and I've also found she latches better after some formula! I'm on my own with a toddler next week which will make things slightly more difficult but I'm willing to try for a little more longer.