My baby won't feed

[katyjo]

I have been struggling with bf since dd was 3 weeks old, she is now 14 weeks.

She had iv antibiotics then a 5 day course of oral ab at 8 days old about a week after the course was finished she started pulling off and clamping down on my nipples.
Hv checked my latch said everything was ok, and gave me a few tips, it just got worse and I decided we probably had thrush, creams improved it a bit but we got a course of fluconazole.
It seemed to improve but my nipples and her feeding style have just got worse. Her weight gain before problems was about 1lb in 2weeks since then she is only gaining about 1lb in a 4 week period. I have seen every feeding advisor in Glasgow but everyone just keeps saying my latch is good and she is gaining weight. She looks happy and healthy and sleeps well but it doesn't seem right to me. What can I do?

Meant to add I tried expressing for a week and giving it in bottles but she only takes 3/4oz and only gained 2oz this week instead of her usual 5oz.

Hi katyjo - I'm no expert but I would think that as long as she is gaining weight, seems happy and healthy and is sleeping well you have nothing to worry about. My DS2 went through stages of drinking very little at some feeds then would have a massive growth spurt and make up for it big style!!! I had him weighed very rarely as I think putting them on the scales can stress you out. HTH

As long as you are getting lots of wet nappies and your baby is gaining weight, she is probably fine.

When my DS went through an odd phase with BF I remember being very frustrated and upset so I know it can be hard. You need advice from an expert. If you are concerned, call the La Leche League or Breastfeeding network helplines. Their advisors are experienced mums who have been trained and can really help you. They may arrange for you to go to a support group or for someone to visit you if the problem is bad enough.

Some HV's advise on BF but they often have minimal experience/training.

katyjo - if your nipples are sore or cracked there is a problem with your latch. but it's fixable!
have you tried different feeding positions? lying down, or rugby ball hold might change things up a bit and enable your dd to latch better.

katyjo, when my DD does this it is often a sign she is windy. The difference after a burp/fart is amazing. Also try having a break and switching to other boob.

My sympathies tho - its bloody hard work!

Thanks, yes nipples are sore. I have seen the infant feeding advisors at the hospital kept telling me latch was fine but had a hole in my nipple, so not very helpful. I then started seeing a breast feeding support nurse who was really good and helped me improve my latch but she thinks its ok now but its still gets sore the further on in the feed we get. I have a fast let down and alot of milk I don't no if she is squashing my nipple to stem the flow, but I don't know how to stop it and she seems quite anxious when she feeds I don't want to do anything else to upset her.
I am not very good at lying down feeding and I couldn't work out a comfy way to do rugby ball hold.

if you a have a fast let down you could try unlatching for a minute until the flow isn't as fast and then latching her again.

how are you holding her? do you have cushions or anything? sometimes that can be a problem because the baby is too high to get a good latch.

the best thing i learned was 'the angle of the dangle!' where ever your nipple points is where the baby should be. if you have larger boobs it may be that your nipple points downward so the baby will be facing up IYSWIM.

That's probably true, my boobs aint as high as they were last time. Do you wait until your let down starts and then unlatch?

i'd do two things: 1. get DS latched on. he'd nurse a bit my let down would start, i'd unlatch him (or he would come off himself because of the fast flow of milk!) than i would wait until the flow slowed a bit (ie: wasnt' shooting across the room!) then get him latched on again.

OR sometimes i would express a bit before. but that didn't always make a difference in the let down.

Katyjo - i'm not that far away do you want to meet up? maybe i could help? (not a BF councellor or anything but i have trained as a BF 'buddy')

Thanks purplemonkey that was kind of you. I have decided to stop I should have posted earlier, I'm devastated fed ds for 13 months but now I feel like a total failure.

Message withdrawn

Thankyou. x