Could I get someone to come round to my house to help me with bf, TODAY ? What is best number to ring ?

[Oblomov]

Emcs Cs 10 days ago. Severley tongue tied baby.
Went to bf clinic at local hospital yesterday. She made me feel great.
But I am struggling to remmeber what she said. And have only had 2 decent latches since yeasterday pm.
I feel so stupid. Becasue this is is ds2. I should know better.

Can you not ringthe hospital and get a community m/w out to you? I did this when dd was about 5 days old and we'd had a bad day. It only took her 5 mins to put me right and I never looked back. Really hope you get something sorted.

I am going to give bf a chance. go to bf clinic tomorrow. but if it doesn't work soon, I will ahve to let it go. my relationship with dh, the stress ia m putting myself under ,a dn the welfare of my family unit, ie ds1, ds2 and my lovely dh, need to be my primary concern

Oblamov bf is great, fabetc etc but you now what? one woman can only do so much so give it your best shot, i hope it works but if not for gods sake dont feel bad- I think you've done amazingly to get this far tbh.

Formula is not the food of the devil, it is a useful backup when all else fails.

Go enjoy that baby.

Just wanted to see how you are this evening. Hope you are feeling more able to take thinbs on and to also agree with Peacy you and your family are what is most important. Dont feel guilty in any way about any choice you make.

Had a long chat with dh last night. Resolved many issues. Mostly me apologising and telling him that I loved him and needed him. Things are alot alot better. We had a cuddle when we got back into our bed - It seemed like a very long time since we have had a cuddle.

My mum arrives today . For 2 nights. Based on the state I was in yesterday, she phoned to say she was coming down.

And I am going to bf clinic. This is bf being given its last chance. If it doesn't sort itself by the end of the week, I am going to let it go. I know that this is best.

Anyway, feeling a whole lot betetr.

Thanks to you guys for all support.

And thank you to you all, for all your posts - MadHouse, Peachy,
cheese,frazzle, alexa and stripey.

Hi to Spidermama - how is your ds's diabetes ?

Glad you are feeling better today. Good luck at bf clinic.

Yah for Mums and do let us know how you get on.

My DD1 was tongue tied (they didn't give me the option of snipping it either) and I had inverted nipples, so intially had terrible trouble with BF.
My nipples were excruciatingly sore, my dd1 was losing wieght, not gaining and I was distraught.
My midwife was of no help whatsoever, she told me there shouldn't be a problem...my dd1 should still latch fine and my inverted nipples were an excuse...as supposedly my dd would suck the nipple to the right shape for her.
Did she actually know how difficult it is when the breast is full of milk and the nipple is even flatter??....hard enough as it is without having tongue tie and inverted nipples!

I almost gave up until I was visited by a relief health visitor. She calmly assesd the situation and agreed that the circumstances were making latching very difficult indeed.
I was in so much pain and my dd was constantly crying from hunger, she suggested nipple sheilds. I was reluctant because I didn't want my DD dependant on the silicone teat, but gave it a go.
Best thing I ever did! dd could latch no problems, and as she fed my nipples turned outwards. I used the sheilds for about 3/4 days until I was less sore, my boobs were less solid and my nipples were more accessible. Dd had no problems after that.

My advice would be to keep calm, keep your options open, don't get worked up or stressed. Seek the help you need but remember...you know what feels right and comfortable for you and your ds.
Keep at it and I hope you find a solution.

I sooooooo know how you are feeling xx

Am SO glad your mum is coming to help you and also glad you and DH have sorted things out - do let us know how you get on with the feeding and everything. Best of luck and take care of yourself x x

Thank you ludaloo and frazzle.

My mum is here. We went to st peters bf clinic yesterday. Good. Bad last night. I know what I need to do, just can?t do it.
she suggested rugby/football hold, and it is so much better for me. But i still couldn't do it at 10pm, 2am, 6am, only managed toa bad latch.
I need to give it a go today and tomorrow and then decide whether to give up or not.
Atleast my mum is help to help me through this 'trying stage'.

I'm sure you will have tried this but have you tried feeding lying on your side? - this really worked for me, and also alternating positions at each feed? eg 10pm rugby hold, 2am lying down, 6am rugby hold, 10am cradle hold etc

I also, when I was totally demented with DD1, used nipple shields for about a week (just when I was very tearfully on the point of giving up) - and they were brilliant. 8 months later I was still b/feeding (without the shields obviously!!). They got me through a really difficult patch - I know lots of people don't approve of them but might be worth a go? They also worked for my SIL who was also just about to give up as her DS simply refused to latch on at all (no tongue tie, just would not do it). She used them for about 6 wks, and ended up feeding for 6 months. The didn't have any effect on supply for either her or me by the way.

Just remember, you're doing a fab job, I'm with you all the way!

Good luck with it but whatever you decide to do will be the right thing. Don't worry.

By the way oblomov I hope you have a better night tonight.

Just checking in to see how last night was. Take care

What a great job you're doing to get this far with bfing with all the problems you're having. Your kids are lucky to have a mum like you!
Someone might shoot me for saying this, but have you considered a nipple shield? I know it's not ideal, but if the option is using it or giving up bfing, it might be worth a try. I was given one after about 5 minutes of attempted latch-on failed with DS (looking back, I think they gave up too soon!) I had flat nipples, but I read somewhere it might help with tongue-tied babies. I had no problems with latching with the shield, and DS started latching without it at 6 1/2 weeks (he probably could have done it earlier, but at that point I was through a lot of the other crazy life changes that come with a new born and ready to concentrate on breast feeding). I didn't have any problems with the nipple shield, except that I only had one and managed to destroy it while cleaning it one day - so get 2!
I have no idea where you get them (I'm a transplanted Brit living in Texas. Here, you can get them in the baby section of toysRus).

You can get them in Tesco, Mothercare, Boots etc here. I got the Avent ones but I guess any kind is fine.
How are you getting on oblomov. I'm hoping no news is good news?
Take care x

La Leche League.
Hang in there.
All the best

sorry frazzledoldbag, didn't see you'd given the same advise just above me

great minds think alike comicdust !
Hope oblomov is ok.

sorry for not replying guys.
I am fine. I think I needed to accept mentally, that if I couldn't do it, i wasn't the end of the world.
And once I did that. Things got better
Ironic, eh ?

I put ds2 on the breast at every feed. I am using the new rugby hold. He likes it. I do too. Leess pain on cs and tummy.
He munches away. I try and get the latch right, but don't worry if I don't.
The reason why I don't woryy is becasue my nipples are not sor. and my supply has increased.
Before, I think part of the pressure was that I only ever had enough milk pumped, ready in a bottle, only enough for the next feed. So I was constantly under pressure to feed, make sure ds2 was o.k. rish away , pump, allowing enough time inbetween feeeding and pumping tofor milk to come again. And trying to maintain life, happy relationship with dh, SLEEP, and looking after ds1, all inbetween.
Well if baby needs to feed every 3 hrs and if you need to pump every three hours, how do you manage to fit LIFE inbetween, then ?

But ds2's munching is helping supply. At one point I was only getting 20ml out of one breast and 60ml out of the other. Now, once again I am getting 160-180ml out of my two breasts and it only takes 10-15 minutes of pumping to do this.

It is DO'ABLE.

Max has fed last night at 10pm,12pm,,2am,5am, and then slept till 9am when dh got up and fed him a bottle. I pumped at 4 am. And I have three bottles of 180ml sitting in the fridge, waiting, if he needs them. THUS, no pressure.
Thus, I FEEL FANTASTIC.

So, I think we can call this success.

Thank yuo so much for all your posts, support and care. IT means alot
Any comments or other advice, I am all ears.

By the way, My MW suggested nipple shields more thna a week ago. But sainsburys, mothercare and 4 chemists have none. Would you believe it. Dh went looking, and was away for nearly 3 hours.

But If my nipples ahve never actaully been sore, surely shields are not the answer ?

Well done.

Sounds like you are doing fab.
I suggested nipple shields as sometimes babies can latch on to them when they can't latch on initailly to a nipple.
(also, they are useful for soreness too, but obviously that's not an issue for you).
Am so pleased you sound much better.
Take care x

Oblomov we got our nipple shields in John Lewis. Maybe even Waitrose might have some? But like you say, perhaps if you do not have sore nipples, they might not be the answer.

Good luck and well done for trying so hard. Hurray for your lovely mum and DH.

(I was on Nov08 thread but couldn't keep up, recognised you from there).
xx

I'm not sure whether they would help at all - things sound better and if you arent sore then Im not sure what use they will be...but if you want some I have some you can have (unopened!). Can pop in the post to you but will obviously not be with you til tuesday.

I wouldnt use them if you dont really need them though as once you start it can be hard to stop, effect supply etc etc but Im guessing you know this - can be helpful though if things are still tough