please help! 3 day old + bf. starting to lose it.....

[prada]

sorry prob all been asked beore ...

i am typing with one hand baby on other arm on boob so will have to be quick and get to point.

baby born frid niht today it is day 3/4

boobs rock hard last night is that milk coming in?

nipples incred sore, prob because at hosp he didnt latch well, but ater 10 secs pain subsides, is thar normsl?

started expressing after each feed to help milk but mostt i have got is 10ml of yellowy liquid, is that milk or colostrum?

i am extremely tired and could cry as i feel baby not getting fed, i hope not onset of pnd. i was up every hour last night. midwie came round baby today he is now 3.1kilo, was 3.5 kilo, seems to have lost alot even with meconiom poo...

any advise support would be very welcomed. thanks x

p.s
... hosp discharged me last night less than 48 hours since my elective c/s.... yest morning my c-bag still attatched! today c/s scar still sore along with sore nipples i feel so blah..... also weighed myself have lost 5lbs ater having an 8lb baby, i guess i need to poo!!

your baby will be getting enough, they only need tiniest amount of colostrum for first week.

exhausting isn't it?

the soreness should subside soon, prob just cos milk comes in then makes your breast hard and then its difficult to latch.

drink plenty of water and put your feet up.

congratulations by the way

Boobs rock hard - IME is either normal (I has it early on) or start of mastitus. Massge them in the bath/shower abit etc. watch out for red patches/flu symptoms.
My nipples were VERY sore for the first few seconds, eased up after that - lasted a few weeks. IME, normal BUT watch out for hite patches - thrush.
Yellowy stuff is prob. colosrum, although my milk sometimes looked yellowly at the beginining.
up up 10% of body weight loss is normal - DS fed like mad first few days and still lost. They have to make it up by about day 10 as far as i recall.
Pop yourself in bed with baby if you feel it is safe (ie. not exhausted, had a drink, medication etc.)

Your weight - probably water retention. You will sweat like mad for a while.

Are you weeing OK? I was told to try and go every few hours for a while, as the trauma can make you feel like you don't need to go. x

Sorry about my bad typing, feeding/typing

First of all, congratulations! Even if you are feeling all snotty and beside yourself at the moment. And well done for starting to bf.

Yes, sounds like your milk is in. Also sound like you are right that the latch is not right.

Do not worry about the weight loss if there happens to be some. The meconium poo is good news.

What to do tonight: Try some 'biological nurturing' you can search that phrase in the MN archives and it will give you more info on what it is all about.

But basically, go to bed, half propped up works better in these early days. strip off your top and the baby's top. PUt the baby on your chest between your chest, tummy to tummy, and spend a good relaxing period of time that way just making sure he doesn't fall off, that is all your job is.

He should follow his instinct at some point and latch on himself. there is a detailed description of it on the Australian Breastfeeding website if you search the phrase 'baby led attachment'.

Often, a baby can latch himself on better than a mum can do it. My dd, now 8 wks old 'showed' me how to latch her on my left nipple when she was little as I was cack at it.

Also, if someone is available to give you a hand, or if you can manage it on your own, get yourself to a Baby Cafe or NCT bumps and babies. Go to their website and look to see if there is a location near you. Hopefully one is nearby so someone who is trained with latch can have a look-see.

sorry in a rush which is why I have searched no links for you.

prada - a lot of what you describe is normal, and the rock hard breasts should subside a bit as bf gets underway. 10 secs of pain - midwife should help you position the baby better, or you can check out biological nurturing positions/self attachment.

Not sure why you are expressing???

Weight of baby is within normal limits for 3 days.

You need to see midwife again tomorrow.

oh, with rock hard boobs at the moment, express off enough to soften up the aerola area of your nipple which will help the baby get a better latch. good luck.

feeding as often as poss should also help with softening up boobs - keep the baby as close as possible to you as he will wake more often, feeding often will help with engorgement.

Is co-sleeping an option for you?

I feel for you. The first few days BFing a new baby are so difficult but it really does get better so stick with it if you can.

It is perfectly normal for your baby to drop some weight in the first few days and may not get back to birth weight until around two weeks so I doubt anything is wrong and your baby is getting fed. It is normal for a new baby to suckle a lot a first. This is how baby gets your milk to come in and also helps with bonding/comfort.

If you have rock hard boobs and are tearful, your milk is coming in. Almost everyone gets mild baby blues around day 3-4 due to hormone changes. It should ease in a few days.

A bit of discomfort in the early days of breastfeeding does happen sometimes. The skin has to toughen up and it gets a lot of punishment when baby is feeding every few mins but speak to a MW or BF counsellor to get help checking/correcting the latch as a poor latch can lead to all sorts of problems. It is better to deal with it now than wait until you have cracked/dry nipples.
If your boobs are rock hard, try expressing a little bit of milk before feeding baby as this may help baby to latch on. Some babies struggle to latch onto an engorged boob.

Boobs rock hard last night sounds like milk coming in.

Toe-curling pain for first few seconds of a feed is normal -- it should go after a few seconds and after a couple of weeks you won't get that any more.

Don't worry about how much you are expressing. Milk can be quite yellowy so hard to tell from your description what you've got.

If your milk has come in then his weight should start to go up again; just keep feeding and try not to worry. The more skin-to-skin time you can get the better. Sleep whenever you can and don't even try to think about trying to do any housework. You could get a breastfeeding counsellor to check your latch if you are concerned.

If you have had a c-section you will have MASSIVE water retention. I found that around day 10 or so I sweated and peed it all out.

This is the worst time -it gets better-promise!

Haven't got much else to add some great advice on here would echo it all sounds very normal.

Rock hard boobs - what I used to do is express a bit off myself when they felt really uncomfy, in the bath good place to do this give boobs a good massage and place a hot flannel on them.

Toe-curling pain should go in a couple of days if it doesn't try to see a BF counsellor maybe the latch

Baby is getting fed you are doing fab he should be a bit more settled now your milk is in.

It really is the worst time a few days from now will all seem a lot better.

omg thank you ladies for your prompt responses and support... very very helpul i feel much better - mentally that is! i will try the skin to skinlater for sure, nursery nurse suggested that at hospital also...

i'm expressing to help stimulate supply and help with the hardness...

you wouldn't know it but this is my second baby, (ds 2.5) i really thought this time would be easier...

my mum here helping out for next few weeks and midwie back on weds

i am peeing okay ... thanks again xxxxxxxx

hi prada how's things now for you?

hi everyone's advise has been so useful...

sweetkitty well it's day 5 and milk started to seep through my top last night after i did the skin to skin, so amazing!...

nipples still sore but had the midwife show me if he was latching okay this afternoon as i put baby on my breast for his heel prick, it still hurt,but i guess no pain no gain...

he still seems awfully hungry always looking for breast with his mouth, and tbh doing the skin to skin with him has made me notice how skinny he is getting!

PortAndLemon i hope it is water retention!! i feel like a bloated blob!

prada - he sounds like a typical newborn to me DD3 will latch to anything and anyone that comes near her mouth, newborns are just little sucky milk machines to start with

the pain should be getting a bit better now, it should be easing the minute after he's on but if your nipples are a bit battered it could take a while for them to recover, slap Lansinoh cream on after every feed helps a lot.

Keep offering him a boob every 2 hours he'll soon be putting weight on.