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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

Seriously considering FF

98 replies

kayzr · 17/12/2008 22:04

I am seriously considering FF. I am struggling with BF and feeling pretty down about it.

I find it hard to get DS2(5 days old) to latch on, he just pushes my breast away with his hand. It takes about 10 minutes to get him on. Once he is on he is usually ok but sometimes just falls asleep after a few minutes.

My breasts especially the left one feel very hard, painful and boiling hot. The right one isn't as bad but its still very uncomfortable.

He has been feeding for up to an hour on one breast but today MW said to take him off after a 15-20 minutes and put him on the other side. But whenever I try that he hardly ever latches on again.

I feel like I am banging my head against a brick wall and feel terrible.

Thanks for 'listening'.

OP posts:
ObsidianBlackbirdMcNight · 20/12/2008 22:11

bonkers. she is telling you there is something wrong with your milk when the only possible issue might be that he's not quite getting enough BM, but that's not even definite. if you are able to exzpress then do so and top him up with that. he will get extra but it will be the good stuff and will stimulate your supply. why do so many 'professionals' think FM is better than BM? cos it's yellower or something? FFS. How much has he gained back of his birthweight?

Original poster
kayzr · 20/12/2008 22:18

1oz. I'm hoping he will have put on more when she comes tomorrow.

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VersOComeAllYeFaithful · 21/12/2008 01:31

kayzr just seen this thread and will come back tomor to post... dd2 on knee... your mw is a loon. your milk sounds normal. all advice on here v sound. {{hugs}}

Original poster
kayzr · 21/12/2008 09:21

Another pretty good night. Only woke up once and he had a really good breastfeed. We then slepy until half 8 this morning.

I am going to ring LLL after mw has been today to see what they suggest.

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Original poster
kayzr · 21/12/2008 15:24

WOO HOO!!

DS2 has put on 5oz in 48 hours!!! MW said they will come and weigh him on Tuesday and then we should be able to withdraw formula competely!!

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ObsidianBlackbirdMcNight · 21/12/2008 16:22

that's brilliant!!!

Ineedmorechocolatenow · 21/12/2008 18:04

That's such good news! Brilliant!!

fledtoscotland · 21/12/2008 19:36

thats a fab weight gain kayzr. you are both obviously doing so well - congratulations.

Original poster
kayzr · 21/12/2008 19:38

I feel so much better now.

So by Wednesday he should have no more formula. Which will be really nice.

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fledtoscotland · 21/12/2008 19:44

glad u feel better. mumsnet was the best support i had when i was trying to BF DS2. as i have already said, in the middle of the night its really lonely and i just sat and panicked that he wasnt latching on properly/feeding enough/etc etc. although your MW has been trained, this doesnt compare against personal BFing experience and advice from experts like tiktok.

IAteTheWholeSelectionBox · 21/12/2008 20:26

So pleased for you kayzr

Well done

Grendle · 21/12/2008 20:37

Well done

Original poster
kayzr · 21/12/2008 21:18

Thanks for all the help everyone. I really appreicate it.

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VersOComeAllYeFaithful · 22/12/2008 15:52

Well done you!!

Original poster
kayzr · 22/12/2008 17:23

Thanks Verso.

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NappyXmas · 22/12/2008 21:19

Well done, sounds like your persistence has paid off, and your LO has gained some weight - so you feel more confidence now in your ability to BF.

Clearly when you drop the FF top-ups it will take a couple of days for your breasts to produce the extra bit of milk, so it might be that your LO wants milk more often, or wakes up a bit more a night, but try to be flexible, IME, you have to be prepared to feed on demand in these early months to establish a good supply. But, hopefully this will be a turning point for you and you can enjoy your first Xmas together.

All those extra Christmas calories are just what a breastfeeding mother needs too .

Original poster
kayzr · 22/12/2008 21:49

Thanks.

He is being weighed tomorrow and then I will drop FF top-ups. Planning on spending Xmas day being lazy at my mums as she said I have to relax with my feet up.

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IAteTheWholeSelectionBox · 23/12/2008 21:37

Hope everything went well today kayzr. I think Christmas day spent with your feet up sounds like a fab idea! Hope you have a good one

Original poster
kayzr · 23/12/2008 21:59

It was my normal MW who decided she would rather see his weight gain over a longer period of time. So she didn't weigh him.

She did say she was very surprised at the other MW's as he was big when he was born so he had more to lose weight wise. She has suggested we bf during the day and FF at night so he sleeps longer.

New dilema is that DH wants us to just FF as he thinks I am too tired. So I'm not too happy with him as I feel I have wasted my time for the last 11 days struggling to BF.

Have a good Christmas.

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tiktok · 24/12/2008 07:48

kayzr - formula feeding at night will i)have an unpredictable effect on sleep, and there's no evidence that in general it leads to more sleep ii) almost certainly undermine your bf, sorry.

Night feeding is really important to maintain supply especially in the early days - and your baby is less than 2 weeks old.

You are unlucky with your midwives

Please speak to someone before you go down the road of bf in the day and ff at night - it's not a good 'compromise' at this stage if you want to bf, truly

Original poster
kayzr · 24/12/2008 10:24

I've been speaking to a LLL counseller by e-mail and she said it should be fine to give him 1 formula feed a day if I BF him for all the others.
But we are going to try dropping the the bedtime formula feed. DH has said that if I start getting overly tired though he wants to start giving him the formula again.

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tiktok · 24/12/2008 10:31

Yes, I agree, kayzr - one ff in 24 hours is prob a reasonable bet and you may 'get away with it' I thought you meant ff at night ie through the night.

Hope you get better support from your partner - breastfeeding does not make women tired (it's the lack of sleep that does this, not the bf itself).

Have a good Xmas

Original poster
kayzr · 24/12/2008 10:35

Sorry, I probably didn't type it properly.

I know I really need him to be behind me with this. I mean if we start to just give him formula he is still going to wake up in the middle of the night.

Thanks for all your help.

Have a good Xmas too.

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