Update on a previous thread about diabetes and inverted nipples

[StrikeUpTheBand]

Hi,

Just thought I would update this thread, as my baby has now been born and is a week old tomorrow.

DD was born on Monday by planned C-section. I asked for her to be put onto my chest straight away and also to feed in recovery. The midwife looking after me in recovery took one look at my nipples and didn't seem hopeful . I requested syringes so I could express some and she helped me express about 2ml. However, when I went to the ward I tried again and to my surprise, she latched on (a bit shallow, but she actually got a hold which is a miracle).

She managed to keep her blood sugar up enough to not be a concern and after 4 feeds they stopped checking it. All seemed to be OK but nobody was really checking my latch. I became concerned because my nipples seemed very dry and not a lot happening, so I asked for pump bits to be able to express. They said no because it was only day 2, but I was to syringe express after feeds and start in the morning. The BF lady came round in the morning, shoved the baby's in the general direction of my boob, and then started flapping and brought me a pump. I was also put under considerable pressure to give her some formula (myself and DP eventually thought we would do what it took to get her out of there). I resigned myself to full-time expressing again.

Then, the day after I was discharged I noticed she was capable of latching onto my less flat side. Later that afternoon, I had the good fortune of having a midwife visit who had been a bf expert for 15 years before becoming a midwife, and actually had a clue. She gave me some good assistance and encouragement. I was going to express just after feeds and use it to top up after the next feed. Unfortunately, my trusty double pump completely broke that night and I have now ended up having to try BF full time, with a little bit of hand expressing etc.

I am worried though, as although I am feeding her regularly, I have had some dry nappies and dry-ish soiled nappies today and tomorrow. She is keeping me up all night and i'm exhausted - is it normal to be so nocturnal? Also she refuses to use a bottle teat, bizarrely (tries to latch on as if it were a breast). What have other people used to feed the breastmilk they express?

Please someone help as I have just used my baby asleep time to type this instead of sleeping . I have had about 3 hours sleep last night, in bits. All week has been like this...

Help appreciated.

I am sorry I dont have much advice to give but could not leave you unanswered.
Am bumping so the likes of tiktok or someone with experience can advise you.

I am sorry you are so sleep deprived my only advice would be: have you tried calling bf helpline? I hear they are very good. You could also ring your local children's centre or the hospital to ask about hiring pumps- the nct do this aswell. if you cant get another pump.

Can't give any advice on feeding but just to say it is entirely normal for your dd to be so nocturnal! The first bit is very tough but it will get easier. Hopefully someone will come on to give you some practical advice.
I do know that some people syringe feed ebm or use a supplementor but I personally have no experience of these.
Good luck sounds like you are working hard to do a great job in not the easiest of circumstances.

Bump!

Hello and congratulations on your baby. It is great news that your baby is latching on. When bf in the early days, babies do feed a lot, so I think that is normal. At this stage, your baby won't be able to know the difference between day and night and whilst you are establishing bf I think it is normal what she is doing. Once the feeding gets more established and as her stomach grows, the night feeding will get less.
With my ds, he went from day 2 to day 7 without a poo. At the week check up, the midwife was concerned about this and sent a midwife who was specialised at bf to come and check the latch and positioning. She corrected it, and he shortly after had a big poo and we never looked back after that. How long has it been since she had a poo? I am guessing that you are still under the care of midwives? It seems that you have a good midwife there, is there any way that you can request that she comes to see you to check you feeding and make sure you can get her latched correctly, without help from MW - that is where I think I went wrong with DD. Or is there a breastfeeding cafe or hospital bf clinic close by you could get to?
All the best, you are an amazing mum trying to get it all right and I am sure there will be others with more advice along soon. Hope you have a better night tonight x

Hi, and thanks for replies so far .

Please bear with me - one-handed typing - guess why? .

She is still doing quite dry greenish poos. I am not sure how long to leave it to see if it gets better. She did do a big wee on the scales when being weighed. Midwife (my usual one) said to keep feeding and hopefully now things are improving maybe the yellow ones will be back soon. I haven't supplemented with formula since I came home but used my own EBM. Tried cup feeding last night - was very messy and wasted lots but ok. She has been bfing almost constantly tahour or more. Milk definitely coming out as dripping like a tap after and if she drops asleep the milk drips out the side of her mouth. I am only talking about lefty here -righty is much flatter and bigger and she fusses as she can't get on for long.

Any more help welcome. Also, how long will it be before I dry up if I am mostly only using a hand pump for the right side?

Thanks again....

PS = she has lost less than 10% of her body weight in a week (she is 60g heavier than a 10% loss). How serious is that? MW said not to worry too much considering.

Shameless bump .

Sorry that it's me replying again, as i know there are people out there who are bf counsellors etc on this board and I am not one but it sounds like you are doing great! My ds goes through phases where his poo is a bit greenish, think it's pretty normal. Sound like you are doing great if she is weeing, pooing and lost under 10%! I think she must be feeding just fine and i think you can relax as it seems you are establishing the feeding really well.
I too have flat nipples and my son def prefers my left boob! I am not sure if it is that he cannot fully latch on to my right or whether my right just produces less milk, but can do almost a whole feed from my good boob. Saves hassle when out and about as only have to get one out! I still feed from my crap boob and always start with that one. He comes off it quite quickly and I put him back on it a couple of times before switching to good boob!
He is now 5.5 months and the milk hasn't dried up.
Hope you get lots of rest today - sounds like you are doing just fine with the feeding x

If it's under 10% that's considered normal. I use Avent bottles when I express - DD latches on to those as though they were boobs...

Firstly-Many congratualtions on the birth of your baby.

I had one very inverted nipple and the other fairly flat.Breast feeding was very difficult for me in the early stages and I almost gave up. One breast feeding councillor suggested I try nipple shields (as my nipples were being battered to death!)which worked an absolute treat. As the baby sucked the nipple was slowly pulled out. I used the shields for about 6 weeks by which time the nipples stayed more permanently out and I was able to feed her with no problems. Carried on for 9 months.

Not sure this advice is any good for you but thought it might be worth a mention.

Bumping for a bf guru!

I second nipple shields for helping a baby get a latch on flat or inverted nipples.
Modern silicon ones are very thin and ime did not hinder supply one jot.
They helped my children latch beautifully, and they still 'breastfed' on them. When I introduced a bottle of ebm, they breastfed on that too - was very funny to see their tongue going on the teat lol!
MAM/NUK ones are the best shields, followed by Avent and then Boots own brand.
best of luck

Not sure whether it is any good, but Lansinoh (they of the brill nipple cream) have brought out Latch-Assist to help with inverted nipples. Hope this helps and good luck!

I was thinking of getting one of those MrsJamin!

Honestly, I think I have learned more about breastfeeding this last few days than ever. I tried and tried with my premature DS, but what with his sleepiness plus being separated from me all the time plus my flat nipples it was impossible.

She is doing fine at the moment on feeding (although fairly constant at night) plus one or more daily bottles of EBM (I am expressing from the side she can't really latch onto and hoping she will eventually if I keep trying). I didn't want her to get too confused to tried cup feeding but it didn't seem to be working, so yesterday I bought a Breastflow bottle and she has been ok with that (rejected every other bottle, bizarrely, because she tries to latch onto it).

It is still all so unbelievable that she is managing it at all. Often I am very full up and it is even harder to latch her on and so much frustration follows. I try not to leave it that long between feeds but I do also seem to have a fast letdown which makes it hard for her.

I did use nipple shields with DS but my supply very quickly depleted and it didn't help him to latch on - maybe I was doing it wrong though?

Any more advice most welcome. Especially getting her to latch on when there's practically nothing there. I worry that she'll get frustrated and start to dislike it.

Well, had midwife again today and she's lost another 80g, so she's gone from her birth weight of 7lbs7oz to 6lbs7oz .

I had a lot of frustration from her last night. The whole night seemed to be spent with her latching on for about 5 seconds, stopping and then her little face crumpling and screaming in annoyance that she had fallen off. I have been told to express after every feed and give her that, but she unfortunately has trouble with all the bottles, so that's a slow process. She's using Breastflow without the middle bit in with some success. I only have a medela harmony at the moment because of my Ameda packing in. DP says we can't afford to hire a good one .

I am not looking forward to tonight - any advice would be really welcome.

No advice for you except, maybe give the shields another go, or even a bottle teat over your nipple if you are desperate?

Bumping for you though, cos I know how hard it is. Hang in there and try to be kind to yourself...
x

Thanks. My supply is well down today .

I didn't have much luck with the nipple shields with DS, as they messed with my supply a lot.

I have been giving bottles of EBM using the breastflow bottles today after attempting bfing first, and she's been much more settled and produced much better nappies (more wet and dirty ones, and yellow rather than green/brownish).

Trouble is I'm now barely making an ounce between both boobs. At this rate will have to supplement with formula. I have contacted a seller of my pump which broke last week, and can pick one up from his house tomorrow morning. I hope I can get my supply back up again, even if I then have to express and feed like i did with DS. DP says we can't afford it but my mum has come up trumps and offered to pay .

The thing is, she is latching on beautifully to one side now she has the energy. But if I stop giving EBM she seems to not be able to get enough.

Thanks for all the answers so far. I do appreciate it!