Trying to fill 11lb 9oz newborn 🙁

[nellyellz]

Hi, I'm new to this message board but was hoping for some help. Over the weekend I gave birth to my DS but at 11lb9oz and a half it was quite an ordeal!

Now the tea work begins and he is unfillable! Last night in the hospital the midwives 'topped up' his breastfeeding with formula which settled him for six hours till seven this morning, bliss! But now the appetite is developing further and he has pretty much fed non stop all day from me as well as needing 60 ml formula in syringes. Nearly 11pm and he's still not full and I don't know what I'm doing wrong or is anyone has an idea how much 'top up' is acceptable per feed for this weight of baby? The midwives said 20ml but he's having more than that so far.

Oh Nelly I'm so sorry, I'd hate to think I/we made you feel like you couldn't offer a bottle if you need to. I guess many were lost coming at this with breastfeeding best practice bit of course there are many nuances with this and of course the hydration and nutrition of your baby is the most important thing.

Follow anything here as just that - best practice from lay people and enlist all the help of the professionals.

Hope his recovery is speedy and you're all home soon.

Excuse the typos!

One last thought - I always thought formula was the woooorst, was privately rather judgy and evangelical about bf. 15 months into child rearing, I realised it's not the devil! Bf is great but ultimately, they need to be loved, held and fed. Feed him in whatever way works best for everyone.

How's the little one Nelly? Was about to offer advice to get little one checked for tongue tie as this can reduce the efficiency of milk being extracted from the breast but I see things have taken a turn tonight. Hope he's doing ok, remember "fed is best" whether it be breast, bottle or both. If possible you can express and offer what you can alongside formula, keep us posted

This is just my experience and I'm not saying it is the right thing to do, just that it was the best thing to do for me, my little one and our family unit - so no flaming, please.

My DD was 11b 6oz at birth. I BF/expressed for the first 3 weeks and it was really hard work - when I wasn't feeding, I was expressing - I felt like a milking cow and no matter how much milk she got, it was never enough and she was not content, with constant crying/fussing. I introduced a couple of FFs and it was the best thing I could have done - instantly happier baby and much happier me (and don't underestimate how important your happiness is, when it comes to bonding with baby). I know that people say that you can produce enough milk to sustain any baby, but in my experience that isn't the case when you have a baby that is 'bigger than the average bear'. I managed to mix feed successfully to 6 months.

I had another baby 16 weeks ago, and she was only 9lb 13oz. She's completely content being BF, so I really do think that a high birth weight does impact on your ability to sustain them via EBF.

Just seen your update Nelly (sorry, should have read all of the thread prior to posting) - hope all goes well with your little one and that they get things sorted x

My first was 7lbs 8oz and fed constantly, made my nipples cracked and sore and (over) stimulated my milk supply to the point it spurted everywhere. The midwives forced a bottle on me to give her too in the hospital but I never gave her another, justvresponded to her needs. My second was (another girl) 10lb 7ozs (birth another experience, and in 40 agonising minutes flat ) and was totally laid back about feeding, I came to the conclusion she had had her fill in the womb and didn't need huge amounts of milk but then one has a more needy personality than the other anyway, and she didn't sleep either. I suspect there is more to feeding patterns than hunger . In retrospect just relaxing and trusting your instinct is best for you and baby. Remember they haven't written the manual for your baby yet,and if they had they wouldn't have read it.......

Congratulations on your baby!

I had a different experience with each of mine. my first born was 6 pound 10 oz and fed every 20 minutes, he had low blood sugar similar to a prem baby. my second weighed 10 pound 7 oz and he fed every 5 hours my 3rd weighed 3 pound 10 (8 weeks prem) she fed 3 hourly but settled quickly into a good routine, only my first needed top ups so it sound like its connected to blood sugar levels, but don't worry Op they all get better as it progresses x

I'm so sorry your baby has been re admitted.

It's great that you are expressing.

I wondered if this might help you with expressing. It has some suggestions to help minimise the time you express while getting more milk out.

med.stanford.edu/newborns/professional-education/breastfeeding/hand-expressing-milk.html