I has to stop breastfeeding. Baby sick after formula

[Lanzy]

I had really hoped to breastfeed and did for 5 days, but after day 3 or 2 midwife had noticed baby had lost weight, they said this was normal as baby was earlier than expected so I then got put on plan of breastfeed every 2-3 hour and after 20 mins of BF to give 30ml of formula.
On the last day midwife came out I said I was struggling with feeding because of pain. I then expressed milk and there was so little of my milk decision was then made to formula.

it’s unexpected and I don’t know what to do and how to make life easier. Giving up BF was sudden and boobs are sore, everytime I feed baby on new plan of 60ml and no BF. She brings up milk. I wind her and allow breaks whilst taken bottle (MAM colic)
she still looks for breast and I feel guility! - I guess I like now seeing how much she gets but the constant hiccups/sickness scares me after formula!

This!

It does not.

@TheShellBeach it actually does! Of course, babies are much better at removing milk from the breast, and should be put to the breast as much as possible, but expressing also does stimulate it! The more you remove milk, the more you make - it is supply and demand. Quite simple!

I'd love to know why you say it doesn't?!

Pump regularly that will increase your supply, it's still early days. Massage each breast before pumping helps to. Hand express also when no more can be pumped. Because of pain and a few other issues I fed my 2nd son expressed breast milk for over 6 months. It's definitely a commitment but it was something I needed to do. There is very little advice out there. My midwife didn't support my plan and said I'd never manage it long term, shows what she knew! I got into a routine of feeding previously pumped milk then expressing straight afterwards . My supply went crazy and I ended up donating huge amounts to the local NICU. Congratulations on your little one. Try not to get to overwhelmed by it all. Do what's right for you. My first born was formula fed and is absolutely fine and so is my expressed fed son.

Good luck OP! You can't cause any issues tonight by breastfeeding a bit and your supply won't totally disappear after a few hours. I had a couple of nights in hospital at a few weeks old and was only able to express a small amount but got back to BF. I have combi fed two DC and you do have to put baby to the breast loads (I mean for several hours in each 24) to get your supply up, but it gets easier after a few weeks.

Yes this is absolutely fine & keep feeding. Feed for as long as she wants, don't worry about the time, just follow her lead & make sure she's doing plenty of wet & dirty nappies.

@TheShellBeach of course expressing stimulates milk production, women exclusively pump very successfully

Yes it does. That's why some power pump to get their supply up

I have never encountered a woman who has successfully pumped exclusively.
Do you mean someone who also puts their baby to the breast?

Apart from the baby it's one of the best things to do to get your supply back

Some women do just express and bottle feed

Good advice here OP, put baby back on and get more help.

Using some of the milk to rub on sore nipples is best advice I got -- helps hugely.

Excellent that you're connecting with the BF support team!

Did the midwife really suggest giving up breastfeeding entirely? That is very strange and absolutely terrible advice. Some babies do need formula top-ups for various reasons, but these are usually only short term while you build your milk supply. But even for babies who need them for a long time,
breastfeeding is still beneficial. Breastfeeding does not have to be all or nothing!

You have some great advice on here about how to establish breast feeding. I just wanted to add that I was in a very similar position with my little boy, who is now 5 so a bit of a hazy memory, but I do remember that if you are going to give formula that you can try and mimic breast feeding by 'pace feeding' as this helps them to not be sick afterwards. www.pampers.co.uk/newborn-baby/feeding/article/paced-bottle-feeding

I ended up combination feeding for 6 months, I viewed every bit of breastmilk I got in him as a bonus. I got lots of conflicting advice in the early days, mostly from different midwives so I remember it being very confusing. My health visitor told me (a bit too late) that I should have just shut the world out and spent a week with my baby just doing skin to skin and getting breast feeding established.

Hopefully you can speak to a specialist who can help you find the right solution for you and your little one. I wish you lots of luck

Every 2 to 3 hours is starvation a new born, I was told to do the same and ended up back in hospital a dehydrated, below birth weight 6 week old.
Do you have the chance to be skin to skin? Keep thay baby on you and keep the milk bar open! Keep yourself really well hydrated (helps get you bowels moving too, so you uterus can full contract).
I hope it goes well for you both.

Every 2 to 3 hours is NOT starvation. It's highly woman and baby dependant. I also fed my newborn every 2-3 hours or on demand if he wanted it more frequently, exclusively breastfed, no formula and he put on weight very well and was back to his birthweight within a week.

Any breastfeeding you want to do you should do. It's not too late, definitely not, you can put the baby back on the boob. It takes time to get your milk in. My boobs seemed to be dry at first but the midwives said he was getting colostrum and the sucking is stimulating my milk to come in. It did within about 5 days and the baby was getting colostrum in the meantime. I was so so so tired being up all the time having him on the boob on demand, but it worked. The milk came in and he calmed down to feeding every 2-3 hours instead and I could get some well needed sleep.

Sounds like if you're leaking that your milk is in. Get some in real life breastfeeding support to give you the best chance.

The more the baby sucks your breast the more it stimulates milk production. Put baby to breast every 3-4 hours. Change which breast you offer first.

When I bf baby would drink plenty direct from boob but expressing I barely got an ounce after 30 mins!

If you want to bf stick with it and keep baby feeding as long as possible to help with supply.

Your baby will benefit from every drop of breast milk you can give her. Good luck with it!

How much too early was your little one born?

It can take time for your milk to "come in". Good that you gave it another try.

Preemies may have a bit more trouble getting the milk out. If you have the money, you can consider getting a certified lactation specialist to visit you. They can really help. Our hospital actually had them on the NICU ward, integral part of the team there.

Oh and I have a lot of experience expressing milk. Yesterday I was able to get quite some milk out by hand, this after I was already done expressing. Nevertheless I was still baffled as hadn't noticed before... So these machines are not as effective as you may think. Baby that 'knows what to do' is more effective.

I think it has all been mentioned: lots of skin to skin. Drink a lot, eat healthy and enough. Sleep also helps...

I did for seven months because DS wouldn't latch at all.

Good luck seeking further RL support OP.

What do you think happens to nicu mums? They pump for weeks or months until their baby is well enough to go to the breast.
Of course pumping stimulates supply.

I have.

why do you post so authoritatively for someone who clearly isn’t an authority?

How long to leave before too late?

Any time over 3 weeks. Sometimes up to 6 months.

You can still restart

@TheShellBeach
Hello! I am someone who exclusively expressed for 18 months for my eldest son.

Now you've met someone.
Don't be a dicker