Breastfeeding woes

[Bobbiepin]

Dd is less than a week old & we're trying to get to grips with breastfeeding. She's finally got a good latch & my milk has come in. Problem is, she falls asleep mid feed, usually after about 10-15 mins and doesn't come off. Once she is off, she's not satisfied and will cry for another feed, meaning she's bouncing between boobs for ages and a single feed takes forever.

Is there anything I can do (bar stripping her off mid feed as the HV suggested - she gets so worked up when she'd cold) to keep her going on a feed until she's actually satisfied?

I had this once when I dressed my DS in a lovely fleece babygrow. It looked so lovely but was just a little too warm and he couldn't stay awake enough to feed. I switched him to a normal babygrow which was just a fraction cooler and then he fed properly and had a much longer sleep, so I could sleep too.

Feed on demand. Every feed is the baby putting in the order for the next meal. This is why they go through cluster feeding phases, to increase your milk supply.

Topping up with formula is a funny one because that'll be one missed feed, so one less "order" put in. The main thing imo is to make sure you're breastfeeding at night because your prolactin levels are highest around 4am (and conversely lowest at 4pm) so that's the best time for stimulating more milk production.

Well done, you've done really well so far! It does get easier once they're bigger, stronger and more efficient at feeding! Just make sure you stay well hydrated :)

Also remember that they have teeny tiny little stomachs at this point, so feeding for 15 minutes may well be filling her up.

This is pretty much what I'm doing, it's good to see someone else suggest it, thank you.

I definitely think LLL is in order. We had a breastfeeding midwife come round but again its all conflicting. I'm feeding her as much as I can, and then if she won't take any more but isn't settled, we top her up with a bottle. I pump once or twice a day at the moment, but just got a momcozy pump so hopefully I can do more with that to help my supply.

Dd is currently asleep on me after almost 20 mins of feeding over the last hour. I'm torn between trying to put her down or leaving her - I don't want her to wake up but I definitely need some sleep!

Thank you all for being so lovely, I really don't feel like I'm doing a good job, but I'm sticking at it.

The midwife came again today and DD has lost even more weight so clearly what I'm doing isn't working.

She's spending less and less time on the boob, whenever she latches she falls asleep almost instantly, within a minute, and won't feed. I'm pumping as much as I can now to try and keep my supply up but I think boob is going to be supplementing EBM and formula now.

I'm so disappointed. Bf with dd1 was hard but we managed 6 months. I thought I was on top of things this time round but it's even worse. Are some people just not meant to breastfeed?

Ring La Leche! Honestly, they are trained, kind, knowledgeable. Give them a go before giving up on breastfeeding. They'll pick up any time off day - just another mum.

Can you afford a consultation with an IBCLC? It absolutely saved me. I think I paid around £120.

Have they checked for a tongue tie? A posterior one is very hard to spot usually only a specialist can. I had similar with DS1 his tongue tie was significant. Keep pumping every few hours if you can (definitely easier with the wearable ones) keep your fluids up and have skin on skin time it helps you but also helps your newborn

I would also say its pretty common but I think you need a tongue tie check. If you have fed before you will have the milk glands and second babies add to the glands (think like a bunch of grapes) so it sounds like there might be something else on the go.

Definitely no tongue tie, she sticks her tongue out all the time. To be honest, the last day or two bottle feeding have been so much less stressful, having to clean and sterilise the bottles all the time is frustrating but she's so much more settled, she's awake more, and just generally happier. I'm still giving boob first but I don't see it lasting long.

Honestly, how people managed before formula and all this support, I don't know.

Sticking out your tongue doesn’t mean you don’t have a tongue tie. The real question is if you put your finger in her mouth does her tongue wrap round it and stay there sucking firmly or does it fall off every few sucks so the sucking feels sort of chompy. This is the key issue ties cause for milk transfer.

Other things that might suggest a tongue tie
persistent white tongue after feeds (milk doesn’t clear)
dribbling on bottle
choking or gagging when flow is very fast on breast or bottle
finds it difficult to keep a dummy in her mouth
lip blister
latch on bottle is shallow rather than both lips flared widely, teat deep in mouth.