February 2019 babies - thread 1

[Celebelly]

Let's go ladies! Share your tales of cluster feeding, cracked nipples, poo explosions and sleep deprivation!

@AmberRose17. I’m mixed feeding at the moment as my little one had lost quite a bit of weight since birth. She seems to like the breast better than the bottle though. However she always seems hungry after I breast feed her (midwife suggested at least 10-15 mins per breast) so having to top up with formula. She then brings the bottle up at times which I’m finding stressful (midwife recommended she should be taking 50ml in order to gain weight)!

Been trying to feed since 12.30! Breast no issues. Moved to bottle where she guzzled just under 50ml.....15 mins later she brought it all back up! Tried to settle her but she was still hungry so back on the breast. Seemed content so back in Moses basket. Ten mins later she is having top up from bottle as screamed blue murder in her basket.

I’m exhausted from a 2 hour feeding session so totally with you that it’s so blooming hard!

Does anyone have an issue with their baby side sleeping?

I always put her down on her back. However the majority of the time she rolls onto her side within a few minutes.

I have tried to move her back into the correct position but she never stays still!

Hello again ladies!
Sorry I went quiet on the other thread we ended up with a 10 day hospital stay the majority spent in neonatal with a infection.

We finally named baby T as Harris.
Also had a lot of difficulties with breast feeding as my supply was low being separate from Harris for so long I was expressing in hospital but never enough to keep up. Another one who dropped a load of weight.

We have been combination feeding and continuing at home which seems to be helping and my milk supply is going up. We also use our Sling for skin to skin time around the house.

We are slowly getting there I'm glad our midwives and health visitor are understanding and supportive. The whole advice of don't combination feed/express feed until 6 wks to avoid nipple confusion seems like a load of crap to me!

@bubblybrit same. Baby was bringing it up as she was full. So her weight stayed stagnent for a week. Cut down amount top up from 50mk to 30ml shes keeping more down and is now finally gaining weight fast!! Baby will only take what they have room for extra will be thrown up. Now 7% weight loss from birth up from 13%.

@amberrose17 im still combi feeding giving 3 or 4x 30-50ml bottles in day (to let boobs have full effect nighttime hormone boost!). Then trying to pump each time too.

Hoping to cut them down soon though as formula is such a faff and doesnt help babies reflux.

Baby is on 4th night cluster feeding due to growth spurt....someone pass the match sticks. Im burned our 💤😴💤

Thanks everyone from mixed feeding stories. I’m having to work really hard to separate out what’s actually happening this time around with my fairly traumatic experience last time - the diagnosis of tongue tie sent me into a bit of downward spiral based on what happened before. But we had a better night as I decided to feed lying down so he got lots of boob all night and I was there stressing about whether he was swallowing properly etc. And now he has been BF happily for half an hour.

We get the projectile vomit if he guzzles a bottle too quickly but generally takes them well. It’s all such hard work isn’t it! But he does seem to be gaining weight and hoping we will be back at birth weight v soon. Postnatal clinic this morning. Wish us luck!

*wasn’t there stressing

@Notquiteagandt. Her next weigh in will be with the health visitor. So sometime next week. Praying that she has put on weight. Going to try expressing today so that I can hopefully cut back on the formula. So hoping to go from breast to expressed and finally formula if she is still hungry. Best laid plans and all....!

We are also on the boob, ebm, formula feeding. I've found expressing after a feed in the morning (around 8/9am) I'm most productive. I try to pump about 4 times a day I can't physically manage after every feed!
I'm finding wind to be a massive problem giving the bottle he's just so uncomfortable despite bicycle legs and tummy rubs!

I am almost exclusively expressing, just topping up occasionally with formula (usually middle of the night as I pump a bit less then so I can get more sleep) until we can get latch sorted. I'm pumping every two hours during the day and a couple of times overnight and just about able to keep up with her demands! We just got a Minbie bottle which she's taken to very well.

We’ve stopped bottles for a few days now - hoped it would help the wind but it hasn’t really. Midwife today for a weigh in (she’d better turn up soon as DD is losing her mind being in the house). I’ve managed yesterday now without having to pump so hopefully we’ve crossed that hurdle. Her latch last night was appalling tho so sore nips today. She feels bigger and her feeds are longer and she’s taking more from me so hoping we’re set now.

Solidarity to those struggling. It’s tough - DD was so straightforward in comparison despite a tricky start establishing bf, this one is SO different!!

Is anyone else mixed feeding. I keep reading posts where people say don’t do it so early on (my third baby is 3 weeks) but I’m exhausted so some nights DH gives my baby the bottle - I just don’t function well on no sleep and tough c section recovery. I just feel there is so much pressure to exclusively BF and I feel a bit guilty/selfish giving baby the occasional (maybe 4/7 nights!) formula feed . My supply seems fine I must add

@Cloud9889 we are mixed feeding due to feeding plan but my DH has been giving top ups of expressed when I'm just too exhausted! I think it's to avoid nipple confusion and to make sure you don't overstretch their stomachs as otherwise you will never satisfy them them with boob but as long as you don't over feed I don't see the issue. I've read good things about mimbie bottles to avoid confusion just away to order ours!

@cloud9889 we are also mixed feeding. The main problem with it in our experience is that the baby can sometimes be frustrated by the slower flow of milk on the breast so we are trying to slow down bottle feeds by stopping frequently for burps etc. And I’m using breast compressions (basically squeezing the boob a bit) to speed up the flow on the boob if he gets frustrated.

It’s working quite well so far and I had a lactation consultant round today to look at baby’s tongue tie who said she didn’t think it was affecting his latch which is good. I agree it’s underrated as a way of feeding. I also need a break and it’s really important that my husband can feed the baby too!

Thanks everyone :)

Hope everyone is doing ok x

Went for an early pub dinner last night. The baby was pretty much on me the whole time. Which tbh I dont mind as she is cluster feeding this week due to a growth spurt. And I am becoming a pro at doibf things one handed. But I was getting so many comments about making a rod for my own back and spoiling the baby etc. Off complete strangers.😡😤😡

So this may have gotten my back up and made emotions run high. Shes 3 wks old if she wants me im there!! If she wants feeding im there. (Which is adding to my mum guilt!)

Anyone else getting equally as "useful" coments.

@Notquiteagandt. Yep I got told by a close family member that I was spoiling her as I picked her up to soothe her when she was crying - she was 9 days old at the time! Same family member commented that I had yet to lose my baby weight! Took all my strength to not tell them to f**k off!

@Notquiteagandt yep we had this which is ironic as the advice is to keep baby close etc now.
My DH responded to a stranger in a cafe who said exactly the same thing about spoiling the baby (at 3 wks old) sarcastically saying thank you so much I keep telling my wife to leave him at the bottom of the garden..... Her face was a picture

They’re newborns ffs. I mean people are ridiculous.

That said, I almost threw Dd out the window last night after a feed every hour and not out downable without shrieking or complaining from 3-7am... oh and DH reckons he got ‘no sleep either’. I’ve learnt to ignore these comments!!

Imagined the snoring then...

You can't win no matter what you do. Everyone will have an opinion - would just be nice if they kept them to themselves!! 👊

How long are your breastfed babies spending on each boob? Dd was bottle fed after we couldn't get bf going so I've got nothing to compare to. Ds will happily spend an hour on each side. Some of the time will be asleep but if I try to take him off he starts sucking again. I've been advised different things by different bf support workers but don't want to do him out of milk because we're still on a feeding plan after he lost 13.9% of his birth weight by day 5. He's still only 12 days old and I'm not convinced the latch is very good but will ask at the support group on Tuesday.

An hour each side sounds totally normal at this age. The more they feed in the early days, the better!

My little one usually spends 20-25 mins on each boob. She then takes about 30-50ml of formula. I’d like to feed her from the breast longer but due to sore and cracked nipples it’s impossible at the moment. Hoping I can express to try and reduce formula a little.

My little one spends anything from 5 mins to 25 mins each side. Can hear her swallowing and sucking. Sometimes shell splutter and cough as shes eating to fast.

If she falls asleep I will massage my breast and compress it to get a faster let down to wake her up. If not ill try wake her up. If not ill delatch her and start again.

We are still toping up with 3x bottle feeds a day though.

This week think shes had a growth spurt though as we had 3 nights of cluster feeding from 10pm to 5am where she was either asleep on me or feeding.

Generally though she wont go longer than 2 hours at longest with out eating.

Thanks everyone. He'll spend 30-60 mins on each side but definitely isn't feeding the whole time. I never hear him swallow either unless he splutters on the milk (rare). He'll also happily go 5+ hours at night so I'm trying to wake him. We're also giving two 60ml bottles of expressed milk a day while we're on this feeding plan.

Welcome to the world our beautiful baby girl born today at 11:42am after a very fast labour weighing 8lb 1oz. Shattered but so happy.