Breast feeding after c section help me

[saltandvinegar1]

Hi I am desperately looking for help
I had my baby Friday morning 10am via c section
I want to breastfeed him. So have been trying to
I am still getting colostrum
When will my milk come through
My baby is getting very frustrated
He keeps crying is hungry
I keep offering him breast but he Isnt having it.

DD was born by CS 3 weeks ago.

Milk came in on day 3/4. They're fine before that, honestly - it looks like there is hardly any colostrum but it's ok because their tummies are tiny.

Look up rugby ball hold - it might be easier with stitches.

I'm awake at this hour because DD is scoffing at my breast, so it's doable.

Good luck!

Did you baby cry a lot the first three days

Maybe it could be wind? And I'm mistaking it for being hungry

It will come in suddenly today or tomorrow. Hang on in there and don’t be afraid to give a little formula in the meantime to tide you over.

Also I feel like my son is always pooping. Like today he did about 5/6

Hi. Also day 3/4 for me. Google La Leche league. And call your midwife or health visitor first thing in the morning and ask for support. Getting breastfeeding established can be tricky, especially after a section, but it's also absolutely possible with the right support. Demand is key, so try putting baby to the breast as much as you can, that'll also make sure they're getting that colostrum. Get support in real life as soon as you can - it makes all the difference.

I had my second by c section on friday 3rd jan at 11am. My milk didn't really come in until the following thursday.as it was my second baby and just started using an electric breast pump to try get milk supply up from day 3 as I'd had issues with this first time round and one that expressing helped me. Midwives csn discourage this though. Dont panic u will get there but first week is very tough. My first baby lost 10% body weight and my second 7%. Both went jaundice. This happens to a lot of breast fed babys and no one tells u and midwives can make u feel bad so dont panic if it happens to yours. You will get there. I'd advise buying an electric pump or asking the hospital to borrow one.

You only get colostrum first the first three days until your milk comes through, it's baby's constant crying that triggers the milk coming through so all is completely normal

Ring your midwife/health visitor in the morning and ask them to come out and just check baby's latch on your boob, makes all the difference when they do it properly

Colostrum is enough for your baby for now. It's still early days, his stomach is tiny.

He's crying because he was born, his head probably hurts, everything is weird and cold and bright. Don't assume the crying is hunger.

If he's feeding a lot, that's because he instinctively knows that's how to bring your milk in.

I know it's so hard, but relax and trust your body and your baby. Feed him as much as possible and rest whenever you can

It’s great he’s always pooping - it means milk is going in.
Keep feeding, lots of skin to skin cuddles, I promise it gets easier

Don’t worry OP you’re not going wrong - i had a section and really struggled to get baby to take the breast and latch on properly for the first few days.

Google different feeding positions, initially the lying down in bed one with DS lying down next to me was the easiest and most relaxed for both of us.

With a section sometimes your milk can be a bit delayed coming in, mine came through on day 5. Be warned, when it does you can feel really weepy and even a bit fluey.

Colostrum is all he needs at the moment he has a tummy the size of a marble and colostrum is like liquid gold. Just keep an eye on nappies - if he’s not wetting nappies then give your midwife, health visitor or GP a call as that’s when you know he’s not getting anything/enough and could be dehydrated.

Are you still in hospital or at home now? Usually they don’t let you out until they’re happy you can feed baby and they’ve had two wet and one dirty nappy.

La Leche League is a brilliant resource as other posters have said, definitely look it up.

Breastfeeding can be really hard - especially in the early days and weeks, we’ve only just really clicked with it in the last week and a half and DS is four weeks old. Don’t forget baby is learning along with you - so it’s a bit of trial and error between the both of you and he might not latch on easily himself initially.
Keep at it though, if you really want to BF, but make sure you ask for help if you need it

Sorry OP just seen you’ve mentioned nappies

You can do this. I had a c section two weeks ago - colostrum was slow and I needed a lot of help to harvest it. Took 48 difficult hours for milk to come in but things got a lot easier from that point.

Are you still in hospital? If so do not be afraid to ask the midwives to help you. Ask as many as possible as each will have different methods and you will learn a lot and will find ways that suit you.

If you have been discharged then you can ring La Leches League 24/7 for support.

DS was exactly the same, born by CS and constantly hungry.

Milk will likely come in today.

Have you spoken to midwives? Mine gave DS a bottle of formula at one point to calm him down. I cried thinking it was the end of bf. In reality I bf him until he was 2.5

Thank you everyone for your support. It's been reassuring to read.
I was discharged on Saturday. So tonight was my second night at home with him. He has a lot of wine so that might explain his crying.
Let's home milk comes in today and he and myself have a better day. I have a 3 year old too and she was really feeling my lack of attention towards her.
I do feel a bit "ill" I hope that's because the milk is coming. I haven't slept all night so I've given baby to my mum to watch for a little while.
Any other tips would be appreciated
I will check out that website few of you have mentioned x

Both of mine were born by c section and my milk took 3-4 days to come in. They were monitored for weight, blood sugars and jaundice daily (in Switzerland). I would supplement with formula until your milk is in. That’s what I did with both of mine on the paediatrician’s advice. I breastfed them the colostrum and afterwards topped them up with a tiny syringe of formula. I stopped that as soon as my milk was in and successfully exclusively breastfed.

If your baby is hydrated (weeing and pooing and fontanelle is not sunken and there is no jaundice and there is not a concerning level of weight loss- remembering that some is expected/normal) and if your decision is that you want to breastfeed, please please please don't top up with formula at this early stage. The baby demanding milk by suckling is the most important factor in your milk coming in, and they won't be motivated to do this if they are full of formula. There is absolutely no need at all to supplement unless you are medically advised to do so and doing so is likely to cause problems with breastfeeding at this stage.

Are you getting wet nappies?

In your discharge pack there may be a number for your local lactation consultant in there. They can help you with harvesting colostrum, latching, supplementary cup feeding if it is needed and much more. There is help available and it's important that you receive it at this point as this is the hardest bit in many ways (and you're doing brilliantly!). Don't be afraid to call upon the midwives or La Leche League for help. The NCT may also have a breastfeeding group near you.

How are your nipples doing for trauma? Make sure you have some Lansinoh cream to hand, you can feed directly after applying it if you need to and it will help relieve the stress to your nipples enormously. My nipples were quite traumatised after the first few days so I used nipple guards for a few days to allow them to recover and it really helped me to keep going.

Thinking of you. I felt so tired, worried and frustrated in those first few days but I am so glad I asked for help and persevered. You can do this.

Thank you everyone for your help and support.

Nipples are ok. Midwife came today said my baby has a small mouth and I have large nipples that could be a reason. Also told me to express and give with syringe which I have been doing today. Tomorrow I have to get the baby weighed and if it's a big drop they will advise me.
If anything I think my milk is less today then yesterday.
I'm hoping something happens over night and I wake up with lots of milk.

When I express it's taking like 10-15 mins. To get 3 ml

Expressing never worked for me. Baby could get loads out but the pump got virtually nothing and hand expressing didn’t work either. You need to let the baby suck and suck to stimulate milk production.

When they weigh your baby be aware that weight charts are based on formula fed babies and breastfed babies tend to lose more weight than the chart suggests.

A wise old lady told me that crying is a good sign because a really hungry baby is too weak to cry. The time to worry is when they go quiet.

@WorldEndingFire
I'm not getting many 2 max 3 wet nappies

I would be really concerned with 2 wet nappies a day. I honestly would top up until your milk is in, especially if you do not have expressed milk to give him.

Just a suggestion if you want to continue expressing/breastfeeding but have you tried massaging your boobs before expressing/feeding, or warming your boobs up in the bath/feeding baby in a warm bath? How are you expressing? By hand or pump (depends how safe you feel doing this)

The best thing I found to use was a product called a hakkaa which was very soft and and gentle on my boobs but would draw out loads of milk using a gentle suction.

Haakaa is fantastic.

Have a look in your discharge pack and see if there is a number for your local lactation consultant in there, the HV can help with this if you get stuck. You need lots of support, this is really difficult - you can do it but we all need help to get there.

Now is a critical time for you as it is so challenging. Expressing is hard and I really struggled but got help from several different midwives to express and harvest colostrum. Find out if the lactation consultant can come to you to do the same as it does require technique. Women should be taught how to do this in the lady trimester rather than when they are turning vulnerable with a new baby!

Don't be afraid to ring the Leche League for practical and moral support while you wait for someone to come out to you.

If you aren't getting many wet nappies then ask the lactation consultant if they can do a supplementary cup feed to tide you over. Supplementary feeding isn't ideal as you are trying to build up your supply, but a cup feed by a trained professional should avoid issues with nipple confusion and give you some leeway.

How are you feeling? Hope you are bearing up.

*last trimester