Staying posifrickentive- Thread 15 for ladies pg after mc

[XxBecxX]

Hya ladies, hope you find this!
Xxx

I'mgonna and Amy, ineed, thanks for the advice. I think we have two issues - the latch but also his frustration. I know they sort of go hand in hand but the frustration needs to be addressed too before he will even successfully latch I think.

If I cut out formula feeds then he is still hungry as I'm not expressing enough. I do extract as much as I can until it slows so I think I'm not making as much as he needs right now. I understand that my body will produce more as time goes on if I keep feeding / expressing though?

At the moment I'm almost scared to try latching as I don't want to stress him out more and then in turn stress me out so I am going to really try get into the skin to skin thing to make us both more comfortable/ confident. If I am expressing opposed to breast feed is it an issue at all?

Whatser hi! What's the name of the app? I'll defo check out the forum.

Thanks for the advice.

The midwife said I'm expressing decent volumes given he is 3 days old

He's absolutely gorgeous Purple! ❤️

Purple it's like a supply and demand sort of thing. Expressing does encourage milk supply too. I don't think that will be the problem.
Breastfeeding is a learning experience for you and baby, it could be a confusion type thing going from breast to bottle and back. If you look at the mechanics of breastfeeding it's more of a squeeze than a suck if you get me.
At 3 days old I was only getting about an ounce to two ounces of milk. It doesn't seem a lot but calorie wise it is enough. Day 5 my milk was coming in masses and leaking everywhere. The first week is the hardest and baby will seem hungry because the hind milk isn't being produced in big quantities and that's the filling part of the milk. If you look at your milk it'll seem quite watery.
Try to latch baby as much as possible even when he doesn't seem hungry, he'll get it eventually and then won't get frustrated when he is hungry.

What kind of breast pump do you have?

My sil is having lots of trouble feeding her baby. She's her third and breastfed both of her other children, struggled each and every time at the beginning. Sore and cracked nipples poor thing. Then they hit 2-3 weeks and have a huge growth spurt and all you do is feed!

I can't sleep but I'm exhausted 😪

To add, he won't latch on at all on the right, seems to prefer the left , anyone know what this is about? The left however is currently so sore , probably with the poor latching, and engorged / full feeling. Wondering if it's mastitis. The nipple has bled too and cracked. The midwife thought it was just the milk coming in and will settle in a day or two. Using lots of lasinoh which is helping.

Thanks Amy I'll keep persevering, if no better by the time the baby is 2 weeks then I'll have a think but by the sounds of it, it's quite normal..

We only started the formula feeding yesterday evening really via bottle. Before that the amounts we topped up were so small that in the hospital they told us to do it by syringe.

I'm expressing around 1 or 2oz too and the midwife said this was good volume.

Baby is nameless by the way yet lol but he will be 4 days old in 49 mins!

I have the medala swing.

Sorry for the numerous posts, clogging up this thread lol. Thanks naschtze I think I defo need to look into positions.

Whatser one midwife said no tongue tie and another said slight tongue tie but implied they wouldn't do anything..any recommendations on what I should do?

You'll get there Purple but don't feel bad that its a struggle at this stage - I think it is for most people!

The lactation lady at our talk last week showed us that a newborn's tummy is only the size of a marble and even by 10 days only the size of a walnut which gives an idea of howlittle milk they actually need at this point.

She said that a sore nipple is a sign that the nipple isn't far back enough in their mouth.

She was a bit of a scary lady though and wouldn't admit that breastfeeding can be painful even if you do everything 'right' so we won't take everything she said as absolute gospel

I'm fully expecting feeding to be a bit of a nightmare at first, just because it has been for the vast majority of my friends but most seem to get there!

Congratulations purple he's gorgeous.

I know when my DS is worked up/really hungry latch takes a while & he gets worked up.

My eldest also had a favourite boob but it was down to positioning.

Definitely keep up skin to skin & formula top ups can affect your supply which is something to bare in mind. Try & get yourself to bed, support your back & see what positioning works for you & baby.

What are you using to support the baby when feeding? A pillow can help to keep latch in good position.

Also when my 2 week old latches on now it still makes me wince for a second but then I know he's latched on.

Sounds silly but "air" the nipples as much as possible so those cracks heal, lanisoh & breast milk really help.

Have you seen a lactation consultant? Midwives can be bad with tongue tie.

Breastfeeding can take up to 6-8 weeks to get right as you're both learning a new skill.

Good luck but don't be too hard on yourself.

Good news on the scan Cookie. So pleased for you.

I'm also about the same time as you cats - due 17 Nov so 5+3 today.

Boobs are huge, hot and heavy right now. Having a growth spurt over the last 48 hours and particularly uncomfortable. At this rate I will need a soft bra to sleep in.

I'm already a 30G but now at least a 30GG and still expanding. Need to order a new bra today but will take a little while to get here. Am just going to get one or two as don't think they are ready to settle down just yet.

Nausea and tiredness has subsided for the last two days. I had it for theee days and then not for two. A little worrying but I'm telling myself it's okay and earlier than one would usually experience such things anyway.

Purple according to my experience of bf my two eldest, it took my nipples about two weeks before the toughened up for breastfeeding. I had cracked sore nipples for about a week and each time dc would latch on it would make my toes curl in pain.

I don't think it was a latching problem for me, after about two weeks tho it was no problem.

I'd forgotten that part of breastfeeding till now. Also found airing boobs helped as pp suggested.

Have you thought about contacting la la leche league, they're helpful.

Good luck, and you are doing amazingly well. Your baby is gorgeous :)

So much to catch up on... I just come on here more often!

purple what a gorgeous photo!!! As a first timer I can't offer bf advice really! But did you do NCT? We had a bf session and got given a list of support networks in our area, could you google and see what's available for you?

Alb good to hear from you and so god your consultant is helping. You did the right thing not listening to MAU and giving them a call!

For everyone in the early stages... I'm sorry to those who are struggling... it will get easier!! Easy for me to say... but I was a wreck for the first 20 weeks! And now I can't even really remember it!

35+5 for me today... baby moves but not loads (this has been the same the whole time so no change!) but movements can be quite uncomfortable now. I'm feeling so humungous and wishing that the baby would arrive early!!

purple oh your wee BABY! Squeeeee! I'm really no use with bf advice I'm afraid DD had a double tongue tie and my bf experience was a disaster. It's very difficult (IME) so your struggles are normal you know.

Anyway, just came on to say I think my senses are now officially superhuman; my smell is off the chart, I swear I can taste garlic in the milk (there's garlic sausage in the fridge), plus DH and I went out for a beautiful, expernsive posh slap up meal yesterday (wedding gift from friends) and could I eat it? NO. Touched a bit of my steak and then thought "I'm gonna throw".

Poor DH wound up eating two steaks.

In other news, one way I'm coping (just) right now is that I'm opting to treat this pregnancy as a game of 4 quarters so this time next week I'll be a quarter of the way through! So going to get my pom-poms out for that.

Anyway, ramble over. Xx

Omg purple he is beautiful!!!
Congratulations xxxxxxx

Can I just say something that nobody else has said?
I tried desperately to breast feed my first but I have inverted nipples and although they arnt constantly in it made life so much harder for me, in the end I spent 8 weeks expressing and feeling guilty that I was failing somehow.
Breast feeding is supposed to be 'natural' but I think more people struggle with it than manage it easily.
Keep doing what your doing and hopefully you'll become an expert soonish!
Sometimes though you can miss these precious early days by having this constant worry hanging over you.
You could try expressing all the lovely goodness of your early milk and then go into formula, it won't mean you've failed my lovely xxx
I would see how you go and maybe give yourself a certain date where you can sum up how well you feel it's going and make a decision whether to continue or not.
I've raised 5 children so far on some breast but mostly formula and my oldest is 17 this year and they are all healthy kids!
Be kind to yourself 😘😘😘

Alb well done with not taking no for an answer you've done the right thing, I hope you get some answers and reassurance soon xxx

Well done to the girls with early scans, try to stay positive that's all you can really do xxxx

35wks here, feel huge, tired, nesty, grumpy, hungry, did I mention huge?
lol hopefully 20 days ish left, I'm soooooo ready to have him in my arms now, I just can't wait xxxx

Definitely try white noise when trying to feed him. It really helps Willow. In the early days it quietened her down and we latched. Now it's a bit of a pavlovian response- she hears white noise and knows feed is coming.

purple their stomachs are tiny at the moment so they don't take in much at each feed which is why they feed so often. If he is not finishing the breast try to express what's left so your body knows to keep producing more as it is a feedback loop. If the breast is not emptied each time then your production will decrease/not increase to meet his needs as he grows. Is he having wet and dirty nappies? That's key to knowing if he is getting enough.
Try getting him to feed before he gets really hungry so waking him earlier like you said before to try and avoid that frustration/stress cycle for you both.
Breasfeeding is hard to start! You are not alone and it's not this magical "natural" thing that just clicks, it's got to be learned and it's a steep learning curve. So well done mamma for trying and sticking to it so far!!
Keep using the cream, nipple shields may also help and express some milk onto you nipples and leave them out to air dry as much as possible.

Latch wise- try tickling his top lip with your nipple to get him to open his mouth nice and wide. Nipple wants to be at the top of his mouth so he can take a big chunk of breast from underneath.

Try some different positions too, we all think of the arm cradling position but it may not be the best one for you both.

Sometimes lying down to feed is easier or holding baby like a rugby ball tucked under your arm.

I read an article a while ago about why infants favour left side, and adults favour carrying to the left but I can't for the life of me remember the conclusion now.

Some breastfeeding helpline numbers for you -
National Breastfeeding Helpline – 0300 100 0212
Association of Breastfeeding Mothers – 0300 330 5453
La Leche League – 0345 120 2918
National Childbirth Trust (NCT) – 0300 330 0700

And if you can get out to a clinic or get a consultant to come to you that will help as they will be able to watch you feed and give you tips on what to adjust from there.

If you are not fully emptying your breasts do watch out for mastitis and if you think you have it see you gp as it can get nasty quickly, symptoms -

a red, swollen area on your breast that may feel hot and painful to touch
a breast lump or area of hardness on your breast
a burning pain in your breast that may be continuous or may only occur when you are breastfeeding
nipple discharge, which may be white or contain streaks of blood
You may also experience flu-like symptoms, such as aches, a high temperature (fever), chills and tiredness.

Oh and keep up the skin to skin whether expressing or feeding from breast. The closeness will help increase your oxytoxin and prolactin levels which help boost your milk production. So lots and lots of cuddles!

Oh and feed from both breasts each time, or if you can't face it, express from the unused one. It will help up your supply.

purple so much good advice already, but I'll just add limit visitors if you need to, be selfish. Loving people will understand that. Then there is no pressure to feed when it's covenant, you can just sit there boobs hanging out getting it right for both of you. And also bf is really hard, it takes a few weeks for you to get it, and also for the sore nips to toughen up. But at the end of the day do absolutely what's best for you. X

cookie and oliversmummy thanks so interesting! If I took it as first day of bleeding that'd make me 5+5 which I sort of feel is right. I'm going to beg for an early scan at my midwife appointment when I'll be 9 weeks I think. But I may break and book a private one before that.

My belly is really round already, like flabby round, but I feel it's obvious already with certain things I wear. This is my 3rd dc so I guess it's just all a bit loose there!

Thanks for the advice ladies, really really appreciate it.

How can I go about seeing a lactation consultant? I defo need to Google positions , I'll do that right now. We've only really tried the across cradle position or lying down facing each other.

The reason we got into the formula palava was because he wasn't latching/ latching sometimes but not properly and then getting too frustrated to keep trying. So I was expressing by hand initially and then ended up topping up with formula. Now I'm expressing with medela swing and topping up but trying to cut down the top ups and express more. I think I've got scared of even trying to latch now but I really just need to take time doing skin to skin and making it a 'nice' time for both of us and then gently enticing him to latch. He has probably got quite lazy now as well.

It's so difficult to move around with the c section as well which I don't think helps.

Really hoping the visitors will calm down now. It was just the first couple days the inlaws were visiting. Today should be the last day we see anyone for a while!

Thank you so much and I'm thinking and praying you are all holding your bundles of joy soon!

Purple... google the rugby hold. Our NCT bf consultant said it was a good one, might be worth a try. Where abouts do you live?? I know hear our bf groups are run by health visitors but I think there are people who can come and visit you. Can you call your midwife/ health visitor maybe? X

I second googling rugby hold purple, it's how I'm feeding DS right now.
& to help with the c section put a pillow under baby to prop him up.

If you speak to midwives they may be able to get someone out to you or if you think you can get out there's usually a local breast feeding group.

One way to try latch is to feed him from expressed milk/formula then try to latch him on so he's not so worked up.

& try feeding 2-2.5 hours so he's not overly hungry & not taking in gulps of air as he latches on.

Use the lanisoh as much as possible.

& definitely rest, visitors should understand you're trying to learn to feed.

Hey all- lost the thread so parking here! Will catch up on all the news later today xx

I'd speak to your midwife as first port of call purple she should be able to arrange it or if not then at least let you know about any groups in your area you can attend.

Dolerite's suggestion of giving the expressed milk first sounds like a good idea so at least then he's not ravenous and frustrated when trying to latch.

I know it's hard but trh and relax as much as possible, breathe! Get yourself comfy with a drink- if you have visitors they should be looking after you and waiting on you. Take the time you and baby need and stuff everyone else.

I remember getting so upset and thinkjng I was doing it all wrong and why couldn't I figure it out but it did get much easier as time went on. Mg problem was then a crazy strong let down which would cause DD to pop off and I would spray milk everywhere! I learnt to keep a muslin very close pretty quickly - giving other customers in cafe a milk shower is not exactly what you want when breastfeeding in public!

Thanks for the advice, midwife checked today and agreed there is tongue tie although not super pronounced. I really noticed it myself when we tried the rugby position thanks for the suggestion! I could see clearly into his mouth and how he struggled to latch on and when he did, he slipped off after a few seconds. It was like his mouth couldn't create the suction required. His suck is really good and strong though. Midwife said we need to go to a clinic on Tuesday where they will assess him and make a referral if required. She wasn't sure of the waiting times involved. Has anyone had it done privately?

Day 5 today so she also weighed him and he has lost 8% of birth weight so she was happy with that and said we are doing all the right things.

Just got to keep going I guess..