ahhhh! about to give up

[cissyhope]

Oh, I think you should try and stick it out, maybe combination feed if you can.

I was determined to BF but Frankie just kept losing weight, even though he seemed to be constantly feeding. I was sore but was getting through it and didn't want my own pain to be a factor in stopping feeding him myself.

After getting HV anD MW to spend time with me whilst feeding him, they all agreed that his latch and technique was great and I was definetly producing milk, though clearly not enough.

The final straw came for me at 10 days old when he had lost even more weight, despite me feeding him as often as he would take it, and he had not pooed for 6 days. In fact, he hadn't done a proper poo, the only poo he had ever done had been passing meconium. The MW was pretty worried and had us admitted to hospital.

I was so frightened that I was causing my baby harm by insisting that I BF. He was also covered in a strange rash, which although the doctor said was common in newborns I couldn't help thinking was due to him not having enough to eat.

Once in hospital, I was advised to give him a bottle of formula as a one off to see if it would make him poo. Frankie absolutely glugged it down, which made me feel awful as he was so clearly hungry. Then, within about half an hour of having the bottle, he did a MASSIVE poo!! The doctor thought that he was just absorbing whatever he was getting from me and not having enough left over for waste, another sign that he wsa very hungry.

I decided in haste that I would switch him to FF as I could see that he was getting enough food and it was making him poo, which had been something I was really worried about. I now wish I had known about combination feeding. I had been under the impression that if you gave a BF baby formula food from a bottle that they would no longer take the breast as they wouldn't get as much food as easily as they can from a bottle.

I regret every day that I gave up, even though I realise that the reasons were good and I had sat and thought about it so carefully and really had Frankie's health at the forefront of my mind when I made the decision. I just wish that someone had said to me that it would be ok to do a bit of both.

So, from my own experience, do try and give it a bit longer. You may end up seriously regretting stopping BF like I do.

Thank you v much im so sorry about your experience that must have been horrid but so glad your lo is ok now. All we want to do is the best for our babies but knowing what to do is sometimes hard. I really dont want to give up. Im going to see how today goes xxx

 

[hivechild]

Ronan was and is still all over the charts. Thankfully I have a pediatrician who was fantastically supportive in the beginning when he dropped from 7lb 7oz down to 6.5lbs before he started regaining and doesn't give me grief now about too much or too little if he doesn't follow the same percentile.

It is something any parent should be conscious and aware of in case of problems, mind you, and it may be worth consulting with the likes of someone from the La Leche League or a professional lactation consultant for advice and options. You can also look into taking galactalogues like fenugreek to increase your supply. Off the top of my head, 2-3 capsules 3 times a day is usually enough, but if you want more advice and information, as well as support, i'd advise posting on the breastfeeding support forum here. There are a lot of very knowledgeable and experienced women there who are more than willing to help and are more likely to see your thread as baby club gets so much more traffic and posts that it's easy to miss some!

 

[karenm28]

Oh thank you so much! yes you really have helped! one question- so even though im not really getting that much out (expressing) carry on ? it will get more?

Sorry just seen your message, glad I have helped a bit.
I never used to get much at all by expressing to be honest, I used to take half an hour to get a couple of oz and that never really changed over the year I BF. It would take me a few days to save up enough for a feed as he would take 7oz easily when he was bigger so obviously my boobs were a lot more efficient when BFing than when pumping. I may have done better with a more expensive pump I don't know.

 

[cissyhope]

just wanted to say a big thank you to every one that has given me advice,you have helped me through another day we got 1 carton of formula already mixed just in case and i managed to get 2oz of expressed .Had a hard time feeding lo as felt so empty it hurt! he seemed v frustrated,even angry with me and i thought we would use the formula but he fell asleep! so i fell asleep and my oh fed he the expressed later and iv just got up to express. So we have survived another day! really thought we wouldn't cause oh was really upset earlier saying we could be stunting his growth for when he is grown up. really hope we can carry on xxx

 

[hivechild]

There were days I was taking it an hour at a time and before i knew it, it had gotten better without really realizing. You're almost there!

 

[Brockie]

i would definately get some professional advice hon either from a MW, HV or breastfeeding councillor, just to check your latch is good and to give you peace of mind. Others here have given great advice, the way bfeeding works is by baby feeding ALOT those first 6 weeks or so, it usually then settles down. At the end of the day though the most important factor in mum AND baby is that you are both happy. Your baby won't love you any less if you give him formula! breastfeeding works great for some but not so great for others, do whatever you feel is best for both of you xxx

 

[cissyhope]

well managed to express just under 3oz! which was amazing to me! but then lo woke up and it was a nightmare as i was so empty,was going to give him what i expressed but then he seemes to get a little out and fell asleep but he cant have got much but wanted to try and get ahead and give him the expressed on the night. iv fed him again this morning but was a struggle so im just trying to express again but nothing coming out if he decides he wants feeding again,i dont know what we will do.any advice again would be really appeciated,sorry to be a pain x

 

[cabaretmum2b]

How old is your LO? (Sorry, have only scanned the thread so may have missed it!)

 

[cissyhope]

How old is your LO? (Sorry, have only scanned the thread so may have missed it!)

hi he is 5 weeks tues and was born 6lb 5oz and lasted weighed 6lb 7oz which was last thurs. So you can see why im worried. i so wanted to do the best for him and bf but thinking cause his not putting the weight on quick enough i should ff. my milk supply doesn't seem good but i have sorted the latch now. iv seen a couple of breast consultant at the hospital and they say the latch is good now so ? x

 

[xemmax]

hey hun, i definitely think you need to talk to someone professionally as this may well not be a supply issue.

sorry i'm not sure if you mentioned but at what times are you expressing? i would try expressing after or during feeds only, so your LO has chance to breastfeed before you express.

also, have a look at these:
https://www.llli.org/FAQ/enough.html
https://www.llli.org/FAQ/increase.html

if you'd like to contact la leche league, they'll be able to help:
https://www.laleche.org.uk/

 

[cissyhope]

hey hun, i definitely think you need to talk to someone professionally as this may well not be a supply issue.

sorry i'm not sure if you mentioned but at what times are you expressing? i would try expressing after or during feeds only, so your LO has chance to breastfeed before you express.

also, have a look at these:
https://www.llli.org/FAQ/enough.html
https://www.llli.org/FAQ/increase.html

if you'd like to contact la leche league, they'll be able to help:
https://www.laleche.org.uk/

thanks alot i would express after a feed but last night i did get up at 3.30am as i had a bit of a break of 4 hours as lo was asleep! (v rare) so i felt full for first time in ages and took the opportunity to express and got just under 3oz! but then had bad time feeding after how often do u think i should express? x

 

[lucy_x]

^^^ if youe expressing to build supply, i would be expressing after every feed and at least once at night after feeds. then feed him this after.

 

[xemmax]

i wouldn't be able to advise because i don't know how much you'd need to build your supply. but i do know you should feed baby before you express, to make sure they get as much as they need first x

 

[karenm28]

You should try not to feel full - feeling full is getting engorged and that sends signals to your brain that you are not using milk so don't need it. If baby was putting weight on slowly I would be tempted to wake them with a boob in the face after no more than 2 hours.

I agree with only expressing after baby has fed, don't worry if you are not getting much out from expressing it doesn't mean baby takes that long to get the same amount out - baby works a lot better than expressing

Could I ask why you are expressing? Are you doing it only to build your supply up or do you need to be away from your baby for periods of time?
I really wouldn't bother expressing at this stage unless you need to get a bottle together to be away from baby.

If I knew then what I know now I would just "bed in" - spend a good few hours in bed at a time (even a couple of days) doing skin to skin with your baby latched on, swapping sides every hour or more, read books and watch tv, get your DH to bring you snacks and drinks in the morning before he goes to work and then laze about eating and feeding all day. I know it sounds terribly lazy and people like in laws for eg (haha) may be shocked but honestly I found it is one of the best things for increasing supply. Baby can just feed constantly. I found that was the best thing for growth spurts and wished I had known it much earlier. You can even lightly sleep while they feed. (Of course follow the guidelines for safe co-sleeping if you do this and only do it if you feel comfortable with it - We co-slept for 6 months as my DS wouldn scream the minute he was away from me - after 6 months he went in his own room no problems)

Just to reiterate, if your baby is having wet and dirty nappies then they are not starving, but if you have any concerns at all - like if wet nappies stop at all this could be dehydration and then please see the doc asap

You are doing ever so well and obviously want to continue BFing - the easier time is not far away I am sure

Just looked up my DS's weights and hope this could reassure you.

Birth 8lb 1oz
2 weeks 8lb 2oz
4 weeks 8lb 5oz
5 weeks 8lb 9oz
6 weeks 9lb 2oz
7 weeks 10lb 2oz
11 weeks 12lb 9oz
15 weeks 15lb 9oz
36 weeks 21lb 7oz

Up to a few months he fed hourly through the day, often for 40 mins at a time, with the odd cat nap in between, then cluster fed in the afternoons and evenings for 4 -5 hours constantly, then every 2 hours through the night, he was bloody starving!!! He never slept - the little devil.

I have it easy now, he just turned 2 and is a wonderful toddler (he weighs well over 2 stones now and is tall and slim like his daddy)

Let us know how you get on and I hope you take my advice and get yourself off to bed with a big pack of sausage rolls, buns and a couple of bottles of squash xxxx