Breastfeeding is a nightmare for me :-(

[Mummy2006]

Hi all
Me again , my lo is now 26 days old and we are still having such a hard time .
She lost 12.5% of her birth weight and was admitted in to hospital whilst there I has tk give her bottles of either ebm or formula as the drs wanted to see exactly how mush she was having at every feed I was deverstated about this but felt it had to be done to make sure my baby wasn't sick etc during this time I still put my lo to the breast hoping she wouldn't " forget" what to do. She started to put on weight etc so we came home
Now we are back home we are still struggling even with the bottle feeds she just seems so sleepy all the time she falls asleep after about 10mls on bottle or about 5 mins on the breast then wakes as soon as we put her down.
I am really struggling with her I never wanted to stop bf but I just don't know what on earth to do at the moment
Any advice any one ???
Thankyou in advance xxxx

 

[Cattia]

The main thing is whether she is still gaining weight. If she is then you have no need to worry even if it doesn't seem as though she is taking much. You could also try block feeding, where you do a couple of feeds from one side to make sure she is getting enough of the hind milk which has more fat and calories than the foremilk that they get at the start of a feed. What she takes from a bottle is not an indication of what she takes from the breast necessarily as babies can often be much more efficient feeding from the breast.
If she is not gaining weight then there are lots of things you can do, I have no personal experience of slow gainers bit there are loads of people here who do and can help. It is still really early days and hood milk supply will still ne regulating. The early days are the helardest to get through, you are doing a great job so don't ne discouraged. Keep it up!

 

[CeriB]

I have no experience of slow weight gain, so hopefully someone else can help there

I am sorry you are having such a hard time, but you are doing a fantastic job! If LO is gaining weight now and having 6-8 wet nappies a day, then all seems to be going in the right direction. Don't be too hard on yourself and take each day as it comes - you are doing great and should be proud