Feel like a failure

[babycakes76]

My baby is just a week old and I am having to resort to bottle feeding my breast milk already as my left nipple is cracked & bleeding due to poor latching (although very good on right side!). I bought some nipple sheilds which were fab to start with but last night i started to bleed - ouch!!
I feel like i have failed my baby

Please help me and answer these/give advice on these questions..........

I am still breast feeding with the right side and expressing my left side each time i feed him with my right, is this ok?

How much should I express? (i do have plenty of milk)

How much should I feed him?

Do you think its okay to feed him with my right breast only - it is just too painful with my left. And then give him the bottle every now and then? (He had his first bottle of 2oz this morning and appears to do well).

The milk i express is it okay to divide it out between bottles?

What teats/Avent bottles do you recommend?


PLEASE PLEASE HELP ME!

 

[Grace's mum]

I don't really have any advice but just wanted to say I know how you feel. Breast feeding is an up and down thing, only last night I was suffering and in tears at the 6am feed, yet as I type Grace is feeding beautifully and it's the most wonderful feeling in the world.
I hope you get some advice and feel better soon

 

[hannahx]

I realy struggled feeding my first baby, i was in so much pain. Have you tried Lansinoh cream??? it worked miracles for me and i swore by it after Jake was born!
You will be fine to just feed on one side as your body will produce as much milk as baby needs. Try and express some from the sore side just to keep it producing milk and when its stopped feeling so sore you will be able to feed from both sides again xx

 

[Lu28]

Firstly, you are not a failure! I had to start pumping and feeding ebm with a bottle when Aisling was 5 days old because both nipples were cracked and bleeding and 3 months later it's all worked out brilliantly

I'd pump on the left side each time you feed on the right to keep your supply up and I'd pump until it's empty. You'll have plenty to use as top ups and to put in the freezer if you get too much. Definitely continue to feed on the right side. As for feeding with top ups, I'd do the same as you are through direct bfing, feed as much as he wants, just be sure to burp him etc quite frequently just so he doesn't get to prefer the bottle because he gets the milk quicker! I know some girls have fed with a dropper or cup in the early days so as not to have any nipple confusion and they may be able to offer advice with this but I exclusively fed ebm with a bottle for a couple of weeks and then introduced the boob again.

If you haven't got it already, get a tube of Lansinoh which is great to help heal cracked nipples.

With the milk you express, I'd just keep all of one day's milk together and yes you can mix it to feed in different bottles. If it's just the one days in a container though, you know how old it is.

I haven't used any Avent bottles, have used Tommee Tippee closer to nature bottles and a breast flow ones, both of which have worked well. The good thing about the breastflow ones is that baby has to work hard to get the milk so in theory is less likely to refuse the boob.

Good luck with it all, you're doing a brilliant job

 

[embo216]

You are not a failure in any way babe. I had the exact same problem with my daughter and stopped at 2 weeks At the end of the day we were both happier because she could tell how upset I was everytime she came to feed because of the pain and she used to pick up on it and get upset too!

I hope someone on here can help, I hadn't found BnB then but will definitely try again with my son! xx

 

[ClaireyF]

hun you aren't a failure! i really feel for you, i was the same as you at the beginning, although i never bled i felt close.i used kamillsan cream(sp) which i thought was really good. i used to have to express aswell because josh wouldn't latch on properly. i would suggest trying breast shells on your sore boob which will catch milk from it whilst you feed for the other one. i got mine from mothercare but think they do them at larger supermarkets and boots. don't give up hun, it will get easier xxx

 

[Rah]

You are not a failure!

I had the same problems cracked and bleeding due to poor latch, i was advised to use the underarm hold it is a better position for the shape of my boobs and i got a much better latch and the heeled quite quickly with the Miracle that is Lansinoh


I am still breast feeding with the right side and expressing my left side each time i feed him with my right, is this ok? Yeah will keep your supply coming

How much should I express? (i do have plenty of milk) I would keep going till its empty/only getting a little bit of milk out, it keeps in the fridge 8 days and freezer 6 months so you will always have a back up stock if needed!

How much should I feed him? I always offer a little more than what Isobelle will take so i know she has had enough so at the mo i offer 5.5oz she takes 5oz sometimes she does take the 5.5oz so i out her on the boob just to make sure she is full

Do you think its okay to feed him with my right breast only - it is just too painful with my left. And then give him the bottle every now and then? (He had his first bottle of 2oz this morning and appears to do well). Keep feeding with the right and bring back the left when you can

The milk i express is it okay to divide it out between bottles? I put all the milk that i collect the same day in a bottle to store (so i know when i need to use it by) but mix the milk to get what i need eg: 2oz from sat and 3 oz from sun

What teats/Avent bottles do you recommend? I use Tommee Tippee closer to nature with the slow flow teats so cant help on this one

Remember You are not a failure! your doing a fab job

 

[mrsholmes]

I realy struggled feeding my first baby, i was in so much pain. Have you tried Lansinoh cream??? it worked miracles for me and i swore by it after Jake was born!
You will be fine to just feed on one side as your body will produce as much milk as baby needs. Try and express some from the sore side just to keep it producing milk and when its stopped feeling so sore you will be able to feed from both sides again xx

ditto with the lanisonh cream, u can get it on percrisption as its £10 a tube, mine were better within a couple of hours!! I used pently after each feed, your doing really well x

 

[JayleighAnn]

I really struggled at first and my nipples cracked but didnt bleed. I posted on here saying that I couldn't do it and feared everytime he cried for food. It took 2 weeks of pain, feeling like he was biting my nipple off every time he fed, to get it to stop hurting.

I found lansinoh cream worked good, but breast milk and airing your nipples dry worked better.

I'm sorry it's hurting hunny and your not a failure, carry on with what your doing and then try again with left side when your ready

 

[babycakes76]

Oh thank you so much everyone xxxxxx

I am sitting here with tears in my eyes! (hormones!) because of your kind words.

HUGS to you all x

 

[Lu28]

 

[stressederic]

I used the lasinoh cream too as both nips were real sore probably because he wasn't latched on properly (being sore from c section didn't help) within hours of using cream nips were incredibly improved.

good luck

 

[rach321]

I would use the slowest flow avent teats - number 1. This is what I used when I was expressing. I think all your other questions have been answered.
You are not a failure.....breastfeeding is one of the hardest things in the world, get your sore booby nice and healed using shields or magic lansinoh and don't beat yourself up about it - stick with it - it does get better. Do you have a drop in breastfeeding centre you can go to? They give great advice and you will meet plenty of others in the same boat. xx

 

[ClaireyF]

if your nipples don't get any better you should really consider the breast shells as they will stop your bra rubbing on the nipples. here they are on the mothercarewebsite so you can read about them x
https://www.mothercare.com/Medela-b...ing=UTF8&m=A2LBKNDJ2KZUGQ&n=42764041&mcb=core

 

[FsMummy]

YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE!! i defo reccomend lansinoh. its really good for sore bums too (babies bums lol).

 

[SGDMom]

I had the same problem unfortunately I just bf through it I remember the first time hubby came home from work with me crying, baby crying and our oldest crying (he didn't know who to go to first). Your not a failure, I felt that way to but it's not true your a wonderful Mom. My sister only bf on the one side and her daughter is now a happy and healthy 16yr old. I say just keep feeding on the right side, keep pumping on the left and once the left has healed up maybe try and different position. Just remember your baby loves you no matter what.

 

[Logiebear]

I think all of your questions have been answered hun but I wanted to give you and let you know you are doing a great job. We struggled like you and we still struggle but I wouldn't change it for the world. Keep going hun xxx