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[MamaBird]

Hi there!

I am BFing my 13 day old daugther and we have had a few struggles with feeding over the last couple of weeks. I have a few questions regarding expressing and increasing supply and I would love the support of a champion.

Thank you!

 

[wishingonastar]

Hi Mambird, I don't get time to log in an awful lot these days, but if you private message me it comes through to my phone to let me know so gimme a shout if you like and i'll try and help

 

[wishingonastar]

I posted on Bfing but saw something similar to mine and their response was to try this forum.

My problem is that LO is sleeping longer at night (4-7 hours) and the longer sleeps I get engorged and end up getting up to pump. I couldn't wait for LO to sleep longer so I could get more sleep (I am exhausted and am going back to work in a month) but I am ending up getting up to pump. Any suggestion to let me sleep longer? Is this a selfish request on my behalf? Should I just accept that I am never going to sleep longer than 4 hours again until I stop BFing?

your supply takes 2-3 days to adjust to a change...all you need to do is stimulate your nipples by hand or pump to release a little milk (between 10.15 seconds of pumping/squeezing should do it) so it takes the hardness out your boobs then go back to sleep. you'll soon find your body will learn not to produce so much at that time, but if you keep pumping a lot off you'll trick your body into thinking your baby is drinking lots at that time and the cycle will continue

 

[dizzymeg]

Hi
My LO was born last week at 34 weeks to the day, we have been in the hospital since. He has to put on weight and sort his jaundice before we can go. He is now 10 days old. we are still in the hospital.

I have been breast feeding him for the last 2 days, before then it was via a tube. He was initially on formula till I came in with my milk which was within 2 days, and since about day 4 he has been exclusivley on my milk. He has been breast fed for over 24 hours now, and the day before that it was 6 breast feeds and 2 tubes.

He has lost 10% of his weight since birth, he is now 10 days old. He was 2280g on birth, and today was weighed in a 2055g. The Dr are saying to keep breast feeding and express and top up his feeds via the bottle just to make sure he is getting the fluids he needs.

I am really worried that he isnt gaining weight and whats going on and whether I should be bottle feeding him exclusively so I can see how much fluid he is taking in. But have worked hard at the breast feeding. and he is sucking and swallowing, but maybe not as much as i thought?

Surely if he was hungry he would be waking up more? he is pretty much sleeping most of the time, and the Dr said that isnt due to his jaundice as the level too low for that, and he would wake up if he was hungry.

It is amazing the bag of guilt and worry that comes with having a child.


please any advice, tips, experiences you have I would be very greatful. I really need some help. The MW here are great but they can only tell u so much. I am desperate for help.

I know he will loose weight because he is burning calories from the breast feeding, but I am worried about the amount he has lost and am really concerned about him putting it back on. What do u reccomend? Should i always top up a certain amount regardless of feeding time or should I see how he feeds on each feed? I feel so lost. being lonley in the hospital doesnt help matters. My husband comes when he can but there are limited visiting hours.
xxx

 

[dizzymeg]

hello? How do I get a champion? My post is the last one on here above, thanks - please PM me and help me! I am almost dry and need to know what to do regarding this and my other issues above
x

 

[tiggercats]

dizzymeg if you pm wishingonastar or any of the others listed on the first page they can help you specifically. My advice would be to keep putting LO to the breast as often as possible and express in between to up your supply if you think you are drying up already. Make sure you have lots of skin to skin contact with your LO as that will help to stimulate your milk supply. Try and find the local breast feeding clinic in your area and ring them up and ask if someone can come to the hospital to help you (la leche league or NCT - often run clinics at childrens centres). Good luck and congratulations on your LO

 

[mommy43]

hi we are nearly 4mnths in n i think i need some help im struggling with low supply i think was originally caused by isabel refusing to stay latched at around 2 mnths up untill then things were going great my supply was fine i had thrush so did she n around the same ive managed to get my supply up from nearly nothing but pumping n am currently supplmenting is there any way i can get back to exclusive bf or is it too late

 

[wishingonastar]

hi we are nearly 4mnths in n i think i need some help im struggling with low supply i think was originally caused by isabel refusing to stay latched at around 2 mnths up untill then things were going great my supply was fine i had thrush so did she n around the same ive managed to get my supply up from nearly nothing but pumping n am currently supplmenting is there any way i can get back to exclusive bf or is it too late

hi, no its not too late at all

your supply takes 2-3 days to adjust to increase/decrease in demand and you're never totally out of milk while you're BFing

make sure you feed your little girl at the first signs of hunger so she's not reached the mega hungry point then you'll both be more relaxed

also try increasing skin to skin contact where you are topless and have lots of cuddles with her naked or just in nappy (put blanket over you both if need to) as that bonds you more and gets her more familiar with your scent as well as increasing milk supply

most important thing is to be calm as babies pick up on stress and if you google 'newborn hunger cues' you'll see you can pick hunger up really early when she's still chilled

 

[gemgti]

has anyone had a baby who is not gaining weight, sophie was always gaining weight fine but started to slow down and not gain so much the last few months now she has only put on half an ounce in 2 weeks??!!

 

[pinkclaire]

has anyone had a baby who is not gaining weight, sophie was always gaining weight fine but started to slow down and not gain so much the last few months now she has only put on half an ounce in 2 weeks??!!

HI Gem, I have the same issue with my LO, but hes perfectly healthy. Have you started weaning? I wouldnt suggest that you do, its just remember those charts are averages and a lot of people start weaning early, therefore their babies put on weight earlier. My LO hasnt put any weight on since 5 months, in fact hes lost some, but he is way more active than usual. Send me a PM if you need some more advice or to chat as I was in the exact same situation x

 

[wishingonastar]

lots of BF babies slow up on their weight gain around the 4-6 month mark...its at this point professionals used to get really worried and force mums to switch to formula, but then they worked out it was normal and altered the charts somewhat to reflect it

so long as your LO is happy and active when she's awake you have nothing to worry about

isabel's weight gain slowed down but she was active and fine...we left solids til 6 months...have faith in your body, you'll know if LO isn't right

 

[angels3..]

I was wondering if anyone could help me. My lo does a really good latch but doesnt suck properly! He does one or 2 deep sucks then flutter sucks when I take him off my nipple doesnt even look long like it used to and I think i've caused it by supplementing with formula because I was worried about other things that cropped up. I feel really awful how do I get him to suck properly?

 

[wishingonastar]

angels3 - are you still topping up with formula? if so, make sure you switch to Breastflow bottles (TKMax, Boots and so on usually sell them) as they are the closest to the way the nipple works. If you use normal teats it can confuse LO and make them lazy with drinking from breast as a normal teat requires virtually no work to pull the milk out

for a good feed they typically feed 10-15 mins (longer if you have particularly slow flow) but they don't drink at a steady rhythm throughout this time so give him longer with his flutter sucks so long as its not hurting you as you'll probably find when he realises he's not getting much milk he'll revert back to the deeper sucks again

also, you may find he feeds differently at different times of the day...isabel cluster fed in the evening and didn't drink as deeply as in the morning/daytime

 

[angels3..]

Thank you so much, he's been a little better today, we were having a majorly stressful day yesterday and I think he was getting stressed because I was x

 

[Drazic<3]

Is it still possible to get a breastfeeding champion? I have a 2 week old daughter, born 8lbs 1oz by emergency c-section. Generally, she feeds well. We have bad days, and the occational nightmare feed, but we both are starting to learn. Some days, I am full of breastfeeding love, but other times I get so down with it, lose my confidence, get overwhelmed by how sore I am and want to jack it in. I can't believe it's only been two weeks. Feels much longer! If anyone could offer any support and advice that would be excellent

 

[CocoaOne]

Drazic - Feel free to PM me if you've got any specific queries. I remember reading about the magic '6 week mark' and it seemed like an eternity away! But once we reached 6 weeks (and things got much better!) it seemed to have shot by so quickly. I used to look for any excuse to jack it all in, but something would always stop me and I'd think 'just one more day, see how it goes tomorrow'. That, and the fact I found it mega hard work preparing bottles 'just in case'!

You're doing a fab job, your LO looks gorgeous! I don't have any experience with feeding after a c-section, but it sounds as if you're not having problems latching. Is it your belly that's sore, or your nipples? Lansinoh is amazing for nipples, and there are other positions that you can try if your belly hurts with the weight of LO x

 

[pinkclaire]

Just wanted to echo really, PM if you need to talk. I never thought I'd make it past the two week Mark, I know what you mean about loving it and hating it all at the same time. Please be rest assured that it does get easier, and on the crap days when you feel you can't continue we're here to moan about, and NOTHING you will say will be new to us all, we've all been there. Soon you'll be thankful that your not up sterilising bottles in the middle of the night and how easy it is! (that was one motivation that kept me going because I'm lazy!) xx

 

[gemgti]

has anyone had a baby who is not gaining weight, sophie was always gaining weight fine but started to slow down and not gain so much the last few months now she has only put on half an ounce in 2 weeks??!!

HI Gem, I have the same issue with my LO, but hes perfectly healthy. Have you started weaning? I wouldnt suggest that you do, its just remember those charts are averages and a lot of people start weaning early, therefore their babies put on weight earlier. My LO hasnt put any weight on since 5 months, in fact hes lost some, but he is way more active than usual. Send me a PM if you need some more advice or to chat as I was in the exact same situation x

Thank you

No she is just purely breastfed however we have been trying to introduce a formula feed at bed time so OH can feed her. i find expressing really uncomfortable and i only get about 1 ounce at a time. She knows how to drink from a bottle but will only drink about 3-4 oz of formula.

She is very happy and active and never seems as thou she is hungry. The HV wants me to take her back again this week to just check and see how much she has put on this week.

 

[pinkclaire]

has anyone had a baby who is not gaining weight, sophie was always gaining weight fine but started to slow down and not gain so much the last few months now she has only put on half an ounce in 2 weeks??!!

HI Gem, I have the same issue with my LO, but hes perfectly healthy. Have you started weaning? I wouldnt suggest that you do, its just remember those charts are averages and a lot of people start weaning early, therefore their babies put on weight earlier. My LO hasnt put any weight on since 5 months, in fact hes lost some, but he is way more active than usual. Send me a PM if you need some more advice or to chat as I was in the exact same situation x

Thank you

No she is just purely breastfed however we have been trying to introduce a formula feed at bed time so OH can feed her. i find expressing really uncomfortable and i only get about 1 ounce at a time. She knows how to drink from a bottle but will only drink about 3-4 oz of formula.

She is very happy and active and never seems as thou she is hungry. The HV wants me to take her back again this week to just check and see how much she has put on this week.

3-4 oz is pretty good if she's only just started taking it. James has formula sometimes and 4 oz is definately the max he'll take!

Weighing weekly just seems so pointless to me :shrugs: how much really changes in a week at this stage. I just find it worries me more.

I think if she's alert, awake and active and seems healthy in herself she is. Not meaning to pry but what build are you? I'm fairly slim myself so what can be expected really!
I would say that as her mum if your not worried she's fine, she is x

 

[bunnyg82]

Hello! I need some help/advice please! BF is going really really well now, we've been going for 7 weeks now and really feel like we've got the hang of it. The problem I have now is that I've got to go into hospital for a day to have a telescope investigation thing which I think will mean a whole day of not being able to feed, possibly two days (due to being under sedation and the medication) and so I have two weeks to try and get the hang of expressing and my son to take a bottle. I am on the waiting list for an op too, and again that will be a couple of days that I won't be able to feed him. Any tips would be really useful.

Thanks x