my personal bf challege

[FierceAngel]

so my lil girl was born last sat evening and is perfect

i decided from the start of my pregnancy tht bf was something i was determined to do.. couple of family members tried to put a downer on it said how hard it was etc this just gave me more determination to carry on...

i also decided i would express some so oh could feed etc...

well we didnt get off to a good start...

firstly i missed the bf classes at the end of pregnancy as i was in hospital

then after the birth i was unable to get up as my right side was numb from epidural and i found those first few feeds hard.. i was discharged the next morning 12 hours after delivery.. and recieved very lil help with bf...

the day we brought luisa home she just slept and slept wouldnt rouse for a feed at all i got so upset and afterher not feeding for 12 hours (and tht feed being brief) ended up giving her a couple of ozs of formula

mw came out next day.. she advised baby was jaundice and glucose levels low so if she wouldnt feed then formula would have to be way forward...

i cried and cried we tried desperatly to get her to latch on but a combination of her drowsiness and my milk not coming in halted any progress

so we decoided to express god dammit if she was to have a bottle i wanted it to be breast milk...

so after almost a week of expressing like a maniac.. evry 3 hours she has really picked up..

last night she had her first big bath oh put her in shallow water with me while my mum helped showing us wht to be careful of etc she didnt cry like i though she would insted she grabbed my nipple

i attempted to get her to latch on and she did straight away!!!
she fed for 15 mins or so while being cleaned and it was amazing!

had to take her off as she was gonna get cold! but she latched on again in evening for about 20 mins..

again thru the night but only for little while.. having to top her up with some expressed milk.. but her last few feeds from bottle have only been 1 and half ozs and usually 3-4 ozs

mw came out this morning her jaundice is sooo much better.. reccomemed to keep trying to get her to latch on and top up with expressed milk if needed...#

im over the moon i though id have to switch to formula soon as was worried my milk would stop but now looks like it could work!!!

ive heard it gets easier! hope thts true!

so after tht essay lol!

my goal is currently to gert to 6 weeks first i think small targets will work better..

so all thts left is pls wish me luck, offer an advice if u can and lets see how long we can make it!!!

xxxx

 

[sparkswillfly]

well done!!!

Although I combination feed so not entirely the same I just made it to the six week mark! 12 weeks is my next target. I find it easier to break it down into stage too.

 

[XKatX]

Well done on getting this far hun!! Sounds like it was tough to start with, but you're doing a great job - keep it up!! Do you have a Baby Cafe near you? They offer great advice and support for breastfeeders
www.thebabycafe.org/
And you always have us!!! Between us, we've probably encountered every problem there is!
Good luck on your journey hun - we're with you all the way!
ETA - We've done 5 months so far, so know the struggle well! Like you said - small targets, just take things 1 day at a time x x

 

[lauzliddle]

well done hun i found it hard the first few weeks with cracked nipples and poor latch. You have done great keeping to it. keep to your small targets and i am sure you will get through it. we have made it to 8 weeks and believe me it gets alot easier.

 

[Panda_Ally]

Well done hun!!
Good luck with ur 6 week target!!!

 

[kirstyloo82]

well done chick, its not as easy as you would expect (or hope it to be) but so so worth it in the end. this site is a great place for support, ive had a bit of a rough ride, and have always had great advice and support from some wonderful mamas on here.

if your after some advice, i would always offer her the breast first, let her do as much feeding from you as she will, then offer epressed milk if she needs topping up, and pump after that. the pumps are great, but dont stimulate the breast in the same way a baby does. hopefully if you keep your supply going, you will be able to get to a stage where she takes from you exclusively and doesnt need the top ups. we did this at first, then i weaned her off the bottles gradually and now we only bf. its only just worked out though, and she is 10 weeks. its worth all the effort when you see a contented happy baby with a little dribble of milk on her chin, fall totally asleep at the breast. melts my heart!

well done and keep it up!

 

[Jemima]

What a great story. Warmed my cockles! It only gets better now, you'll see! How lovely that she knew what to do in the bath, clever little sausage.

Good luck. x

 

[Logiebear]

Well done you. I know all about rough starts hun and you have done so well. All I can say is that don't place timescales on anything. Just take it one day at a time and just keep doing your best hun

 

[ryder]

good job!

 

[elm]

well done you!!! Hope you're hugely proud of yourself and your gorgeous Luisa, clever girl knowing what to do

It really annoys me when the nhs fail to promote breastfeeding or support women who make the decision to breastfeed - alot of people would have not have questioned the mw advice and that's so sad.

xxx

 

[Pyrrhic]

Well done! You've overcome the hardest part so far, getting her to latch back on! Now if you want to cut the bottles then start offering breast before bottle at every feed, and express every 2 hours (especially between 2am and 5am as this is when milk production peaks) in order to bring in more milk.

 

[vicwick]

Well done hun, you should be so proud of yourself, noone tells you just how tough its gonna be and you have worked so hard, good luck xxx

 

[Samantha675]

WEll done hun!!! And sunlight is excellent to help clear up that jaundice.

 

[Whisper]

Brilliant job, well done!! and yes it does get easier, but sometimes it gets worse before it gets better, but its well worth it

If it didn't get better then i wouldn't still be b/fing! lol

 

[hypnorm]

well done, with the jaudice feed as often as you can, and keep her by a window as the UV light helps clear it up. They are often very sleepy when they have jaundice, something they failed to tell me with my son, i thought he was being a great baby and sleeping all the time... but he lost a 1 lb in weight in a week!

NHS although they say they push bf'ing they often dont support it very well at all.

 

[Kiree]

thats really good, bet you're so proud. well done Luisa and mummy! i'm 35 wks preg and determined to bf but feel i could do with more support as i'v had some family members and friends saying similar things about it being difficult etc etc. its great to know i can come here and feel encouraged by stories like yours and get wonderful support from all the girls xx

 

[Ell87]

Well done!

I totally agree that smaller targets work better. I aimed for 6 months with my first 2 and didn't reach it, yet with my 3rd, I kept setting like 6 week targets and we're still happily breastfeeding and she is 13.5 months old now

 

[Kunama]

Well done to you! BF can be one hell of a rollercoaster, you should be so proud of yourself and LO! keep it up hon

 

[FierceAngel]

hi all just wanted to fill you in on my progress

well we are still expressing but managing to get enough to not need to top up with formula

im getting a bit worried as i dont seem to be able to express as much anymore my boobs are not going hard.,... as im expressing so often...

now im expressing just before she needs a feed (every four hours)

i havent been very well the last couple of days (have a bad chest infection) docs put me on antibiotics and given me some simple litus (sp) for my chest.. it also looks like my stitches are infected just as they were getting better too!
mw thinks antibiotics will help both...

so needless to say its been hard to percivere (sp) with the trying to latch her on especially wen im coughing my guts up!!!

stayed at my mums last night.. she looked after her from 10pm till 6 getting up to feed her at 1 and 5 while me and oh slept upstairs..

made such a big difference getting some sleep but not being to far away from her..

i had to get up at 3am to express for her 5am feed and spent 20 mins looking at her lol!

so a less tired me (and oh) gave the latching a go this morning

she fed from me for about 10 mins but then still drank the 3 ozs i expressed for her!!!

planning to go to the breast feeding clinic on monday to see if it helps.. apparantly the woman tht runs it is very PRO breast feeding and does not welcome those who combine feed! so i have to keep her off the formula if i want to go! or go to the open feeding clinic on a wednesday but apparantly this clinic is alot more busy...

i dont agree with the womans views at all as i think every woman should be given help to breast feed regardless if they combine feed! but saying tht it may give me another push to stay off the formula...

ive nearly given in a couple of times over the last couple of days in fact if the formula hadnt been at home last night i may have not got up to express at 3am

gosh ive rambled again!!! just helps to talk about it!!

xxxx

 

[soon2b6]

Hi, Well done,youre doing good!! there is too little support for BF mums even tho' they push the idea.
It could be she is getting what she needs from the breast feed which is why you feel they are softer, its supply and demand so if she is taking what she needs you wont over produce like you do for the first few weeks, I remember feeling this and its quite disconcerting but you are doing great. Hope you feel better soon. Take care