please help me

[Zfbaby]

Im hoping someone can help with my situation as I don't know what to do and I'm close to giving up on bfing all together. I'm so down about it that I'm not enjoying these first days with my son as much as I should.

Bit of background first I guess.
My son is 13days old, born by c-section. I've been desperately trying to bf but we are having problems getting a good latch and my milk supply is quite low. my lo lost more weight than the hospital were happy with and as my milk was delayed due to the c-section we were told to supplement with formula to get his weight up.
My milk came in on day 5 and was practically gone by day 7. I went from pumping 150mls from each side to only 20mls. I then had to pump every 2-3hrs to build up my supply and can now get 130-150mls in total but only 3 times a day if I'm lucky. I'm so tired with pumping, bfing when he's hungry and all the other stuff that I'm struggling to keep up with every 2-3hrs.
In the meantime Louis has found it harder and harder to latch on only opening his mouth very slightly which doesn't give me enough time to latch him enough and he just chews my nipple. When he is fully on he pulls back so he slides on to the nipple and again just chews. I'm also starting to get convinced that he's losing his natural rooting skills as he no longer looks up for the nipple and just waits for it to be placed in his mouth. He gets so frustrated and angry that he screams constantly and scratches his face or puts his hands in his face/mouth so I can't see what's going on to re-latch him. we weren't great at it to start with anyway as my c-section made it really uncomfy to get a good position for feeding now it feels impossible!
I've been trying to feed him from the breast before offering him a bottle of formula or ebm but I never know if he's got enough and often it's clear he hasn't. Sometimes he falls asleep during a feed but then wakes screaming 10 mins later. Rather than being calmed and subdued to sleep by feeding he just looks scared and harassed. Is it too late for us? Should I just give in and give him the bottle so he is able to feed in comfort or keep going? Will my milk supply ever be enough to satisfy him? I dread everytime he wakes to be fed as he's so frantic and I feel so selfish for pushing the bfing on him when he's so much calmer when he's given a bottle of formula.
If I do go to formula do I put him on a schedule or continue with on demand feeding?
Are there any tips for getting in the right position for latching on?
Any help at all?

 

[IrelandsOwn]

Have you seen a lactation consultant and had him assessed for a tongue tie? It sounds to me like that might be the problem. The more he nurses, the more your supply will increase to meet his demand. Your body knows what to do and how much you pump is not an indication of how much your baby can extract. How are your nipples doing? If his latch is shallow you'll need to prevent them being injured. Hang in there x

 

[jeniicie10]

I'm not sure I have a lot of advice to give but indont think it is not to late. My twin girls were in the NICU for 2 weeks and I had a cold so I couldn't visit them. So bf was never established. I ended up exclusively pumping for 4.5 months. Then decided to just try and latch them. One of the struggled. Wanted nothin to do with my breast. I refused to give her a bottle. It was hard and stressfull but after an hour she gave in. I had to pump to get my milk flowing and used a nipple shield. I thought the shield would make my nipple feel more like a bottle. She sometime protests breast but i dont give in. They get formula once a day. I was told babies use their jaw/lips to drink from a bottle and their tounge at breast. That could be a cause for the biting or maybe tounge tie. Good luck.

 

[Jary]

Gives nipple shields a go! My LO wouldn't latch properly and they were amazing for us. She's latching properly without them now

 

[Zfbaby]

Thank you all!
We have been assessed for tounge tie and that's not the problem. We've been to a breastfeeding group today to get some help but my lo decided to sleep the whole way through. Managed to get some good advice an a few people have now mentioned shields so I will give those a go.

 

[cat_reversing]

keep it going! it's hard but you can get through it.
the more you demand fro your body, the more milk it makes so try to push through this part by feeding as much as possible, it's exhausting so make sure you're eating and drinking well too.
i also had a c section and we combifed from birth but i took fenugreek and upped my supply and finally ditched the bottle and here i am 5 months later ebf using only 1 breast!