Please help...

[sedgeez]

So when I gave birth I was breastfeeding while at the hospital. We had to stay in due to the birth and possibility of infection in both LO and me. When I came home I was very ill with the post dural puncture. The headaches were awful so I started expressing so OH could feed her. We also did formula every now and again as she was hungry a lot. 
I didn’t want to do this I just wanted to breastfeed but I didn’t have much of a choice.

So now she’s acting like she has colic or trapped wind. It’s been a few days of her being in pain, crying a lot and struggling to bring wind up. I bought some infacol and that seems to help a bit with her wind but she throws up a lot after a while since taking it, and she still has tummy ache a lot which makes her really upset.

It’s breaking my heart seeing her like this and I don’t know how to help her. I’ve started trying to only breastfeed again but it seems like I’m not making enough milk. She will be on the breast for such a long time, and getting stressed like nothing’s coming out. I used to be able to express 3oz from each boob and then I could only get 2oz from both together.

Last night I tried to pump and only got 2oz from both boobs together, it took me 2 hours to do this too. Today though when I pumped I managed to get 3oz each boob again, so I presume all that pumping helped. But even when offering the breast today, LO seems like nothing's coming out and she's not satisfied.

Any advice on what to do? Theres two issues, the colic and the breastmilk.
Any advice on how to help LO out?

I’m struggling to cope seeing her like this. I feel like crying everytime she does…

I know the colic would probably reduce by only breastfeeding but It just seems like I'm not making enough for her, even though when I pump now I get a decent amount.

 

[Mumtodogs]

Sorry to hear this. I can't help with the colic I'm afraid, but as for the milk, I worried I wasn't making enough so I read up lots online about this.

Make sure you are drinking enough fluids, drink to thirst without over doing it. Eat pasta, oats (I made flapjacks to have in) and potato's etc. Make sure you are resting whenever you can. Also, I introduced pumping after almost every feed. I would make sure baby fed for as long as he wanted, even if I didn't feel he was getting anything out. When he fell asleep / came off I would then also pump to tell my boobs to make more milk. Also, if the baby slept for 3-4 hours when he first went down, I'd pump half way through that sleep. Basically I tried tricking my body!!

There are other things such as checking the latch / check for tongue tie etc which could explain that baby might not be getting enough.

By the looks of your ticker, you're little one is only 2 weeks. She could well be feeding regular to establish your milk, my lad was attached to my boob for hours and hours for the first 6-8 weeks. He's now on 3-4 hour feeding, 24/7 although he is slightly better at night. As long as her weigh ins are going ok, you're making enough.

Stick at it, you're doing great.

 

[luna_19]

What you described is so normal. Don't worry about pumping and just feed baby as much as she wants. She is helping establish your supply and if I remember right 2 weeks is the first of many growth spurts she will go through. You generally have less milk I'm the evenings but it is fattier, it's just what she needs.

As.for the gas, unfortunately this is quite.common too. My lo had horrible gas in the early days. We had a bit of relief with giving pro biotic drops but what really helped was just time.

 

[prettyunicorn]

I agree with the above posts about milk supply. My baby was attached to me for hours at a time during the first few weeks. I started with pumping as lo could not latch and had a big appetite. He would go from 0-60 in a second. Not enough time to even try latching. I pumped every three hours regardless of his schedule. Thankfully he was able to latch by 2 weeks. I also thought he might not be getting enough milk, especially with the constant feeds. So I pumped after every feed! It did help with the supply. We initially also has issues with forceful letdown (I could see it when I pumped). Eventually it evened out a bit and lo got used to it. Lactation consultant helped with the latch which greatly improved his ability to drain the breast better. At one point I could feed him and still be able to pump 3oz. So I would recommend to feed as much as your baby needs and try to pump after feeds as possible. If you take a break from pumping, it would affect how much you collect, but it picks back up after a couple pumping sessions. The best way to know if baby is getting enough is to check your diaper count.
My lo was not colicky. I believe the biggest factor in that was my diet. I had to supplement with formula in the first few days till my supply was established but he never had gas. If he did, it passed with no discomfort. Also infant massage helped a lot with keeping tummy soft and getting things going.
With diet I ate most vegetables overcooked so easy to digest. Avoided leafy vegetables, beans and heavy sauces. Drank plenty of fluids and ate before during or after feeds (a small snack goes a long way). Water was boiled with carom and fennel then cooled to room temp. 1tsp each to 2 quarts of water simmered for 10 min. I had this for 3 months and believe it really helped.
Hope this helps.

 

[sheldonsmommy]

If you want to ditch the formula, then just do it. It's very early, 2 weeks is a time when baby should be perma-nursing to establish good supply down the road. Grab some movies or whatever, snacks, water, chapstick, and live on the couch for a day or so. The constant nursing from baby is much more effective than the pump at starting that feedback system to make more milk.

Remember, your milk never gets empty, it is constantly being produced at a trickle, only if they are constantly nursing it doesn't have a chance to build up. So your lo won't starve. It may be a challenging couple of days, but this is the most effective way. Once supply is regulated, then resume pumping for your sanity if you like