So disappointed I can't exclusively breastfeed

[skc22]

LO is almost 11 weeks old and I hate the fact that I can’t exclusively breastfeed and feel like I have failed Alexia somehow. I didn’t know much about breastfeeding before LO and assumed that the midwifes/LC would encourage and give me good advice. I was so wrong and it still upsets me.

I ended up having an EMCS and they left the epidural in for over 24 hours for pain relief. The evening she was born, she was extremely jaundice so went under the lights that night. I couldn’t get up to her obviously because of the epi, and they forgot to give me the nurse call buzzer, so LO was only fed once that night.

The next day I was told I had to top up with formula because she was ‘starving’. I was told she should be only wanting to feed once every 4 hours and anymore was abnormal, so hence the formula. I was crying so hard when the midwives gave it, and I was told that not every mother is able to breastfeed. My milk obviously hadn’t come in as she was only one day old at this point. The LC saw me day 2 and asked that I was given domperidone, and also told me to continue to top up with formula and that not everyone can breastfeed but I can give it a go if I was that determined. When I got home I stopped topping up with formula, and after my own research started pumping and feeding as often as Alexia wanted. The HV kept an eye on her weight and after the first week, she had only gained 80g. I was again told I was starving her and to now give her 60ml top ups after a breastfeed. I gave in and now, no matter what I have done I cannot increase my milk supply.

I saw a private LC and she was disgusted with the advice I received, but even with her help, I could not increase my supply. I stopped the domperidone as the dr refused to prescribe anymore, but started fenugreek which helped but not enough. At my 6 week check up, the doctor told me that he was surprised I was persevering with breastfeeding, and seeing as I had small breasts there is no surprise I have a low supply – I have size D boobs, not massive but I am not flat chested!!

Anyway, I am resigned to the fact that I can’t exclusively breastfeed. I guess that she mainly getting breastmilk so it doing some good. I never assumed I would have a problem with supply and wasn’t at all prepared for the fact that it wasn’t so easy for me. It just makes me so mad that I want really given a chance by the health professionals. Alexia is a thriving happy bubba so that's the most important thing!

 

[grandbleu]

I am shocked at all the bad advice you got from medical professionals!

Milk does not cone in until3-4 days post birth before that it's just a nutritious drops of colostrum. Babies don't eat that much in the beginning but are sucking for the colostrum and to stimulate your nipples and tell your body it's time to produce milk. I'm so mad they made you give formula right away - they could have brought your babe to you.

Also that doc that said you have small boobs thus a low supply is completely wrong - that's a myth. Also D cup is not small anyways but size has nothing to do with supply.

On this forum I've read oatmeal can really help supply as well as offering the boob as much as possible. You might still be able to EBF as our bodies are amazing responders and the more baby is skin to skin and BFing the more your body will produce. Good luck!

 

[summer rain]

Thats appalling and my blood is boiling for you; every 4 hours?! Even with newborn FF babies these days its recognised they need to feed far more often, also its normal for babies to only regain their birthweight after two weeks-again even FF babies, so 60g gain in the first week is good. I am presuming you're in the UK but roughly whereabouts? As it sounds like your area needs a serious overhaul of BF support and advice. If I were you I'd complain to the local health authority as this simply isn't good enough-there is such a postcode lottery when it comes to BF support and advice. I had a similar experience with my eldest son, though thankfully despite being told because I was young and thus would be unable to EBF as 'young women cannot produce enough milk, especially at night' and other various BS, and him being poorly in hospital with jaundice and dehydration, and essentially switched to formula for four days, I managed to get back to pretty much EBF for a further 7 months. I was just very very fortunate xx

 

[bluey]

The fact that you say you are "mainly breastfeeding" is encouraging that you should be able to transition to EBF. I would second grandbleu's advice regarding having as much skin-to-skin & baby-to-breast time as you possibly can. Good luck xxx

 

[summer rain]

I am shocked at all the bad advice you got from medical professionals!

Milk does not cone in until3-4 days post birth before that it's just a nutritious drops of colostrum. Babies don't eat that much in the beginning but are sucking for the colostrum and to stimulate your nipples and tell your body it's time to produce milk. I'm so mad they made you give formula right away - they could have brought your babe to you.

Also that doc that said you have small boobs thus a low supply is completely wrong - that's a myth. Also D cup is not small anyways but size has nothing to do with supply.

On this forum I've read oatmeal can really help supply as well as offering the boob as much as possible. You might still be able to EBF as our bodies are amazing responders and the more baby is skin to skin and BFing the more your body will produce. Good luck!

boob size is not only nothing to do with supply; but some larger boobed women have a lot more problem effectively emptying the milk ducts on the underside of the breast and expressing-also its down to glandular tissue and not size-and sometimes ladies with larger boobs can have less glandular tissue than someone who is an AA cup. Not that a D cup is remotely small! xx

 

[skc22]

I am shocked at all the bad advice you got from medical professionals!

Milk does not cone in until3-4 days post birth before that it's just a nutritious drops of colostrum. Babies don't eat that much in the beginning but are sucking for the colostrum and to stimulate your nipples and tell your body it's time to produce milk. I'm so mad they made you give formula right away - they could have brought your babe to you.

Also that doc that said you have small boobs thus a low supply is completely wrong - that's a myth. Also D cup is not small anyways but size has nothing to do with supply.

On this forum I've read oatmeal can really help supply as well as offering the boob as much as possible. You might still be able to EBF as our bodies are amazing responders and the more baby is skin to skin and BFing the more your body will produce. Good luck!

Thanks!! Oatmeal is something I haven't tried, so I will certainly give this a go!!!

 

[ashley2pink]

Oh gosh, what on earth were these people telling you? Its almost like they wanted you to just ff so they just lied.
I have a B cup right now(when I wean they will go back to a negative A cup haha) and I over-produce. Seriously you poor thing, you were doomed from the start with all of that horrid ''help''.
Someone on here posted about ''steel cut oatmeal'' as being a huge milk supply booster.
You know, even if you combi-feed, that is still amazing. I think you are amazing after all you went through and you are still bf'ing

 

[skc22]

Thats appalling and my blood is boiling for you; every 4 hours?! Even with newborn FF babies these days its recognised they need to feed far more often, also its normal for babies to only regain their birthweight after two weeks-again even FF babies, so 60g gain in the first week is good. I am presuming you're in the UK but roughly whereabouts? As it sounds like your area needs a serious overhaul of BF support and advice. If I were you I'd complain to the local health authority as this simply isn't good enough-there is such a postcode lottery when it comes to BF support and advice. I had a similar experience with my eldest son, though thankfully despite being told because I was young and thus would be unable to EBF as 'young women cannot produce enough milk, especially at night' and other various BS, and him being poorly in hospital with jaundice and dehydration, and essentially switched to formula for four days, I managed to get back to pretty much EBF for a further 7 months. I was just very very fortunate xx

I moved from the UK to Australia when I was 34 weeks pregnant. As far as I know, breastfeeding rates are higher in Australia, but I felt alot more supported with my decision to BF in the UK. I am totally appalled by the 'advice' I was offered after doing my own research and talking to the private LC. I feel sorry for the women who are not so determined and give up. I'm a nurse too, so for other health professionals to give out such wrong advice makes me ashamed. I am going to complain to the hospital I think cos I hate the idea of other women being treated like this

 

[skc22]

Oh gosh, what on earth were these people telling you? Its almost like they wanted you to just ff so they just lied.
I have a B cup right now(when I wean they will go back to a negative A cup haha) and I over-produce. Seriously you poor thing, you were doomed from the start with all of that horrid ''help''.
Someone on here posted about ''steel cut oatmeal'' as being a huge milk supply booster.
You know, even if you combi-feed, that is still amazing. I think you are amazing after all you went through and you are still bf'ing

Thankyou. I very nearly gave up BFing but so glad I didn't, I absolutely love it. I will be giving the oatmeal a go!!

 

[Palestrina]

...I couldn’t get up to her obviously because of the epi, and they forgot to give me the nurse call buzzer, so LO was only fed once that night.... Sounds like the hospital was at fault, I would sue them, they left your baby to starve.

The next day I was told I had to top up with formula because she was ‘starving’. This was a scare tactic, again they're blaming you for not feeding her yet they were responsible for bringing her in to you to feed.

I was told she should be only wanting to feed once every 4 hours and anymore was abnormal, so hence the formula. I don't know how to fight this, so many mothers are instructed that their babies should feed every X amount of hrs. It may be true for formula because it's designed to be fed on a schedule, but not true for breastmilk because it was designed way differently.

I was crying so hard when the midwives gave it, and I was told that not every mother is able to breastfeed. Every mother is able to breastfeed, there are very few cases where a woman is physically unable to BF, this is absolutely wrong.

The LC ..told me to continue to top up with formula and that not everyone can breastfeed Is she a board certified LC? If not then she's not qualified to be of any assistance.

...I was again told I was starving her and to now give her 60ml top ups after a breastfeed. Another scare tactic!

I gave in and now, no matter what I have done I cannot increase my milk supply. There's only one thing you can do to increase your supply and that's to have your LO permanently attached to your breast. It sounds harsh but it's the only way to get your supply to what she needs it to be. If you're willing to do that day and night for a couple of weeks you'll succeed. If you decide not to do it and you try to depend on pills and teas to get your supply up it probably won't work.

At my 6 week check up, the doctor told me that he was surprised I was persevering with breastfeeding, and seeing as I had small breasts there is no surprise I have a low supply...Report him, how can doctors get away with such bad practice?

Anyway, I am resigned to the fact that I can’t exclusively breastfeed.If you're resigned then that's it. If you're finding that putting baby on a schedule with formula is easier then you have to do what's right for you. But there is a way back to EBF if you want to do it.

I venture to say that all of us who wanted to EBF got very bad advice from the medical community. Somehow the ins and outs of BF are too ellusive for them to understand. The only knowledge they seem to know how to dish out is "breast is best" yet have no idea how to facilitate a new mother who wants to BF after birth. Don't forget that doctors and hospitals are under a strict regime to follow certain procedures and formula is very helpful to them since it can be monitored by time and measurement. BF is difficult for them to understand because it's not quantitative. However, I gotta say that what you've told us is one of the worst cases I've heard of, the medical community in your local area seem to be total bafoons, where are your located? It sounds almost like a parody of a bad BF experience, this is the first time I've ever heard of a doctor criticizing a woman's breast size.

 

[skc22]

...I couldn’t get up to her obviously because of the epi, and they forgot to give me the nurse call buzzer, so LO was only fed once that night.... Sounds like the hospital was at fault, I would sue them, they left your baby to starve.

The next day I was told I had to top up with formula because she was ‘starving’. This was a scare tactic, again they're blaming you for not feeding her yet they were responsible for bringing her in to you to feed.

I was told she should be only wanting to feed once every 4 hours and anymore was abnormal, so hence the formula. I don't know how to fight this, so many mothers are instructed that their babies should feed every X amount of hrs. It may be true for formula because it's designed to be fed on a schedule, but not true for breastmilk because it was designed way differently.

I was crying so hard when the midwives gave it, and I was told that not every mother is able to breastfeed. Every mother is able to breastfeed, there are very few cases where a woman is physically unable to BF, this is absolutely wrong.

The LC ..told me to continue to top up with formula and that not everyone can breastfeed Is she a board certified LC? If not then she's not qualified to be of any assistance.

...I was again told I was starving her and to now give her 60ml top ups after a breastfeed. Another scare tactic!

I gave in and now, no matter what I have done I cannot increase my milk supply. There's only one thing you can do to increase your supply and that's to have your LO permanently attached to your breast. It sounds harsh but it's the only way to get your supply to what she needs it to be. If you're willing to do that day and night for a couple of weeks you'll succeed. If you decide not to do it and you try to depend on pills and teas to get your supply up it probably won't work.

At my 6 week check up, the doctor told me that he was surprised I was persevering with breastfeeding, and seeing as I had small breasts there is no surprise I have a low supply...Report him, how can doctors get away with such bad practice?

Anyway, I am resigned to the fact that I can’t exclusively breastfeed.If you're resigned then that's it. If you're finding that putting baby on a schedule with formula is easier then you have to do what's right for you. But there is a way back to EBF if you want to do it.

I venture to say that all of us who wanted to EBF got very bad advice from the medical community. Somehow the ins and outs of BF are too ellusive for them to understand. The only knowledge they seem to know how to dish out is "breast is best" yet have no idea how to facilitate a new mother who wants to BF after birth. Don't forget that doctors and hospitals are under a strict regime to follow certain procedures and formula is very helpful to them since it can be monitored by time and measurement. BF is difficult for them to understand because it's not quantitative. However, I gotta say that what you've told us is one of the worst cases I've heard of, the medical community in your local area seem to be total bafoons, where are your located? It sounds almost like a parody of a bad BF experience, this is the first time I've ever heard of a doctor criticizing a woman's breast size.

I do have supply issues, but that has come into light with time, so obviously the medical staff had no idea at the time they were giving me their so called advice.
For the first 8 weeks I had Alexia permanently attached to me day and night or I was pumping. I had about 2 hours out of 24 where I showered and got a nap. I am too scared to co-sleep so I was beyond sleep deprived. The advice from the private LC (who I saw at around 6 weeks) was to wean off the top ups, pump after feeds (which I was already doing), get some sleep, and just constantly feed Alexia. My supply still did not increase and Alexia would scream and did loose a considerable amount of weight. She is now 11 weeks and I would have thought that after all this I should have a better supply. She only has roughly 2oz top ups sometimes less. Its a nuisance too because breastfeeding is so much more convenient. She STTN from 10-6 but I still get up to pump and I feed her as often as I possibly can. Now she is a little older she is getting frustrated when no more milk comes out, and isn't happy sucking if she is hungry. After 11 weeks I need to be able to get some housework done, and get out of the house too for a walk or to catch up with friends. I don't really know what else to try.

 

[hanelei]

The fact that you say you are "mainly breastfeeding" is encouraging that you should be able to transition to EBF. I would second grandbleu's advice regarding having as much skin-to-skin & baby-to-breast time as you possibly can. Good luck xxx

I agree- I also had to supplement for the first two months or so due to various factors but persevered and was able to EBF by the time my LO was 12 weeks- lucky, as just after that he started refusing bottles even if they were expressed breastmilk!

Sounds like you have a great attitude and will probably be EBFing soon

 

[Palestrina]

...I couldn’t get up to her obviously because of the epi, and they forgot to give me the nurse call buzzer, so LO was only fed once that night.... Sounds like the hospital was at fault, I would sue them, they left your baby to starve.

The next day I was told I had to top up with formula because she was ‘starving’. This was a scare tactic, again they're blaming you for not feeding her yet they were responsible for bringing her in to you to feed.

I was told she should be only wanting to feed once every 4 hours and anymore was abnormal, so hence the formula. I don't know how to fight this, so many mothers are instructed that their babies should feed every X amount of hrs. It may be true for formula because it's designed to be fed on a schedule, but not true for breastmilk because it was designed way differently.

I was crying so hard when the midwives gave it, and I was told that not every mother is able to breastfeed. Every mother is able to breastfeed, there are very few cases where a woman is physically unable to BF, this is absolutely wrong.

The LC ..told me to continue to top up with formula and that not everyone can breastfeed Is she a board certified LC? If not then she's not qualified to be of any assistance.

...I was again told I was starving her and to now give her 60ml top ups after a breastfeed. Another scare tactic!

I gave in and now, no matter what I have done I cannot increase my milk supply. There's only one thing you can do to increase your supply and that's to have your LO permanently attached to your breast. It sounds harsh but it's the only way to get your supply to what she needs it to be. If you're willing to do that day and night for a couple of weeks you'll succeed. If you decide not to do it and you try to depend on pills and teas to get your supply up it probably won't work.

At my 6 week check up, the doctor told me that he was surprised I was persevering with breastfeeding, and seeing as I had small breasts there is no surprise I have a low supply...Report him, how can doctors get away with such bad practice?

Anyway, I am resigned to the fact that I can’t exclusively breastfeed.If you're resigned then that's it. If you're finding that putting baby on a schedule with formula is easier then you have to do what's right for you. But there is a way back to EBF if you want to do it.

I venture to say that all of us who wanted to EBF got very bad advice from the medical community. Somehow the ins and outs of BF are too ellusive for them to understand. The only knowledge they seem to know how to dish out is "breast is best" yet have no idea how to facilitate a new mother who wants to BF after birth. Don't forget that doctors and hospitals are under a strict regime to follow certain procedures and formula is very helpful to them since it can be monitored by time and measurement. BF is difficult for them to understand because it's not quantitative. However, I gotta say that what you've told us is one of the worst cases I've heard of, the medical community in your local area seem to be total bafoons, where are your located? It sounds almost like a parody of a bad BF experience, this is the first time I've ever heard of a doctor criticizing a woman's breast size.

I do have supply issues, but that has come into light with time, so obviously the medical staff had no idea at the time they were giving me their so called advice.
For the first 8 weeks I had Alexia permanently attached to me day and night or I was pumping. I had about 2 hours out of 24 where I showered and got a nap. I am too scared to co-sleep so I was beyond sleep deprived. The advice from the private LC (who I saw at around 6 weeks) was to wean off the top ups, pump after feeds (which I was already doing), get some sleep, and just constantly feed Alexia. My supply still did not increase and Alexia would scream and did loose a considerable amount of weight. She is now 11 weeks and I would have thought that after all this I should have a better supply. She only has roughly 2oz top ups sometimes less. Its a nuisance too because breastfeeding is so much more convenient. She STTN from 10-6 but I still get up to pump and I feed her as often as I possibly can. Now she is a little older she is getting frustrated when no more milk comes out, and isn't happy sucking if she is hungry. After 11 weeks I need to be able to get some housework done, and get out of the house too for a walk or to catch up with friends. I don't really know what else to try.

If you're willing to give dreamfeeds every 2-3hrs per night I find it to be a sure-fire way to increase supply and give LO the fattiest densest milk your body makes. My guess is she prefers the ease of the bottles rather than having to work for your milk.