This is getting so hard...

[ReadytoMum]

My son was born on the 20th of April and lost around 8% of his birth weight. He hasn't started to gain any of it back yet, so the Dr. and lactation consultant at the hospital are getting concerned. They've recommended that I need to start formula feeding to suppliment since he's not gaining weight with exclusive BF. They've already started me on an herbal mixture called More Milk Plus (goats milk, blessed thistle, and fenugreek) to try and increase supply, but he's still not eating enough.

We had a second lactation consultant appointment today and it was a bit overwhelming. My Dr. this morning had recommended BF first and then finger feeding, but the lactation consultant wasn't a big fan of that and wants us to feed with the tube at the breast instead of the finger feeding.

We've just got the hang of regular feeding (which was a rocky start!) and now I have to use this container of formula with a little tube that I have to slip into his mouth while he's latched on. And then when he's done feeding I have to wash out the container and the tube, AND pump for 10 minutes on each side as well! (and then wash out the pump stuff!)

I don't know if I can handle this. It's just so overwhelming. We did it at the lactation office this afternoon, and it was pretty combersome even with her helping. Usually he goes 2 hours between feedings, but he didn't wake up for his next feeding for 4 hours.

So we tried it tonight for the first time on our own and he fed on the first side properly, but when I tried to switch him to the other side with the tube he was totally out. I couldn't get him to wake up to properly feed on the second side and he didn't eat hardly any of the formula. Plus he spit up while I was feeding him. (He never spit up with BF) It took 45 minutes just to get him to eat as much as he did, and it was a constant struggle to keep him eating and awake.

I just want him to be full and happy and to start gaining weight properly... but I don't think I can keep up this feeding plan. It was super frustrating trying it during the day, I'm not sure how I'll manage in the middle of then night! This is just getting so complicated!

 

[doggylover]

You know we are here for you it sounds so tough, but I think you are amazing for what you are doing to try and give peter the best start. I know that doesn't help at all practically, though

 

[Smanderson]

Im sorry your suffering with such a difficult regime it does sound very tough, i was wondering if you have considered a double electric pump for the expressing part? i have to exclusively express as i cant get DS to latch on and i got the Lansinoh double electric pump from amazon and have found its really good if it saves even 10 minutes it might be worth it

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lansinoh-A...02&sr=8-3&keywords=double+electric+breastpump

I hope your little man starts putting on soon hun xxx

 

[Mrs.Luvbug]

holy moly your story sound exactly like mine!

My little guy was born on 4/22, in the hospital he did alright breastfeedig- I was more just sore from it. When we got home that's when the trouble began. We have nurses that come a day or two after we get home from the hospital to check on things and they are also lactation consultants. She checked him and he weighed in at 6lbs 11 oz ( birth weight of 7lbs 4oz ). She said that that's pretty normal and they don't worry until it gets to 10% or higher. Then after she left He was constantly crying, and feeding. I fed him for like 2 hours straight one time. The nurse called the next day and we expressed our concerns and she said that if we really need them to come back they can - we decided to wait it out over the weekend- Come monday we were miserable. So they came back. When the nurse weighed him he was down to 6lbs 3oz- he dropped over a pound from his birth weight! I cried- I felt terrible.

Currently our feeding routine is pretty busy. Granted I'm not using the tube like you are, but I bf him for 15 mins on each side. Then I pump 20 minutes while DH is feeding him a bottle. If DH isn't here then I feed him the bottle. The dr said to give him as much from the bottle as he wants- so that he can get back up to his birth weight. I don't pump enough to put back into a bottle and satisfy him, so we've had to start using formula, but I use breast milk when I can. We're supposed to wake him up every 3 hours, we did that for a while but it's so hard to wake him up sometimes, and then he falls asleep while feeding. So I decided to go to 3.5/ 4 hours in between to see if it'll be a little easier to feed him. I think once he gets to his birth weight I won't have to set a timer to wake up and he can wake up on his own. Currently he's at 6lbs 8oz so he's slowly gaining weight again.

I feel your pain. I want so badly for the breastfeeding thing to work out, and formula wasn't in our original plan. But I decided I need to do what's best for him and me. I have been driving myself crazy with this whole thing. It's a lot of work and extremely frustrating. Some feedings are good, others are terrible. My little one also falls asleep while feeding and that's even more frustrating! I'm worried about what'll happen if they tell me that I don't need to supplement anymore and I can't produce enough- because I don't produce that much when I pump afterwards.

I also heard that sometimes when babies are falling asleep while nursing it could be because the milk flow is slow. I'm sorry you're going through all this, and sorry for the long post. I just wanted you to see that you're not the only one. I'm here if you need to talk- it's nice to know that I'm not the only one having some problems like this.

 

[ReadytoMum]

At our doctor appointment today Peter has finally started to gain a little bit of weight! We've been suplimenting with the tube feeding since Thursday. He was weighed at 7.4 on Thursday, and today was weighed at 7.52.

We go back to the lactation consultant tomorrow, so hopefully he'll be up a little bit more even and we can find out what the next step is. We're getting pretty good at the tube feeding, but it's certainly not a very viable long-term solution.

I'm worried that even with the herbal mixture I'm still not producing enough because when I pump after feeding him there's nothing there. I'll be so disapointed if my supply is still too low to properly feed him with breastmilk alone. But I'm starting to come to terms with the fact that we might need to switch to formula full time, or at least use formula bottles and just BF for as long as my supply will hold up for.

Keeping my LO healthy and happy is #1 priority, and if people are going to scowl at me for formula feeding him, they can go %#&@ themselves!

 

[Mrs.Luvbug]

Thats great that he's gaining weight!

I don't get much when I pump either. Like MAYBE an ounce total. So we cant always give him breastmilk in the bottle.

I have anxiety about trying to completely breastfeed because I dont want the same thing to happen, or I am worried I'm not producing enough- silly I know.

Does he do good with the tube? my mom was telling me she had to use the tube with my youngest brother and he eventually would just find the tube haha.

 

[ReadytoMum]

Does he do good with the tube? my mom was telling me she had to use the tube with my youngest brother and he eventually would just find the tube haha.

He doesn't seem to mind the tube at all... I find it annoying sometimes though! Thankfully we only need to use it every other feed now, so hopefully at our next appointment on Monday we can get rid of it for good!

I find it really hard to use the tube when feeding with the left breast. I find that side harder to feed on anyway, so the tube makes it even more complicated. But we've gotten pretty good at it compared to how we started.