Tongue tied baby... Can I bottle feed for a day until procedure?

[MrsG_TTC42012]

I am planning on calling my midwife tomorrow but to put my mind at ease....

Today we found out that my 6 day old baby is tongue tied. My nipples are wrecked due to this and I have been persevering through the pain but tonight she has wanted feeding every 30 minutes from 11pm, i made it to 12:30 but at 1am me and the oh decided to put her on to a bottle.

The midwife this morning said we can 'top up' our feeds with formula until we get the procedure for her tongue tie on Friday.
Do you think I could bottle feed every other feed until then and then go back to breastfeeding? I would express between feeds as well. Have I already gone too far with one feed? She literally guzzled the whole 3oz in no time which makes me think she was hardly getting anything from me.
I feel like such a let down especially as I had to have an emergency c section as well.... I didn't even manage to push her out and now I can't feed her.

Any thoughts and advice would be welcome.

Thank you

 

[irish_cob]

Yes I would say so, however if you want to be on the safe side, I had the same issue with dd1 and I used a nipple shield which worked amazingly, you can get them in Boots. They're not brilliant long term but as a short term fix whilst you wait for division they're perfect as you're still bfing so much less chance of your baby deciding she only wants a bottle from now on, it'll help keep your supply and it will protect your damaged nipples whilst allowing lo to latch even with the tt.
Now c'mon missus, I had an emcs and struggled to feed dd1 due to a meaty posterior tt. Dd2 was a vbac and has fed perfectly since day 1. Would you say I was a failure when it comes to dd1? I have 2 healthy girls, I don't feel like a failure. I think you're judging yourself far more than you would judge someone else. Tts have a massive effect on feeding, it's not anything you're doing wrong, it's a diagnosed physical issue and it can be fixed xx

 

[irish_cob]

Oh and I think you've doomed yourself by calling her Lucie lol! My dd1 is Lucy and she's a little monkey, as are any other Lucy's we've ever come across. They are just trouble haha!

 

[MrsG_TTC42012]

Thank you! I know I would never call anyone else a failure I can hear all my thoughts on it but I can't get the feelings out of my head when it comes to my own.

Just got up and couldn't face a breast feed so bottled fed (second one in a row) and she gulped it all down and is now fast asleep. So I took myself off downstairs toothy out the breast pump thinking just a minute or so on each would keep them going but the first one was just all blood so i stopped as that is the not so bad nipple.

So sad, I have other problems with bladder and urine retention at the moment so it just seems never ending.

We considered Lucie Elizabeth as her full name, it is lovely. Couple of hours and I will call the support team in the area for advice.

Thank you again

 

[redlemonade]

Have you seen a lactation consultant? I would consult one if not.

I completely understand not being able to face feeds when your nipples are in bits. Been there, done that! Tongue tie is torture. I'd rather go through labour over and over again rather than deal with TT. So you have my sympathy.

It can take a while to get a TT procedure so I don't recommend you exclusively bottle feed until you get it done because your baby may not go back to the breast. Is one side better than the other? What I used to do is breastfeed on the breast that wasn't as bad and express/bottle feed the expressed milk from the other, but only when things were really bad. It sounds like one of your nipples is quite damaged though so maybe it's best to let that heal for the day and feed off the other breast. I'm not sure how to advise if all you can get is blood from the other one though

Leave your nipples out in the air and use lots of lansinoh cream.

Nipple shields can definitely help but they're a pain to wean from later on. Don't use them without consulting a LC!

 

[irish_cob]

I didn't have a problem weaning off the nipple shields once the tongue tie was divided despite all the doom and gloom predictions of the midwives! In my mind it was still better to use them because I wanted to keep the breastfeeding going. I had to stop at 5 weeks due to a hospital admission and I still regret it to this day

Is there an IBCLC in your area? You definitely need professional input, it's Friday tomorrow though so not so long to wait x

 

[redlemonade]

I didn't have a problem weaning off the nipple shields once the tongue tie was divided despite all the doom and gloom predictions of the midwives! In my mind it was still better to use them because I wanted to keep the breastfeeding going. I had to stop at 5 weeks due to a hospital admission and I still regret it to this day

Is there an IBCLC in your area? You definitely need professional input, it's Friday tomorrow though so not so long to wait x

I agree that the nipple shields are very useful in situations like these. There's no way I would have been able to breastfeed without them! But I had some difficulty weaning off them unfortunately. It can happen that some babies refuse to nurse without them once they get used to them. I think that's why they should only be used under the guidance of an LC.

 

[MrsG_TTC42012]

Thanks ladies.

I called up the midwife support worker for breastfeeding this morning after waking at 7am and crying for about two hours as I just didn't want to give Lucie another bottle. That would have made it 3 in a row. My oh was just like don't worry about it, you are being silly.. Guess men don't understand plus he really wants to be involved more I think and probably enjoyed the bottle feeds last night.
Anyway on que Lucie work wanting to be fed so I just latched her on to the least sore side and fed her, she then promptly went back to sleep so I guess she must have got a good feed from that.

Anyhow... I asked if I can use a shield and she said yes but then changed the conversation to just hand express it and give it a rat for 12/24 hours. I tried to express but didn't get very much and it was just oozing with blood. At that point I had already rested it for 12 hours.
So we Went to the shops to get some shields and stopped at the beach on the way home to walk the dog ( I sat in the pub with lucie and a coffee) I then realised my breast was so engorged with milk it was excruciating - worse than the nipple pain, couldn't handle it a moment longer so woke her up and fed her. Wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be!!
Think I may give her one bottle feed in the night just to give them both a rest.

This time a week a go my waters had just broken. I cannot believe how fast this week has gone... I cried earlier thinking that before we know it she will be 18 and wanting to leave home!!

Thanks for your help and support ladies, it means a lot. This being a mum thing is a lot harder than I could ever imagine!
19 hours til the procedure!

 

[leigh5tom]

You are doing an amazing job. I can totally sympathize with the TT. My son had it too, a very prominent one, and he could hardly get a drop from me because of it. Because he couldn't remove the milk well enough this left me with a low supply and therefore a baby who was losing weight despite being attached to me more or less constantly. My nipples were absolutely ruined. They looked like I had put a cheese grater to them and that's how they felt too. I couldn't wear a shirt let alone a bra because anything touching them was just excruciating. I know exactly how you are feeling. But the good news is that having her TT cut will provide almost immediate relief. The first feed I done straight after him having it cut was so much better. And he fell straight to sleep. My nipples took ages to heal though, a good 6-8 weeks actually because they were just so badly damaged, and my supply took a while to come up (with the help of medication) but we got there and my lb is 6 months today. I remember thinking I would never get through this. But I did and you will too. Grit your teeth and keep telling yourself it will get better and it will pass. Take it one feed at a time. Every feed I done I told myself 'this is the last one and then I'm moving to bottles' which really helped, even though it sounds silly. Because I would then think 'no just one more feed..'

You are doing just brilliantly. Keep at it x x x x

 

[irish_cob]

My lo couldn't feed at all with her tt, it was horrendous, she was starving hungry and crying but couldn't feed at all and the midwives were useless. We ended up syringe feeding and then moving to nipple shields before getting tt divided at 2 weeks 4 days. The nhs don't seem to realise how urgent a tt division is, you can't not feed your newborn for a couple of weeks, whilst they faff about

Sounds like you're doing brilliantly x

 

[Mwd1985]

To keep your supply up, especially in the early days, IMO give a bottle but either pump like crazy if possible, or get in the shower, soap up and hand express. I found that to be the easiest and least painful.

 

[redlemonade]

Best of luck with the procedure! Sounds like you're doing great, well done

 

[JazzerD]

I am having the same exact problem with my 9 day old lil boy. We had the procedure done this afternoon but I'm still having a hard time getting him to feed in my right breast as he prefers the left. I worry that he's not getting enough milk but thr lactation consultant tells me he should be fine. But every time I feed him he still acts hungry. So I break down n also give him a 2 oz bottle of.formula. in the mornings I pump my right breast for some relief as it gets so engorged and give that to him usually in thr mornings.

the lactation consultant told me the first few days the feedings would be rough but to count heavy wet diapers n if he had at least 6 in a 24 hrs period he's eating good...

I wish u the best of luck and will be thinking of u I know how hard this is.

 

[MrsG_TTC42012]

Hello,
I have a similar situation now, We had the procedure earlier at 12 noon. I had to wake her to get her out of her car seat at 2pm and ever since she has either been crying or feeding. Fed 4 times in 2.5 hours. Longest being 20 mins then a ten and then two less than 5.
I am worried it is hurting her or she is not getting any milk or something. My breasts aren't as sore as yesterday as in full of milk so I guess some milk must be getting in to her.
We also still haven't moved fully away from green poo which is a sign of not getting enough milk!

While i was at the clinic they gave me completely conflicting advice than the lady I saw two days ago about the way I hold her and how to look after my nipples. So confusing!!

They did say not to bottle feed for another two weeks though (didn't mention my two from two nights ago)

 

[irish_cob]

How was last night MrsG? How are you doing today? I imagine it'll take a little while for you to get into your groove, I think it took about 48 hours after the division for me to feel relatively sure I'd be able to feed her x

 

[MrsG_TTC42012]

Morning!
We fed on and off for an hour until 11pm, then another feed at 1:30 am which takes forever to get her to go back to sleep. Then another small feed at half 4, wrapped her in a blanket and went back off until half 7! I

Will see how today goes but looks like she is feeding better. My nipples will take a while to heal but they are no way near as sore as they were. Going to try a different hold today. I normally always go for the cradle hold as it feel a most natural but they suggested the one when she is laying up my body and front on (don't know what it is called) this may be better for home.

Oh and our poo is now yellow! Yippee! And lots of it