Want to exclusively breastfeed...

[Insomniash]

I apologize in advance for the length of this post. Currently I am combination feeding breast milk and formula, because when my son was born he went into shock and ended up in the NICU. They would not allow me to breastfeed him directly because they were monitoring his intake because he was quite hypoglycemic. They wanted me to pump, so I did, but it was exceptionally difficult for me to get any results from pumping. Finally I managed to establish a very meager amount of milk (like 2 ml at a time almost nothing at all). In the mean time they were force feeding my son via a tube through his nose every two hours. I fought for the right to breast feed once his health was picking up but when they finally consented to it they kicked me out of the hospital and said if I hoped for him to come home soon I would need to consent to them bottle feeding him (I was trying to hold off because I really wanted to breast feed). I caved because I didn't want him to be in the hospital longer than necessary, as I live an hour away from the hospital so it wasn't like I could just pop down there during feeding time (I am also healing from a c-section and not allowed to drive).

I am very large breasted and when they allowed me to try to feed him they hovered over me and had me holding him in a way that just couldn't possibly work given my breasts and his size (almost 9 lbs). It was intensely frustrating, and every time i tried to change positions to get more comfortable they made me change back to the awkward one. This resulted in meltdowns (both him and I) and him being primarily bottle fed. I figured I would have to wait and get him home to figure it out. I was correct. Once he was out of there we met with a lactation consultant and figured out a position that works for us and we have been successfully breastfeeding.

Here is my issue though. I am having supply and demand problems. Because they were force feeding him via tube, once he was allowed a bottle he was taking 120 ml of formula per feeding. According to the lactation consultant he was being overfed and his stomach has been stretched (he was also spitting up a lot). They also lied to me at the hospital about the flow of the nipple stating they were slow and similar to a breast when they were in fact quite fast. So fast he would choke while feeding because the formula would just drip out of the nipple without any sucking. This meant that I have had to battle with him adjusting to the pace of my breast vs. a bottle (we seem to be winning that fight thankfully).

I am now prioritizing breastfeeding. Some feeds he is content with just breast milk and others he seems to also need formula. Unfortunately I can't pump enough milk in order to supplement with breast milk via bottle instead of formula because my let down doesn't function for a pump like it does for my son. This is intensely frustrating and I am unsure from one feeding to the next whether or not I am starving or overfeeding my baby. I really want to transition to him being exclusively breastfed, but it is quite challenging. I was wondering if anyone has been through a similar situation or has any advice on how I could approach this transition? Thanks in advance.

 

[SweetPea3200]

I'm sorry you had to deal with such a difficult situation at the hospital. I have no advice since I’m only pregnant with my first but I’m super interested in what the other momma’s will say. I’m sure they will have great tips for you!

 

[lisaalove]

First of all I would be LIVID about the way the hospital treated you as a mother. But on the bright side your boy is home! I can't say I've been through the same thing as I didn't bf my first and my second has been very by the book thus far.
As for the pumping are you using a manual or electric pump. Sometimes one will work better than the other for certain people, so I would deffinately say try both if you haven't yet. If you can't afford an electric and that's the reason you haven't tried it if you have insurance most will cover the cost of them. I hope this helped some!!
Fingers crossed and good luck!

 

[Insomniash]

First of all I would be LIVID about the way the hospital treated you as a mother. But on the bright side your boy is home! I can't say I've been through the same thing as I didn't bf my first and my second has been very by the book thus far.
As for the pumping are you using a manual or electric pump. Sometimes one will work better than the other for certain people, so I would deffinately say try both if you haven't yet. If you can't afford an electric and that's the reason you haven't tried it if you have insurance most will cover the cost of them. I hope this helped some!!
Fingers crossed and good luck!

I own and have tried both. They provide me with the same results unfortunately. I know I have much more milk than the pumps managed to get from me. I just don't get the tell tale let down sensation while using them which means that I can pump about 20ml and then nothing else comes out. It is really unfortunate.

It was a very frustrating experience in the hospital, and I fought them as much as I could but they had me in check at every point. All I could think about was getting him healthy enough to get him out of there. Pretty much everything that I was told would happen that attracted me to the hospital in the first place I didn't get. I was crushed. I have since read about many other women with babies who had the same issues that received very different and seemingly superior treatment. Makes me sad, but this is the hand I have been dealt now unfortunately. Thankfully my little one is a breast enthusiast.

 

[lisaalove]

Are you actively pumping when you do it? Hand massaging/expressing while the pump is going? My lactation consultant said most people only get an ounce to and ounce and a half each time ( I'm unsure of how much 20 ml is. I've also read some girls need pictures/videos or something that smells like baby.

just trying to help sorry if it's unwanted advice!

 

[noon_child]

I supplemented with formula due to latch and weight gain issues. I had been supplementing with my own milk but she still didn't gain enough . However we did get to exclusively breastfeed and only use formula to help, not as a substitute so I'll give you what advice I have.

Try breast compressions when LOs suck slows down. This will stimulate further let down of milk meaning he'll be more likely to come off the breast when he can't get more milk, rather than just because he's having to work hard against a slow flow.

Switch feed - ie once he has drunk from both breast, offer him the first breast again as in the time it took to eat the second breast, the first will have been making milk (although it may need compressions to make it flow).

Everytime you feed him formula, pump. I know you are not getting milk but that doesn't matter, you need to pump to stimulate your body to up your supply.

Limit the formula bottles to 1 ounce or so (30ml). I know it sounds counter intuitive but you don't want LO too full, you want him hungry and returning to the breast often (at least every 2hrs during the day while building your supply).

If he is a good weight and gaining fast you might want to consider ditching formula altogether but it depends how happy you are to see LO hungry for a few days while your supply catches up.

Try to limit bottles after midnight, as night hormones released when feeding are really important to building supply. If he is sleeping well you might want to consider waking him to feed at night (own choice though, I'd never recommend it if you just can't face it and need that sleep).

That's all I can remember, I'll add more as I think of it.

 

[Insomniash]

Thanks Ladies I have applied some of your recommendations today and it seems to be going smoother than yesterday.

 

[luna_19]

I'm so sorry you had such a bad experience is it possible to take a nursing vacation? Spend a few days in bed skin to skin and just nurse nurse nurse, it can really help with your supply amd get baby used to smaller meals too

 

[redneckhippy]

I'm so sorry they were so aweful to you in the hospital. I didn't have any experience with that but did have some issues building my supply at first. I remember one night my LO was just screaming because he wasn hungry and I was completely dry. It's a personal choice what to do at that point, but I just decided to let him wait and be hungry for a bit and kept putting him to my breast. Obvoiusly you only want to do that if it's an occassional thing, but his weight gain was quite slow at first and he was skinny but his pediatritian was supportive and told me to just come back in 10 days and see where his weight was as long as he was having wet diapers, so I felt okay and by 10 days later he was gaining weight appropriately. I also took fenugreek and starting eating oatmeal for breakfast every day (even multiple times a day at first). Also drink LOTS of water. It's so easy to forget about yourself when you're so worried about your new little baby. At first I wasn't eating or drinking enough and when I started prioritizing that, it definately made a difference. Sometimes that meant making my husband hold a crying, hungry baby while I ate my meal and drank a glass of water. It's like putting on your oxygen mask before helping others. You feel bad but ultimately it's for the baby's benefit. I also found going to LLL meetings in my area was very helpful. We really struggled in the beginning and it was great to have the help. My son was unrsponsive at birth so no skin-to-skin and he was IV fed for the first 2 days due to blood sugar issue, then got jaundice so we also got off to a rocky start. I thought of giving up every day, but eventually (and I do mean eventually) things fell into place and I now feel confident he is well fed and every meal isn't a struggle like it was.

 

[Peanutt]

I'm pregnant with my first, but I worked with a lady who was having trouble pumping. She said she'd get more out if she held her baby while pumping. Just passing that along.

 

[Insomniash]

I'm so sorry they were so aweful to you in the hospital. I didn't have any experience with that but did have some issues building my supply at first. I remember one night my LO was just screaming because he wasn hungry and I was completely dry. It's a personal choice what to do at that point, but I just decided to let him wait and be hungry for a bit and kept putting him to my breast. Obvoiusly you only want to do that if it's an occassional thing, but his weight gain was quite slow at first and he was skinny but his pediatritian was supportive and told me to just come back in 10 days and see where his weight was as long as he was having wet diapers, so I felt okay and by 10 days later he was gaining weight appropriately. I also took fenugreek and starting eating oatmeal for breakfast every day (even multiple times a day at first). Also drink LOTS of water. It's so easy to forget about yourself when you're so worried about your new little baby. At first I wasn't eating or drinking enough and when I started prioritizing that, it definately made a difference. Sometimes that meant making my husband hold a crying, hungry baby while I ate my meal and drank a glass of water. It's like putting on your oxygen mask before helping others. You feel bad but ultimately it's for the baby's benefit. I also found going to LLL meetings in my area was very helpful. We really struggled in the beginning and it was great to have the help. My son was unrsponsive at birth so no skin-to-skin and he was IV fed for the first 2 days due to blood sugar issue, then got jaundice so we also got off to a rocky start. I thought of giving up every day, but eventually (and I do mean eventually) things fell into place and I now feel confident he is well fed and every meal isn't a struggle like it was.

Thank you, that was really encouraging and helpful because it really parallels where we are at right now. We are at the point where my milk has really started increasing and I am just feeding him as much and as often as he asks for it. He is gaining super slowly and only just at 2 weeks pp is back up to his birth weight. I am going to see my Dr again in a week because he said he is getting off to a slow start, but he knows I am trying to transition to breast milk.

Luna_19 that is essentially what I am doing now because I am exclusively at home right now. I have been declining any visits/visitors while we work on this because it is so important to me that we get this right. I am pretty much constantly nursing him while he is awake.

Noon_Child thank you for what you wrote it has been exceptionally helpful and we are making quite a lot of progress thanks to your suggestions.

 

[luna_19]

It is normal for babies to regain their birth weight by 2-3 weeks old, sounds like you are doing great

 

[Insomniash]

It is normal for babies to regain their birth weight by 2-3 weeks old, sounds like you are doing great

The only reason the doctor wants to monitor him is because he was weighed one week ago and he has only gained a fraction of an ounce in a week, but we have also been cutting back on formula and working on increasing my milk supply. Honestly I am surprised he hasn't lost weight, but he has been cluster feeding so I guess nature is taking over and figuring it out although I am still supplementing though I wish I didn't have to I just don't have enough milk to completely satisfy him yet. Particularly by the end of the day it seems.

 

[luna_19]

I had to suppliment for a bit at first too, a lot.of.people do. Sounds like you are doing the right thingfor your baby and making progress towards ebf

 

[Insomniash]

I had to suppliment for a bit at first too, a lot.of.people do. Sounds like you are doing the right thingfor your baby and making progress towards ebf

Thank you, I am certainly trying to do what is best for him.

 

[shinona]

You've had some great advice from others but I just wanted to add my encouragement and say well done and hang in there. You're doing a great job x

 

[BlingyGal]

Sounds like you're already seeing big improvements, just wanted to give you a hug and say you're doing all the right things. I had a similar situation in the NICU (she was born may 13; need to update my ticker!) but the NICU was super supportive about breastfeeding and pumping. They had me massaging while pumping which helped a ton in getting things started. I pumped after every breast feeding session to establish a good supply. Make sure you're hydrated and feeding yourself well too. You're on the right track and it will happen. Just saw the nurses again today and they also said that birth weight by 2 weeks is normal. And it's also normal for baby to go up and down in weight for 1-2 weeks after delivery. Your son sounds normal and healthy! I just wish you had better medical support.

 

[Insomniash]

Sounds like you're already seeing big improvements, just wanted to give you a hug and say you're doing all the right things. I had a similar situation in the NICU (she was born may 13; need to update my ticker!) but the NICU was super supportive about breastfeeding and pumping. They had me massaging while pumping which helped a ton in getting things started. I pumped after every breast feeding session to establish a good supply. Make sure you're hydrated and feeding yourself well too. You're on the right track and it will happen. Just saw the nurses again today and they also said that birth weight by 2 weeks is normal. And it's also normal for baby to go up and down in weight for 1-2 weeks after delivery. Your son sounds normal and healthy! I just wish you had better medical support.

Thanks, the good news is I have a great family doctor that is very supportive. I take Evan in to be weighed today so fingers crossed he has gained enough weight this week. Thanks for the encouraging words!

 

[Insomniash]

Yay! He gained 8 ounces this week, so obviously the combination feeding is working out well. Thanks for all of the support ladies

 

[luna_19]

Great job! I just noticed you live in bc where are you located? I am in surrey. There is an awesome fb group called Vancouver/lower mainland badass breastfeeders. It is great for advice and support