Boobie feeding...

[charlotteheys85]

Hey girlies..

Been boobie feeding for 4 days, just gettin milk in, and was wondering how early i can express some milk,
finding it hard at moment,
he doesnt seen to latch on for long enough to furfill his feed.. i try to re0latch him and he gets ratty and crys.
any idea's? xx

 

[charlie84]

Congratulations on the birth of your LO

When it comes to expressing it is advised not to do it before 6 weeks to allow sufficient time for your milk supply to get established. However women have done it before that time or have actually exclusively express fed their baby so they maybe able to advise you on that one.

You say he isnt latching on long enough, is his latch correct? Get somebody to check that out for you midwife/HV/breastfeeding councillor. Once you have made sure that is fine you can rule the latch out as a problem.
Also have a search on youtube there are vids that can guide you with making sure baby is on properly.

How long would you say he feeds for hun? And how often does he feed?

Hang in there hun

 

[charlotteheys85]

I think you may have a point about if hes latched correctly, because my nipples are cracked etc..

my m/w came round on 1st day and not since. so not sure where to turn?

he wont sleep in his cot/basket.. he crys constantly in night, hes exhausted, and i'm puttin it down to me/my fault because hes prob hungry?

he stops feedin after 5mins and falls asleep briefly...

i was told feed him 15mins every hour.. i'm tryin :'( but its more like 5/10mins

my milk is just coming in.. hopin this helps? xx

 

[andreag]

I expressed at about 18 days on advice of MW to ensure LO would take from a bottle as I was going back to work at 4.5 months. We only did a EBM feed about once a week though so LO didn't start to prefer it.

I would leave it a while and wait for things to settle down. You should have a local b/f councillor. Phone your Mw if you are still under their care, as they should be out to see you. some MW's are trained to check the latch, or there might be a specialist within the unit. If your nipples are cracked it is probably a latching issue. Our local childrens centre/Surestart has a b/f peer supporter who will also check and talk you through it.

Not sure about the advice re 15 mons every hour - never heard that one before. Are there any special reasons (jaudice/low birth weight etc?). Charlotte used to go about 4 hours in the very early days and feed for about 20 mins. she had a touch of jaudice but they just said not to go more than 4 hours - she was a big sleeper! I have friends though who fed for 5 mins every hour and that was fine.

Try to stay relaxed (I know its far easier said than done) as tensing up can upset the baby as well.

Hope things get better soon, but see what support you can get locally.

 

[charlotteheys85]

it was 15/every hr to get milk in.. not sure about now..

thanks for replys i'll ring m/w get b/f lady to help

i jus feel so useless

 

[charlie84]

Right ok hun

Have a quick lookie online maybe somewhere like netmums or a general search engine and see if they have any breastfeeding groups in your area, i should imagine there should be unless you live right out in the sticks.
You can either pop along to that and get help that way.

I have also found this for you hun with a load of useful numbers you could call for advise
http://www.breastfeedingsupport.co.uk/
plus links to find support in you area.

Have you got some Lanisoh cream to hand, this is a must have for sore nipples. If not can some one go get you some. It is a little more expensive than other nipple creams but works wonders.

I am suprised that you have not had another visit from you midwife or at least them let you know when they are coming next. I know it varies in different areas but my midwife came every other day to see me and baby before i was then signed over to the HV. Have you a number you can call to get a midwife to come and see you.

As your milk has just come in it will take baby a few days to get used to it. And hopefully you should start to see a more contented baby after his feeds. As for being told to feed him every hour is there a reason you have been told to do this. I was advised to feed baby every 3/4 hours in the early days. 3 being preferable. Also whilst feeding if he starts to drift off tickle his feet to encourage him to stay awake and feed a little longer or change his nappy and pop him back on. Do you wake him every hour for a feed, if so i would be inclined to allow him to longer to sleep then try him again. But obviously this is my opinion.

A good indicator of him getting enough milk are plenty of wet nappies.

But i do think you need to have your latch checked if your not sure he is on properly.

 

[charlotteheys85]

Right ok hun

Have a quick lookie online maybe somewhere like netmums or a general search engine and see if they have any breastfeeding groups in your area, i should imagine there should be unless you live right out in the sticks.
You can either pop along to that and get help that way.

I have also found this for you hun with a load of useful numbers you could call for advise
http://www.breastfeedingsupport.co.uk/
plus links to find support in you area.

Have you got some Lanisoh cream to hand, this is a must have for sore nipples. If not can some one go get you some. It is a little more expensive than other nipple creams but works wonders.

I am suprised that you have not had another visit from you midwife or at least them let you know when they are coming next. I know it varies in different areas but my midwife came every other day to see me and baby before i was then signed over to the HV. Have you a number you can call to get a midwife to come and see you.

As your milk has just come in it will take baby a few days to get used to it. And hopefully you should start to see a more contented baby after his feeds. As for being told to feed him every hour is there a reason you have been told to do this. I was advised to feed baby every 3/4 hours in the early days. 3 being preferable. Also whilst feeding if he starts to drift off tickle his feet to encourage him to stay awake and feed a little longer or change his nappy and pop him back on. Do you wake him every hour for a feed, if so i would be inclined to allow him to longer to sleep then try him again. But obviously this is my opinion.

A good indicator of him getting enough milk are plenty of wet nappies.

But i do think you need to have your latch checked if your not sure he is on properly.

thank you soo much for takin time to reply

i'm going to contact m/w.. she said i'd be visited each day.. ??
ef think your right about latching on... watchin videos on youtube
xxx

 

[charlie84]

Not a problem hun
Glad to help you

 

[Sherlock]

I think you may have a point about if hes latched correctly, because my nipples are cracked etc..

my m/w came round on 1st day and not since. so not sure where to turn?

he wont sleep in his cot/basket.. he crys constantly in night, hes exhausted, and i'm puttin it down to me/my fault because hes prob hungry?

he stops feedin after 5mins and falls asleep briefly...

i was told feed him 15mins every hour.. i'm tryin :'( but its more like 5/10mins

my milk is just coming in.. hopin this helps? xx

Firstly

Secondly, most of the things you've said above are normal. So don't panic.

Call your HV or ask to be referred to a breast feeding counsellor asap to help with latching and support. Unless your HV is supportive you may find her not the best port of call with regards to getting help breastfeeding. Lansinoh nipple cream will help your sore nipples.

If your LO is latching his mouth will be a very definate shape and you should feel and hear the sucking and swallowing. Your nipple needs to be pointing upwards in his mouth and his mouth should cover a fairly large area. It should not hurt. If it does then slip him off your boon and relatch. Also look at different positions to hold LO in for feeding. I used to hold LO in a rugby ball position on one boob, the sideways across for the other. Both helped with his latch.

His not sleeping in his basket is very normal. Newborn babies like to be near their Mummy's in the early weeks. You smell and feel familar and a basket does not. They like to be cuddled up warm and snug on you like they were inside you all those months. A basket and lying down is alien to them. So give him time to adjust over a few weeks to the basket. Don't expect it to happen overnight.

He needs to feed little and often atm. Expect to feed every couple of hours on average. This is to help him build up your supply to meet his demand. He may only feed for a short time but the more he is on your boob sucking the more it stimulates you to produce milk. I'd bnot be trying to feed him every hour. I'd go at least 2 if he isn't looking for it. Also just holding him by your boob and letting him feed whenever. My LO would comfort suck for hours on end if I let him in the early weeks and my milk was flowing so well because he was demanding it.

Expressing is best left alone for the first 6 weeks. Let your LO guide you as to how much he needs and when. Expressing milk off often is not a good indication of how much you are producing. You get far less expressing than a baby does. Babies are far more adept at getting milk from your boobs than any pump. Once you reach 6 weeks expressing should be fine then. Also if you start expressing and bottle feeding it before breastfeeding with baby is properly established and your supply is built up it can a) cause nipple confusion b) not allow your baby to build up the supply he needs and c) have your baby preferring bottles if they flow easier than your boob and he does not have to do any work to get milk. Babies have to work to get milk from your boob but its what they are designed to do, so its a good thing.

I'd stop expressing and stick your LO to your boob. Have a couple of days in bed with lots of skin on skin, cuddles and a few DVD's for you to watch. Let your LO just suck as and when and feed also. Encourage this as much as possible. Don't follow a timeline, just keep persevering.

Good luck

 

[Fly]

Just wanted to say i think you are doing fab hun n send you loadsa hugs

 

[IsaB]

Hi hun, sounds like you're doing a fab job! Do NOT convince yourself otherwise - remember there's no baby manual and none of us know what we're doing at the start (this would be a pretty boring forum if we did!) I too would flag the feeding every hour thing - your milk has obviously come in now, and IMHO the reason your LO is only feeding for 5 mins then falling asleep is 1. because you're presumably waking him to feed this often and he's tired as he's not getting enough sleep - ideally he should be sleeping 1.5 - 2 hours between feeds (if he's not that's ok too!) and 2. because he's feeding every hour he doesn't need to take much milk to keep him going till the next one. BTW the cracked nips can happen with proper latch or not - they're taking a beating at the moment! Get the lanisoh asap. As others have said - unless he's hungry earlier leave him 3 hours between feeds he'll hopefully start feeding better and for longer. These first few weeks are the hardest - it's hard to believe now, but in a few weeks you'll be an expert on this (and you'll be worrying about something else instead!! ). Give yourself a big pat on the back for persevering in giving your little man the best start in the world

 

[andreag]

Give yourself a big pat on the back for persevering in giving your little man the best start in the world

Well said!

 

[Chrissy1]

Hiya hun.....just wanted to say that I've been expressing 2oz from each boob every day since my milk came in and it's fine.

I'm like you in that she'll only feed for about 15 mins or so and then she's had enough. When she has the bottle feed though she takes a good 4oz in about 10 minutes so I'm sure she's getting enough