Breastfeeding support thread

Ooh will check out Tesco tomorrow then, thanks guys. Sprk that's great on the expressing. I managed to get 5oz in three goes today which she has just necked and then cried for more so now she's back on the breast! I know it can be hard work when they're like that and it might be worth considering making the last feed formula as it fills them up more and hopefully makes them sleep longer! You could still breastfeed during the day so they still get all the benefits. If my lo isn't getting enough from me then I may think about doing that. There's no need to feel bad, we have done really well just getting this far!
 
Thanks SR35. I was seriously feeling low and fed up last night. I'm confident she's getting enough.....I think most of it is just comfort sucking as she refuses any sort of pacifier. :wall2:
 
Honestly I think everyone feels that way at some point, I know I have. I thought about giving up breastfeeding and kept thinking I'll give it one more day. It was just the evenings, I was finding it so hard surviving on such little sleep, but giving her the bottle of expressed milk before bed has made such a difference as now she's not attached to me until 1am every night! Even though sometimes she still wants more and I breastfeed after the bottle she gets tired so much quicker and goes down easier. So i feel better for having just that extra bit of sleep and I can cope better in the day. It's just finding something that works for you and trying different things but at least we are trying, I know some people who never even attempted breastfeeding, just started straight on formula so don't feel bad for finding it hard work because it really is!! xx
 
It is such hard work to begin with it really, really is, and the lack of sleep practically turned me into a zombie, but eventually I got to a point when I realised that it would actually be harder to switch to formula feeding for the reasons below, so I tried to think about them whenever I was having a bad day:

* breast milk is ready instantly - you don't need to prepare anything (so when they do wake in the night you can feed them more quickly, which means they're more likely to go back to sleep quicker - also breast milk is clever and at night contains hormones that make you & baby feel sleepy so you can both get back to sleep!).

* no cleaning & sterilising - unless you've got particularly grubby boobs :lol:

* breast milk is attached to you - so you can't forget a vital part if you've gone out for the day!

* breast milk is always the right temp - no faff heating up / cooling down.

* breast milk is free - think of all the nice things you can spend that extra cash on if you're not using formula!


I'm sure there must be loads more, and obviously this is even if you ignore all the health benefits for mother and child! :)
 
I agree with everything Jajis has said! I can see why so many women switch to formula but in the long run never mind the fact they say breast is best - breast is easy! I loved not having to worry about formula and my lo also fed so much quicker than his ff friends. We combi feed from 10mths and it was such a faff! xx
 
Hi girls. Im very new to breast feeding, lo is only 6 days old. He has latched on well and seems to of taken well to breast feeding but I'm in agony doing it. I know everyone says this is normal but when does ir get better? It hurts when he first latches then gets easier but the pain starts just after I've finished feeding him, it's a really intense stabbing pain through my breast to my back and this lasts ages. Nipples are also getting very sore, with all this and baby blues i feel like giving up but know i should stick at it. He's feeling anywhere between 1 hour to 4 hours at the moment. I'm wondering whether to start expressing a bit. Can anyone offer me any advice on any of this or what the pains could be? Xx
 
Congratulations on your new baby : ) from my experience bf should not be that painful. Its can be a bit sore in the early days when they first latch but shouldn't be hurting later on in the feed or after. Have you got a bf support worker that can check your latch for you or could you watch some you tube videos? Sounds like your baby couldn't be sucking just your nipple too much which is what could be making it sore? Otherwise might be worth checking with midwife or go that you don't have anything like thrush which can make feeding painful. Good luck : ) xxx
 
Thank you for replying. I think he may sometimes be latching on wrong, I've bought some them nipple shields to help my Nipples recover a bit xx
 
Mrs - have your hv make sure lo is latching ok. The first week ( or so ) was the worst pain wise. I had cracked nipples and that stabbing pain too. Once the nipples healed things did get easier. It's still a struggle, some days, but bit by bit I think it's getting better. You are doing great. Don't be shy about asking for help from your hv or local bf specialist when you need it. And of course we are here for you too :)
 
Hi ladies. Hope everyone is well.

still here managing to bf!

supply seems to be good - have had a few incidences where i have been out and ended up leaking massively - luckily i have had a vest top under a loose top in dark colours so it hasn't been noticeable but embarrassing all the same. so now keep a set of pads in my bag now too.

Sometimes if lo has gone 3-4hrs between feeds, my breasts understandably fill up and get hard. However i have found that lo then fusses when trying to latch - almost like he struggles to get the whole nipple in his mouth. then either one of two things happens..... he fusses on and off initially and we have milk squirting all over the place, or, he manages to latch but then sounds like he is about to choke, like the milk is too fast or too much? could this even be possible? it settles down quickly and he suckles 'normally'. Any advice or experience?

xx
 
Julianne- I know what you mean about the chocking sounds when the boobs are too full. I think the milk flows a bit fast, but then settles and lo takes some in. I've had to unlatch mine, give her some back pats, then relatch when it happens. You can always express a bit to soften the breast, then start your feed.

Advice please- I've managed to express enough for a night feed but lo doesn't want the bottle. She'll take boob anytime without a fuss. I wonder if I need to wait for her to be more hungry before dh tries a bottle with her?? Tonight, she cried for nearly 20 min, dh was so frustrated thinking he was doing something wrong. In the end, I had to hold her close like I was going to fb, sneak in the bottle, then hand her back to dh. She only drank 1.5 oz out of 4! I had to dump the rest...yikes!!
 
I was given lots of advice about getting lo to take a bottle, tried numerous teats too - nothing ever worked - lo would get into a right state so I always ended up bfing. Someone said their lo would only have a bottle when lying back on a pillow, someone else suggested making sure I was out the room, someone else said I should be out the house. Tried it all and nothing worked xx
 
MrsEB, there are lots of things that can cause pain, so it's definitely a good idea to get someone to check for sigms of thrush, check your latch and watch a feed (ask your midwife/health visitor to help you find a breastfeeding counselor).

Julianne, once your milk supply stabilises you will find you leak a lot less and your baby will have less trouble coping with your let down. I still keep a muslin to hand to catch spray if baby lets go.
 
Maud - good to know it will (soon i hope) all even out - but goo tip re the muslin.

sprk - not sure what to advise re taking a bottle. hope tonight is better for you with the bottle? gutting that you had to bin the rest of your expressed efforts! xx

Tomorrow marks 4 weeks of breast feeding! wow - didn't expect that. And today was a mini accomplishment..... i bf'd in public!! so far it has only been in the company of family, friends or health professionals (i think the postman has gotten the occasional eyeful too). we were out a family fun park/animal farm - i found an area with no-one there and fed the babe. one or two people came in and out during the feed. I must confess, i really didn't like doing it in public - felt VERY self conscious (even though i was pretty well hidden). i know i'm not going to win any prizes or anything, but i proud of myself - small steps and all of that....
 
Maud - good to know it will (soon i hope) all even out - but goo tip re the muslin.

sprk - not sure what to advise re taking a bottle. hope tonight is better for you with the bottle? gutting that you had to bin the rest of your expressed efforts! xx

Tomorrow marks 4 weeks of breast feeding! wow - didn't expect that. And today was a mini accomplishment..... i bf'd in public!! so far it has only been in the company of family, friends or health professionals (i think the postman has gotten the occasional eyeful too). we were out a family fun park/animal farm - i found an area with no-one there and fed the babe. one or two people came in and out during the feed. I must confess, i really didn't like doing it in public - felt VERY self conscious (even though i was pretty well hidden). i know i'm not going to win any prizes or anything, but i proud of myself - small steps and all of that....


Feeding in public is a massive achievement - well done :) and well done on reaching the 4 week mark. 4 weeks was when I'd decided I'd have a 'review' and decide whether to keep going. I did and it got so much easier. xx
 
Congratulations on feeding in public :D

I never found it a particularly enjoyable experience, much preferred being sat on the sofa with a supply of cushions and biscuits... but I did get used to it eventually. Think the most 'public' time I fed my son was when he was about six months old and we were in the middle of a very busy Ask restaurant on a Saturday evening with a group of friends... the meal had taken longer than I'd thought it would and he was getting upset - I made OH try everything else, but nothing worked, and I didn't want to leave before I got my pudding, so I had no choice :lol:
 
Hi wondering if anyone can help.
My baby was born 4 days ago at 35+4 and I am doing my best to bf. She is getting lots better and am now able to get her to latch on without help. However I've been given a plan (first night at home tonight so slightly unsure of things) plan is feed every 3 hours and follow with 10ml expressed milk in cup as she is prem and slightly jaundiced.

This was fine but last night and today especially I've found her to be more demanding.
Am I right to offer her breast and if she wants it go with it? Is this demand feeding? And is it ok???

She just seems to be more unsettled recently and starting to worry I'm doing something wrong. :-/
She is also a bit "shivery" is this wind or actually it's too cold and that's why she isn't settling? Haven't got a room thermometer yet stupidly! :(

Any help or advice would be much appreciated!!
 
Hi wondering if anyone can help.
My baby was born 4 days ago at 35+4 and I am doing my best to bf. She is getting lots better and am now able to get her to latch on without help. However I've been given a plan (first night at home tonight so slightly unsure of things) plan is feed every 3 hours and follow with 10ml expressed milk in cup as she is prem and slightly jaundiced.

This was fine but last night and today especially I've found her to be more demanding.
Am I right to offer her breast and if she wants it go with it? Is this demand feeding? And is it ok???

She just seems to be more unsettled recently and starting to worry I'm doing something wrong. :-/
She is also a bit "shivery" is this wind or actually it's too cold and that's why she isn't settling? Haven't got a room thermometer yet stupidly! :(

Any help or advice would be much appreciated!!


I can't help on the shivery bit - never had this with my lo (he was a summer baby tho) how does she feel temp wise?

In terms of feeding, my lo feed more frequently than every 3 hours in the beginning and I just went with it and offered him boobie whenever he wanted it. Sometimes it would only be 1.5hrs between feeds. It's definitely ok to feed on demand - I suspect the 3hr plan is just to make sure you don't stretch the time between feeds longer, more frequently will only be a good thing for baby. It will settle down to longer between feeds in time.

Sounds like you are doing really well :) well done xxx
 
Oh thank you for replying that's great to know I will just keep offering it then. I mean I don't think I could deny her anyway the signs are obvious that she is hungry and was told the main thing to get sorted is feed feed feed to get her weight up so got to be a good thing huh ha. Just panic as first time and first night at home and having no one on hand to ask is actually more daunting than I'd thought.

Mw coming later so going to ask for number of local breast feeding network supporter just having that may put me at ease haha.

Thank u again :) x
 
Iv just given my 16day old daughter a dummy, and I feel awful for doing it, she wasn't even crying :( iv been struggling at night getting her back down after feeds and she just lies in her basket squirming, she's been up for the last hour and a half and iv tried so many times to put her down... Giving the dummy has seemed to work and she is lying calmly sucking but I can't help feeling I'm a failure, I have so many worries, what if she is still hungry and now I'm masking that with a dummy? What if she now gets confused when it comes to my nipple? What if she won't sleep without it now? I think it should have been a last resort if I had a screaming baby which I don't have, she's not really a crier at all and yet iv still given it to her :( x
 

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