ouch, ooh and i CAN do this...

[Suzie and Faith]

Faith is now 5 days old and after a few problems she seems to be feeding ok. For the first day or so she wouldn't latch and I was hand expressing a piddly amount, cup feeding her that and topping it up with formula (as told to do by midwife) - her entrance into the world was a little traumatic for her and she was bruised and cut -and the calpol she had to have made her sleepy so they weren't worried about her lack of interest in feeding.

Then Saturday night she made sucking noises and I put her to the boob and she dived straight on like she'd been doing it for years...

Anyway, it hurts! My boobs are sore and heavy -i'm guessing this is normal.

Her feeding doesn't seem to have a pattern or last very long though - she will be desperately trying to latch onto something (normally whatever is near her mouth) then after about 5 min of actually being on the boob she'll fall asleep. Then sometimes she'll wake a few minutes later and do the same, but ten she might sleep for hours... then do the same.

Is she supposed to spend longer on the boob? My milk literally pours out but i'm worried she isn't getting enough or feeding for long enough.

Should i leave her for a little bit when she is hungry to try and get her to take more? Should i be waking her at the boob to get her to take more?

Her nappies are fine (as in she wees and poos a lot, lol)

Any ideas?


P.S anyone else sometimes feel like giving up? I'm stubborn and at the moment i refuse to use a bottle but sometimes i get this niggly feeling that it'd be SO much easier - i'd be able to get some sleep for a start! but then part of me (in a selfish way) likes the fact that only I can feed her...

ARG this is so hard!

 

[Zodiac]

Ahhhh - hang in there. It is difficlt at the beginning, remember it's not only you that's learning, your LO is too, so just be patient.

My son was born 6 weeks early by emergency cesarean, and at first he slept most of the time too. I was told to not let him go more than 5hrs between feeds, so would wake him up if he was sleeping over that time.

At first my boobs were agony cos they were so full of milk, but your body soon gets into the rythum of your baby & produces just what is required... but if you are getting too full - engorgment can make it difficult for baby to latch on as milk comes too fast, so just hand express off a little bit to ease you.

My LO is nearly 5months now & still exclusively breastfed, and I absolutely love doing it - it's great for bonding and now he'll often come off half-way through a feed & smile & "chatter" to me - which is just toooo cute

Anyway - hope you & your LO get thru these first few weeks of discovery OK and best wishes to you.

 

[Squiglet]

Getting bfing established is hard... and yes at this stage it would be easy to switch to bottles... Its why so many people do switch in the first 6 weeks.. but now 4 months down the line.. when I go out I just need to worry about the bum end... and at night, I don't need to get up and warm bottles.. I just roll over and pop a boob in her head.. No standing by the microwave at 3am with a screaming baby waiting for it to warm... not to mention washing and sterilising endless bottles... oh and the cost Mummy milk is free


But its more the immense feeling of warmth and love you feel with the baby by your skin.. I have lil miss come off every now and again and have a little natter to me, before going back on... its really lovely... And I love the fact only I can feed her

Yes it hurts at first.... but IMO if you can go through the horrible pain that is labour and all that niggling pain we had while in our last few weeks of pregnancy... nipple pain can be done standing on our heads...

The baby will just be on your boobs all the time... these first few weeks they just eat, sleep and poop really... come around 4 weeks they start with the colic fase where they just cry all the time... but as long as your baby is producing 2/3 poopy nappies and at least 6 wet nappies a day then your LO is getting plenty Don't take any notice of weight atm... most bf'd babies loose some weight at the beginning so it should be the nappies that show you how well your LO is doing..

 

[valentine]

You definitely CAN do this! You are doing brilliantly - everything you are describing is perfectly normal - it sounds like your baby is a great feeder and you are doing really well - just keep it up!

If you can get through this phase, it is so so worth it. Breastfeeding isn't easy - there's the nipple pain at the beginning (have you had your latch checked by midwife/HV to see if there is a less painful way for baby to latch on?), growth spurts, all the night feeds, breastfeeding in public - but I can assure you that it is SO WORTH IT.

If you are doing well now, then keep it up, you won't regret it, I promise.

Lots of love

Valentine Xxx

 

[Bloom]

The first few weeks are so hard and its very tempting to give up. Im stubborn too which is why i think im still bf but im so glad i stuck it out as its soooooooo much easier now and im really enjoying the bond it gives me with dd. I found nipple shields (although i dont think they reccomend them this early) were great just to give my cracked nipples time to heal and lots of Lanoish cream

When she falls asleep on you i would try and wake her up and get her to take some more. I found tickling there feet helped or stroking her face, or i used to sit dd up for winding and me moving her would wake her up. I also found feeding her after her nappy change worked as this would wake her up.

Hang on in there hun your doing great.

 

[maybebaby]

You're doing so well, I know how it feels to feel like giving up! I would have given up a couple of times with DS if I hadn't been so stubborn! You're doing brilliantly and LO sounds like she's getting on well.

I was told to try to wake DS up if he fell asleep in the first few minutes on the boob, either by tickling/tapping him feet, blowing on his ear/cheek, or changing his nappy. If they've just dropped off because of the feeding they'll soon wake up, if they stay asleep they're actually tired so let them sleep for a bit.

Unless you have a preemie you don't need to worry about feeding at particular intervals, baby will tell you when they're hungry!

Well done and good luck

 

[LisaJ1986]

I found the 1st few weeks difficult. The 1st couple of days were easy, then my breasts would fill right up, but 1 at a time. It was very noticeable that i had 1 enormous boob and 1 smaller one. But it soon settles. I had Angel on and off every half hour to an hour. I was so prepared to give up. But tbh i couldn't afford formula if it wasn't necessary. I stuck at it and now i love it. She occasionally has bottles but i express it and it's for the OH benefit.
He pushed me to BF as i didn't want to, then missed the feeding times, so now he can.
I still do all the night feeds tho as its so convenient.

 

[Suzie and Faith]

Thanks guys, you've given me the boost I needed, i'm smiling again

I didn't expect it to be easy but I didn't expect to be so tired! But sleep is for wimps..lol.

Thanks people, you're all so lovely

P.S Midwife came round and weighed baby and said she was doing fantastically (3oz lost since birth) and that she looked like a very healthy little girl, which was nice to hear, she also encouraged me to go to the local breastfeeding cafe which I might do when i'm feeling brave!

 

[LisaJ1986]

3oz is brilliant. Mine lost about 7oz and apparently that was brilliant, especially for a breastfed baby! You must be doing amazingly well. Keep it up. It gets so much easier.

 

[valentine]

The tiredness is a killer, but you can do it! I know I'm repeating myself but it really does get easier and its sooooo worth it in the long term.

Going to the breastfeeding cafe is a brilliant idea - you definitely should do this.

Valentine Xxx

 

[keli]

I know how you feel my nips are so sore hoping they'll toughen up soon! I'm adamant that i'll stick to it tho it's going to be soo worth it. We can do it Suzie!!! Whats a bit of nipple pain when we've been through labour! xx

 

[Fluffy Bunny]

P.S anyone else sometimes feel like giving up? I'm stubborn and at the moment i refuse to use a bottle but sometimes i get this niggly feeling that it'd be SO much easier - i'd be able to get some sleep for a start! but then part of me (in a selfish way) likes the fact that only I can feed her...

ARG this is so hard!

No way is bottle feeding easier - just remember with boobies theres no sterilizing, no boiling water to let it cool to mix it with formula, no fumbling around the kitchen at stupid o'clock in the morning, no worrying how many bottles to take out with you incase you stay out a bit longer and it runs into the next feed....... its all there, literally right in front of you.

 

[muppetmummy]

well done hun sounds like you're doing brilliantly.
It honestly does get a lot easier and pain free after the first few weeks.

Having bottle fed James from a week old I can confirm that bottle feeding is a pain in the arse, and once you get it established breastfeeding is much less hassle.

 

[DebbieM]

Breastfeeding is hard, there is no doubt about it! I found it to be the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life, now I feel like it is the biggest achievement of my life and I'm not kidding!

For the first 5 weeks, I had a right nightmare. I didn't enjoy feeding Luke as it was very painful and really stressful. With the support of Matt, a health visitor and the girls here, I got through it and it is amazing now. I LOVE IT!

Keep going, it's very early days for you yet. When people tell you "it will get better" and you think NO IT WON'T! Believe them... believe us.....believe me! I am living proof that for all the pain and agony that it is really worth it

Good luck and we are here if you need us! xxxxxx

 

[Sherlock]

What the others have said. The first weeks are tough, especially with the lack of sleep but it is worth it. I love BF'ing and while I am sometimes expressing a feed a day for Daniel to do, now things have settled down and my stiches etc are gone, I find I am managing really well with BF'ing.

Keep going as it does get better. Sounds like your milk is coming through well and LO's can fill up their tank very quickly when that happens. Also at birth don't forget their stomach is the size of a walnut so it does not take masses to fill it. You are doing a great job

Luckily I never had any problems getting Galen to latch or feed. He is a Nom monster I love the closeness of it and to see him there, his little face and his eyes looking at me, it just melts my heart and I am in awe of him. I just go with demand feeding during the day and now at night Galen has settled and wakes to feed around 11pm-midnight, then again around 3-4am and then goes through till 6-7am. I find I get some sleep inbetween now and feel fine on it.

I'm also lucky in that my nipples are not sore at all and its been, apart from the huge demand for my boobs, pretty straightforward for me. HV has said baby is big so has big demands for food. He is on his centile exactly which is good so I'm doing something right

Hang in there. Once you get past these early weeks it does get better. Hopefully your OH is able to support you with your BF'ing. I know they (men) cannot do much till you can express later on (or the odd bit of forumla if need be) but I found Daniel helped simply by being the one to get up and change nappies in the night and then give me Galen to feed. Then he burps him and cuddles him for a bit to settle and then puts him back in his crib. That half an hour he does in the middle of the night makes a HUGE difference to me as I can go back to sleep. Of course the first 2 weeks were more awkward doing this as Galen wanted close contact so I was up for hours in the night, but once past 2 weeks it got heaps better and now we have a great routine going on.

 

[girlygirl]

i agree it is sooo difficult and i would rather give birth 10 times
over than the 6 week pain of bf!!!
but its so worth it. its lovely.
no bottles, steralising, preperation, easier when travelling.
stick with it!!!

im in a situation now that i want number 2 but wong get periods back unless i stop feeding. i dont want to stop tho cause i love it.

good luck.

 

[valentine]

iim in a situation now that i want number 2 but wong get periods back unless i stop feeding. i dont want to stop tho cause i love it.

That's not necessarily true. I have always exclusively breastfed (no formula) and I got my periods back at 7 months - about 5 weeks after I started weaning DD onto solids.

I know others on here who also exlusively breastfed who got them back at 3 or 4 months or others who were after a year - just depends on the person, I guess.

Valentine Xxx