please keep here.. i need feeding help!*updated

[lisa&alex]

now.. its day 3.. and my boobs are empty! .. my nipples are killing coz he cant latch on properly.. and he is feeding for about 2 hrs.. mw said express every 2-3 hrs.. and im doing that an nothings comming out..(1st night i got 8mls off in about 30 mins) where has all my colostrum gone? and why dont i have any milk? i had to give him 8mls of boiled water this morning coz he was starving.. my midwife is apparently doing ehr rounds?? but its now almost midday! and she hasnt been.. ive rung the birth centre for support.. but i dont know what to do.. alex just went to tesco to get some forumal.. but i really dont want to give it

im eatting and drinking.. so why havent i started filling? ive even cried (baby blues? doesnt that mean milks on its way??)

HELP!!

update**ended up ringing the birth centre and teh breast feeding co-ordinator mw came out to see me.. and said i could go and stay at the birth centre with alex for the night for tyhem to help me.. so we did.. and i got help latching him on properly...he fed really well.. and also had to express after every feed to get my supply in..

anyways they weighed bubs this morning.. and hes lost 11oz .. he was 8lb7oz bon monday and hes 7lb11 today absoulty gutted.. bfmw let me come home.. as i have latched him on properly.. and gave me hospitals breast pump for 24 hrs to boost my supply..hopefully he will feed well tonight.. and have ut something on by tmro.. they are gonna weigh him in the morning poor bubs

 

[Flame]

I'm sorry i didnt really do much breastfeeding so not an expert. I can only suggest you keep trying to get hold of you MW, She should be round to see you some time today with you only giving birth a few days ago.

Giving baby a couple of bottles of formula till you see your midwife wont hurt him, as long as he is getting some food thats all that matters.

 

[muppetmummy]

Sorry hun, I don't know what to suggest as I had problems breast feeding myself and only lasted a week at it.
Could you maybe try calling la leche...

Telephone Helpline: Call 0845 120 2918

They have breast feeding councellors who can give you advice over the phone and probably have more experience of breastfeeding than the midwives.

Don't give up yet, apparantly it's common to think you have no milk and for baby to be feeding non stop in the early days.
I hope it works out for you

 

[trixipaws]

dont give up hun its only day 3... i dont think i got proper milk til day 4 or 5 and i was paranoid thinking i didnt have any.

my latching tip: idk if u tried already but i point the tip of my nipple at the roof of my babys mouth, and to aim better i clamp my breast between the 2 fingers u do a v-sign with on the opposite hand (a tip from my mum i still use now- it really helps to point it accurately)

try not 2 worry, but if u cant help but do so it is wise to give him formula in the mean-time so he wont be hungry. is he screaming crying? coz if he looks contented he probably isnt hungry u kno?

 

[trixipaws]

oh yes also- i think leckershell has quite some knowledge of nipple shields and creams im sure she wont mind u PMing her
good luck

 

[Squiglet]

My milk never came in until day 5.... its normal to just have colostrum the first few days.... That's the stuff full of all your antibodies.. and Tia managed to drain mine in under 24 hours. The midwife in the hospital gave her a tiny cup of formula to help settle her until my milk came in.... and when it came it in it was ok...

but expect your nipples to hurt thats the joy of breast feeding.... and you thought labour pains were bad..

 

[clairescunny55]

deffo dont give up just yet, around day three i also got frustrated, had baby blues and extremely sore nipples, i got some lansinoh cream (about £10 from chemists) it is well worth the money. it soothes your nipples and makes feeding just about bearable and you dont have to wash it off before feeding. Your milk should come soon, and your pain should ease. best of luck. xx

 

[muppetmummy]

Also expressing won't give you a true indication of how much milk you have. Pumps will rarely manage to remove as much milk as the baby can.
It's perfectly normal to get a really small amount when expressing. I remember doing it in hospital and being upset cos the amount was so small, and the midwives saying don't worry it's normal.

Although giving formula won't harm your baby it may not do your milk supply any favours. If the baby has a tummy full of formula he won't want to latch on for a while which will mean your body won't get the signals to make more milk.
I think it depends how he is, if he's content just leave him for now and have lots of skin to skin cuddling, if he's screaming I would give him a bottle of formula as his crying will just stress you out and make the situation worse.

I found it really hard breast feeding, I never thought it would be so tricky.

 

[Squiglet]

Also expressing won't give you a true indication of how much milk you have. Pumps will rarely manage to remove as much milk as the baby can.
It's perfectly normal to get a really small amount when expressing. I remember doing it in hospital and being upset cos the amount was so small, and the midwives saying don't worry it's normal.

Although giving formula won't harm your baby it may not do your milk supply any favours. If the baby has a tummy full of formula he won't want to latch on for a while which will mean your body won't get the signals to make more milk.
I think it depends how he is, if he's content just leave him for now and have lots of skin to skin cuddling, if he's screaming I would give him a bottle of formula as his crying will just stress you out and make the situation worse.

I found it really hard breast feeding, I never thought it would be so tricky.

I have to agree I found it IMPOSSIBLE to express.. I never got enough and if I did express I always ended up not having enough milk for the next feed. Tbh I'd stop expressing and just keep putting him on your breast. The more he feeds the more milk you will make when your milk comes in.

 

[lisa&alex]

he is fast asleep right now.. managed to express about 1 and half mls.. and seringe (sp) fed him.. my boobs arnt hurting at all although one is feeling a bit warm?? he also had 8mls of water earlier.. and i got him back on the breast for about 15 mins.. but was killing so bad...after he fell asleep i got him off... just put some nip cream on...still waiting on the mw.. if shes not here in an hour im gonna ring the birth centre and ask if i can pop over to see someone..

 

[Minxy]

.. my boobs arnt hurting at all although one is feeling a bit warm?? ..

Just keep an eye on that, it can be a sign of mastitis.

Hopefully it's just your milk coming in.

 

[Sammystar]

Firstly, HUGE CONGRATS!! I missed your news, been too distracted with other things....

I hate those first few days of BF-ing, keep at it though! I hope you get some help from the HV.

My milk came in around day four. Before you know it you'll have gallons of the stuff.

 

[leckershell]

Erm... only what the others said really... just keep trying and if you are really struggling then heat up some formula and use a cup to do cup feeding (cup feeding is better for baby than bottle if you want to keep on breastfeeding)...

This is the leaflet I was given in hospital when they cupfed Ryan...

http://www.ambermed.co.uk/Amber%20IL070.doc

You can use the things like those little cups they have that come with cough medicines, or see if your midwife can fetch you one (the hospital gave me one cos I asked for one!).

Other than that I can only suggest nipple shields which I've already spoke to you loads about I know you didn't want to use them so soon though. I used them from the day I got home until now... I still use them with most feeds.

Don't know what else to suggest really... it won't be long before your milk comes in, but until then get some help from your midwife/health visitor... giving some formula isn't the end of the world, the most important thing is that your baby is fed, and if you try cupfeeding you shouldn't have any confusion problems when you're ready to feed again.

Let me know if you need anything, sorry I didn't reply on msn - I'd gone to sleep with Ryan and forgot to log out.

m

 

[lisa&alex]

updated!

 

[purple13]

really glad they've managed to help you hon am sure he'll be putting weight back on in no time. xxxxx

 

[fothers]

Hope things settle now you have had some help and he puts the weight back on quickly

 

[Babylicious]

He'll gain it again if he's feeding properly now

 

[Kylie1007]

Hi Lisa
I hope that your milk is coming in now. Just to let you know that we also had weight probs in the first few weeks.(and was almost as early as your baby) He was born at 7lbs 8oz and went down to 7lbs and then down even more to 6lbs something. He only went up to 7lbs after about 10 days. MW said to make sure that he was kept on the one side when feeding rather than swapping after a short amount of time because he might not have been getting the calorific milk.
Also, he was jaundiced as he was a little early so the lack of weigh gain was also due to the fact that he was fighting that off too.
He's now over 10lbs (prob getting on for 12lbs now! Haven't had him weighed for 2 weeks!) so don't worry about it.

 

[bonny]

OMG poor you, my milk never came in with Louie till about day 4-5 and up till then it was murder it just felt like he was chewing on my boob.

Hope it gets better for you soon!

 

[muppetmummy]

I'm glad the birth centre are being supportive. You might find things turn around now you've got some help. I'm sure he'll gain the weight back before you know it