Crying

[twogirlsmommy]

So I have no idea if this is where it belongs but please move as needed. So I gave birth to my daughter on Friday via c-section and I had wanted to try to breast feed even though I was not successful the first time. I thought things were going semi well and I had promised dh that I would not freak out about it like I did last time . So tonight at weigh in I was told that dd had almost lost 2lbs and was starting to look alitttle jaundice. The ped this morning had told us if she dropped more  that I would have to supplement. I've started pumping as dd is not latching at all but the first point I got 10ml the next I barely got 5.  I'm trying not to cry and just to realize that if this doesn't work then I am not a bad mommy but gosh that is easier said then done.

[PaulsMom]

Big hugs!  I know exactly how you feel!  While still in hospital I tried pumping after having dd and got nothing.  She had dropped more than 10% of her birth weight, was dehydrated and now below 6 lbs.  I have given her a total of 4 oz of formula in her life and she's now breast feeding successfully with no supplementation.

First, keep putting her on the breast.  Try to correct her latch.  Go see a lactation consultant to get help with her latch.  Use lanolin on your nipples if they are sore.  Although you can pump, the colostrum gets stuck inside of the tubing of the pump so you might want to try hand expression first into a medicine cup.  Anything you express, you can feed your dd.  I tried cup feeding her rather than a bottle.

My milk didn't come in until around day 4 or 5 so early on is when I gave small amounts of formula but kept putting her on my breast so she had at least 8 or 9 "feeds" a day.    I didn't want to give formula but this is what I needed to do for her since it was taking my body a bit longer to make milk.

[creations]

Bug hugs!  I also know how you feel
Like pp said, hand express in these early days to save every drop you get.  I used a small sterile feeding cup to catch the drips of colostrum as I hand expressed and used a syringe to feed them to DS.  I did have to use formula but I continued to express at every feed time, lots of skin to skin too, and every drop I got I gave to DS either with the syringe or if I got more and he was having formula I took the teat off the bottle and let him have the teat in his mouth and poured the breast milk directly into the teat for him to suck. It looks a bit like a funnel in his mouth but this way none of the breast milk was lost onto the surfaces of a bottle and he got every drop.
I can understand your hesitancy to use formula but wanted to say that in those first weeks I managed to increase the amount by expressing (by hand then after milk came in using an electric pump - a minimum of 20 mins each breast whether any was coming out or not) at every feed, including nights, and got up to the point where I was expressing enough for DS to have breast milk alone, no formula.
For me there were additional complications and I ended up moving to formula at 4.5 weeks but it might help you to know that you can still establish breast feeding even if you do need to supplement to begin with.
Probably all stuff you already know.
big hugs.  You're doing your best and every drop counts even if you do supplement or move fully to formula.
xx

[Shiv52]

Hugs xx

How often are you feeding? Is LO content after feeds?

Is your milk in yet?  Don't panic. It's very early days.

[mycatmonet]

hugs hun, hang in there, and try not to freak out! My milk didn't come in til day 5, and by that time DD had latch issues, i needed a break i was so sore (nipples slammed in a car door kinda sore), so was pumping ALL the time, and getting basically nothing. Actually never was a good pumper... Anyway DD got jaundice, a 'helpful' nurse told me my baby 'needed formula' as she was 'starving' (!!!)and by the time we left hospital we still needed lactation consulant help and still pumped and supplemented for 7 weeks or so. Yes, we got there in the end, and dd still is still bfing at 16mths like a pro, and to see her feed during our disaster bfs as a newborn you'd never imagine it! Never took a bottle after that first 7 weeks.
So, it was hard work for 2 months or so. Comping isn't the end of the world imho, and it doesn't need to be permanent. Our wet nappies dropped, so was happy to have my dd fed enough to pee ok at that point! Be kind to yourself, those crazy hormones don't help us those first few days.  Xx

[michaeljacknnugg]

Hang in there, it will get better! I think you have had some fab advice from pps so won't add to that - but I am just wondering if breastfeeding after a section is naturally delayed since it wasn't your body going into labour, the timing was external.

Could your body just need to catch up a bit?

[twogirlsmommy]

Thanks ladies. We are still trying to latch but baby Aubrey is not cooperating and when I pump I'm barely getting 5 ml.  As much as I would love to make this successful I have to remember that we did everything last time and it didnt work so all I can do is try. 

[koe2moe]

BM. Lots of hugs!  It took me lots of effort to get milk in and i was exclusively expressing for 5.5mo. We supplemented the first 1-2 weeks because DS was a hungry baby.  Dont give up just yet as expressing is lot of work.  If i were to have another child, if BF didnt work, i would not go the express route at all.  I wouldnt have time to do it. 

FX that you will get help with the latch and drink more fluids. Xx

[Shiv52]

It is not unusual to get nothing when pumping at this early stage. The aim is the stimulate the breasts to make more and expressing does the job even if you aren't getting anything.

Can you describe what is happening when you attempt to get her to latch?

[squeakersmum]

So many hugs. Both my LOs were complete pickles to start with. Both lost a lot of weight.

My breasts are too big and heavy to facilitate easy feeding for them when they were tiny tiny babies. With DD I believe the MW wanted me to feed 30ish mls per feed (not bigger because she knew i wanted to breastfeed so not to stretch her tummy) so whatever I managed to pump plus a little bit of formula. After I fed her I woul put her down and pump both sides twice. Which would give me around 10mls. The next feed I'd use the pumped milk plus a wee bit of formula. I did that for about 4/5 feeds by which time I was able to pump a little more and the MW suggested I move onto nipple shields. So DD probably had 3 oz of formula.

It was an exhausting couple of days because I had to wake DD up to feed every 3 hours to keep her weight gain going.

Oh, I should add that DD had a terrible latch because she was putting her tongue to the roof of her mouth and sucking on that!! The nipple shields helped to stop her doing tht too.

We weaned off the nipple shields after a week or so.

Many many hugs. XXXXX

[~inbalance~]

I read this recently on Dr. Jack Newman's FB page:

"I posted this on % weight loss back in early December on my personal Facebook page, but I believe it bears repeating as there are so many new people on this community page.
 
So maybe now it's time to talk about % weight loss. In many, if not most postpartum areas in North America, someone has come up with the notion that 10% weight loss (7% in some places) means the baby is dehydrated and needs to be supplemented. This number (or these numbers) come out of nowhere with no evidence to back them up. And % weight loss actually means nothing at all. Why?
 
1. Most mothers in North America receive intravenous fluids during the labour and birth and often receive quite large volumes. Some of that fluid goes over to the baby and so babies are born "overhydrated" and "extra heavy". They start to pee out that fluid in the hours after birth and so "lose weight" which is not true weight loss. This is not taken into consideration when one talks about % weight loss. Two recent studies show this to be true.
 
2. Scales are not the word of God. First of all, when one weighs a baby on one scale and then on another, one cannot compare the two weights. Scales often differ considerably one from the other. I have personally seen one scale (the accurate one) weigh 400 grams (about 12 ounces) more than the other scale which was off. This is dramatic and probably does not happen often, but 80 grams (almost 3 ounces) is not rare and I have seen two scales, made by the same company, same model, sitting one beside the other weigh the same baby but with an 85 grams difference. Let's make the math easy: 90 grams for a baby born at 3000 grams (about 6lb 10oz) is 3%. So if a baby is weighed on the first scale and then on the second scale which weighs lighter, he automatically has lost 3% of his birth weight. Babies are often weighed on one scale in delivery and another in postpartum.
 
3. Furthermore, weights are often read wrong and written down incorrectly especially in busy maternity wards.
 
However, there is a concern. Women in labour who receive large amounts of fluids will often be quite swollen, not only their ankles and fingers, but also their nipples and areolas which makes it difficult for the baby to latch on and therefore the baby may not be getting milk well.
 
Unfortunately, the approach in most postpartum areas is to give formula, usually by bottle. This is completely the wrong approach. The mother and baby should be helped with breastfeeding. Again, the mother and baby should be helped with breastfeeding!"

Maybe it will help ease your mind.  Get yourself a lactation consultant and don't let anyone bully you to stop BFing if BFing is what you really want.

[CCCmom27]

((((hugs)))) Have you seen the lactation consultant yet?  I needed help getting the latch correct with both boys so keep calling them back if you still need help.  They should be able to watch and see what needs to be changed.  I found the football position easiest with a tiny baby.  G had jaundice and we had to stay in the hospital all day the day I was supposed to discharged in the morning just so his jaundice number would be high enough for the insurance to pay for a light blanket.  The best thing for jaundice (besides the light) is to feed feed feed so they potty a lot. 

[twogirlsmommy]

We've seen the lactation consultant and she is shocked they are sending us home. Game plan for the next 24 hrs is to pump 30 minutes before feed. Try and latch her then give pumped and suppliment with formula.

Basically if she latches she sucks 3-4 times and falls asleep. Most times she's just refusing to latch.

[anna*]

Have you tried all the tricks to keep her awake? Strip her down, skin to skin contact with you, wet cloth on her feet if absolutely necessary. If she's latched on asleep then blowing gently in her face or tickling under her chin can sometimes stimulate them to start sucking again. Audrey was the same but once we finally got her to START feeding, she would get more alert and take a better feed - it's a viscious cycle when they're too sleepy to feed.

[twogirlsmommy]

Yes we've done it all and to be honest NOTHING bothers this baby. They jabbed her for a blood test and she didnt wake up or even flinch or cry lol