feeding issues--please help!!

[RachREV]

HI.  I started out BF my now 12 day old dd, but i've been having to supplement her feeds with formula.  I can't seem to keep her awake while nursing.  I nurse her for at least 45 minutes, but she probably only really nurses for 10-15 minutes.  As soon as I take her off my breast she's awake and wants more.  So, after nursing I give her a bottle and she usually eats another 4 oz.  Should I just bottlefeed only?  Up until a few days ago BF was going fine; now I don't know what's going on.  Help!! 


Rachel

[estherofi20]

Hi there congrats on your new little girl!!!

i don't have any advice, but perhaps you should post your question on the BF forum, i think you'll get more advice from there.

[gabriels mum]

Hi Rachel

I'm no B-F expert, as gave up after 6 weeks, but reading your post is exactly how it was with my DS.  He fed constantly, and I could not ever take him off my breast without him crying for more.  Although he put on an enormous amount of weight in the first few weeks, I now realise that he could not have been feeding for 24 hours a day!  He also fell asleep and would need constant tickling of feet etc to keep him awake.

I spoke to many lactation consultants over the phone, in an attempt to sort out what was going on, as was very reluctant to give up (always wanted to totally BF my baby!).  I was given much different advice, and tried everything!

I now wish that I had paid for a one-to-one lactation consultation, and would advise that if you want to continue to BF, but feel that it is not going well, maybe seek their help on a 1-to-1 basis, before you switch over to formula.  Phone advice was very helpful, but without an actual observation it is very hard for anyone to see what is going on.

Good Luck!

Lou

[kgmf123]

Hello,

Congratulations on the birth of your dd. 

Have you tried changing baby's nappy after 20 mins of feeding. This will help to try and keep baby awake.

Also if baby keeps falling asleep try stripping her down to her vest as whilst you are feeding her she is getting all warm and snuggly and sleepy.

Do you want to exclusively bf? If so, I would recommend not supplementing with ff as this may affect your supply.

I found it to be difficult the first few weeks (6 weeks) to bf as it took about an hour each feed. Baby then has a growth spurt and feeding seems so much easier. I have exclusively bf my dd for 6.5 months.

Kat x 

[squeaky's mum]

Hi Rachel,

Congratulations on your little girl. These first few days are a bit of a whirlwind aren't they? I would strongly recommend trying to find a breast feeding counsellor and make sure she can look at your bf technique. They can work wonders but I think it is important to see them face to face. On the bf pages there is a topic which lists a lot of bf support organisations that can help you.

I think your situation is quite common, especially as your little girl is still so small and learning how to bf. It came as quite a shock to me that bf was a skill to be learned, I thought it would come naturally. But it took me months to sort out my problems. It has been so worth it though. Sophie is now 10 months old and still bf, it has been really good for both of us.

The one thing I am fairly sure of and perhaps the bf moderators will be able to give you more info on this, but the more you supplement with formula, the more your own breast milk supply will decrease. I think for bf to work in the long term it is important that you keep feeding her yourself.

I am sure that if you want to continue you bf you will find a way through this and in no time at all it will all have settled down.

Good luck and let us know how you are getting on

Claire

[LucyA]

Hi, congrats on your dd.
At 12 days old it's not unusual for baby to be very sleepy, and to be feeding a lot. Is she like this 24 hours a day, or are there times when you feel she is satisfied with bm?
I had to strip my ds down to just a nappy (and no top for me either) a few times to get him alert enough to feed in the early days.
Are you taking her off and waking her up as soon as she starts to fall asleep?
It really will get better in another week or so if you stick with it.

[Samuel's mum]

Just to reinforce what others have said.
A sleepy baby is very very natural for that age.
Try and speak to someone qualified (even if you have to pay, if you can avoid formula you'll be saving hundreds if not thousands of dollars in the long term). Sleepy babies do take bottles because it requires very little effort to feed from them (one reason why breastfed babies are said to develop their mouth and jaw muscles more fully to help their speech development).
As your baby takes more and more formula your milk supply will decrease further. You could think about pumping to develop your milk supply. I would really suggest you speak to someone. Good Luck.