thank you to whoever takes the time to read this...my thoughts are somewhat disorganized. im exhausted!
My baby is 3 months old. From the beginning we struggled with his latch and the LC's at the hospital said to use a nipple shield. Things had been going well with the shield and he had gained almost two pounds the first couple of weeks. Then his weight plateaued and he was not gaining the recommended 1 oz per day. We had his lip tie revised to see if that would help with latch and his weight gain. The first couple of months he would nurse one side typically because I had a forceful letdown and oversupply. In order to try and help him not choke while eating I continued to just nurse one side and he seemed satisfied and slept well. For some reason his nursing time decreased and decreased to where he would not even take the second breast when offered and he ONLY nursed ONE side for JUST my letdown. I went to a couple of different LC's and one said that things were okay and just keep trying even if his weight gain is not great. The other said that it was likely my milk supply was low and that we needed to increase it- she said that because of his poor latch and recessed jaw that my supply probably decreased since my breasts were never being fully drained and that is why he was not gaining- her recommendation was that I pump both sides after he eats and then supplement via bottle. For 4 weeks I have been doing this- I can tell that my supply has increased and when we have weighed him before and after nursing his usual few minutes on just one side...the scale reflects he only had eaten 1.5 ounces. He just does not seem to have the desire to eat/nurse. He is content. He will talk and smile after nursing and not indicate that he does not truly have a full belly. I tried nursing him more frequently throughout the day but that did not help with weight gain and just frustrated him. There is no way I can keep nursing when he will not take the other side nor drink on one side long enough to get more than 1.5 ounces. I have continued to pump and offer a bottle but it is a strategic nightmare, especially with another young child at home.
If I felt he was having enough wet diapers and stools then I would be okay. He was 3 weeks old and went 8 days without a stool...this is when I noticed his weight gain issues began- I would imagine he was too young to go that long without a stool. Just last week he nursed 3x at night and by morning his diaper was not all that wet. I want to nurse. I just dont think he will eat enough to allow himself to grow and gain weight well.
Has anyone else had this experience where your baby only nursed one side for just your letdown? I feel like if I were to stop pumping my milk supply would just dry up over a short time.
One of the main concerns from the doctor was that he was 50th percentile at 1 month...and then in between 1 and 2.5 months he went all the way down to 15th.
Weight on Pedi scale:
Birth 6/16/15 (at hospital): 7lb 15oz
6/19/15: 7lb 8oz
7/10/15: 9lb 4oz
8/14/15: 10lb 12 oz
8/31/15: 11 lb 5 oz started supplementing
9/9/15: 11 lb 14 oz
L.C. scale
9/11/15: 11lb 13oz
9/25/15: 12lb 8oz
What is most concerning is the two times, two separate weeks, we had weighed him before and after nursing he only had an intake of 1.5 – 1.75 ounces…and that is it. He shows he is done eating, pushes me out of his mouth and has a sour look on his face because he doesn’t want it…even with 3 hours in between feedings.
Lip tie revised August 24th
Supplementing 2oz after feedings where he only took one breast- which is pretty much all of them during the day. I have tried to do skin to skin during the day, tried to nurse in a dark and quiet room, tried to nurse while he is drowsy, cosleeping, babywearing etc to encourage our nursing relationship and to encourage him to nurse longer and get on both sides. She called him a “happy starver”…he is so chill and content that he doesn’t give strong cues and would eat just an ounce or so every 2-3 hours and not fuss much because of his personality. Nearly had me bawling in her office hearing that. I feel so guilty that I have basically had a starving baby. Last week he nursed 2 or 3 times over night (11pm-6am time frame) and his diaper was barely wet in the morning. His stool patterns started worrying me when he was 3 weeks old- 8 days without a stool which I believe is much too young
Worried about him only getting foremilk and being gassy and not gaining weight because of less fat content each meal.
Worried about losing my supply if not draining even one side each feeding and not even latching once on the second side. He eats only for my letdown.
Worried about him preferring/expecting a bottle after each feeding.
According to the LC we are having issues because he has a recessive bottom jaw, we started out using a nipple shield, poor latch …all reasons why she thinks I had a low supply and he was not gaining well.
I am exhausted from the nurse/bottle feed from previous pump session/pump session on both sides routine. I also have a 2 year old and feel horribly that I am neglecting her and other household duties because of how all-consuming this is.
At this point I feel emotionally attached to pumping/bottle feeding because I know for sure how many ounces he is getting and know that if he wakes a lot at night or takes his short naps that it is not because he is starving. But I do not even know how to read him and his hunger cues anymore- I feel really incompetent and clueless. Ehen i first started pumping directly after each feeding, and pumping on both sides, i would get on average half an ounce to an ounce each side. Now I am getting 2-3 ounces per side. My goal is to simplify. I need to either solely nurse (which is not seeming to work) or solely pump and bottle feed. I cannot do everything all day and night. I have been at this for almost 4 weeks now and am just exhausted and burnt out. I doubt if I even activated a second let down that he would latch on again. he seriously wont no matter what I do. I have been trying breast compressions also to keep him interacting at the breast and continue sucking. I really need to figure something out soon because I have been even considering formula at this point of exhaustion.