Unsure... - Am I doomed?

TsurugiButterfly wrote: As if I haven't been gushing about Little T all week, I do have a hungry, cute, handsome little hungry 10 day old. (Hungry repeated for emphasis.)

I had an emergency C/S and due to Tristan's severe anemia, he had to be whisked away and given blood transfusions and so I didn't get a chance to bond with him or put him to breast right away. I started pumping a few hours after the anethesia wore off, and have kept trying diligently. However, I obviously wasn't producing a lot initially, and even though I was bringing in whatever I could muster to the hospital, they were feeding him my milk, plus a supplement of formula in a bottle. They wouldn't even let me try breastfeeding him until the night before he came home, when he was a week old. He seemed to do alright then, but then again that was only one feeding, and then it was back to bottle.

Now that he's home, it's been a little tougher. I can spend nearly an hour trying to get him to even be interested in latching on, even though he's definitely hungry. I keep trying and keep trying, but I really don't have any indicator of whether or not he's really getting enough. I don't feel anything different about feeding, so I don't even really know if my milk has come in -- in other words, I don't feel any letdown. Earlier this afternoon he woke up really hungry, but when I got him to my breast, he wanted nothing to do with it. After a little while of this, I put him down and tried to pump, to see if I could at least offer him my milk in a bottle. I got out about half as much as I normally do, and not nearly enough to compare with how much he will normally eat from a bottle.

Am I doomed? Did the formula-feeding in the hospital ruin my chances of being able to breastfeed him? How do I know if I'm not one of those few unlucky ones who really CAN'T produce enough?

MomToMany replied: CALL A LACTATION CONSULTANT OR LA LECHE LEAGUE NOW!

Yes, I'm sure the bottle feeding in the hospital has something to do with it. You SHOULD'VE been able to nurse him, no matter what. But hospitals are VERY formula friendly, happily sticking bottles into every infant they can.

How often are you pumping at home? This is needed to keep producing milk if he's not latching on. He needs to be having 6-8 wet diapers & 3-4 poopy ones a day to be getting adequate amounts of breastmilk. NURSE HIM OFTEN. DON'T give a bottle right away when he is really hungry. Nurse him first.

And how much formula he drinks is NOT an indication of how much breastmilk he is getting, and should not be comapred to formula. It is VERY RARE for a woman to not produce enough milk for her baby.

Please keep us updated on how he is doing. If your determined to breastfeed, then don't be afraid to ask questions.

CantWait replied: Bottlefeeding could have temporarily confused him, but I don't think it's to late. Are you drinking enough water first of all, the more you drink the better chances you're going to have. As for a let down, you probably won't feel that so early on. I didn't feel mine until my milk finally came in a few weeks later. How often are you offering him the breast. Try and aim for at least every couple hours. Breastfed babies tend to eat more often then bottle fed babies. I'm sure someone will be around to offer you more and better advice, but there's my 2 cents to get you started. Don't give up.

jcc64 replied: It's not too late, but it sounds like you could use a little support. Very few women are under-producers, and give up prematurely b/c of a lack of proper support/info, etc.
I would try little things like eating oatmeal in the morning and drinking a beer in the evening. You'd be amazed at how much doing that just once will dramatically increase your supply. I think you're gonna need a little more help in person from a lactation consultant in order to retrain your baby how to nurse from the breast, which does take a little more work on the part of the infant, particularly if he's gotten used to the quick and easy payoff from a bottle.
It's worth all the hassle and effort in the beginning. Once you establish a good supply, he'll catch on and you won't regret it, believe me. There are alot of women here with lots of good bf advice. Maybe they will offer more...

~Roo'sMama~ replied: I don't have any advice, just wanted to offer some I don't think it's too late either keep trying! And like Mollie said I'd call a lactation consultant for help and support. Good luck!

TsurugiButterfly replied: Thanks so much for the advice! I'm so glad to know that there's still hope for us.

jcc64, you're actually the second person to suggest the beer thing to me, the first was my future MIL. I thought maybe it was a little farfetched, but hey, it just might work.

He's got a visit with his pediatrician tomorrow morning, and so at least I'll have an indication of whether or not he's gained any weight recently. In the meantime, Tristan and I will work on our latching. They really didn't give me much direction at the hospital as far as latching on goes, just sort of plopped a pillow on my lap and rested him on it and away we went.

After reading some of the threads here and articles I've come across on the internet it seems that it's rather unfortunate that hospitals don't give you much information about breastfeeding, particularly for young moms with their first child like me.

msoulz replied:
I can have a BEER?!? Woo hoo, that's pretty good news! I rarely drink but every now and again that sounds good. I thought that would be off limits because of the alcohol!

Insanemomof3 replied: A beer a day is good for milk supply. I hope things work out well!!!

CAMSMOM1 replied:

I agree that the hospital staff/nurses should've given you more support. I was buzzing them like crazy, I'm sure they were tired of me, but I'm paying them big bucks to be in that hospital, and that's part of their job. Sometimes it just depends on the nurses you have. Well that's in the past, sorry you didnt get support early on. I defiently don't think your doomed, and you are still perserving and that's good. I know how frustrating breastfeeding can be for a 1st time Mom.

Here a couple suggestions:
1.) ITA that you should contact a breastfeeding consultant. At the hospital I delivered at, there was a bf staff there. So after I was home and having problems, I went in to them and they really helped me. W/out them I wouldn't have lasted long. They showed me how to hold my breast, how to tell if he's latched, what it feels like when my milk drops, and a lot of other pointers. They also weighed him every time I went in, and checked his belly button to make sure it healed. It was very helpful. They don't just give you advise and let you leave. They watched me breastfeed for a good 30 min. and gave me pointers when needed. This helped me gain the confidence I needed.
2.) ITA that you won't feel your milk let down in the first couple of weeks until you get a good supply in. Remember that they aren't eating large amounts, but they do feed often. ALWAYS offer the breast before the bottle. Babies do get confused because they are using different muscles to breastfeed than they do bottle feeding. As long as when you are pumping, you are having milk come out, you're doing fine.
3.) To get your supply going strong, DRINK AND DRINK SOME MORE! Water, apple juice, the more fluids the more you produce. And this goes hand in hand with pumping. It's a supply and demand. Women with mulitples have 3 times as much milk because they are constantly feeding. Your body will only produce as much as you are feeding. So keep up the pumping, and don't forget to do it at night when the baby is sleeping.
4.) Get lots of rest. If you are stressed out, and not sleeping, your body won't produce as well. Have someone come over, pump for them, and go to bed. Take a nap. Stay rested. Try not to be stressed when you are feeding him. Babies can sense the tension and in return won't want to feed, it also effects your milk from letting down. So stay calm, and try to get in a comfortable position when you are feeding him. Use a Boppy pillow under him.
5.) Dont wait to offer him the breast when he is straving. Off it at the first signs of hungry so he will have an easier time latching.
6.) When you are having him latch on, grab your breast around the areola, in a C shape with your thumb and pointer fingers. Try to get the baby to open his mouth wide enough by tickling his cheek (this is called "rooting reflex"), once his mouth is open wide, place the nipple all the way in. Make sure his airways to his nose aren't blocked, put dont' pull to much at your beast because this can cause him to loose suction. When he takes the breast to his mouth, make sure his mouth covers a large area of the areola, since it is the pressure on the areola, rather than sucking ont he nipple, that stimulates the milk flow.
You will fill when he has a good latch and can hear him swallowing once your milk comes in heavy.
7.) Make sure you are feeding on BOTH breasts, alternate every 15 min.
8.)Last, I read this in my breatfeeding book and here is the quote from it, "Because breast feeding mothers cannot watch their breasts empty, as they could with a bottle, many worry that their babies aren't receiving enough nursihment. These worries are usually unfounded. If your baby has 6-8 wet diapers a day (an indication that he is receiving suffcient fluids) and is increasing in weight, and has good skin tone and generally acts content, he is most likely getting all the nourishment he needs from breast milk."

I am sorry this is the longest post I've ever written. But I felt so strongly about breastfeeding and wanted to give you all the info I had learned, and hope that it encourages you and that it may help you. With that said, I would still go to a BF consultant, ASAP.

Please keep going, the hardest part is almost over...and it's smooth sailing from there! You are doing the best thing for your son, and I applaude you for staying strong and continuing for your baby.

Let us know how this goes. And if you ever need to talk, please PM me.
Best wishes!

Ann

TsurugiButterfly replied: Thank you guys so much! I had intended this morning to make a phone call to my insurance (I have MassHealth, which is like the "free" insurance here in Massachusetts) but luckily at my son's doctor's office, they have a lactation consultant on staff. Score! She spent about an hour with Mike, Tristan and I observing his latch and how he was doing. Turns out we had been doing things right all along. She showed me how to massage and compress the breast in order to keep milk flow going. She also showed me several different positions to hold him in. Mike found the "football" hold rather amusing.

So now we just have to work on keeping him awake through a feeding, but I'm a lot more positive now that we can do this! Woohoo! I was just so worried last night that the poor little guy was starving.

amynicole21 replied: So glad you got in to speak with a professional! Keep up the good work, and don't second guess yourself - you're doing great

MomToMany replied: Glad you got it checked out! Now just let him nurse, nurse, nurse!

CAMSMOM1 replied: I'm so glad you went to a lactation specialist. I'm sure it helped to put your mind at ease. I'm glad they showed you different ways to hold him.

You said you were worried about keeping him awake for the feedings? I had the same problem. I found out that the Vicodin they gave me for my pain from the stiches, had caused him to be very sleepy. (And they said it was safe to take!) So I had to get that out of my system, and I had to strip him down to his diaper. They say skin to skin contact stimulates the baby and causes him to stay awake and feed. Try that and see if it works.

Keep us posted on how things go. I'm sooooooo thrilled you went today, and you're on the right path! Keep up the good work, you're doing awesome!

Ann

TsurugiButterfly replied: I'm not taking any medications for the pain -- they gave me percocet, but I don't like how it makes me feel, so I don't take it. I'm not in any pain anyhow.

I am having some major trouble getting used to the feeding schedule they've set up for Tristan, however. They want him to feed at least 20 minutes on each breast, every 2-2.5 hours. In other words, if he starts a feeding at 10;30, I have to start waking him up at 12:30 and have him feed by 1:00. The problem with this is, he takes forever to wake, and fights me for at least another 10 minutes before latching on. Then, after he's done feeding, he'll be wide awake, and finally fall asleep about oh, 10 minutes before I'm supposed to wake him up again. It's not even nighttime yet, and I'm already wondering where I'm going to find time to sleep :\ Hopefully maybe they'll adjust things again on Friday if he gains weight.

I feel so selfish complaining about trivial things like eating and sleeping, I mean, every new parent KNOWS they're not going to get any sleep or do anything for themselves for a while, right?

amynicole21 replied: I never switched breasts - it is too much of a pain. I single-side nurse, which is actually something that keeps gassiness at bay also. You may want to try it. That way you at least don't have to fight him twice every 2.5 hours. Just let him nurse as long as he is still swallowing (not just sleepy suckling). Then put him to the other breast when it's time to feed him again. It gets easier, trust me

CAMSMOM1 replied: I agree with the doctors on this one. It's very important that you are switching breasts, and every 20 min. on each breast is exactly right. You have to empty out each breasts, because when the breast is almost empty, is why they get the good stuff, the thicker milk. And if you only breast feed on one breasts, the other will stop producing, which isnt good if you want to pump and store your milk.
I know it seems like you're never going to sleep again. Sleep deprivation is the worst! I remember thinking I was going crazy because I never slept. Every 2 hours they need to feed, doesn't give the Mom much of a break. I know they want you to constantly feed him right now, he needs to gain weight and he needs to get secure in BF. But soon, he'll be able to sleep longer, and so will you. But newborns are always eating, and Mom's are never sleeping.
Again, I would try feeding him skin to skin, if he's not wanting to wake up. Take off his clothes, and just have him in his diaper. The skin contact stimulates them. Just make sure it's warm in your house. Or put a blanket on the outside of him, so he can stay warm but still have the contact.
I wish I could give you more to look forward to, as far as the sleeping goes. But I know that it's best for him to feed on each breats, every 2 hours. My son started sleeping through the night at 3 months, so there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Once he gets the BF down, and you both are secure it in, it's ok to give him a bottle of breast milk in the middle of the night, so you can sleep and your husband can feed him. But I wouldn't try that yet. Still to early since he is learning to BF.
let us know how his appt goes on Friday.
If you ever need to talk, feel free to PM me
Ann