March 2014 Moms
laurenann89
member
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Looking for Breastfeeding Advice
laurenann89
member
Hey everyone! I'm looking for some breastfeeding advice/encouragement.
My LO was born on March 23, and he's now just over 4 weeks old. We tried exclusively breastfeeding first, but he had trouble latching and he developed jaundice soon after he was born, so his doctor had me supplement his feeding with formula.
Unfortunately, this led to bottle feeding, which led to latch issues, which led to pumping and supplementing rather than breastfeeding like I wanted. After meeting with a lactation consultant last week, she told me I could still breastfeed even though he had been bottle feeding for 3 weeks.
We've been trying and he latches on to my right breast pretty good, but it makes my nipple/breast hurt during and after he finishes for a while. Is this bc he's latching incorrectly, or is my breast just getting used to breastfeeding?
My left breast has a flat nipple, so it's harder for him to latch on. When feeding from the left he pulls off quickly and screams and flails. I don't know if this is a let down issue, or the flat nipple, or flow confusion from bottle feeding.
I should also mention my AF started after just 3 and half weeks. Does this change things? I've noticed my supply on the pump drastically reduced around the time I started AF. I went from pumping 3-4 ounces per sitting to barely 1.5 ounces.
Breastfeeding was already overwhelming, but even more so since we've had a rocky start. Is there anyone else out there who breastfed after their baby was established on the bottle? Advice is welcome!
Edit: I forgot to mention that I've also posted this on the breastfeeding board also. It's the first time I've ventured off the March14 board!
My LO was born on March 23, and he's now just over 4 weeks old. We tried exclusively breastfeeding first, but he had trouble latching and he developed jaundice soon after he was born, so his doctor had me supplement his feeding with formula.
Unfortunately, this led to bottle feeding, which led to latch issues, which led to pumping and supplementing rather than breastfeeding like I wanted. After meeting with a lactation consultant last week, she told me I could still breastfeed even though he had been bottle feeding for 3 weeks.
We've been trying and he latches on to my right breast pretty good, but it makes my nipple/breast hurt during and after he finishes for a while. Is this bc he's latching incorrectly, or is my breast just getting used to breastfeeding?
My left breast has a flat nipple, so it's harder for him to latch on. When feeding from the left he pulls off quickly and screams and flails. I don't know if this is a let down issue, or the flat nipple, or flow confusion from bottle feeding.
I should also mention my AF started after just 3 and half weeks. Does this change things? I've noticed my supply on the pump drastically reduced around the time I started AF. I went from pumping 3-4 ounces per sitting to barely 1.5 ounces.
Breastfeeding was already overwhelming, but even more so since we've had a rocky start. Is there anyone else out there who breastfed after their baby was established on the bottle? Advice is welcome!
Edit: I forgot to mention that I've also posted this on the breastfeeding board also. It's the first time I've ventured off the March14 board!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Looking for Breastfeeding Advice
When the pain is from his latch, I notice he sucks a ridge into my nipple lengthwise and blanches out the tip, and the pain is worst at the end of a session.
When the pain is just ordinary breastfeeding pain, it's worst at the BEGINNING of a session, and I don't notice ridges or blanching---just chapping!
@bmerr yikes! I can't imagine bleeding with it, that's gotta suck! Hopefully things will get better for both of us. At least we know we're trying to do what's best for baby!
@LiFeIsAmIrAcLe thank you for the encouragement! It's always nice to know there's others out there that find it difficult so I'm not going at it alone! We can do it!