Breastfeeding woes!

appletobe

Hello all!

I am a new mom, baby is 16 days old! Breastfeeding has been a major challenge to say the least.

Baby girl is really having a hard time STILL with her latch, and is very fussy on my boob. I give up easily and give her a bottle of the pumped breastmilk. She also needs a nipple shield or wont even latch at all. I find that her mouth really just doesn't open up wide enough to really get in there and sometimes shes more amenable to the boob and other times she literally just rejects it. 

It's all feeling so hard and I want to know that I am still going to have time to establish this for us.

I want to know that its not setting us back TOO much by giving her some bottles here and there.

Please help! 

SmallyMcSmall

Sounds like you're doing the best you can and that's exactly what your little girl needs from you. If you haven't already, go see a lactation consultant and do it sooner rather than later. They could help with your latching problem and possibly determine if there's any underlying cause, such as a lip or tongue tie, or simply just show you some more techniques to help with latching.

As for the whole "bottle every so often thing", that's not a bad thing. I WISH I could get my 3 month old to take a bottle! As of now, he's still EBF and I've been trying for two months to introduce bottle feeding him pumped milk and he's just not having it. Remember, breast isn't always best, FED is best!

Its good that your LO takes a bottle for the reason that you can leave her with somebody if you ever wanted to get a little time to yourself, weather it be to grocery shop, grab a coffee or lunch with a friend/ family member, or even to catch a little sleep. 

Knottie1462564267

I wish I could get my 11 month old to take a bottle.
3yo was bottle fed, and I do prefer breast, but, a bottle would be handy at times.

It sounds like you're doing what you need to do, and we'll done for continuing. Definitely look into a lactation specialist for some help, or, do you have La Leche League over there? Google them and give them a call, they're awesome.
Unfortunately, internetters are not in a position to help with this beyond offering words of encouragement and support (which goes a long way in itself). You need professionals, and demonstrations, etc.
Best of luck.

ladylolly89

I took a break from breastfeeding when DS was 10 days old. It was just exhausting and painful, not to mention dealing with forceful letdown/oversupply. DS would cough and choke and spit up most of it, and that was too much for us to deal with along with being overwhelmed with lack of sleep and everything else that comes with a newborn.  
I exclusively pumped for two weeks before gradually reintroducing BFing. He's going on 8 weeks now and will happily take either breast or bottle. Do what works for you! 

smn14

My LO was using nipple shields until 8 weeks old, she wouldn't latch without them. Then She just was big enough to do it and we feed without now. I went to see lactation consultants too and they said if it's the choice between shields or stopping feeding, then use the shields as long as you need to. From info I read on la leche league's website, there is a window from 8-12 weeks when babies are able to latch when they maybe haven't before. Keep at it, you are doing your best! 

korpatch

After two days of breastfeeding at the hospital, my nipples were so torn up I couldn't  even stand to breastfeed. My guy's latch was sooooo shallow. I tried everything. I had to pump and bottle feed for a week and a half to let them heal. I really wanted to nurse!
when I tried to get him to breast, he would shake his head and latch on and off over and over. It was painful and frustrating for him and I. I would give up after ten minutes (like the lactation expert told me too) and give him a bottle of my breast milk. I went to the lactation consultant many times. We tried nipple shields and different holds. I tried pushing his jaw down while he was feeding and we only ended up with a bruise on his chin. Nothing worked and the latch was still extremely shallow and painful. We went to the chiropractor and got results at first, but then nothing. The lactation consultant said to ask the pediatrician about a tongue and lip tie.The pediatrician said that he didn't have one, but that I should try putting him to breast and not giving him a bottle at all but just keep trying till he took the breast since he had gained back his birth weight and an extra pound. This was at two weeks.
It took 40 minutes of latching on and off the first time, 20 the second... Etc... By the end of the day, he was on without pulling off!!! The only problem was his latch was so shallow, it hurt worse than any pain I've ever experienced in my life! I screamed louder than him because of the pain.
By weeks 4 I was going to a different chiropractor because she was at my husbands work, and she specializes in pediatric chiropractic. This is after having gone to every lactation meeting, le lacha club, lactation consults and pediatrician. My nipples were cherry red, but not bleeding or cracked.
Anyway after one more week, week 5, this chiropractor suggested that I get a second opinion on the tongue tie. My baby obviously had a pretty extreme lip tie and the lip tie never comes without a tongue tie. 
Weeks six ( I've now been having extreme pain for 4 straight weeks my football hold which had been working better than cross cradle as far as pain was starting to hurt very badly too) I saw a dentist who specializes in tongue and lip ties. On a scale from 1-4 in severity, my baby had a 3 in both tongue and lip!! The pediatrician missed them because they aren't trained for that and think they are a fad. Watching him get them clipped and having to rub the wounds multiple times a day was some of the hardest things I've had to do and the results we not immediate, so I thought it didn't work!
By week 8 we started having some good sessions. (His muscles had not been used correctly for so long, he didn't know how to used them and they were weak so it took him a while to learn!) it still hurt, but my nipples were starting to heal.
I'm now at weeks ten with pretty much no pain. It was a long road full of bad advice, even from a lactation consultant and pediatrician. I experienced more pain than I ever have in all my life. My poor son was layed down forcefully on the bed more than a few times. ( never to the point of pain or trama, but I still can't believe I did that!) I don't know how I continued on breastfeeding except that I'm stubborn. I was wanting to smack the next person who wanted to tell me that it would get better and that I was such a strong momma!!! Erg!!!
i tell you my journey so that hopefully you won't have to go through it. Find a specialist in tongue and lip ties (people travel from surrounding states to see the guy I went to). It is not a fad. It can be a legit problem that needs to be fixed ASAP! If I had gotten the correct diagnosis sooner, my little guy wouldn't have taken as long to break bad habits and build up new muscle and I wouldn't have been in pain for an additional 6 weeks!!!
My son is now almost eleven weeks old and went from 7lb1oz and 19in to 13lb9oz and 24in. We love our pain free time together now!
Good luck and hang in there... I say that even though I'm sure you want to punch the next person who tells you that...

ecwk

I had *such* trouble in the beginning with my LO latching. He would only nurse with a shield but has since sort of weaned himself from it and I only really use it at night for MOTN feeds because I think he is too tired or lazy to latch properly. 
Well done for being so committed to it, it sure isn't easy! 
I don't think you should worry about the bottles to be honest. A friend of mine who also has a three month old went through hell trying to get her to take a bottle. She flat out refused it. She began to reverse cycle and go long stretches during the day without eating when mom was at work and then eating allllll night long. You're doing great, you really really are.