Nervous about BFing Baby #2
With DD1 she swallowed some fluid on her way out and she was not hungry for a few days. So she never really latched or ate very much her first 3 days old. So I was not stimulated enough and my LC did not tell me to pump in the hospital so it took over 10 days to get my milk in and by then I had to supplement with formula by order from the pedi b/c she lost a lot of weight. And then my milk supply was always low even though I started pumping like crazy and taking mothers milk plus to increase it. I finally gave up at 3 months.
I am wondering if it would benefit from pumping in the hospital with this one? Maybe give myself the best chances to have a good supply? I really want it to work with this one and I would rather not have to BF, pump, and supplement every feeding like I did with DD1. Any other suggestions?
Re: Nervous about BFing Baby #2
Hello, I had this exact same situation with my daughter (born 1/11/11). She inhaled fluid and was in supplemental oxygen (incubator) for almost 72 hours. During that time, I used a hospital grade pump during that time, every 2-3 hours except during the night (longer), and my milk came in with no problem by the 4th day after birth. I had no supply issues and am thankful to my LC for her encouragement on using the pump. I ended up giving her all of the colostrum I pumped in a bottle and then she latched on just fine.
So yes, to answer your question- take advantage of that hospital grade pump and your supply will be just fine if that happens again.
i kinda think there's no way to tell what will happen.
my older daughter just would not latch. worked with LC in the hospital plus the nurses assigned to us and had another LC come to us at home a few times, and no luck. the hospital LC had me pumping from day 1. and i pumped for 6 months before switching to formula.
my youngest latched immediately and i didn't start pumping until the week before i returned to work. breastfeeding worked well for us and she's 9.5mos old and it's still working. i did not expect that after the last time!
i think i went in much calmer and more confident the 2nd time. i did not want to EP, so it was going to work or we'd do formula.
if the baby latches, i don't think there's no need for you to pump in the hospital. i'd wait and see, and try not to stress!
I would wait and see as well. DD had horrible jaundice for 6 weeks after birth and was so sleepy that she hardly ate and therefore didn't stimulate my supply and I struggled to pump enough for 12 months.
I was worried with #2 that I would have issues again but he has done just fine from day 1. Pumping occasionally at the beginning probably wont hurt but I would be careful about pumping too much and creating an oversupply which can cause a lot of issues also. I would just wait and see. At least this time you know that if you are having problems right away to start pumping and hopefully prevent supply issues later.
Hopefully you'll be able to have your baby with you from birth on, in which case you'll be able to start breastfeeding right away.
With DS1, he was taken to the NICU for antibiotics, but he had initially latched/had some skin-to-skin contact within an hour or so of his birth. Buuut, I was given a pump and started pumping really soon after he was taken away.
Can you find a LC now while you're pregnant, and get some ideas of what to do when #2 is born, and also have someone on reserve if you need extra help? And you can always ask for a pump at the hospital if you can't be with your baby right away.
Good luck, and try not to worry - what happened with your first will probably not happen with your second!
DS2 - Oct 2010 (my VBAC baby!)
I'm nervous too, for different reasons. We made it to 2-years, but we had a lot of trouble the first week/month. I really want things to go more smoothly this time.
In your situation, I would start pumping early if that were to happen again. I think my milk supply was chronically low for our entire BFing experience because we had such a rocky start.
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