@AmyG*...

SarahDavis83

So here's the full story...

Trevor was born with a tongue tie and I have flat nipples, so he had trouble latching from the beginning. He had the tongue tie clipped when he was one day old. He still had trouble latching. For four days in the hospital I used the lactation consultants as often as I possibly could. I got so many different tips on what to do, and I tried everything. The LCs could usually get him latched, but it was difficult. One LC even tested his suck with her finger and said it was good and she felt we could be successful. Then it took until day 6 for my milk to come in, so we ended up having to supplement until it came in. My nips were also raw at this point from multiple poor latches. I ended up having to pump to keep my supply, and then finally around day 12, he started latching here and there. We'd have good days and bad days. Bad days I pumped, good days he would feed for 20-30 minutes each side and still be hungry. I would have to follow with formula after breastfeeding. I think the mistake was I didn't always pump when he had formula, but that was because my nips were in so much pain. Then I ended up with this yeast infection and decided to exclusively pump for a couple days to allow myself to heal. Then all of the sudden I went from getting 3-4oz per pump session to maybe 1oz per session. When I breastfed yesterday, I had to follow with 3oz of formula, which tells me he barely got anything from his 20 minutes per side... And I was in so much pain, I was crying the whole time. I've tried Fenugreek, lactation tea, oatmeal, chugging tons if water... Think my supply is pretty much gone and nothing I do brings it back. I wish I could've kept it up long enough to get past this infection and pain, especially since he knows how to latch now. So frustrating and heartbreaking. :'(

SarahDavis83

AmyG asked me to post the whole story for her to see if she could figure out where my real issue was. I'm considering waving the white flag because I feel I'm out of options, but I have no desire to. I've done a weighted feeding. It was about two weeks ago. He fed for 30 minutes one side and 20 minutes on the other, and hot about 3oz. We had to follow with an ounce of formula. She told me to pump if he had formula. The problem with that for us was that he would feed for an hour and then I'd have to give him a bottle, and then pump for 15-20 minutes. By the time it was all done, I had a 30 minute break before he was ready to start the whole process again. I just couldn't do it!

Tell me more about "nursing vacation". I'm interested, but nervous since I'm still in a lot of pain from the infection and the cracks in my nips.

ETA: I should also add that I still feel a let down about every two to three hours. But then I go to pump and get maybe an ounce... An ounce total, not per side! And that is after 20-30 minutes of pumping.

ETA 2: Also, this morning when I pumped, my breast that usually produces the most milk only produced 5ml and it was almost clear. Just now it was white again and I got an ounce out. I'm all over the place!

SarahDavis83

@hercules03, I'll look into the nursing vacation. I'm just worried about my damaged nips making it through that!!!

SarahDavis83

Well, you're right. It's been unintentional, but it seems he's only been eating 6-7 times per day most days, so that does explain why he's taking in so much each feeding. I just figured this out by checking my daily log. Most day feedings we have to wake him up for. If I try to only give him 3oz, he asks for more by continuously rooting and then getting upset if we don't give him more. Also, when he's at the breast, he usually falls asleep while sucking. He seems to still swallow, but he slows down a lot, almost like he's using my as a pacifier. I have to force him off, otherwise he'll go forever. And hey, honestly, I'd let him stay on if I'm allowed to do that and my nips weren't so damaged. I should also note, the nurse at my pedi's office said not to let him go more than 30 minutes on each breast because then he's just using me as a pacifier. From what I'm hearing and reading now though, that "pacifier" time could be helping me produce more milk... So maybe I should be allowing it?? Of course, that's assuming I'm no longer bleeding from the nips...

SarahDavis83

And btw, I'm so grateful to both of you for helping me out! I'm desperate for this to not be the end if my BFing journey. It's extremely important to me!

SarahDavis83

So we've had a little success tonight... He fed for 48 minutes on the left and then 11 on the right. Got hungry again about 45 minutes later, so I've got him on the right again. I'm having some pain, but it's bearable. Hopefully it stays that way.....

SarahDavis83

Yeeeaaah, I got a little overconfident and tried to EBF for the night. Started at 8pm, have spent a total of an hour on each, and I'm raw again! Sigh. Bottle time.

SarahDavis83

We tried a nipple shield multiple times and it didn't work. I successfully latched him yesterday morning and the night before. I did too much because it reopened my wounds that weren't quite healed, and they were bleeding. So I've just been pumping and mixing what I can with formula. I've calmed down about it. If this ends up being the only way I can get my breastmilk to him, then so be it. Even if it's only 20% breastmilk, at least it's something. Once my nips have healed, I'll try latching again, and will probably go to another LC appt. But until my nips are healed, this is how we'll do it.

SarahDavis83

Ok, I'll call tomorrow!