Breastfeeding trouble and your next baby

krose0713

The breastfeeding thread got me thinking about my experience and what I'll do with #2 when that time comes. Due to low supply, I only made it to 2 months with LO, and those were a stressful 2 months, but I'm glad we did it. I'm thinking I'll probably EP with my next little one. If you had trouble the first time around, have you thought yet about what you'll do with your next baby?

barnwife

Well, S. is LO3. I have EBF all 3 kiddos.

J. (LO1) and I struggled with many things. For unknown reasons, he tore my nipple to shreds (despite a textbook perfect latch) and I ended up with the worst cracked nipple my MW has ever seen. He was almost FTT and therefore they wanted us nursing lots. But the nipple hurt.

Eventually I demanded a nipple shield, even though it could mean he was getting less milk. 

Then we had his massive spitting up issues (soaking 5 or more burp cloths per session). And I constantly had thrush, plugged ducts, and mastitis.

And that was just the beginning. J. was not an easy NB. 

When I made it to 12 weeks of EBF, I was so happy I made DH get a bottle of champagne. I had totally planned on EBF, but when we had all those issues it didn't seem like it would work out.

Thanks to DH, my amazing MW, and sheer stubbornness on my part, it did.

I am so very happy I didn't give up. J. nursed for 2.5 years. A. is just over 2 and shows no signs of stopping. We shall see what S. does.

If we have any more LOs, I will plan on EBF as long as possible again.

algalphys

I was so afraid to try BF DS2 after my experience with DS1 but DH said I should at least try and it went fabulously this time around. I weaned at 5.5 months because I wanted to but didn't have supply issues.

AlejandraN2

I never made it to BFing this time - with having to be in the hospital for 3 weeks, a poor latch and low supply it was bad from all counts. I tried pumping but by 2 months i was getting an oz a day so i quit. It was stressful and disappointing to not be able to feed her but she loved formula and she kept gaining weight so i went easy on myself. Next time around I hope it's a smoother process and I'll definitely try again. 

Albertsgirl1982

We had a rough start because DS was a nibbler. The staff at our hospital didn't think he was eating at all and my supply was slow to come in. So he started on formula for his first week. Thanks to a very knowledgeable lactation consultant we got back on track and nursing has been awesome ever since. Next time around I will trust my baby more and keep looking for a qualified professional if we need one. Had I listened to the staff at the hospital we would have missed out big time! I also won't pay attention to the whole " feed every 3 hours and only for ten minutes or you're messing up your kid" nonsense. I got so stressed about that and all needlessly. I will have baby on boob all the time. I definitely plan to bf baby number two.

LJSWmomma

I will definitely try again! DS refused to latch, and I let the pressure get to me. My hubby was slightly worried about me because I was so disappointed in myself. I attempted to reach out to an LC but could have done way more. I pumped for awhile but then could not keep up. I reached out for help at the hospital, but felt like I didn't get much help on that end.

I am now, however, a firm believer that formula is JUST FINE and that the main focus should be on loving and caring for your little one. :-)

LnR70707

I had trouble with DS, so I definitely felt better prepared with DD.   With DS, he was 5 weeks early and I had a retained placenta, both of which contributed to low supply.  I also didn't pump nearly enough in those first few days.  I ended up supplementing and pumping, but did make it 13 months (just kept setting short term goals) This time through I knew I needed to be a much better advocate for myself, particularly when DD also ended up in the NICU but my milk was still slow to come in so we supplemented in the very beginning with her too.   I ended up with an oversupply, and then when I finally corrected that DD started losing weight and we discovered she was tongue tied.  We are fine now and I plan to keep going until around 13 months or so (I pump for 2 bottles currently and I'm ditching that at 1 year, we'll see with nursing).  So each experience was completely different...if we'd found DD's tongue tie early on, I'd say (aside from the NICU time) my BFing experience the 2nd time would have been mostly problem free.

Tally879

We struggled until he was about 2 months old.  My supply was low and LO was a very lazy eater.  We went to 3 lactation sessions a week for the first 2 months (they were group breastfeeding classes and were absolutely wonderful).  Everything clicked for us at 2 months and I'm glad we struggled through because he's an excellent nurser now and I'm able to pump enough during the work day without it being too much of nuisance. For the next one I will breastfeed again and will struggle through if I need to again.  I think what helped me was because I read everyone's struggles on here about breastfeeding I didn't put a ton of personal pressure on myself for it not going well.  I gave him formula when he needed it and just kept trying as best as I could.

happybride 276

@krose0713‌ I EP and I have to tell you that it is a huge pain in the ass. In theory it sounded like the best thing for my son and I, but 8 months of EPing is wearing on me. I love that I am supplying him with my milk, but I work very hard for every drop.

If I have a second baby I will work harder with a LC to get a great latch and make sure they drain my milk (since that was the issue with DS). I also have a supply issue, so I will pump in the hospital to help my supply come in. I will also take supplements from day 1 to help my supply as well.

llybeck

I think I will try again but I'm not going to worry about it or let it get to me. We had such a horrible time with BFing, I didn't feel comfortable about it at all and DD had some issues that we later found out contributed to her not BFing (really terrible lip and tongue tie that we just had corrected on Friday). I also had very little supply and my body didn't respond to pumping, I got almost nothing and it never improved no matter how much I pumped. I ended up just bleeding really bad every time. 

I saw at least a dozen LCs and most were incredibly defeating and no help at all. The LCs at the hospital actually yelled at me while I was already bawling because I couldn't make it work and she eventually grabbed my boob and DD's head and very aggressively just smashed them together, I was so horribly upset and I wanted to quit that second. I kept going as well as I could for about 3 weeks but I was supplementing with formula as soon as we got home, she was screaming non-stop and would be so frustrated from getting almost nothing that I didn't know what else to do. She lost so much weight in the hospital that she was FTT so we had to get her weight up, it was a lot more than the normal weight drop that usually happens. It was actually my OB, our pediatrician, and our family doctor that made me feel better about FFing. 

In all honesty, I don't want to even attempt BFing with any other babies I have. I hated every second of it and formula isn't going to be the make or break for my kid's future. I'm sure I will try because of how horribly pushy and belittling the nurses can be about it but it's probably not something I will continue for long and I'm okay with that.

fairdinkum

I'll try it, but I'm not setting any goals for myself this time. I originally wanted to EBF for one year. I barely made it three months before supplementing, because after multiple weight checks and tests, it was determined that my LO needed more calories than I could give her. I felt awful for a while but I eventually moved on. I no longer feel like it was my fault, and if future baby needs formula to thrive, that's what he or she will get. No guilt.

thedash

Both of my kids have gotten a mixture of breastmilk and formula. DS stopped latching around 3 months old and I didn't correct it so I ended up pumping and supplementing until 6 months and then just using formula. DD is a great nurser but I still supplement with formula so I only have to pump one time per day at work.