Need help...Bf'ing experts needed

Brewster

Ok, so we have had a major set back in bf'ing here.  I haven't given up, but Maren stopped producing wet diapers yesterday.  She went from 1 am to probably 8 pm last night dry.  She was still having some small blackish poopy diapers, but she hasn't progressed from that.  I am still nursing her and even pumping now.  I pump after she eats, but am only getting 1/4-1/2 an ounce total.  I also started giving her a little bit of formula after she eats b/c of the lack of diapers.  I want that to be VERY temporary though.  What can I do?  Does this sound normal for a 4 day old?  I am really worried about her.

 Also, last night she was up screaming for about an hour.  Nothing I tried would calm her.  I finally figured out she had some gas.  I must have eaten something that didn't agree with her.  Is there a list of foods I should avoid?  The only thing I can come up with is onions that would have bothered her.  

I don't want to give up, but am already having flashbacks of how it was with Noah...which was not good and didn't last long.  I would appreciate ANY advice at all you can give that will help me be successful.  Thanks.

triplea1819

How often are you nursing her now?  Try every 60 mins from start to start if you can.  Then do a minimal amount of formula, less then 1 oz after each feeding.  I had to do this with DS starting day 3 because he was not having enough wet diapers, and was still producing the meconium poop and not flushing it.  As long as you stay under the 1 oz of formula each time, you should not stretch her stomach enough for her to demand more than you can supply. 

 I think the drs want wet diaper, at min every 5-6 hours.  So if that continue more than 1 day, call the dr. 

List of foods that commonly cause gas-

Onion, garlic, soy, anything with milk product, yogurt, all cheeses etc..  Spicy foods.  Read food labels, you will be surprised at what has milk and soy product. 

 Good luck.  Congratulations.

 

Brewster

She is eating every 2 ish hours during the day and goes longer at night.  I am only giving her .5-1 ounce of formula after she nurses.  We are going to the doctor first thing tomorrow morning, thank goodness.  I think I may need to make an appt with a lactation consultant after that.  I am so frustrated and can't help but feeling like a failure here.  This is my second child with the same problems.  Ughhh.

So basically eat carbs, bland protiens, and fruits?  Won't must veggies cause gas too?  

Zenya

Call an IBLC in the morning and do a weigh/feed/weigh.  That's really the best way to see what you're transferring.  The LC will check for a good latch too and maybe see if your baby is tongue tied or anything like that.

Is your milk in?  

I wouldn't stress about the pumping that much (the output, I mean).  Some people can never respond to a pump.  

newborns are kind of gassy so I wouldn't worry about the foods, yet.  Eventually dairy is your most likely culprit.

Do you have a LLL near you?  They can offer phone support, too.  They sent a member to my home on day 5 for me b/c I was a wreck and C wasn't peeing, either.  My milk didn't come in until that day.

Nurse.. nurse.. nurse.  Get your DH to take Noah out for the day (or part of the day) and just focus on your baby.  I hardly saw Christopher the first week I had Sara but it meant that when DH went back to work, S and I were pros.  Lots of skin to skin contact.  

I remember the stress like it was yesterday!  

check kellymom for videos on good latch etc. 

Zenya

Make sure you are drinking enough water, too!  And sleeping.

Definitely try for more often than 2 hours.  Try for hourly.  I really got my milk to come in with DS once I just nursed him all day long.

AnneUCSB

Ditto everything Zenya said.  Especially the skin-to-skin and more frequent nursing.  Every 90 minutes should be the max time you go between feedings and be sure you are pumping (with breast massage and hand expression before or after) after EACH feed (even at night!).  Then, you can supplement Maren with the pumped milk rather than formula.  It's going to be a lot of work for a week or so, but the first 3 weeks are crucial for building your milk supply, so if you can power through now, you're more likely to be successful in the future.  Good luck and hang in there!

mamarazzi

I'm no expert, but I am EBFing my second, so I'll share my advice.

I'd just get comfy on the couch and nurse all.day.long.  With Law, I thought he *should* be going longer between feedings and with Andersen, I just gave in and let him use me as a pacifier.  My milk came in much sooner and more plentifully.

As for the gas -- at that age, it's probably a product of her gulping air when she eats and cries.  AJ has MSPI and he didn't present symptoms right away.  I think it typically takes some time for the food(s) that affect them to build up in their system enough to cause issues.  Plus, if it was just the one time, I would guess she just had a gas bubble.  I our wouldn't stress about your diet quite yet -- but if she consistently has issues, I'd first cut out dairy and give it a few days to see if it makes a difference.  If I have so much as one M&M, Andersen is a mess for two days.  The dairy REALLY affects him.

Definitely ask an LC for help.  Hopefully Maren pees soon.  Hang in there!

squishywife

ditto.  morgan was literally on me all.day.long.  the first few weeks were rough...but here we are almost 13 mons later and only 1 working boob.  i would skip the formula and just lay in bed and let her nurse.

jorie

squishywife:

ditto.  morgan was literally on me all.day.long.  the first few weeks were rough...but here we are almost 13 mons later and only 1 working boob.  i would skip the formula and just lay in bed and let her nurse.

ditto.  E is literally attached to one of my boobs 24/7.  She doesn't eat much at one time (which allows me to pump the other side while she's eating and pump the remainder of the side that she doesn't empty) but she eats all day long.   

CTFandme

I don't know if I have anything more to add, but I wanted to say congrats. I haven't been on in a while to say it previously .

I'm EBFing dd and we had LOTS of issues in the beginning. My milk didn't come in right away and she was on me all.the.time.  I almost gave up because not only was she always on me, but she didn't latch well so I was bleeding and sore for almost 4 weeks.  We powered through it and now we're pros.  I gave her formula once or twice, but that was it. I couldn't pump without bleeding so we were limited with options.  As frustrating and exhausting as it is, I agree with everyone else and say let her be on you as much as possible. drink lots of water and eat!  you need the calories to produce milk.   Just don't give up. You can do it!!!  Have you checked out he BFing board?  There are some girls over there with some great info.   

Zenya

no longer than 3 hours during the night btw!  all that will ease up in time but for now you need to really push it all the time (push nursing on her, I mean).

kylara111

My milk didn't start coming in until a week PP.  I gave DD formula and pumped when I could in the meantime because she was starving and screaming and I was suffering and in major pain.  It was only temporary.  I BF successfully for 10m without once my milk was established. 

braesmommy

Hang in there I know it can be hard.  I agree with the suggestions of all the other ladies on here.  Also if you talk to a lactation consultant see if you can get your hands on a "supplemental nursing system"  (you can google it to see what I am talking about).  The LC at the hospital gave me one to use for the first week or so.  DD was pretty small when she was born and she was also having a hard time keeping her blood sugar up so I had to supplement with some formula to help her before my milk came in.  It also helped my milk come in faster since she was "nursing" but she was also getting the fluids and nutrients she needed from the formula.  Good luck with the nursing and your kids are adorable.

weddingbellenyc

this is the best i can offer- put her to the boob all the time. like every hour. more if thats what you need to do. stop the pumping for now if you can. otherwise do it if thats the only way she take the expressed bm through a syringe or bottle for now.  or pump if you need some releif... but really just getting her used to you for now might be best. also right after she is finished eating try to keep her upright or on an incline for 30 min to ease any tummy issues. do not give up- you can do it : ) just really do it a lot. gl!

Sulla

What everyone else said. With two small adds.

Just to explain why you need to nurse so often. Every time you're giving her formula, you're telling your body that she needs less milk than she does. (Your body doesn't know she's drinking formula, so it's making less milk -- it works entirely on supply and demand and will only make as much as is stimulated by nursing. It's better to kind of overstimulate now and cut back later than try to make up for too little.) So you're kind of shooting yourself in the foot if you want to ebf. Fine if you don't mind being dependent on formula, but if you want to establish a good milk supply, that formula in the early days can really hurt. 

Secondly, this link is awesome about gassy newborns and your diet. There's a huge misconception out there: gas from foods you eat, in your digestive tract, does NOT get into your breast milk. Newborns are often just naturally very gassy because their digestive systems are so immature.

https://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/gassybaby.html

Good luck! Hang in there. (I ebfed both of mine...)