can we talk breastfeeding?

ambigs

we made it home from the hospital today!  yay!    now it seems i'm just waiting for reality to set in!

 meanwhile....i am really starting to struggle with breastfeeding....i had really wanted it to work out this time and the fact that i'm already questioning that has me worried!

the lactation consultants at the hospital were great.  they said caroline (and i) were doing a good job, the main problem is my milk not being in yet.  caroline wants it NOW and doesn't want to put forth any work if she's not going to get anything in return.  yesterday they had me start pumping to help with stimulation and to get my milk to come in.  we set up a plan and i was feeling good. 

unfortunately today i can barely even get her to latch on at.all.  she gets completely riled up and the only way i've found to calm her is to give her formula via a syringe, trying to coax her on.  then it seems when and IF i do get her on....she just falls asleep. 

i can tell thru pumping my milk is getting closer to coming in.  i'm at least able to collect a couple ml's of liquid gold....i'm just not sure what to do in the meantime.  the last two feedings caroline screams and i end up in tears.  DH is willing to do whatever i need him to do to help, i just don't know what to tell him. 

any words of advice or encouragement would be much appreciated!

PurdueMama14

You are not alone!  I was in the SAME boat as you were a couple months ago with DS. I know how super frustrating it is! Our LO never had a good latch and would just scream at my breast because he was so hungry but refused to latch!  I worked with lactation consultants at the hospital, but no luck...

I ended up exclusively pumping for the first 6 weeks until my supply just couldn't keep up with DS's demand. It seemed like I was pumping 24 hours a day! We switched to formula at 6 weeks. I was so disappointed, but DS is healthy and happy as can be so that's all that matters.

If you can, just take a day and lay in bed or get comfy in a rocker and try to nurse as much as possible. Or see if you can meet with or talk to a lactation consultant again and get some advice.

Sorry I don't have better advice for you. Mainly, I just wanted you to know that you aren't alone and I know how much it sucks and how frustrating it can get! Maybe some of the other ladies here can give you better advice! 

 

 

marleysmom

Yep. Breastfeeding has been by far for me the most stressful part of having a baby. My advice to is to 1) know that whatever happens is okay. 2) My mantra has been: this too shall pass. There have been a lot of really frustrating times with each baby and I thought I was going to lose it and I freaked trying to solve the problem. But the answer to most of those problems was to just do our best to get by and know the situation would eventually either get better in its own time or at least become more manageable and not a big deal. I think that's true for breastfeeding and raising kids in general. I hope that time comes quickly for you! Hang in there!

brithil

I obviously have no good advice for you...but I wanted to say that you are a great mom and doing a great job! Hang in there!

andiandlou

Like other people said...no matter what you decide in the end, don't make that feel like you're not a good mommy for not breast feeding. 

The best advice i can give is that you need to try and find a place where you can be calm and relax before you start bf, because babies even this small may be able to sense when we're stressed. My milk didn't come for 5 days....but I kept trying, and DS got really frustrated and angry and at that point I will give him a little formula. I also used little drops of formula on nipples to encourage DS to latch on. I was determined to breastfeed my baby and didn't give up...and finally on day five my milk came and he was one happy baby

I'm not sure where you delivered, but most LC's are willing to keep working with mammas once they have gone home with baby so don't be afraid to call them up. One of my neighbors who was also having trouble with breastfeeding joined a b/f group and that really seemed to help her. 

I hope this helps, you can send me a msg if you want to talk more about it or have any specific questions (I'm no expert, but I can tell you about my experience and about advice I got from my mom and other people in my life) 

kitkat145

Contact a lactation consultant at the hospital. I also went to breastfeeding support groups and they were great. Best of luck to you...it is still very early and things can change quickly!

Kymbirleigh

The lactation consultant I worked with suggested trying to express a little bit out before trying to latch on... That way they can get a taste of it and calm down... It's worked for me. Sometimes I still have to do it, because since she's been getting the bottle she wants the easy route...

It is a challenge, and I almost gave up, but I've gone back to being determined to make it work, and have had success. Yes, we still struggle sometimes when she doesn't want to work for it....but she usually settles down after a really good fit and nurses without popping off mad.