When did you let BF go?

gtbride&groom

My twin girls are 15 days old and my milk supply still hasn't come in.  (Girls were born 37 weeks 2 days via c-section at 7lbs 4oz and 6 lbs 3 oz).  At our 2 week weight check they were close to their birth weight but only gaining about 0.5 oz/day and the pedi likes to see 1-1.5 oz/day.  She suggested that I stop putting my smallest to the breast b/c she seems to be a lazy at nursing and is using more energy than getting in return.  However, my largest one she suggested to keep at each breast for 15 min, then bottle feeding and then pump.  When I do pump I hardly get anything.  It takes me about 3- 20 min pumping sessions to get 5 mL off of one breast.  Needless to say, with this schedule I get about 1 hr sleep before the next feeding.

I just don't know when to throw in the towel on BF.  How did you decide???

amyl2585

I let it go at 3 weeks. I started pumping and only was getting about 2 oz a day. It became too much. I wish my milk came in. FWIW, I was induced and gave birth at 37 1/2 weeks due to medical reasons.

SoonToBeMsP

I, personally, would keep trying. If they are gaining, they are getting milk. My DD (born under 6lbs full term) only gained 5oz in 10 days and just barely made it back to her birthweight by her 2 week appt. Ped never told me to stop BFing, so I kept trekking on. We did have to go back the following week and she ended up gaining more than an ounce a day, and this trend has continued. We are still BFing successfully now, thanks to persevering. 

I would keep trying, if that is what you want to do. Spend a lot of time doing skin to skin and keep putting both babies to the breast. At that age, their stomachs are so small, so it might seem like you don't have a lot of milk, but it's OK! And I am sure you've heard that babies are (generally) much more efficient at getting milk than a pump, so don't fret that you're not pumping much... especially if you're pumping AFTER you feed one/both of your LOs.

gtbride&groom

Well their weight gain was with supplementing with formula....

4LittleDuckies

It's up to you. I would try a little longer though. I decided to stop BFing when DS was too big and getting teeth.

weaselwhiskers

I BFd until about 3 weeks - my LO got SO worked up and was so rough on my nipples that our nursing sessions would end with both of us in tears.  I started pumping, thinking that maybe we would have to supplement with formula but after a couple of weeks my supply picked up and now I'm able to even put some away in the freezer.

If you can pump for another week or two maybe your supply will catch up?  Can someone help you with feedings so that you can concentrate on just pumping at night?  I'm sure getting adequate rest will affect how much you can produce.  Good luck!

HappyToBe2012

I stopped trying to breastfeed when DD was a week and a half.  I had cracked nips and trying to nurse just led to tears from both of us.  I do pump and then suppliment the nights with formula.  I could probably skip the formula at night but we decided we would rather give her the formula now and spread the breastmilk out as long as possible, so every few days I put a couple bags worth in the freezer for later.  That being said, I am so ready to give up pumping right now it isn't funny.

MarnieMS

I stopped when we got home from the hospital. It 3 days LO lost over a pound and I had to start supplementing with formula. My milk only came in on one side, and LO would not latch at all. I was so frustrated that I just started formula feeding. 

JennPierog

The poster above me advice is great, my pedi basically told me everything she said.

As for your question it's a hard personal choice, I have a 36 weeker and I'm in the same boat except I only have one and don't know how you would do it with two. My LO hasn't gained weight so I'm pumping and supplementing also with formula. I try to put LO to the breast for no more then 10 mins and if she is pissed I don't force it. Many people have told me that when she reaches her due date she may get it. So I'm sticking it out till she's at least 40 weeks I'm also working with a lactation consultant breastfeeding is very important to me and I'm just not ready to give up, but do what makes you and your family happy. You want to enjoy your babies not be stressed. Good luck

Lhand11

I gave myself 6 weeks. I am glad I didn't give up. I plan to keep going until he gets teeth. I supplement with one formula bottle a day. 

mollybloom

Amy gave some great advice. So many doctors are ill informed about bfeeding, it is scary.

I bfed until my daughter was 10 weeks old. We had issue after issue thrown our way with bfeeding, but I perservered until I dried up due to stress from my daughter's health issues.

Kellymom.com has a lot of wonderful info and fenugreek did give me a boost in supply.

I would also suggest calling an LC, some of them are useless, but some can be incredibly helpful.

If this is something that you are serious about, give it your all. Even if it doenn't work out, it will make you feel better knowing you tried your best. While I still get sad that it did not work out for me, I know that I gave it 150% and it was my body's failing not mine.

theladyjess

Come hell or high water I'm determined to make it work!  My LO never latched and had no intrest in eating the first 24 hours.  At 30 hours she went in the NICU for 9 days due to jaundice complicated by ABO Incompatability so I was BFing and pumping every 3 hours.  She never latched in the hosptial so I was given a breast shield.  She has a high palate, recessed chin and tongue tie which all make BFing difficult.  I saw all 4 LCs in the hosptial multiple times to try and get her to latch and to help with pumping issues.  None of the LCs said that her tongue tie should be clipped and none tried to get her to latch w/out the shield.

Once home she failed to gain her birth weight back.  We were doing 2 hour feeds during the day and 3 hours at night with each feed lasting 40 mintues or more.  I was exhausted and not getting any sleep.  I felt like I was chained to the chair with her on my boob all day long.  At night it would take 3 hours to get her to stay asleep for a  3-4 hour stretch.  I was at the end of my rope and not sure what to do.  She finally reached her birth weight at 4 weeks but we were still struggling with constant feedings.  I called my Bradley instructor who called an IBCLC and described our problem to her.  We saw the IBCLC on Saturday and she was able to get LO to latch w/out the shield on the second attempt.  She also said that LO's tongue tie needs to be clipped because she's not transferring milk efficently, thus the poor weight gain.  The inefficent tranfer of milk has caused my supply to be lower than it should be, thus the constant long nursing sessions

After meeting with the IBCLC I feel like we might be successful at BFing.  I have an appt tomorrow for LO to get her tongue tie clipped and I've started taking herbs to increase my supply.  I'm also pumping for 5-10 minutes after each feeding to tell my body to make more milk.  We're supplementing with formula at each feeding until my supply gets to where it should be.  It breaks my heart that I have to use formula because I was totally against LO having formula.  I'm mad that the hosptial LC's didn't do more to get LO to latch w/out the shield.  I wonder if I could have avoided the low supply issue if the latch had been addressed sooner.

If you're determined to BF then go see an IBCLC as soon as possible.  If you don't have success with one, see another.  Trust me there is someone out there that can help you. 

What I learned from the IBCLC I saw:  Instead of timing your LO at the breast you should watch them as they feed.  The should be swallowing after every 1-3 sucks.  When they slow down and are sucking 5-7+ times between swallows that's a good indication that they've pretty much "drained" the breast and there's not any milk left.  Because my supply is low this happens within a few mintues (less than 10).  Also, if you're pumping after feeding and your LO has emptied your breast you're not going to get much.  When I pump after BFing I get about 5-10cc's between both breasts.

I hope this helps.  The IBCLC I saw does phone consultations.  If you're intrested you can read more about her here https://www.second9months.com/

footnotegirl

I'm at 3 weeks now and my milk supply is still very, very small. Last visit with the lactation consultant they did a weigh in before and after feeding, and all my LO got was .5 oz from a 45 minute feeding. This is after being on fenugreek, mothers milk tea, eating oatmeal daily, pumping religiously (I've never managed to pump more than .5 oz at a go either) etc. etc. It's very frustrating because the actual breast feeding has not been at all painful or problematic physically for me, and my daughter "latches like a champ" according to our LC but.. I'm just not producing enough milk no matter what we do. 

Right now, we 'supplement' with formula (frankly, it's probably about 85% formula to 15% breast milk). I nurse, then bottle feed, then pump (or nurse, then hubby bottle feeds while I pump). What's pumped gets mixed in with the formula for the two night feedings where I don't pump.

The plan worked out with the LC right now is for me to continue doing this until 6 weeks, and then once I go back to work I'll probably start cutting back on bfing. At a certain point, as much as I enjoy doing it, it becomes very little return for a whole lot of effort and I'd rather spend the time enjoying LO than stuck pumping. 

SmittyPants

I started supplementing at two weeks, and completely stopped by three. I know breast milk is best, but my mental health was more important. Breastfeeding made me feel utterly alone and completely isolated. I would get anxious and stressed when I knew it was time for a feeding. For me, formula feeding saved my sanity.

Whatever works best for you and your family is the right decision. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. 

talanaro

I finally let it go at about 2 months. When I brought our little girl home, she had latching problems due to her small size.  We ended up having to supplement with formula.  I finally gave up the breast and went to pumping.  That was okay at first because she didn't demand that much milk, but then I couldn't keep up with her demands.  I found myself using more and more formula.  Then one day after a long cry and feeling like the most horrible mother in the world, I told myself it was okay. She wasn't going to look any different.  She was going to gain the weight she needed. I was going to be a better mom because I wasn't going to be stressed out or feeling like a slave to the pump.  Since I stopped, she's gaining the weight she needs and I'm less stressful and enjoy spending time with my daughter because I can just make a quick bottle and be done.  Good luck!!!

Jen0204

My twin girls were born at 36 weeks and I've had a really hard time with breastfeeding. The girls don't latch well and get tired easily, so not only did they not feed for long, but they wasted a lot of energy and that effected how well they would take a bottle. We had to limit how much they could go to breast, which didn't help my meager supply. Now at about 2 months in the most I've ever gotten is 15 ounces and I usually get 12 ounces a day, which isn't much since they average a combined 45 ounces a day. I take fenugreek, blessed thistle, and goats rue, drink mothers love and raspberry leaf tea, and just yesterday I started on domperidone. I also rent a hospital grade pump. None of it has made a difference, and I've decided that if the domperidone doesn't help in the next couple of weeks I'm calling it quits. I know that some breastmilk is better then none, but with all of the supplements and pump rental I'm spending a lot of money. I'd also rather spend the hours that I spend pumping every day with my girls rather then with the pump. If the domperidone doesn't work then I will quit and know that I've done everything in my power to increase my supply and hopefully I won't feel guilty about quitting!