Please help a new mom out!
I've always wanted to exclusively breastfeed for atleast 6 months or so and have had no plans of formula feeding. That being said, I'll try and make this as short as possible.
I had DD this past Monday and for the first 2.5 days she was fine with only breastfeeding. Then, we got home on Wednesday and that night she started being fussy after every feeding like she was still hungry so I put her on more often. Thursday she would nurse for 30 minutes a side (1 hr total every time) and 5 minutes after she was off she would scream bloody murder and be chewing her fingers. I called the maternity center and they said to supplement with formula until my milk came in. It came in yesterday but still not enough to fill her. There's a little more today but same thing- not enough. I'm letting her try to feed, then supplementing, and then pumping to try and get my supply up, but I feel that there's no increase.
It's only week 1 and thinking about bfing and then her screaming is already getting me so stressed I get sick to my stomach. I'm not sure what to do.
Any advice or tips? I really want to keep trying and end up BF exclusively so anything you can offer would be great.
Re: Please help a new mom out!
Congrats on the birth of your DD!!!
BFing is a supply/demand system. The more your DD is on your breast, the more milk you will make. The first 2 weeks are ROUGH, and most people don't tell you that.
I'm surprised that your maternity center told you to supplement. It takes around 5-6 days for your milk to come in with your first child (faster with subsequent children).
If I were in your situation, I would stop pumping and stop supplementing for at least a week, so you can build your supply. Right now, you aren't able to produce more milk because your DD is receiving formula. The more she's at the breast, the more milk you will produce.
BFing is HARD in the beginning. Your baby is CONSTANTLY nursing, and this is totally normal. It takes a good 6 weeks for it to become easier.
Also, are you sure she's hungry and not gassy? Are you burping her? Some BF babies need to be burped more than others. I know with my 2nd and 3rd it took almost 20 minutes to burp them......
GL to you whatever you decide..........hang in there!
all good advice from previous poster. bfing IS HARD at first!!
it's very important she nurses as much as she wants and that will build your supply the best.
have you tried a pacifier? maybe she likes the comfort of sucking something? i know sometimes they don't reccommend a pacifier this early, some hospitals pop 'em in from day 1.
this is something different from nursing, but i checked out from my library the dvd 'happiest baby on the block' and it had some GREAT techniques on soothing a newborn. just thought i'd throw that out there in case it's not purely a BF issue.
ditto all PP's, especially re: "happiest baby on the block"
also, you may want to call your local LLL leader. they're the breastfeeding experts, and may be able to give you really good advice about your particular situation - some will even come to your house to see how you and your LO are doing...
you can call LLL's 24 hour hotline for help:
1-877-4-LALECHE
good luck!
I am the 99%.
I agree totally.