What did you do before your milk came in?

mbss · December 2009

Long story short, I had my beautiful daughter and we're still in the hospital. I need help from you ladies since the advice I"m getting is all over the baord!

I wanted to BF but am very flexible based on how LO does with me, my supply, what works best in gnereal. That said, I needed some help getting her enough food but LO is not tolerating formula well so I"m pumping all the colustrrum I can in the meantime. I'm on two days PP so I'm well within normal range but LO needs to eat and I"m not sure what to do. LC says one thing, Pedi says another. I'm paranoid she won't feed even after my milk comes in. She latches fine but gets frustrated easily and let's go or sleeps. I think once my milk comes in she'll feed well but I need some reassurnace... and, in the meantime, I"m not sure what to do. Anyone have any insight?

rebeccaontherocks · December 2009

My milk came in on day 4 and I nursed so that LO could get the colostrum, or I would hand express it and use a syringe to inject it into DS's mouth.

on Day 3 before my milk came in, my husband and I started to worry about dehydration and jaundice so I gave him a few bottles of the liquid Similac formula. The next day my milk came in and I have been giving him Breastmilk ever since. He hasn't received anymore formula since day 3, he nurses great, he will even take a bottle of expressed breastmilk, and he has never had any nipple confusion.

Don't give up on breastfeeding, the first 3 weeks are going to be really difficult for the reasons you stated (falling asleep, not latching or losing the good latch). But it seemed like with my LO after 3 weeks he finally figured it out and was like "i like mommy's milk".

Mrs.21 · December 2009

Congratulations on your new baby girl!

We honestly didn't do anything but breastfeed until my milk came in. The hospital nurses and LC didn't even mention formula. I guess this is rare, from what I've read on this board and heard from my friends.

Our baby didn't have bad jaundice, but from what the LC said even if he did breastmilk, colustrum especially, is the best thing for jaundice since it's like a laxative. And their tummies are so small at the beginning all he needed was colustrum, we weren't "starving" him.

My milk came in by day 3 and everything worked out fine. We had our issues, as almost every breastfeeding mom has, but he's still exclusively breastfeeding today.

I wouldn't be concerned she's not going to take your milk, what made you think that? The only concern I would have is nipple confusion if you keep giving her bottles of formula.

GL and hang in there. As pp stated, the first couple weeks are rough. But it's sooo worth it in the end.

kristin7701 · December 2009

Congrats! One thing I found helpful was to hear LO's stomach capacity -- this is from La Leche:

Stomach capacity of the newborn

When mothers hear that colostrum is measurable in teaspoons rather than ounces, they often wonder if that can really be enough for their babies. The short answer is that colostrum is the only food healthy, full-term babies need. The following is an explanation:

A 1 day old baby's stomach capacity is about 5-7 ml, or about the size of a marble. Interestingly, researchers have found that the day-old newborn's stomach does not stretch to hold more. Since the walls of the newborn's stomach stays firm, extra milk is most often expelled (spit up). Your colostrum is just the right amount for your baby's first feedings!

By day 3, the newborn's stomach capacity has grown to about 0.75-1 oz, or about the size of a "shooter" marble. Small, frequent feedings assure that your baby takes in all the milk he needs.

Around day 7, the newborn's stomach capacity is now about 1.5-2 oz, or about the size of a ping-pong ball. Continued frequent feeding will assure that your baby takes in all the milk he needs, and your milk production meets his demands.

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If your baby is having the right number of wet and dirty diapers, try not to worry. I know it's hard! If you are able to actually pump colostrum at this point, I can't imagine that you are not producing enough for DD. I would just keep trying to BF every 2-3 hours.