- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Breastfeeding
Need advice on BF challenges
Hi -
I rarely post, but could use some perspective.
My DD is 16 days old and we've been working at BF. But as many warned - it's tough - much tougher than I could have ever imagined. She was losing weight and only able to pull 1 to 1.5 oz. from my breast on her own, so my LC recommended pumping after every feeding and supplementing her with whatever I pumped. I've read about some women that can produce 6-7 oz. on a pumping, but I'm lucky to get 1 to 1.5 ounces total per pumping session. We've been on this path for a week and it has reduced the crazy 2 hour feeding sessions, but I'm emotionally and mentally exhausted.
Instead of looking forward to feedings I dread them - I'm so stressed about whether she's getting enough, and everytime she pushes me away and starts shrieking - I start crying, and finally I hate the darn pump - especially after night feedings. Plus, instead of bonding with her after a feeding - I have to put her down or pass her to my DH while I go pump. By the time I'm done - she's generally asleep. 
I realize I'm not alone and this is a pity party, but the point of the post is for perspective on how long did it take you to establish breastfeeding and what tips did you implement to get you through the rough patches.
Thanks!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Need advice on BF challenges
We had that problem. BFing wasn't working for us from day one. He just wasn't getting enough. He was dehydrated and our doctor (who is a big proponent of BF) said we needed to supplement with formula until he got the hang of it. The LC set us up with a supplementer (kind of like a gerbil feeder, with a tube that you tape to your boob, and he gets both formula and breast milk), but those wore out after a week of constant use, and they were a pain to clean. So we ended up doing a bottle of formula each night because his nutritional needs weren't being met. It was so rough. I felt like I was being sucked dry and it still wasn't enough. I felt horrible at not being 'good enough' for my child (it didn't help that my grandmother actually said that to me - but that's another story). But somewhere along the way, he stopped needing that extra bottle. We started needing it every other day, then every few days, and now it's been a month without a bottle. He actually doesn't even like the bottle now. I'm a little worried about that since we're starting daycare next month.
I love not having to go heat up a bottle and mix formula. When DS is hungry or it's time to feed him, I just pop him on. It seems difficult right now, but it does get easier. Everyone told me that, and I just couldn't imagine how that could be, but it is true.
Do what you need to do. Some people can't believe I supplemented with formula, others don't see why I stuck with BFing if it was that much of a pain.
I will say one thing. Now that I think I've gotten the hang of it, a lot of the people who told me that BFing wasn't working for them so they went to formula after a couple of weeks are telling me that they wish they'd stuck it out longer. By the way, I don't think there's anything wrong with FF. It's just not what I want to do for myself and my child right now.
twitter: @aliciamariel
I could have written this post. My hospital has a LC on staff that you can see for free and so we set up an appointment for when DD was 4 days old to check her weight before and after feeding. She took 6 CC. Yeah, that is not even half an ounce. So, I started pumping after every feeding and giving her what I pumped (usually 1-1.5 ounces). We went back once a week to see how much she ate and it was never more than 2 ounces. With my doctors permission (we were seeing the doctor every other day for the first month because DD had severe jaundice so we were able to play with this because we could check her weight contstantly) we started to only give a bottle every other feed and then eventually dropped it.
I brought up the idea of doing this when I started to not even pump 1/2 an ounce after a feeding. I was pretty confident it wasn't my supply because I was still pumping the same amount when I was at work so I figured DD must be eating more. There was one time that we went a little too quickly and DD didn't gain enough weight so we had to start back at square one.
So, this was my life for the first 3 months. It sucked, I am not going to lie and I was worried all. the. time. However, I just couldn't stop. I love nursing DD and I couldn't imagine not doing it anymore so I suffered through it and now it is just a memory and it was all worth it. Hopefully it will get better for you like it did for me. Could you buy or rent a good baby scale so you can keep an eye on DC weight? Or do you have a place you can get weight checked frequently? Good luck!!
My first piece of advice since I've been there too-STICK WITH IT! As pp's have said, it is totally worth it.
My daughter was very jaundiced at birth & had trouble effectively BFing. She was supplemented with pumped breastmilk from the first week home. Once her bilirubin came down, we stopped the supplement...& she lost weight & I lost my supply!
I had been pumping 3 oz every 2ish hours, & was down to 1 oz. I had to supplement for a few days with little amounts of formula & it about broke my heart. Slowly but surely my supply increased again & she got the hang of BFing. I am happy to say she is EBF now & we both love it!
It took a good month for us to get the hang of it & have her BF well, consistently. It is VERY difficult to feed your baby, hand her over to your husband for a bottle, & have to pump. There were a few days after my husband had gone back to work that I had to BF, give her a bottle, & then pump...it was a nightmare but I got through it.
Hang in there....