Breastfeeding - Troubles/Close to Stopping?
MadHatter17
member
Our LO is a week and a half. I've been breastfeeding her and am having a very up and down time with it. At some feedings, she latches on like a dream and at others it is a nightmare to feed her. Most times, it takes 45 minutes to an hour to feed her for 15-20 minutes. This makes it tough especially when feedings are every 3 hours apart.
Has anyone else had this kind of trouble with their LO? Did you start pumping for LO right away? Did you supplement with formula to help LO stay full longer? Did you quit breastfeeding altogether? I'm very close to quitting breastfeeding all together, but am trying to hang in there!
It all is a lot more time consuming than I was ever expecting!
Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Re: Breastfeeding - Troubles/Close to Stopping?
Like a PP said this sounds pretty normal. It is extremely time consuming at first. DS was nursing all the time. I thought that he wasn't getting anything. Then I found out that he had gained almost two pounds at his 2 week appt and it was awesome!
But just know that it gets better after a few weeks and even better a month or two later. Now it is so much easier and cheaper than EP or FF.
At your two-week appt, you should be reassured that your LO is gaining weight and then you will know that everything is going ok. If it is really frustrating, then look into a LC to make sure the latch is right. My pedi will give us appts with a LC where they will watch us nurse and it reassured me that everything was normal.
Just make sure that you are comfortable when nursing. Grab a book or a remote, turn on a movie, favorite tv show and try to relax.
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My DS nursed for an hour (or longer) every 2-3 hours for the first 6 weeks. Yeah, that was more than I expected. I often only had an hour (less during growth spurts) between feedings. I chose to continue nursing, mainly because I am just ridiculously stubborn and I refused to give up. I nursed for every feeding for the first 3 weeks, then I started pumping and DH gave a bottle of EBM once per day until I went back to work.
It helps if you can sleep while nursing. And eat while nursing. And watch TV while nursing. And talk to your friends and family while nursing. And have someone else hold baby while you're *not* nursing.
Your experience is normal.
BM is digested very fast and their tummies are very tiny, so baby will eat often. Until baby regains weight you don't want them sleeping too long between feedings. DD would nurse every hour at times for 30-45 mins, she was a slow nurser.
Pumping right now may be more of a hassle and an added pressure, just focus taking care of LO and nursing round the clock- that will establish suppyl You can start pumping closer to the time you return to work if that is needed.
Once I accepted the fact that I had no other responsibilities besides nursing baby, sleeping and eating for the first 6-12 weeks and I should not try to do anything else, it was a lot easier mentally! Just get comfy on the couch and nurse, swaddle baby tight and when she goes is sleeping, YOU sleep. anything else can wait.
Also call or meet with a LC or a BF support group, to get help with latch and support.
It does get easier and you will not always have this time with LO! DD can barely sit still now to nurse and is off crawling!
It was like that for me for about 3 weeks and then it got better. Some people say it takes six to eight weeks. If you want to keep BF, then hang in there.
It is hard to get going.
Do you have a support group in your area? I went to one every week at the hospital where they would do weighed feedings and it was great to hear them say everything was going ok even when it felt like it wasn't.
Same here. And I couldn't pump enough for one bottle a day so it was more like once per week. And no one to hold the baby. So if you can do these two things, it will definitely help. I made phone calls, watched tv, surfed the internet on my phone. Have lots of food in the house that you can eat with one hand and always have at least one full glass of water in front of you when you start. But you have to accept that it's going to be like this for a while. You can hardly leave the house in the beginning because there isn't enough time between sessions.
I'm sure this won't be popular here but I still often wish I could have just quit in the beginning. If you really feel like you can't continue then don't beat yourself up. But I think it would be very hard to supplement with formula in the beginning because you need to really let your supply stabilize. Also, formula is so much easier it would be a slippery slope and encourage you to give up BF altogether. Once everything is established and you feel better about it, it might be easier to do a combo of formula and breastfeeding.
The reason I am glad I didn't quit - it's about so much more than food. One night when I really decided I had had it and couldn't go another day he pulled off and tucked his little head between my breast and arm. And sighed. It's about SO much more than food. I tried to make it 3 months. And we did. Now I'm trying to make it to 6 months. He gets formula now and then if I can't pump enough. And we all lived. lol My advice - if you want to continue - is set a goal of making it a week, or a day. And then another, and another. I found a breastfeeding support group and it has really kept me going.
I'd also just add that if you are feeling overwhelmed or sad...keep an eye open to PP symptoms and talk to your doc if you think something is off.
Also...just camp out. You, baby, nursing for the next couple weeks. Everything else can wait...others can bring you food...this is just your job and baby's job for the moment. It won't be forever.
It got better for me around 4 weeks and was pretty good around 6. She was still nursing every 2 hours or so at that point, but she was faster at nursing.
Side lying nursing is the best. Just lay in bed with LO and have them nurse while you rest. Even if you cannot sleep with LO nest to you, just lying in bed is relaxing.
Have people bring you food if possible, my DH is military so he wasn't here to do that, so I would make a PB&J and a glass of water and camp out on the sofa.
And ditto pp about feeding LO before they are starving. By that point it is really hard to get a good latch. I used a syringe to help when she wouldn't latch, the formula being injected into her mouth helped her close her mouth and suck.
your lucky feedings are 3 hours apart some babies like it even closer together
you should probably try pumping after feedings and when you first wake up in order to increase your supply so that your feedings go more quickly
this will give you an oversupply but RESIST THE URGE TO GIVE HER PUMPED MILK you will just be making it harder on yourself
also IF YOU ARE A QUIET SLEEPER AND YOU HAVE A SAFE BED try to work on your side lying position and nurse her in bed she will sleep longer next to you
parenting is a long hard journey, don't cop out and start it off with a failure you owe it to your daughter to give her the best and breastfeeding is the best everything else is substandard