Breastfeeding

New to the board and discouraged

kwikwi8181kwikwi8181 member
edited December 2014 in Breastfeeding
hello all! My LoL was born Nov 21 which makes her almost 11 days old. My plan was to BF exclusively, but at her first pediatrician appt the day after we were discharged-the doc said she had lost 12% of her body weight ( which is more than they like) so she wanted to me to supplement with formula which sort of broke my heart-but I know I have to do what is best for her-and hopefully it would be temporary. The doc told me that she sleeps because she is too weak to wake and nurse ( which made me feel shitty and still makes me question her health Everytime she wants to sleep through a feeding).
Long story short-we supplemented formula after every feeding for a few days, we weigjt began to come up, my milk came in a little better, and she started to eat more. I also began to pump after nursing and using that milk as the supplement for the next feeding instead of formula-but I am not getting much.
The prOblem is that she still doesn't want to wake for feedings. I have to wake her ( especially at night) and despite my best efforts-she doesn't stay awake for very long. So I keep hearing to doc telling me she is too weak to wake up cus she isn't getting enough to eat. I second guess every feeding and every latch. I know I can't count wet diapers to make sure she's getting enough to eat-but I feel like I am so nervous about her losing more weight that I break down and give her some formula and then I don't have an accurate idea of if the BM is what is making her have wet diapers.
I feel like the doc set me up for failure-and has me second guessing everything. I really don't want to give up, but am feeling very inadequate.
Anyone have words of wisDom....it even a little kick in the butt to suck it up and get over myself. LoL. I just want to do what's best but the anxiety is getting to me!
Edited because my fat fingers hit post too early!

Re: New to the board and discouraged

  • Thanks for the support ladies! I am calling the LC today. I have honestly been too frustrated and embarassed to do so this far. I feel like I'm over reacting but I also feel like it's getting worse. I'm waking her every 2-3 hours. Last night she did well waking up and eating. We have good days and bad (well i do). Hoping the LC can help me mentally. Also-I would love to do a weighted feed to see how much she is getting. I think I would calm my fears!
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  • Keep up the hard work, your doing a great job and your in the right place. This board is filled with lots of support, advice and encouragement. In addition to what PP have said I would recommend seeing one of the other doctors in LO practice (assuming it's not just one doc). Hopefully the other doc will be more helpful and not make you feel as bad or nervous.
    Keep it up!
  • Congrats on your baby and hang in there! When I lurked this board while pregnant, I kept seeing "don't give up on a bad day". That ran through my head in the early days when I felt like you did, second guessing myself at everything. My LO is 10 weeks now, and I can't imagine not BF. Don't give up on a bad day, and hope the LC session helps a lot!
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