Need help getting back to breastfeeding

[carolynb]

Hello,

My son is 7 weeks old and at about 4 weeks old he hurt my nipples while breastfeeding. I began pumping and giving him the breast milk in a bottle. I had every intention of getting back to BF when my nipples healed but it's not working out so well. He will nurse for an hour and only extract about 1.5 ounces of milk and he needs about 4-5 oz. so I still end up pumping and giving him the rest in a bottle. I feel like I am constantly attached to the pump and I really miss the intimate feeling and convenience of BF I need to get back to it, I am not sure how much longer I can torture myself with constant pumping. This is not how I envisioned BF to be. Does anyone have any suggestions??

Thanks,

CarolynB

[tifttu]

I guess my first question is how do you know he's getting 1.5 oz?

[carolynb]

Because when I pump I get about 4.5 oz so when he eats at the breast I only pump out about 3oz after he is finished.

[tifttu]

I'm really not the best with the bottle/breast/pumping stuff, but I do know this: what you pump before/during/after has nothing to do with how much baby is actually taking in. I'd say let him nurse with no bottles (you obviously don't have a supply issue) and see how he does. If he's making good output, his intake is fine.

I was not a friend of the pump. I don't think I ever pumped more than an ounce or so and both of my kids have thrived with nothing but bm from the tap ;)

[carolynb]

Thank you for your suggestions.

[PeacefulMom]

Read this:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/baby/back-to-breast.html

And there is much more to learn on that site if you check around.

Keep at it, you can do this!

[tifttu]

Bumping because I KNOW there are some other moms who should be posting on this.

[whitnessforhim]

I exclusively pumped for the first 4mo. for my DD before I was able to get her back to the breast. So I am familiar with both sides. Coming from a mommy who EP'd for so long I can tell you first hand that nursing is SO, SO, SO much easier!!!

Tifttu is correct the amount you pump only tells you how much you can pump. There is no way, other than weighing baby before and after a nursing, that you can gage how much baby is getting by comparing it to pumping outputs. The pump will never be as efficient of getting the milk out as your baby. This is why some babies get everything they need in a feeding in only 5mins. Some babies are efficient like that.

The fact that your baby is staying on your breast for an hour is a really good sign. He probably misses the closeness you two once had and is doing a little "comfort nursing" during that time.

If baby is taking the breast with no problems I'd cut out the bottles and the pumping all together and nurse your baby as much as he wants. Often times we worried moms make things out to be harder than they are. It really is all about supply and demand and output. If baby is eating properly its gotta come out! So if you are getting the appropriate number of wet and dirty diapers then you know that baby is getting enough from your breast....pumping will not tell you this!!

My only concern from your post is that you said he hurt your nipple. If that is due to an unproper latch I would seek an LC and get that corrected.

[gobucks1013]

My situation was similar to Whitnessforhim. I EP'd for my DS for the first 3 months due to persistent latch problems. My nipples were horribly sore, cracked and bleeding within 24 hrs of me trying to get him back on my breast. I'd try physically BFing, soon end up with nipple trauma, and go back to pumping/bottle feeding while I healed. Then this same cycle of events went on over and over again. I never had success and it was horribly frustrating, but I kept trying.

I saw 2 different LC's at the hospital at which I delivered and they both said his latch was outwardly fine. We finally determined that the shape of his palate was probably what was causing the problem. I read where this issue can resolve itself as the baby gets bigger and you just have to keep trying to work at getting the baby back to the breast.

In the mean time I was very diligent about trying to keep his latch appropriate via the bottle. I use Born Free wide mouth bottles and I made sure he always opened his mouth wide before giving him the nipple. I also made sure that he kept his mouth open once he started sucking. I watched to see that I could see his tongue over his bottom gums while he was eating and I never used anything other than the low-flow newborn nipples.

Finally, around the time he was 3 months old, things started getting better. I was able to physically BF without any evidence of nipple trauma and I made myself refuse to use bottle at all when I was home with him. Things have turned out beautifully now and I have a 6 month old little guys who BFs like a champ!

Having now done both EPing and BFing, those who said BFing is WAY easier are not kidding. I do far fewer dishes, I do not have to get up to warm a bottle in the middle of the night and we can just pick up and go wherever without having to worry about bottles, etc. It's tons easier!

I hope my situation at least gives you some hope that with a lot of patience and persistence, things can still work out for you. My one piece of advice would be to try to make an appointment with an LC if you haven't already to try to sort out what the problem might be in your individual case.

Good luck and hang in there! :)

[dodoe80]

Short version of my story:

Latch problems so after two weeks of age I went to EPing. Went back to work at 6 weeks and decided to go back to breast. Still latching but improperly. I keept at it and gradually increased nursing sesstion, because I hurt to much to jump back into it all at once. Improvement came at 2 months and by 3 months there were no bottles while I was with baby.

I agree with every one else about pumping output. Also just because baby will take more in a bottle doesn't mean that they really are hungry. My little guy will literally eat until he throws up. So I prefer to breast feed. Also, when you do give a bottle try to make it last as long as possible. Baby has to work much harder at bfing than at the bottle and may not believe his tummy is full until 20 minutes after they eat.

Here is some links:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkcalc.html

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/bottle-feeding.html

[Bumpy]

Have you tried a nipple shield?
My dd had a great latch according to every LC, but would still bruise me badly.
the one LC would not let me use a shield, but the other one snuck one in for me, it helped soooo much. It let me heal while still bfing, but didn't make it worse either.
Also, he may just be a little lazy, so I wouldn't give the bottles unless you aren't able to be there. I wish you had the shield from the get go. You might have been able to avoid the EPing. Anyway I hope this helps. It may not apply, nut I thought that I would put it out there

[Bumpy]

Also, the shield teaches them to latch properly, Sorry I forgot to put that in there

[Amy_G_]

A nipple shield does have it's uses, but it can create other problems. They've improved over the years, but one of the biggest problems with a nipple shield is baby not able to sufficiently empty the breast. A nipple shield doesn't stretch quite the same as a human nipple does so the latch often stays the same as it would be with a bottle nipple, not deep with the nipple further into the mouth. a nipple shield should be used with the help of an LC in person.

check out
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/baby/wean-shield.html

Baby needs to be weighed on an accurate scale before and after a feeding with the same clothes and diaper on. the difference in ounces is how many ounces baby has taken in at the breast. pediatricians have good enough scales, as do LC's and you can rent one.

at 7 weeks old, he may indeed only be taking in 1.5 ounces at a feeding. Probably he's getting more than that, but a baby that is breastfeeding 100% of the time may be only taking in 2-3 ounces as a feeding, with some feedings much more, and others even less. Often we overfeed when we feed from a bottle, because the way the milk continues to flow out of the bottle even when there is no active nursing.

If baby will latch, I would try to do a weigh in or two to see ounces. If baby is taking in several ounces at a feeding, I would give baby all the time they need to breastfeed for a feeding with NO BOTTLES over the course of 2-3 days. I would actually work to get rid of bottles and give any supplements with a supplemental nursing system at the breast to avoid any future issues with bottle nipple preference. I would pump after every feeding or several times a day so that any supplements given are always breastmilk, and to ensure I continued to have a good supply if baby is not nursing enough to fully empty the breasts.

I'd probably also count diapers, go in for more weight checks and make sure this was a very smooth transition to full breastfeeding for baby.

[Amy_G_]

I would also do the skin to skin contact and probably a baby moon of mommy and baby together all the time for a whole weekend to see what happens.