So frustrated - want to give up! Please help!

[ange75]

I'm looking for encouragement & hope right now. I'm so frustrated w/ bf'ing and feel like I have to give up. I'm hoping someone has gone through something similar and still been successful.

I have an 8 day old son and have been working at bf since day one. He has lost 7 % of his weight and is maintaining but not gaining. My son has some latch issues but we have been working to correct them and have been doing pretty well but he isn't drawing the nipple in far enough therefore is not getting enough milk. He also sleeps throughout a feeding and is a lazy eater. I have tried everything - naked, wet wash clothes, burping, changing diapers, etc. I can't get him to make much of an effort. I have been pumping after each feeding to work on supply, am taking fenugeek, and using breast shields.

I went to the lactation consultant today and she started me on using the supplement tube thing which isn't going well. It disturbs my son's latch and then I can't get him to eat at all. So the LC told me I had to supplement w/ a bottle. I gave him pumped breastmilk and he chowed down on the bottle.

I feel like a failure. I don't know how to juggle using a bottle and still making breastfeeding work. She told me I have to supplement 4 times a day. If I do that how will he ever take the breast again when it's so easy to take the bottle. I'm so frustrated. I don't know what to do. THanks so much for listening and any tips/advice/encouragement you can give.

[Amy_G_]

honestly? I'd work on the supplemental nursing system some more, or give supplements with a finger feeder, not with a bottle. A bottle may end up being the end of the breastfeeding relationship if he's alreayd having difficulty with latching, a bottle will only compound that problem. Was this an IBCLC not just an LC, and can you get a second opinion from a different one?

did she weigh him before and after a feeding to see how much milk he's taking in? Has he been checked for tongue tie? How is wet and poopies? How often does he nurse? Why do you think you have a supply problem?

I would NOT freak at 7% of birthweight at 8 days old, but I would be concerned. It's normal to lose up to 10% of birthweigth without freaking out.

i'm going somewhere in about 20 minutes and it might be an hour or more before I return, hopefully someone else will chime in with more help while I'm gone.

[Amy_G_]

read this and click on some of thelinks


http://www.kellymom.com/bf/start/basics/index.html

[heatherfields]

I understand entirely. My son had some latch problems in the beginning and we ended up pumping for a few days. I cried every time I gave him a bottle. When one day I was holding him and he was hungry he started rooting at my chest. I figured that I would go fix him a pumped bottle and continue to cry the whole time, but somehow amazzingly after a full 24 hours of skin to skin contact...I kept him naked and myself topless with only my bra on, he latched right on. I know that it's hard and discouraging, but it's a learning process for you and him. Despite what alot of other people say it doesn't come naturally to babies. It may take a while but don't give up!! I just thought I would try to share the way things were with my son to offer encouragement. I have used the shields and shells and everything else as well. They didn't seem to work for me. The only thing that worked was holding him close and keeping us both naked and my house was quiet wwarm because I was terrified he would get sick. lol. Feel free to message me with any questions. OOh have you tried pumping a little before you offer him the breast. The pump will make your nipple a little larger and raise the area around it. It will make it a litttle easier to latch on.

[Brianna]

I agree with AmyG, ditch the bottle. It will cause more harm in the long run. Nurse baby everytime he makes a squeak. Can you find a differn LC?

You can do this. It is tough in the beginning, but it is worth the hard work effort and tears.

How many wet diapers is baby making? How often does baby nurse? If you are concerned about weight gain I would make sure he nurses every 2-3 hours at night.

[ange75]

He has wet diapers and a poopy one almost every time I feed him which is every 2-3 hours. The only reason they think there is supply issues is because I had infertility issues. Thanks so much for all your tips & advice. I really appreciate it.

[trylyn5]

We had similar latch and lazy eating issues. My dd lost 15 oz and took 4 weeks to regain her birth weight (we had additional issues too). Don't give up yet! Our LC had us use a nipple shield so dd would get it far enough back. I wasn't happy about it at the time, and it did take awhile to wean off, it was helpful for that specific problem.

You might also try feeding him more often. Everyone kept telling me to demand feed but my dd doesn't demand. Even now at almost 8 months, I make sure she bfs so many times a day because she rarely lets anyone know she's hungry. Before our weight issues resolved, we were bfing every 1.5 hours for 45 minutes during the day and waking her every 4 at night (she didn't wake up to eat either). Maybe try feeding every 2 hours during the day and every 3 at night if he doesn't wake up on his own and see if that helps.

If you're still bleeding alot at your follow up appt really question that too. I ended up having retained part of the placenta and that was suppressing my prolactin hormones.