My daughter was born this past October and while in the hospital I tried to breast feed her. Though she would latch it was only the nipple that she would take and they became cracked, sore and raw (occassionally bleeding). The next night the doctor informed us that our daughter was jaundice. The nurse encouraged us to feed her as much as possible but I was struggled because my milk had still not dropped and I was in so much pain as a result of my daughter's partial latching. Her jaundice levels continued to increase and so the nurse suggested that we supplement. I would continue to breast feed but still my milk had not dropped so we also supplemented to get her levels down. We were later discharged 3 days after my daughter's birth but we still were supplementing because her levels were high. I continued to try to breast feed and pumped in between feedings when I received a call from my family on the East Coast that my grandfather's health was rapidly declining so my family and I rushed out on the cross country drive. We drove straight through and I pumped and then bottlefed my daughter. Because our schedulec was so crazy I pretty much pumped and bottlefed our entire visit and then pumped and bottlefed on the trip home. Still I tried to breast feed but I noticed her refusing my breast more while accepting the bottle all the more.
My daughter is now 2 months old and I would love to be able to successfully, and consistently, breastfeed but the more she refuses me the more I feel as though I've missed that window of opportunity. Have any mother's experienced something similar? I'm also concerned because I have noticed that my milk supply has decreased significantly, which is visible since I have been pumping all this time into bottles and have been able to track my supply all this time. Since she's not breastfeeding and not just eating until she is full which could have caused my supply to decrease, I worry that I will lose my supply entirely :(
Thanks for all the helpful responses! I'll try to answers some of the questionsthat were in some of the responses :)
Latching- most times she wont even attempt to latch but will just stick her tongue out or keep her mouth open and not even try to suck. Eventually she'll get frustrated and starts crying, and hard!, so I then go back to a bottle and then pump after she has finished. Occassionally, roughly once a week, I have been able to get her to latch and to suck but those moments are typucally very brief and is only on one side. Again I wind up having to pump both sides because she either loses interest or falls asleep and doesn't empty the one breast. It's hard not to get frustrated because I know she can do it but then I realize that I'm to blame because I always go right back to pumping and giving her the bottle. I just don't want to see her hungry :(
Type of Pump- it is a Medela double-pump that starts with a drop down function and then after a few minutes progresses to a stronger suck. It also has a knob where you can increase/decrease the strength.
Supplementing- no formula has been used since we've been home from the hospital, just pumping and feeding via the bottle.
Diet- currently not on any diet but I saw that someone posted about increasing my fluids and drinking a glass of water each time I nurse or pump and I think that's a great idea!
Thanks again for all of the helpful advice. It is greatly appreciated7
Livinglifeandlovingit is right on. I would add that a nipple shield might help. It is easier for the baby to get latched with one. It's too bad no one mentioned that possibility in the beginning. My daughter used the nipple shield the whole time with her first and then just to get started with her next two. It worked really well.
She is taking the bottle, because it is easier to suck from. It is just by gravity.
But nursing at breast, requires more work... it requires the coordination of the mouth/tongue/throat etc. and to get the let-down going.
Some babies, are like that... if given a bottle and breast, they sometimes will just start to prefer a bottle and reject the breast. Because bottles are easier.
Then, was your daughter's latch ever corrected?
Does she latch on correctly, now?
If not, maybe that is why she prefers a bottle.
Just try putting her to breast, more often. Your milk output is decreasing.
Only use the bottles to supplement if you have to. Not replace breast.
First, it is completely doable. You need to commit to do it and you can. These things really help getting milk supply up:
Every opportunity that you have for her to feed, put her to your breast. Even if she doesn't stay on long, do it however long and however frequently you can. If you can do it every 1 1/2 to 2 hours that would be great to get your milk supply stimulated.
Eat oatmeal everyday--it helps greatly
Fenugreek supplements+ mother's milk tea/cookies
lactation cookies
Flaxseed oil and omega-3s in your diet
drink a glass of water every time you sit down to nurse
Offer the breast only and don't do any more bottle feeding until you get breastfeeding established again.
You can do it!
I have a friend who was able to nurse her adopted infant. She hadn't breastfed before. So----relax and breastfeed!
Good luck~ You can PM me if you have any other questions. I have breastfed all of my kiddos for 2-3 years.
not able to see what has been posted but
my first recommendation would be to attend a la leche meeting, or call a leader, you can find them online la leche league . org.
They have tips and help to help you figure out how to get her to open her mouth wider.
Also, have a doctor - AND A SECOND OPINION - on a tongue tie. Your doctor should have looked for this but it is sounding like not.
She is getting your milk, and that is ultimately the best for her. She d oes not sound like she is losing ground (jaundice is something that goes away)
I'd say alot more but that would be THE place to start.
Good luck!
M.
I EP'd for my 2nd baby, who was a no latch/no suck baby, but I pumped and gave breastmilk exclusively, no supplements. The hospital did you a disservice. Nurses should not make suggestions for changes in a baby's diet. They did not explain the risks to you and your milk supply of introducing formula. Sets you down a slippery slope. They should have had you meet with a lactation consultant. To build your supply and get your baby to the breast, I suggest working with a lactation consultant. What kind of pump have you been using? To pump exclusively, you need a hospital grade pump. I see that some people are mentioning nipple shields. These should not be used without the guidance of a lactation consultant. While they can make it easier for baby to latch, they also decrease your supply! You need to know that before using one and be taking your baby for frequent weigh-ins because your supply may drop further while using them. I strongly urge you to seek professional help from a lactation consultant.
It sounds like a shallow latch caused the cracking and poor milk transfer. A baby has to latch onto the areola, not the nipple, to transfer milk well. Has she been evaluated for a tongue tie? http://www.cwgenna.com/quickhelp.html has info about positioning for a good latch, and pictures of tongue ties that can cause problems with breastfeeding.
Have you seen a La Leche League Leader or IBCLC? (www.LLLi.org, click resources tab for a local LLL, or http://www.ilca.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3432 for local International Board Certified Lactation Consultants.)
Kellymom has great info about getting a baby back to your breast:
http://kellymom.com/bf/concerns/child/back-to-breast/
and info about your supply when pumping:
http://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/pumping/pumping_decrease/
Bottlefeeding also uses a different kind of suck than breastfeeding. Have you been using this method http://www.bestforbabes.org/the-babes-guide-to-bottle-fee... to help reduce the preference for the fast-flow, no-work drinking from a bottle?
Good luck!
I had success supplementing while breastfeeding. I looked a bit like an octopus but it worked so much better than adding bottles to the mix. Without a doubt bottles are faster, easier and ultimately preferred by the baby so it is hard to keep the baby interested in breastfeeding. I used a syringe bought at a pharmacy to inject the supplement milk/formula while breastfeeding. I would latch my baby (fix your latch situation via a lactation consultant) and once he was sucking pretty good, I would wiggle the filled syringe in the side of his mouth (don't break suction which takes a little practice, an extra person can help if needed). As my son continued sucking at my breast, I would slowly inject the supplement from the side into his mouth. The supplement encouraged his sucking at my breast, gave him the extra he needed and helped keep my supply up/increase my supply without pumping which was not working for me. Only pumping caused my supply to drop rapidly. I did ths worked so much better than pumping and bottThe great thing is you can pump in the morning and at night right before a feed to help with your supply. I did this and supplemented during those feeds to make up for what I pumped out. PM if you have questions. Also consider getting a lactation consultant. I did and it helped. I failed to breastfeed my first (latch issues, supplementing with bottles, exclusively pumping, lost supply, etc.) but I am now exclusively breastfeeding my second with these tricks which I only had to do for a week or two to get things on track. Good luck.
As far as getting her to latch, I don't have any great advice for that but do agree with seeking lactation services, usually the hospital you delivered at offers them for free. I don't think 2 months is too old to try...if you are still producing milk then there is still time!
As far as increasing milk supply, try Fenugreek Seed, it can be bought at walmart or online. Also drink tons of water and when you pump make sure you pump it dry so nothing left, then after baby's next feeding, pump off excess again. After about a week of all three of the above you should notice a huge improvement. Also need to make sure you are getting enough food, if you are trying to diet or restrict food intake this could diminish supply as well.
You are doing great and sounds like your daughter is off to a good start! Just know that no matter what you end up doing (breast, bottle, formula), your daughter will still be healthy and growing and that's what matters most!
You should talk to a lactation consultant, keep pumping and see if a nipple shield would be a good temporary measure. My DD needed a shield for my overactive letdown but we successfully transitioned off it after a few months. You can also pump on side and nurse on the other or pump after she's done to encourage a greater supply.
Kellymom.com also has information on getting a baby to the breast and weaning off supplements, as well as exclusive pumping and maintaining supply. As long as you have milk, keep trying.
