[DansGoddess]

Ok, are there any breastfeeding pros here? I thought I was when I successfully bf my second Son, looking back I think he was born to bf! LOL Anyway, so when my daughter was born, things were much different. She latched on right away, however, I noticed my milk didn't come in until like the 5th day where as with Austin it came in right on day 4th and lots of it! The only difference I think of was I was in more pain with that cs and didn't eat too much. Could that have made a difference? Anyway, once my milk came in she had problems staying awake and it was terrible they told us to take all of her clothes off to get her to nurse and stay awake.

Well, we finally got her nursing but I always noticed that her "suck" was much less than my son, Austin and sure enough after awhile she began losing weight and they ran all kinds of test and couldn't find anything! Well, to make a long story short, she ended up in the hospital hooked up to a feeding tube because after bf her I was to give her a supplement of formula and she just wouldn't take it, so here we were at the hospital running all kinds of test, the doctors telling me I REALLY NEED TO QUIT BF, my dh was so mad at him, they made us feel like we were to blame! So, don't you know the very LAST test they ran they discovered she had a "sucking problem" in fact when they gave her a reg. bottle it would take her 45 mins to get down 6 oz, but they gave her whats called a "pigeon" nipple and BAM she could get it down within mins!

It was an aweful expereince and I felt like such a failure as a mom with bf. So, with this one I want to bf however I'm scared if it doesn't work that I will blame myself again and go through all of that depression, because that really took its toll on me with Madelynn.

Does anyone have any advice in terms how I can make sure it works this time around? I mean with Austin he nursed like a champ! Are there things I can do to prepare for beinbg able to successfully bf?

[Mommy3girls1boy]

First of all, you should never feel like your daughter's problem was your fault. I have been there maybe not of the level of your daughter. Fortunately we never had to go to the hospital and my doctor did not force supplementation. I have breastfed all four of mine. The first was a breeze. She gained weight easily. She nursed until I became pregnant with #2. My second child was more difficult. I had a lot of pain and had to work at breastfeeding with her with sore nipples and pain for months. However, we made it work until I decided to wean her at 13 months. With #3, she was much like #1 and breastfeeding came easily. I breastfed her for 13 months as well. My son, child #4, was another story. He didn't have a good suck. I had a hard time latching him for the first day or so. He was sleepy and did not nurse for long. He lost over a pound of his 7lbs. 15oz. birth weight before he started gaining. I had to step up and wake him up every two hours during the day. It took him a month to gain back up to his birth weight. We kept working at it and fortunately got him nursing well. I weaned him at around 13 months also.

There isn't really anything you can do before the birth other than rest and drink lots of water. At birth, try to breastfeed the baby within an hour of birth preferrably within minutes. since you are having a C-section I am not sure how they will do this. Can they bring you the baby in recovery? Regardless of whether you can nurse within the hour, do not let them bathe your baby before you have tried to breastfeed. The baby has a scent on them that helps them find your nipple. If after birth, you placed the baby on your tummy it would try to "crawl" up your body to get to your nipples. If they are bathed, they no longer have this instinct to find the nipple on their own. My second child is the only one who was bathed and I waited more than an hour. We had a lot of difficulties with latching with her.

After the birth, be sure to eat well. Tell the nurses you are breastfeeding and ask them to bring you extra protein to keep up your strength. More eggs, meat always seem to make me feel stronger after delivery. Try to drink lots of water. Your body needs the water to help produce the milk. Ask if the hospital has a lactation consultant for new mothers. Ask her questions and seek her help to get a proper latch. Do not use a pacifier at the hospital and for the first six weeks. Nurse the baby every time he/she seems to be hungry. Wake up the baby every two to three hours during the day for the first few weeks. This will help them to nurse more and therefore produce more milk. I found that they woke up for shorter amounts of time at night. Expect some "marathon" nursing sessions during the hospital stay and from time to time after you come home. The baby will seem to not get satisfied. Many people think that they must not be producing any milk if the baby still seems hungry. Do not give the baby formula. I don't even keep it in the house if I can help it so there is no temptation to use it. The baby may be hungry but they are "eating" more often for long periods of time in order to develop your milk supply. These "marathon" nursing sessions can be frustrating and confusing if you don't expect them. Those sessions are not easy when you are tired. Don't give up. Find a friend to talk to about the situation - I would be glad to answer any questions you have via email if needed. If you need more help, contact your local LaLeche League or a certified lactation consultant. I have gone it alone but know that others have found support and help there.

Please let me know if I can help you with anything or give more information about anything I have said here. I feel sometimes that I should become a lactation consultant. I feel that strongly about breastfeeding. However, there should be no guilt if things don't work out. As long as baby is healthy, that is what matters.

[LadyBelle]

((hugs)) What made a HUGE difference for me was a lactation consultant!She was great & really helped.

[MamaAshley]

First off, you are not a failure in ANY way! Your a good mom, doing what you and your doctor thought was best!

My advice to you is pretty crucial, DO NOT LET THEM GIVE HIM ANYTHING MY MOUTH in the hospital!!!!!!!! When they take him to the nursery, have your DH go with them b/c they WILL give him stuff without asking/telling you. No paci's, no bottle, no syringe, no sugar water (which they will tell you is fine) NOTHING but your breast. Also, I think getting in touch with a lactation consultant or your local LLL leaders before the baby is born can't hurt either. Build up your support system BEFORE he comes. Sounds like your DH is very supportive, which is GREAT!

Other than that just trust yourself, your baby, and do what you think is best. Make sure your doctors are supportive and on board, having a pro-breastfeeding pediatrician is also pretty important. Stay positive, sounds like you're making every effort to get a good start, that makes you a great mom right there! Good luck!!!!

Wow, you had a rough time BFing your daughter!! Don't beat yourself up, you're definitely not a failure. It sounds like she had a rare problem, even the bottles were hard for her so that's serious. There's no reason why this problem should recur with your new baby. Just wait and see, every baby is so different when it comes to BFing.

It's normal for your milk to come in after 5 days, especially if you've had a c-sec or an exhausting vaginal birth. I've heard of milk not coming in until 7-10 days, also still completely normal. In the meantime your baby will thrive on the little bit of colostrum that your body provides. Don't get too focused on weight gain, for BFed babies it's normal even to lose some weight in the first few weeks. Keep a close eye on your baby's general condition, after the first few days they shouldn't be too sleepy. And output (# of wet diapers) is also a good indication. After the first few days, baby's output should ramp up to at least 6 wet diapers per day.

Like another poster said, if in doubt, or if something just doesn't feel right instinctively, ask for help!! Find out if there are any lactation consultants at your hospital or where you live, or a La Leche League leader might be able to help, too.

Good luck!!

Linda ~ Mom to 3DDs (5, 4 and 1.5 years old) and DS due December

[anniebee]

I have a 4 month old I am breastfeeding and she has a sucking problem she can't seem to take in enough nipple.The doctors know about this,but she is growing fine.when I first had her I thought I was doing something wrong.She was waiting on me and she couldn't figure it out. I bashed myself and ended up in a lot of tears. I almost gave up but I made it. I breastfeed my last child. after the first month it was a breeze so to have a child that had a problem I just didn't know what to do. I know you need a lot of rest.water,and good food. Also if you can handle vitamins I would take those too.It's a learning process for you both you really won't know your baby until you bond and learn the baby signals.I know I was wrong to be so hard on myself,but it doesn't help when you just had a baby and your already emotional. Just be aware you don't fall into a depression that you don't realize.Focus on your little blessing.Good luck

[DansGoddess]

Please let me know if I can help you with anything or give more information about anything I have said here. I feel sometimes that I should become a lactation consultant. I feel that strongly about breastfeeding. However, there should be no guilt if things don't work out. As long as baby is healthy, that is what matters.[/b]

Wow, thank you so much for replying, this means soooo much! Yes, I would really appreciate your help, if you don't mind. Here's my biggest concern right now: With my daughter, she had the "Low blood sugar" and they immediately gave her formula through a syringe, without asking me, this was while I was being sewn up. Ok, now here's my question, I have recentely researched this and I am very confused. I thought that they are suppose to give "sugar water" if they have low sugars? I mean why Formula, and whats more is my dh informed me they gave her quite a lot of it (formula), which just really bothers me! Ok, so here's my thing, What rights do I have first of all if he has the low sugar? I mean if he's born with low sugar how should we handle that with the nurses? Can we tell them NO FORMULA? My dh said he will follow the baby and be VERY firm with the nurses, but I just wonder what rights do we have. I plan on putting him to the breast right away, but if he does have low sugars then what do we do? I just want to make sure things are done right this time, this is why I want to arm myself with all of the info I can before going in there next Wed. I would so appreciate your help and links, or anything you have.

With my first son he was 10.9 1/2 and had low sugars and they shoved a bottle of formula down his throat, he had the "nipple confusion" which I had nurses try and tell me "No such thing exists" but I lived it, so I know it does in fact it exsist! I was very upset with those nurses. With my second son I drilled my husband at the time to make sure NO BOTTLES period! I even made a sign that read "No bottles please my mommy is trying to breastfeed" and put it in his bassinet well, I lucked out and had great nurses who were totally for bf and they assured me no bottles and that if he had low blood sugar they would give him sugar water through a syringe. He didn't have it, and latched on perfectly! I bf for a long time, we did the "extended bf." It was the most wonderful experience for both of us! So, you can imagine how devistated I was when those doctors were forcing me to quit bf my daughter, my dh argued with them! I just can't go through that again!

You know I could sit here and go on and on about how it really burns me up that some people in the medical field are against bf, its weird, you either have those who are for it, or those who are gainst it. I think its terrible!

But, anyway, one of the biggest problems is our hospital is very small and there isn't a lot of support here. So, thats why I have got to arm myself with info so we know what they CAN and CANNOT do. So, can you please help me? Thank you so much! I'm down to my last week!!!!!

[DansGoddess]

First off, you are not a failure in ANY way! Your a good mom, doing what you and your doctor thought was best!

My advice to you is pretty crucial, DO NOT LET THEM GIVE HIM ANYTHING MY MOUTH in the hospital!!!!!!!! When they take him to the nursery, have your DH go with them b/c they WILL give him stuff without asking/telling you. No paci's, no bottle, no syringe, no sugar water (which they will tell you is fine) NOTHING but your breast. Also, I think getting in touch with a lactation consultant or your local LLL leaders before the baby is born can't hurt either. Build up your support system BEFORE he comes. Sounds like your DH is very supportive, which is GREAT!

Other than that just trust yourself, your baby, and do what you think is best. Make sure your doctors are supportive and on board, having a pro-breastfeeding pediatrician is also pretty important. Stay positive, sounds like you're making every effort to get a good start, that makes you a great mom right there! Good luck!!!![/b]

HEY ASHLEY!!!!! Thanks for replying hun!!!! Dh and I were just talking about this last night, lol, its funny, he's such a HUGE bf fan, its just truly amazing and he has no problem being firm with those nurses. So, listen, are you sure I will be able to tell those nurses No syringes, or formula, ect? I know how some nurses can get cranky and not work with you, so I'm just wondering what our rights are? I mean as Dh says "Thats our child darn it" lol and I agree, however, how do I know they cant over ride us if he has the low blood sugar? I mean I have a good doc this time who is doing the c-section and my last appt with him is this Thursday and I'm going to tell him I want to be back in recovery as fast as possible so I can put the baby to the breast.

But, my biggest thing is just knowing our rights.

Wow, you had a rough time BFing your daughter!! Don't beat yourself up, you're definitely not a failure. It sounds like she had a rare problem, even the bottles were hard for her so that's serious. There's no reason why this problem should recur with your new baby. Just wait and see, every baby is so different when it comes to BFing.

It's normal for your milk to come in after 5 days, especially if you've had a c-sec or an exhausting vaginal birth. I've heard of milk not coming in until 7-10 days, also still completely normal. In the meantime your baby will thrive on the little bit of colostrum that your body provides. Don't get too focused on weight gain, for BFed babies it's normal even to lose some weight in the first few weeks. Keep a close eye on your baby's general condition, after the first few days they shouldn't be too sleepy. And output (# of wet diapers) is also a good indication. After the first few days, baby's output should ramp up to at least 6 wet diapers per day.

Like another poster said, if in doubt, or if something just doesn't feel right instinctively, ask for help!! Find out if there are any lactation consultants at your hospital or where you live, or a La Leche League leader might be able to help, too.

Good luck!!

Linda ~ Mom to 3DDs (5, 4 and 1.5 years old) and DS due December[/b]

Thanks Linda!

I have a 4 month old I am breastfeeding and she has a sucking problem she can't seem to take in enough nipple.The doctors know about this,but she is growing fine.when I first had her I thought I was doing something wrong.She was waiting on me and she couldn't figure it out. I bashed myself and ended up in a lot of tears. I almost gave up but I made it. I breastfeed my last child. after the first month it was a breeze so to have a child that had a problem I just didn't know what to do. I know you need a lot of rest.water,and good food. Also if you can handle vitamins I would take those too.It's a learning process for you both you really won't know your baby until you bond and learn the baby signals.I know I was wrong to be so hard on myself,but it doesn't help when you just had a baby and your already emotional. Just be aware you don't fall into a depression that you don't realize.Focus on your little blessing.Good luck [/b]

Thank you!

[MamaAshley]

Lynn, as long as baby is fine and healthy, you can tell them no glucose water. There is no need for it. Just another thing the hospital does as "procedure". You can always tell them no paci's, even if God forbid there was something wrong. Women have more rights than they think, the nurses want to act like you don't though...makes their job easier.

[DansGoddess]

Lynn, as long as baby is fine and healthy, you can tell them no glucose water. There is no need for it. Just another thing the hospital does as "procedure". You can always tell them no paci's, even if God forbid there was something wrong. Women have more rights than they think, the nurses want to act like you don't though...makes their job easier.[/b]

The nurse at my sons school is also a nurse in L&D at night and I spoke to her about all of this and she said they give formula when the sugars levels are below 40, and she did admit that he can prohibit a baby from latching on, but she said the baby will eventually latch on. I don't like the sound of that!

I told her I'd rather put him to the breast before anything and she said she was going to tell the nurses that because she knew who would be there for my c-section. So hopefully someone will listen, but, lol other than that they have dh to deal with. And let me tell you if you think I'm a big bf pro, you should see my husbannd!!!! He is AWESOME with that, I really lucked out with that! So, I know he will make sure everything goes ok. And, I'm just hoping Hunter is a good baby and like my son Austin who was born to bf, so we'll see soon! Thanks for replying Ashley!