latching on to my breast that well. I am pumping and supplementing with similac, but my goal is for him to nurse exclusively. My questions are is it to late for him to latch on or are there things I can do for him to start latching. And I am only able to pump oz at a time so every other feeding I have to give him formula b/c he is supposed to get oz every hours. What am I doing wrong? I thought by now everything would have been flowing my breast are not even heavy is that good or normal. I am so confused I really wanted to breast feed as long as I could. HELP PLEASE! Also I will contact a lactation specialist tomorrow, but right now I want experienced mothers who have went through the same thing I am going through or lactation specialist who could tell me if its going to be possible for me to breast feed.
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In my experience providing a bottle at all in the first few weeks is a mistake. Your baby is brand new and not accustomed to eating at all, you are new at this and don’t exactly know the right way to do it. Switching back and forth between a bottle and the breast for a baby who is already struggling provides more confusion, sucking a breast and a bottle nipple use very different techniques. Also, the babies suckling motion is what causes your breast milk to drop and some people (like me) can never really get much through pumping. I’m not saying let your baby starve by any means. I am saying that you need to be calm and keep trying. Let him get a little hungry (not overly hungry) and keep trying. I know how frustrating it is believe me. You will feel much better after a consultation with a the lactation specialist. don’t give up, it took me weeks to get it right the first time and I am so glad I did. It was much easier with my second.
Its not too late at ALL you are still learning the process and it can take a few weeks to get it riight so don’t get discouraged. Definitely go through meeting with a lactation consultant because they will watch you and be able to give you the best advice…
At day of breastfeeding my daughter stopped latching and screemed because she was so hungry. We went through a lot of trial and error but here’s what worked for us…
We didn’t want to formula feed because of nipple confusion so we gave her a little formula or pumped breast milk from a small flexible cup (like a medical cup but make sure its clean). They will drink small sips. Once she drank a couple of sips she wasn’t as frantic and we would practice latching. Keep in mind that it may take at while for your milk to let down so feeding your baby only when hungry means he won’t have the patience to suck while waiting for the let down. When they get hungry they can’t focus so much on learning how to latch. To encourage her to latch my husband would drip a little formula/breast milk down my breast so she would latch (it felt gross but it worked for us). Also offer the breast OFTEN every two hours so that he has time to “practice” when he isn’t super hungry.
When latching have the bottom lip start off center of the areola so that the top of the lip is just barely covering the nipple. This off center approach helps them latch better. Check out Dr Jack Newman’s website…there are video clips showing how to do this…it is a learned art so seeing it makes it easier (http://www.drjacknewman.com/). Also check out www.kellymom.com It has good advice for other issues that come up later.
Finally, don’t worry about the amount you get at pumping. I would only get / to an ounce early on and even once everything was well established I didn’t get much more with the pump. Make sure you are hydrated and eating well. The amount you pump at this early stage is normal. The most important thing right now is to get the latch correct so you continue to make milk so see a lactation consultant for sure because it will help so much with encouragment and fixing any issues. Good luck!
Why do you think he is not latching well? Does he just keep popping off the breast? This is ok… just keep putting him back on. It is hard the first month for both of you to get used to breast feeding…
Just because you pump does not mean there is nothing left in that breast… you cannot pump all the milk out because the baby is much better at drawing milk out than a pump. If you EXCLUSIVELY breast feed your baby will have less issues with nipple confusion. giving him the bottle and then the breast is confussing for him… I know its hard to know if he is getting enough… but if he is still wetting his diapers that means he is!
Another thing… every “- hours and the amount” is a guideline ONLY. My children did and do not stick to this!! My little girl likes to feed more often and less milk at a sitting… The BEST BEST thing to do is not pump yet and DONT give formula… and just keep latching him on… if he comes of latch him again… it is difficult in the beginning and actually hurt me for awhile too… (trust me I was there a month ago… my little one is weeks old!) Realize this is a LEARNED experience for the both of you… everyone makes it out that is is supposed to be natural and women beat themselves up over it, or give up because they think they are doing something wrong or cant do it because they think it is supposed to be easy…
They also make nippguardsrds at walmart/target that go over the nipple that may help him and you better….
Don’t give up… keep working at it. Your baby wont go hungry and you both will figure it out. I almost gave up but was determined and now I have no problems!!
PLEASE feel free to email me if you have any questions or just need encouragement! I really struggled in the beginning (even cried during feedings from frustration and pain) and now its very easy!! GOOD LUCK and congrats!!
It is not too late for him to learn to latch on properly. Have you thought of getting a lactation consultant to come to your house. In the mean time, try pumping so that he is still getting breast milk. I am pumping not because my day old baby won’t latch but because when i go back to work, i want her to be able to take the breast milk through the bottle. So my advice is to pump and feed her the pump milk and get a lactation consult to help you with the latching problem. Don’t give up.
see a lactation consultant and if he is latching on your breast at all only use that. this is why bottle are not recommended in the first – weeks anyway, it’s called nipple confusion. babies tend to prefer bottles in the beginning because they are easier to suck out of.
best thing to do is offer the breast as often as you can . NO pacifiers at all, use your breast. before offering a bottle, use your breast. when sleepy use your breast. BTW don’t judge how much you’re making by how much you pump or how your breasts feel. a baby can get much More out of your breast than a pump can.
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/start/basics/latch-reso…
you can also use this site to search other latching positions or even videos to help you out. they are every helpfully if you stay patient. the football hold seems to be the best for women who are having trouble.. just type
latch in the search engine
Good for you for going to visit a lactation consultant. Basically you need a professional to assist you. You have only just started producing milk and so you need to get that baby to latch on and nurse like crazy to increase your supply. Pumping does not increase your supply. Stop supplementing because he doesn’t need it and like was said before, the bottles are causing nipple confusion.
Who says he’s supposed to get oz every hours? That is just a guideline. Once the baby starts nursing correctly, he will stimulate what he needs. It’s a great system.
Tomorrow your session with the lactation consultant will go wonderfully and you will get all your answers then. Good luck!