please help me keep supply while baby is in hospital

Hello ladies, hope you can help me out here.
My baby boy Rigas was born Friday am and took to nursing real well. My milk production this time around is impressive- maybe it's true what they say that after twins the body produces milk for two.
This am he had to be readmitted to the hospital because his jaundice was getting worse. Dr did not want me to bf him till 7pm and then again 10pm. He thinks breastmilk might be doing harm and would rather give formula those feedings. Now I know this is not true but there is no agruing this. So I will go in the evening and at night and then they probably won't let me go again till tommorrow am.
How can I make sure this doesn't affect my milk production? Should I pump every 3 hours? And if I pump, how long do I pump for? I didn't pump when I was bfing the twins so I'm not sure how it works. I tried expressing just now and it went well.
Any advise will be so appreciated. We got off on such a good start it would be a shame to not have enough milk for him when I get him back. My guess is they will let him come home tommorrow am.

 

Off to frantically find you some info.... Formula is not best for jaundice in breast fed babies, breast milk is!! Shame on your doc.
Pump and feed as often as you can.
Be back with info!!

 

QUOTE(Appymomma @ Apr 23 2008, 07:55 AM) [snapback]734882[/snapback]
Off to frantically find you some info.... Formula is not best for jaundice in breast fed babies, breast milk is!! Shame on your doc.
Pump and feed as often as you can.
Be back with info!!



Ok, Here is Dr. Sears take on this

 

Ah and this one especially... BF Med
pay special attention to Inpatient Implementation... Number 1, letter d!

 

I know I know. Thanks for the links but there is nothing I can do about this. This is Greece- things are very different here. We had to pay lots and lots of money to be able to have the baby room in with me at the hospital and have long arguments to avoid them giving him formula while there. They don't even have a breast pump there, no way to store breast milk if I take it to them, I don't doubt I'll be placed in a very ackward situation about where I'm to nurse him when i go there later.
It's so so so hard to try to do what's right and then be told bfing is partially to blame for his being in the hospital. It just makes me so angry and sad.

 

Oh honey!! Huge hugs to you! Your poor inner momma bear must really be struggling with this! Thinking of you!

 

As pps said, the best thing for jaundice is frequent nursing.

I am SO sorry you're having to fight the system. :hug99: I have so much sympathy for you - I lived in Greece a couple years, and I can just totally picture what's happening! Sounds like those doctors are big malakes! :angry:

As far as keeping your supply up - try to pump every 3 hrs. I was told to pump for about 1/2 hr, or for a few min after milk stops flowing.

And congrats on your new baby! I am sorry you're not getting to welcome him into the world the way you'd hoped, but you WILL get past this very soon, and you'll have him home and nursing before you know it. Kouragio, manoula! :love0028:

 

Thanks for understanding ladies.
I got to bf my boy in the evening. I was so happy to see him and hold him and he had a great appetite. They only let me have him for 5' each side. Can you believe it??? They actually timed me!
They won't let me bf him again but at least we struck a deal that I can go there pump and they will give it to him. they can't store milk so I have to go as often as I can at feeding time and they directly give it to him.
I can't believe that it's so dangerous to have him out of the light for 10' every 3 hours. That's what they're telling me but I think it's just more work for them and they don't want to do it.
At least though this is better than what we started out with where my milk was considered the culprit for the jaundice.
Thanks again. I feel lonely with this since Greece really isn't a country were bfing is really considered a big deal.

 

Do you know what the numbers are on his levels???

 

QUOTE
Thanks for understanding ladies.
I got to bf my boy in the evening. I was so happy to see him and hold him and he had a great appetite. They only let me have him for 5' each side. Can you believe it??? They actually timed me!
They won't let me bf him again but at least we struck a deal that I can go there pump and they will give it to him. they can't store milk so I have to go as often as I can at feeding time and they directly give it to him.
I can't believe that it's so dangerous to have him out of the light for 10' every 3 hours. That's what they're telling me but I think it's just more work for them and they don't want to do it.
At least though this is better than what we started out with where my milk was considered the culprit for the jaundice.
Thanks again. I feel lonely with this since Greece really isn't a country were bfing is really considered a big deal.


ARRRGHH, that sucks! Afto einai tritokosmiko! I'm sure they are just lazy & don't want to bother taking him out. :angry:

It is not at all dangerous to have him out of the lights for a while now and then, and frequent nursing would do him a lot of good. But at least they're giving him what you pump. What kind of pump are you using?

I hope this is all over soon.

From what I saw, yes, attitudes about childbirth and BFing are very different in Greece than America. When my SIL had her first baby, everyone was out in the waiting room, including her DH. After she gave birth, they wheeled the baby out in a bassinet to show everyone. We took a picture with our digital camera. When they wheeled her out, we showed her the picture - and that was the first time she ever got to see the baby she just delivered, on our camera. <_<

(Btw, do you mind if I ask whereabouts in Greece you are & what hospital you're at? Just curious.)

 

Hi again. Here is the what the American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement on breastfeeding has to say:

QUOTE
For the great majority of newborns with jaundice and hyperbilirubinemia, breastfeeding can and should be continued without interruption. In rare instances of severe hyperbilirubinemia, breastfeeding may need to be interrupted temporarily for a brief period.124


:love0028:

 

I am sorry you are having to go thru all this :hug99: My dd had to be readmitted for jaundice also. But I was allowed to bf as often as I wished and room in with her. Even when you know breastmilk is the best thing for them you can't help but start second guessing everything when they get sick :hug99:
Just make it thru this and soon it will be a distant memory!!!! Keep pumping atleast every 3hrs and atleast as often as she is eating.

 

Tom was admitted for jaundice and had to spend a couple of days in hospital. It was not an ideal situation, as I had to choose which of the two got to breastfeed and which got pumped milk, but at least no one hassled us about that! Big hugs!

And know that all of this ickiness fades very fast after they come home. I have the occasional image of Tom all alone under the lights, but mostly it's a little footnote that comes to mind only when I'm telling the long version of their birth story.

Your supply will snap back so fast when he gets to work on you!

 

thanks again ladies for your support.

i managed to feed my boy at 7pm and went to pump at 10pm and 6am. they would not let me feed him directly and I had to pump there on the spot, no chance of storing milk or dh taking it to them. i got up at 3am to pump as well and am hoping there will be no harm done to my production.
got to feed him finally this am at 10 and pumped right after. will be going again at 1pm and GOOD NEWS is that it's almost certain I get to bring him home at 4pm.
there were other mothers there trying to bf their babies and didn't know how to and they were getting so discouraged and there was noone willing to show them what to do. i felt so sad. i tried to help out a couple of them- maybe it will be easier for them. things are really far behind here.

The strangest thing is that I was so prepared for doing this when the girls were born because we were so afraid they would need nicu time but it never crossed my mind that this precious singleton would have to be apart from me.


fushiagroan- i know what you mean about your sil. when my girls were born i didn't get to see them up close till 3 hrs later!!! this one they gave me to hold for a couple of minutes right after he was born and i got him with me about 1.5 hours later. we had to pay double what the hospital fee usually is for a birth just to have the priviledge of roomiing in with the kids when they were born. i live in thessaloniki and had the baby at genesis (a new private hospital supposedly very modern etc.)

 

I'm so sorry.