Please help!

Our little boy was born last Tuesday after a c-section. We have 16 month old twin DD's and BF was an extremely challenging thing for them.. We only made it to 8 weeks BFing with them b/c of weight loss and supplementing with formula.

In the hospital I worked with lots of lactation consultants and got the latch down but my milk has just really started to come in. The last day Sawyer lost 9% of his body weight and they told us we needed to supplement after feedings.. so we are with 1/2 ounce. I have started to pump a bit too.. today it seems my milk supply has leveled off though he is really starting to regain weight so they told us we could do a trial with BFing only, but that he needs to regain his original birthweight by next week at this time.

I just don't know what to do.. do I let go and BF only.. what if he loses more weight? do I supplement until he regains his weight and pump? If so, then how much do I pump? WE are having a terrible time with night time sleep and I'm worried about not supplementing and losing even more sleep and trying to keep up with our girls during the day..


please help!!!! Really want to make this work this time!!!

Thank you so much!!!

 

If your doc is comfortable with a trial of exclusive breastfeeding I would go with that, it's the least amount of work for you - try to nurse frequently (every 2 - 3 hours during the day & every 3 - 4 hours at night at least). I expect that now that your milk has come in you won't have any more issues. It's quite common for it to take a bit longer for your milk to come in after a c-birth, but assuming that's the only issue (and it sounds like it is from your post), I expect you & babe will be golden by next week. And if not, then you can reassess & take the next step at that time. :hug: Also, take a deep breath - it will all work out the way it is supposed to. :hug:

 

Congratulations on baby Sawyer. I have a nephew who.was born last march with that name.
Neither one pc my.twins were up to their birthweight at their two week appt. Stress can cause issues, and I know it is hard not to. I would nurse as much as you.can, even every 2 hours if sawyer will nurse. That will help you get a good supply. Make sure you are drinking enough.and getting enough.to.eat. you can do it!! :woman:

 

I would try BFing exclusively. It is easier and he's been cleared to do so. The worst that is going to happen is that you'll have to go back to adding more in, and you had a break from that. He will not starve in the meantime- just watch those wet and dirty diapers and make sure he's nursing 10-12 times a day. (Or more! :lol

Please update us and let us know how it goes. :hug:

 

I agree with everyone else, try dropping the supplements and nurse him every chance you get. I also think in the long run it will be easier with the older kids, nothing wrong with pumping, but it takes longer. My boys were 23 months when my daughter was born, and I found nursing her to be the fastest, most efficient, and obviously, cheapest way to feed her. Once you get the hang of it; it's a breeze.

You are doing a great job; trust yourself. I had c-sections and my milk came in on days 4 and 5.

 

I also think trying out exclusive bfing sounds like a good idea. My twins a lot older when I had my son, so I don't know what it's like trying to take care of their needs on top of the new baby. But anything that saves washing bottles and pump parts has got to be good.

An interesting thing about "birth wieght", here in Mexico my son was wieghed after he was born, but they refused to wiegh him again until he was one month old. I was told that as long as he was wetting and dirtying diapers weighing him would only make me worry. It's expected he will lose weight, just look at all that poop they do on the first day! Judging whether or not he's getting enough to eat should be based on what's coming out of him. Especially since I had a c-s. I was given a fair amount of intervenous fluids before the surgery and that pumps up the baby with excess water weight. C-S baby's birth weight should be established 12 to 24 hours after the birth, not immediately after the birth for that reason.

 

Its been 10 days...what did you decide? How did it work out?

 

I will not be able to read all the other responses to your question, but I would advise you not to supplement. That'll only make things worse because your baby won't be able to send your body the signal there needs to be more milk. Please try not to focus on the charts too much. If your baby has enough wet and dirty diapers, it'll be okay. Did you know newborns can only hold like 7 ml in their tummies?

 

Not sure what you decided, but I had a c-section and I was slow to come in, too. When we went to 100% BF (we also supplemented in the beginning, much to my disappointment ) I was told to pump AFTER the nursing session. Even if I got nothing, I was told it stimulated me and would trigger production. For a few weeks I was attached to that darn pump, but it seemed to do the trick. I never had surplus storage in the freezer, but we made it to my target date.

If you are still worried about weight gain and choose to supplement with formula, this would still be an option if you're not ready to give up on BFing yet.

Also, I tried a lactation blend dietary supplement and mother's milk tea.

Good luck and hugs.