Breast feeding not working (BF, baby, diabete, weight)
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Please have her see a lactation consultant as soon as possible. They will come to your room and help her physically get the baby latched on properly and diagnose any underlying issues. It may be a little expensive but much, much less expensive than buying formula!! Also, breastfeeding is supply and demand so if the baby isn't demanding it, her body is not going to supply it. Have her try and nurse the baby as frequently as possible.
Couple of days back my wife delivered the baby through C-Section in her 40th week (39 week and 1 day) of pregnancy, after her induced labor failed. Doctor recommended the induced labor since she had gestational Diabetes.
She is trying to breast feed but unable to do so. So we are giving currently Similac for the baby.
Looks like her breast is very hard and has milk but the baby is not able to suck the milk.
We tried a manual breast pump and that is also not working.
My wife is really worried that she is not able to feed breast milk to the baby.
Please advice if you or your loved ones had this issue and how you overcame it.
She may need to relax. Breast feeding isn't so much about "trying" but relaxing and letting it happen.
Lactation consultant. Today! Your pediatrician's office might have one on staff, or they will provide a referral. Please don't delay.
Nursing can be difficult even for experienced mothers, because it's a cooperative venture between mother and child. Babies don't really suck milk from the breast. It's hard to explain, but it's more like "milking" the breast by exerting a rhythmic pressure. A proper latch is essential, and lots of things, including a hard breast, can get in the way. Lactation consultants are pros at diagnosing problems.
Have your wife sit down at the bathroom sink with very warm water running. Use washcloths to apply warm water to her breasts so that she can break up the hardness. i remember how uncomfortable I was. Keep doing it, alternating breast until milk flows from her breasts. And it will flow after awhile.
My pregnancy was a complete miracle and took years, medications and several operations. I knew this was my one and only chance to nurse my child and I was bound and determined to do it. We had to leave him behind in the hospital under the bilirubin light and while there they bottle fed him and I got hard as bricks. When he got home he wanted nothing to do with me. I was so disapppointed. We went to the pediatrician and he told me to give it so many hours- something like 24 or maybe even more without offering him a bottle. "The good lord won't let that baby starve with food so close by. Keep offering him the breast and eventually he will get the idea."
We were extremely nervous especially since he was 6 weeks premature. But we kept to our guns and i swear it was in the last 15 minutes of that time limit that he finally latched on and sucked for dear life. and stayed latched on till way past his 2nd birthday. It's not impossible.
Someone will come to your house to help you if you reach out. If there is a mother or mother in law hoovering and making "suggestions" that can make Mom nervous and feel like she is being judged. Don't let that happen. I wouldn't let my mother visit till we had established a good nursing routine.
If the breast is hard and engorged, it can be difficult for baby to latch. You might try pumping for a minute first to soften the breast a bit before latching baby. If baby is already used to a bottle, you could also try using a nipple shield, which makes the breast feel more like a bottle nipple. Be aware though, that many mothers have trouble getting baby to nurse without a shield after they get used to using a shield.
If baby is having trouble latching, you can help train the suckle by having baby suck on your finger. There is a specific method. Your lactation consultant can show you. Speaking of which, see a lactation consultant today. There is usually one on-staff at the hospital. If you are home from the hospital, your pediatrician's office may have one on staff, or be able to refer you to one. See a lactation consultant ASAP.
Milk supply works by supply and demand. So continue to try to have baby latch to the breast at least several times per day, or continue to try to pump. A manual pump is tedious - you might consider an electric instead. Your insurance probably provides you with one for free - call them up and find out. In the meantime, rent one from the hospital until you can get one from insurance.
I also recommend watching Jack Newman's latching videos. They are very informative for new parents. Breastfeeding Videos
Another very useful site is Kellymom. Here is an article about what to expect the first week, but I encourage you to surf around that site because they have a lot of really useful info about breastfeeding. Breastfeeding your newborn
Another resource is the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine's protocols. They have a few that may be useful for you, including "Going Home/Discharge" and "Supplementation". Protocols - The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM)
My firstborn would not latch. I tried and tried, was watched and evaluated in the hospital by the consultant (who just said keep trying at home); called La Leche who also said keep trying and do NOT under ANY circumstances give a bottle; saw pediatrician who said I was doing everything right but baby just wasn't getting on properly. Two weeks of me stressed out and my son crying and crying, obviously hungry....but I wanted to do the "right" thing and breastfeed.
At 2 week appt, his weight was low enough that the dr wanted to put him in the hospital if he didn't start gaining fast. So I got an electric pump and fed him from a bottle. He immediately started gaining and eating often. I pumped constantly for 4 more weeks (still trying on breast, he just would not/could not do it) until I got a killer case of mastitis and found myself at midnight one night with only 2 ounces left. Opened the formula and never looked back.
With hindsight, the "right" thing would have been to feed that poor crying skinny baby anything he would take in any means he would take it. I should not have been so scared to not breastfeed, but I didn't want to be judged (I was young and the opinions of others, even strangers, meant a lot). I regret those first 6 weeks of stress and misery (for the whole family) trying to BF much more than switching to formula and a bottle.
I didn't have much desire to BF my other 2 after that experience, so all 3 were basically raised on formula. All are healthy, smart, and fit. Of all of them, my oldest who had the most breast milk is also the only one to have ear tubes and his tonsils and adenoids removed; the other 2 had much healthier childhoods.
In short--please do whatever you need to do for mom and baby to both be happy and healthy. If breastfeeding ends up working, that is fantastic, but please don't beat yourself up or feel guilty if it doesn't work for you.
If her breasts are very hard, then the baby can't latch on properly to nurse.
Contact a lactation consultant.
Also, as someone above suggested, warm water and use her hands to express some milk until the breasts aren't so hard and sore. THEN, try to let the baby latch on and nurse.
+bazillion on getting a hold of a lactation consultant ASAP.
I responded to your other thread, but our situation was similar to yours. Wife was super-engorged, baby wouldn't latch, manual pump was ineffective, etc. My $.02: Be less concerned with the baby (there's always formula) and more concerned with your wife getting the milk outta there before she has further issues (i.e. mastitis).
Once we received the electric pump and got past the more immediate issue of getting the milk out, there was still the issue of getting the baby to latch and feed direct from the breast. For weeks, our MO was for me to feed the baby breastmilk via bottle whilst the wife pumped (only after letting the baby have another shot at getting it straight from the tap). There were aso a few times in the beginning where demand got ahead of supply, and in those instances we subbed in formula. (Incidentally, once everything gets into a rhythm, the supply VASTLY outweighs demand. I've all but lost my freezer to frozen bags of breastmilk)
Getting our daughter to feed direct from the breast took lots of practice and visits to the lactation consultant. It was super-frustating for my wife, but eventually our daughter turned the corner.
As for the 'don't let them learn a bottle' debate, obviously it varies child-to-child, but ours has never had an issue going between the two. I also never bothered warming up refrigerated milk, and that never seemed to bother her, either.
Mike
Last edited by whiteboyslo; 05-12-2014 at 09:39 AM..
Too many people just don't understand how complicated nursing can be. They generally think the mother isn't doing something right if the baby won't nurse. Nothing is further from the truth. You can't just put the kid up there and he automatically knows what to do either. I guess sometimes it does happen but I think that is the exception and not the rule. Get your wife and baby some help immediately.
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