Trouble with breastfeeding?

Question

Oh I'm so frustrated, I think ím messing things up with feeding my 4 days old baby .... at the hospital the nurse and I bottlefed him, but also tried to breastfed him every 2 hours for 30mintues (both sides), the first 3 days, milk hasn't comes in yet, just colestrum but i was worried my baby wont get enough so after 30mins of breasfeeding i bottlefed him 25cc to 35cc .....since last night I start to produce more milk and started leaking out today ..... I tried to breasfeed my boy as often as i can (every 2-3hours) but the hard thing is that he will fall asleep if he lay on my hand, so when i bottlefeed him i have to put him on "sitting" position, that way he will be awake and eat faster ..so now you now breasfeeding him on "holding football" position is not a good idea, he'll fall asleep right away ....he just sucks on my nipple for 3 -4 times and stop for a few second .....then couple of times like that he's asleep ........so I worried he's not getting enought milk, then I always had to bottlefeed him afterward ..... i bought a breast Pump want to see how much i get for 40minutes as how much my baby get each time, and i end up getting just 15cc (not enough :-() ,,,could mixing mother's milk and similac do any bad to my baby ???? could anyone tell me what i should do ?? any advice for this first time mother?? .. I really needs help! ... If i ONLY breasfeed my boy 20mintues on each side for every 2 hours ... will he get enough food ? and don't forget ím on my 4th day, my milk has came but i dont' think i had alot ....

Thanks everyone for reading and answering my question ...

Answer 1

Well first off, if you want him to be on the breast you need to get him off of the bottle for now.  He is probably getting confused.  There are several different positions you can try, including the football hold, which holds your baby in an upright position.  It is totally normal for a baby to fall asleep while they are eating.  My son couldn't stay awake after the first 5 mins and he was growing perfectly find and healthy.  You will know if your baby is starving.  If he is crying uncontrollably, it could be a problem, but otherwise it is perfectaly normal.  You are doing a great job momma, keep up the hard work, it is so rewarding!  You may want to contact your local Le Leche League, they will be able to help you futher.  Try www.llli.org.  Good luck!

Answer 2

The more you breastfeed, the more milk you will produce.  At first you won't produce much because your baby will not need a lot - but he will nurse every 2-4 hours.

Formula is more filling than breast milk - especially at first.  Neither of my children were given formula until they were old enough to get cereal, and then I mixed it with the cereal.  

The most important thing you can do is to relax and enjoy this time with your baby.  If you are nervous or tense it will make it harder for your milk to come in.  If your baby is still hungry, he will let you know.  I know it's hard to do - especially with your first child - but breast milk is so much better for your baby, so relax and let nature do it's job:-)

If you have concerns, call your doctor or your local hospital and ask to speak to a nurse.  

Answer 3

first off throw away the bottle if breast feeding is what you want to do. you will only get a small amount fro now and baby sucling will get out more than you can pump. the more you suppliment the worse it will be to your supply. he will let you know when he is hungry and if he is falling asleep, he isnt hungry. leave him go a bit longer. my first only ever breastfed 4 hourly to the dot. and my newest fed every 2 hours and sometimes more often. if baby isnt crying and is having wet nappies then he is content and getting enough.

Answer 4

I breast feed  and bottle feed both my 2 year old and 3 month old.  i used the avent bottles wich are alot more like a mothers nipple, so there was less nipple confusion. If ur baby keeps falling asleep try taking there shirt off or maybe even a differnet feeding position-across ur lap-.  

Answer 5

Firstly, congratulations on your precious baby!!

Your milk supply is very new, and supplementing is very dangerous for it!!  It works on supply and demand, and when you introduce formula, your baby fills up on it and signals your b*****s to make LESS milk.  Toss out the bottles and formula, and just nurse, more often than every 2-3 hours.  Offer your breast every hour at least.  He's very young, and his stomach can't hold much yet, so he needs to feed often.  This is also a huge time for learning; you both need to practice breastfeeding to up your supply and to become experts.  :)   Also, pumping is not an accurate assessment of your supply, so don't pay attention to how much you get out, okay?

You need to wake him up to eat, strip him to his diaper, blow on his face a bit, make him less comfy really!!!  :)

As for how happy/well he is, if he nurses until he's satisfied, is gaining weight steadily, and making lots of wet and dirty diapers, you're FINE!!  Trust your body honey.  

Feel free to email me if you have any problems or questions, okay?

Answer 6

I COMPLETELY agree with the first answer, I would have wrote it myself, but she already did :]

My son couldn't suck at all in the beginning, not even from a bottle! We had to pump and use a SNS, then I had to use a nipple shield, but by two months, he was nursing perfectly on his own!

So don't worry, it WILL get easier with time :]

Answer 7

First and foremost you need to relax. To breastfeed the most successful way I know is to relax and enjoy the bonding. I never subsituted with the bottle I breastfed only. I would tickle his feet or disturbe him in some way if he fell asleep at the breast. I would also drink plenty of liquids while I was breastfeeding. Mostly water. I breastfed 2 of my boys at the same time and pumped milk for another baby that needed mothers milk to survive.

Answer 8

First off, congratulations!!! and don't stress.  If you are breastfeeding, the only way you know that your baby has enough is through wet and soiled diapers. if your baby is only 4 days old, he should have at least 8-12 wet/soiled diapers in a 24-hour period. If he's got that much dirty diapers then you should not worry.  Milk supply usually doesn't come until the 3rd-4th day and if you keep breastfeeding the supply will eventually follow.  And if you are planning to breastfeed for a long time, then you i suggest you NOT to use formula, because it might lower your milk supply. The more you put the baby on the breast the more your body will produce milk.  Everytime he falls asleep, try to tickle his toes or rub his back to wake him and don't forget to drink lots of fluids if you are breastfeeding, like juices, and water most especially.  I hope i  helped in a way. Enjoy the bonding.  Good luck and God Bless you and your baby,

Answer 9

I feel so bad for you! I felt exactly like you my first few days.

First of all, just relax. It sounds like you are stressing out about this and your baby can sense this when you feed him.

remember babies sleep A LOT for the first few weeks and don't need as much milk as when they are older. He's just been through a stressful ordeal!

If your baby falls asleep while breastfeeding you can gently nudge your baby under his chin or tickle his feet to wake him up. I used the football from the beginning and it's the only way my baby would feed at first.

Don't mix formula and breastmilk. I'm not an expert, but you should call the le leche league 1-800-LALECHE (US) here are some helpful tips. http://www.llli.org/

Just trust in your body. As long as your baby is pooing and peeing every two hours he's probably fine.

I don't understand why the nurse made you feed him formula in the hospital...newborns don't need this...they need colostrum. If you are nervous because of what the nurse said please don't listen to her. Call a lactation specialist instead...nurses don't know everything.

Answer 10

I think your problem is pretty common. Brand new babies fall asleep quick. You could try leaving the blanket off of his feet, he might stay awake. After a few days he will have an easier time staying awake. You can't really tell how much milk you are producing by using the pump. The baby always gets more milk than the pump will.

I think 20 minutes a side every 2 hours is ok. You could try just feeding on demand. He will let you know when he wants to eat and will stop when he is done. I fed my daughter about 5 - 10 minutes per side about every hour in the beginning.  

Don't worry too much, If he were hungry, he would stay awake to eat. Maybe if you stop giving him the bottle, he will stay awake to nurse.

I don't remember the specifics but I heard it takes several days for a breastfeeding newborn's stomach to re-adjust from 1 formula feeding.

Hang in there! Your precious little one will be eating a ton soon.  

Congratulations!

Answer 11

Don't fret.  I had a very similar problem.  First off I would try to stay away from formula, only because usually formula is sweeter than moms milk and the baby may refuse your breast after a while because he wants the sweet formula, also bottles are easier for them to feed from because they don't have to suck as hard so they will begin to prefer the bottle.  I was feeding 20min on each side when my son was 4 weeks old.. so I am sure your son is getting enough milk, if he isn't he will fuss for more when you unlatch him from your breast.

First, the pump is a good thing, it will help increase your supply.. But you need to do other things as well.  You need to get at least 64 ounces of water a day... if you can't then try to get as close to that as possible.  Not only is you being hydrated important for your milk supply but it will help keep baby hydrated as well which is very very important at this time of his life.  The less hydrated you are the less milk you will produce... so drink as much water as you can.

Second, try to pump a few times a day and freeze it so that when you don't think he is getting enough food you can use the breast milk instead of the formula.  I fed my first two sons formula and breast milk and they both had upset tummies when they were first born.  With my third he is exclusivley breast fed and he is doing much better than my other two did.  The big difference was that with formula the baby tends to throw up more often and it is curdled stinky yuck.

Pumping will also help increase your milk supply.  You can leave a bottle of pumped milk at room temperature for up to 8 hours and freeze pumped milk for up to 2 months.  (You can look up La Leche League for more info if you want)

Lastly... have faith that you body will do what it was designed to do.  Don't supplement just yet with formula.  Feed your son like you have by the breast, when he falls asleep gently run your finger across his jaw or on his 'waddle' under his chin and this will cause him to wake up a lil and suck.  At four days old you might have to do this throughout the feeding.  When he stops actually sucking and swallowing let him come off the breast and sleep.  He may want to just pacify on you as well and that is ok if you want him to, then let him.  In a few weeks he will be more alert and wont fall asleep until he is full on the breast.

Hang in there!!  Good Luck to you, I hope this helped!!

Answer 12

First off, stop with the bottle feeding.  You're only causing more problems by switching back and forth.  A bottle is easier to suck on and get liquid out of than the breast, so if you keep using the bottle, baby may come to prefer it and start to refuse the breast.

Second.  A pump does not show how much milk baby is getting.  Baby is WAY more efficient and better at sucking, so don't gauge your production by what you can pump.

To answer your question. YES, if you nurse every two hours for as long as baby wants, he will get enough.  If you are having issues with him falling asleep (very normal with newborns) try what I did.  Strip him down to his diaper and apply cold washcloths to his feet.  It'll keep him awake.  Also, if you notice him slowing down on the sucking try compressing the breast.  (Use your free hand to squeeze your breast, it will express some milk into his mouth and encourage him to start sucking again).

Once baby stops nursing on one side, switch hiim over to the other side.  For the first 3-4 weeks, make sure he's nursing every 2-3 hours during the day.  

You are doing a great thing by wanting to give your baby breastmilk.  Keep at it.  It does get easier.  

Hugs!! Good luck!!