Disappointed, ready to give up - help!

[@llli*aprilsmagic]

Yeah, that hospital grade pump is amazing

I would not worry about diarrhea in a BF baby. Their stool is normally very liquidy and can be mistaken for diarrhea.

Just be careful with all this pumping and bottle feeding that you don't end up EPing. Because short term, EPing is easier. But long term...it is very much not easier.

[@llli*yaiza]

Thank you, girls.
I am still BFing, the baby likes it and so do I. So on top of the "controlled" 600 ml / day my baby is getting now, she's also getting some extra snacks ;-) I guess that can only be good for her.
I think what I'll do is I'll go on with the pumping + formula until I'm sure (or rather, the nurse and doctor are sure) she's eating all she needs, then try to get her back to BF exclusively. Let's see how much weight she puts on. Argh, I hate the pumping... and the formula too :-( But what does EP mean? I couldn't find it in the list of abbreviations.
And another question: Where could I contact a LC? I live in Denmark. They have BF assistance at the hospital, but only for new borns - that is babies less than a week old. In theory after that you should talk to the nurse you get assigned, but as you know by now my nurse is not very much for BFing... Any suggestions?
As every time, thanks.

[@llli*aprilsmagic]

EP is exclusively pumping.

Even though those nurses are for newborns, contac them. They may have some resources for you locally. I can't find anything like what we have here -- stand alone breastfeeding centers -- but they have something, as the BFing rate is very high in Scandanavian countries.

[@llli*kst.7399]

Why don't you look for your local LLL? A quick call to them might be able to get you some local assistance. If nothing else, just to connect with someone who understands.

[@llli*yaiza]

No LLL here, apparently. But I contacted an independent group that gives advice on BFing and they basically told me that it's too late now to go back to BFing only. Great.

Regarding BFing in Scandinavia, I can't say much about Norway and Sweden, but here in Denmark it is indeed common and popular to BF your baby. That is why it surprises me what my nurse has been telling me from the start, and also the fact that hospitals don't have a service for older babies and they won't accept you after your baby is 1 week old, full stop. I am very disappointed with the whole thing, I have to say. If it was not for this forum, I'd have stopped BFing long time ago, I'm afraid. Thanks for your support (again-agaain ;-)

[@llli*mommal]

It's never too late to go back to breastfeeding! Since you're in the EU, maybe look outside your home country for assistance? There may be a LLL group or good lactation consultant in Germany or Sweden. Maybe someone who could give you advice by phone or refer you to the right person in your home country.

You're doing a great job, mama. Don't give up. It's never too late.

[@llli*hermione]

Could you maybe try calling an IBCLC?
I called my contry's IBCLC coordinator and she was very helpful!

IBLCE Coordinator Denmark
Mette Aaskov IBCLC
Rustenborgvej 9
2800 Lyngby
DENMARK

phone +45 (0) 27379282

[@llli*yaiza]

Thanks, Hermione, that was great! I contacted her and we spoke a little, she was very kimd. She said.
- Get another nurse.
- Go on BFing as much as possible.
- Go on with pumping if I want to.
- Go on with formula if I need to.

So that's it. I'm going to weight my baby again next week, and hopefully things will normalise slowly, one way ot the other...

I'm of course BFing, and giving formula too, in changing proportions depending on the day. And I am still pumping, but I get very discouraging results, some 20 ml after 10 minutes of pumping, maybe a bit more during the night. And I'm using the rented pump, which is very efficient. Is this normal?

[@llli*hermione]

Are these volumes after nursing?
Do you let down well to the pump? When my baby nurses I'll have a letdown in seconds, but with the pump it can take several minutes (sometimes up to 10).
Sometimes I use the oxytocin spray and it really helps! after a while you get used to the pump and it gets better.
Glad the IBCLC helped. Did she recommend you anyone in case you should need hands-on help? Are you able to get another nurse?
When you pump a lot it's easy to get discouraged. Make sure you nurse a lot too, and if you see really good drinking (did you see dr newman s videos?) you can skip pumping for that session once in a while. this should help make a little more time to enjoy baby and less washing to do...

10 min of pumping is not enough if you did not nurse; if nursing before: 15 min or 5 min after last drop; if skiping nursing: 20-30 min

[@llli*mommal]

2 tips for mamas who must do a lot of pumping/washing:
1. After pumping, leave pump parts screwed onto bottle and put the whole assembly in the fridge. When it's time to pump again, re-use the set-up. My LC said it was safe to pump new milk onto old (but still very fresh!) milk one time before washing the pump parts again.
2. Leave a large basin full of soapy water next to the sink, and throw bottles and pump parts in as needed. I four it less draining to do one or two big washing-ups per day than to do a thousand little ones.