Hey guys, I'm new. I've been trying to get on this website for a while, but I can't access the forum by phone and this is the first time I could get to an actual computer with a newborn.![]()
Anyway, I am in need of some help or support or insight or piece of mind! This is my first kid. He is 3 weeks today and our breastfeeding journey has been less Breastfeeding is/was so important to me, yet it was the only thing I never looked into while pregnant. I figured, if you do it, you do it, its supposed to happen naturally, right?
So at the hospital, I never really talked to anyone about breastfeeding, I just did it. And he latched on, but he never really communicated well that he was hungry, or I didn't know what I was looking for, and then he would fall asleep almost immediately after latching, so I thought that perhaps he didn't need that much to eat... that's when it went downhill.
So here are the numbers:
8/2- 8lbs 14oz, 19 inches
8/4- 8lbs 6oz
8/7- 8lbs 5oz, 20.75 inches
8/9- 8lbs 7.5oz
8/12- 8lbs 8oz
8/15- 8lbs 8oz, 21.5 inches *he only gained .9 oz during a 40 minute nursing session, ped. started supplementation*
8/16- *day that he was supposed to reach his birth weight*
8/19- 9lbs 1.9oz *gained 1.7 oz during a 30 minute nursing*
8/23- 9lbs 10oz
So, there was constantly periods of time in the beginning where he would suck and sleep on my breast, like for 3-5 hours a few times a day, but he'd fall asleep so quickly on my breast, in about 3 minutes, and it would take me hours to wake him up at night. And it sucks for sleep, or lack there of, but I didn't mind. He always seemed like he was starving though. And then after the meconium cleared out, he didn't have a dirty diaper for 3-5 days at a time, but wet ones regularly, maybe even more so. But I only fed him on demand, with the exception of night, because he wouldn't wake up.
The rn at my ped's office put me on a schedule, because of the lack of weight gain. She said I should feed him every two hours for only 20 minutes, then stop him, because he is only burning more calories than he is taking in. I did that one day, but he seemed starving, so I gave up the next and continued to feed him as much as possible.
On 8/15, my pediatrician had me start to supplement him after every other breastfeeding, she said 1-3 oz, but he didn't seem to know when to stop eating formula, so I just did 2 oz, because otherwise he would spit up A LOT. She had me start the 20 minute feedings again. I also started pumping 30 minutes after every breastfeeding, so even less sleep for me, yay... I was only getting about .25 oz total of breastmilk each pumping (10 minutes), which has been terribly depressing, but I supplemented that as well. I am using nutramigen, because I have celiac (Im also vegan), which is not a cheap formula. The ped told me to use a paci after feedings, because he sleeps for 10 minutes at this point and would wake up and want to suck more. I didn't want to use a paci at all, but I tried it, and (luckily for my sanity) he has rejected them every time.
Yes, he is gaining weight, but he and I are still having stressful breastfeeding sessions, and we are back to nursing whenever he demands it, because he is falling asleep on my breast so quickly and wakes up as soon as I unlatch him, so sometimes in 5 minute stretches over the course of 4 hours. He is a super lazy/passive feeder. Also, the lactation consultant had me go down to 1oz after every other feeding now, and between feedings he won't sleep except for night, but I was told to no longer wake him up, just wait until on demand happens. He didn't wake up for 5 hours last night and then barely fed and fell back asleep for 2 hours. Sometimes he gets frustrated, and I don't know if my milk tastes bad, or its flows fast, or not at all. He super sucks my pinky when I put it in his mouth, but it feels like he is hardly sucking on my breast. He keeps on trying to bottle suck on my nipple now (not every time), and sometimes just latches to my nipple alone and refuses to properly latch, and it is starting to hurt. He barely sleeps now except for night. He hasn't had a bowel movement in over 30 hours, but he has about 15 wet diapers a day. He never seems completely full after a feeding because he always falls asleep, but his stomach is huge when I supplement. I no longer pump, because I had to return it. I'm worried that by next Friday's weigh-in he will have lost weight again.
What am I doing wrong?!?! Are we ok? Am I just crazy? I know this is a long post, but I don't want to depend on formula. And pumping is too depressing and stressful, so I don't want to do it long term. Help!