Feeding and bm issues

[Countrydeb]

This is probably been talked about before but it is a new issue for me...Bub was born at 37 week with low blood sugar and spent 6 days in neonate due to poor feeding so was bottle fed for those days with a little breast here and there ,but as he was so slow and lost a bit of weight i bought formula and kept him on bottle when we got home,still offering him breast now and then....His sucking and latching on got better but he still seemed so hungry and could only manage 3-4 minutes a side as he got so tired on boob.....I always thought i could just top him up and introduce more boob as he got bigger and stronger,but my milk supply got questionable...my boobs feel empty,i have no natural let down and i am so disappointed,i did get a script for motillium but haven't started it as i don't think bub could still take boob for too long....i put bub on now when he needs to drop off as usually only minute or so and his eyes start to close.......I am keen to restart my bfing as i fed my last bub for a year and really enjoyed it and bub is only 5 and1/2 weeks ,have been reading other stories so know it is possible....but my main worry is bub's bowel habits...he has runny,explosive ,mustard colour poos with a foamy consistency....He seems to be putting on weight but had not had him weighed as child clinic only once a month here and we are due our 6 week check up next week....he has good periods of sleep and periods of awakeness where is content to look around....but his little belly is full of gurgles and he has alot of bottom burps and hiccups quite frequently....his last evening feed seems really hard for him as he is hungry but it seems to hurt him to drink...I have never had a child with food or milk intolerances so not sure if this is what's happening.....I did read if he was only getting fore milk and the bottle he might be getting to much lactose,does this sound right......i will mention it to doctor but was wondering if the wise ladies of bubhub had some advice ....oh forgot to mention his poos reek...should i do the whole motilllium ,lactation cookie thing and put him on boob first ,how long does he need to be on to get the hind milk as i find changing sides wakes him up a bit.........god this is all new to me ,have had 4 kids but bottle fed first one,second was a sh@t of a baby so put him on bottle after 6 weeks my third was a dream to bf and now this one 7 years later.........wondering if i am causing the milk supply to deplete as had severe issues with this one being another boy and tho i love him don't feel as enrapt as i should...sorry for the rant but bit all over the place with what i should do......

[Lateralus]

Hi Deb... I know this comes quite a while after your original post, but hopefully what I have to say could still be of some assistance...

I had similar issues to you with my bub (who is now 8 & 1/2 months old and still happily breastfeeding). I got very damaged nipples & mastitis very early on (at about 2 weeks and lasted about 3 weeks until I was eventually hospitilised with severe mastitis and cellulitis)... We had loads of problems... poor supply (I am still taking low dose motilium, plus used fenugreek, lactation cookies & tea etc) used nipples shields, comp formula feeds, had nipple refusal, allergies and the tell tale explosive, frothy green poos too!

It sounds like you have a few of the same problems going on. With his gut issues - it could be reflux or allergies to something in your BM or he could even be allergic to something in the formula that you are using. Have you tried switching to a low allergy formula or even trying a soy or goats milk formula for a while to see if it makes a difference? You could also try cutting dairy out of your diet. I had to cut all dairy, soy, nuts, seeds and a variety of fruits and veges out of my diet initially... But as Zoe's gut has matured, I have been able to reintroduce a majority of things back into my diet without affecting her. When I cut the dairy and soy out her poos almost immediately settled down - she went from pooing about 10 times a day to once a day... It was an extreme improvement. I saw a lactation consultant in Brisbane who specilaises in allergies.. some of her methods were a little unconventional, but we got excellent results... PM me if you want her details... I don't know where you live, but she might be able to do a phone consultation or even suggest someone closer to where you live.

The other big struggle we had was getting Zoe back from the bottle onto the boob. It was explained to me that Bub's who are bottle fed before their breastfeeding skills are really established are often prone to nipple refusal because they simply don't have to work as hard to get the milk out of the bottle so they prefer it! We put a thickener in the formula we used so Zo had to work harder to get it out of the bottle, making the boob not such an unattractive alternative. Basically after that I just persisted with insisting with the boob, offering it to her at every opportunity. I offered her the same boob within a 3 hour window so she was hopefully getting some of the hind milk. Eventually it payed off and she is now exclusively breastfed (well - she's on solids of course, but from a drink point of view ;)). She can still be a bit fussy on and off, but I have just put that down to personality now.

Also, if your supply is a little questionable your DS is probably getting frustrated hence why he's pulling off after such a short time. If you really want to continue feeding, why not give the motilium a go - if you decide it's not for you a little later down the track, you can always stop it again!

Good luck with it all - happy for you to PM me if you want clarification on anything I have said :hugs:

[Countrydeb]

Thanks for the reply KateJo..... Bub is still having some poo issues but i changed him onto lactose free milk and i am getting him tested for that..He is actually an iugr baby[didn't know til i saw my hospy papers at my 6 wk check up]so i think a lot of it is immaturity he is putting on weight and while still in bottom percentile ,he sleeps well and on the main is a happy contented bub:baby: [:fingerscrossed: touch wood he stays that way]...I am still deciding whether to try him with full time boob..I put him on 2-3 times a day/night usually to send him off and he has a really good boob suck now but i love the freedom of the bottle dh is very hands on so i might take the motillium just to boost supply[cookies seem like too much trouble] does that increase milk nutrition tho???? anyway meant to get script filled while i was in a bigger town but forgot so will get it done here and try,as you say if it doesn't work out i can just stop........thanks for the advice,,,i wish you well with your dd you lucky thing[i have 4 boys :crying:]