Brand new mum - help?

[missneriss]

Hi everyone,

I got home from hospital yesterday with my beautiful little newborn, born on the 12th.

At hospital I had a lot of trouble getting him on the boob and mostly had to be assisted.

Since coming home he wakes and cries about every four hours. It takes me up to 30mins to get him on the boob - sometimes he gets himself really worked up, other times he makes the lipsmacking noises, big open mouth etc and then slides off straightaway like he was just taking the pi$s.

When I FINALLY get him on it usually hurts. I KNOW 'they' tell you to take them off and start again, but I'm so relieved I can't bring myself to take him off. He'll BF for about half an hour and then go back to sleep, generally not interested in any more.

Does this sound normal / okay? The midwife said I have a really good supply, and he's weeing all over the place, so I know the milk is getting through at least. I'm just starting to get a bit stressed out, and I don't want that to make it worse.

[Cheekychops]

I think - especially with your first - even if attachment is right, you still can have nipple pain etc.... mine killed!!!!!!!!! You will both become better at it as time goes on...... every 4 hours is good!!! Mine - he was born a little early - was every 2 - 21/2 hrs and he would take a good hour to feed!!! Grrrrr......

congratulations on your new little one - and stick with it it will get easier!!! :hugs:

[the_queen]

Firstly - CONGRATULATIONS!!!

I think you should be getting visits from your midwife, or the CHN, or someone like that? Ask them to refer you to a Lactation Consultant. If it's hurting, then that means poor attachment - which will lead to cracked nipples, which leads to more pain, etc etc. I found that when my nipple was cracked, I would take the baby off the boob before he'd drained it (because I couldn't stand the pain anymore) and that led to mastitis. After that, I got some really wonderful and practical advice, and it all went fantastically after that.
Have you tried feeding in the football hold? In the early days, that can be the "easier" position.

:yes: Definitely find someone to sit with you and give you practical advice.


:thumbsup:

[Cheekychops]

I don't believe that if it's hurting it means poor attachment..... The midwives were very happy with DS1's attachments and yet my nipples were still majorly sore - didn't result in cracked nipples though ever.... so maybe some nipples are just more sensitive than others???? But for sure, get some advice from the CHN or a lactation consultant!

[Kade's Mummy]

Hi Nerissa - firstly, congratulations! :yelclap: Jasper is a great name, I love it.

It's so overwhelming when you first get home, isn't it? At least I thought it was. It sounds like you are doing a great job, I think 30 mins of feeding is plenty. However it shouldn't take you that long to get him to attach so make sure you mention it to your health nurse.

I completly understand what you mean about not wanting to take him off once he does attach, I found the same. In the first few weeks breastfeeding hurt sooo much! My nipples were so sore. The best thing I ever did was use breast shields for 24 hours to give my nipples a chance to recover, it was fabulous. But in saying that you probably shoudln't do that until he is attaching more easily.

Good luck - definitely call your health nurse for some help with the attachment part. If you think I may be able to help with any further advice etc, please don't hesitate to PM me x

[missneriss]

Thanks so much everyone for your help.

Maybe I spoke too soon about the 4hr break! I fed him for about 45 mins at 9:00 and he was crying for another feed by 11. Took ages to attach, then after 3 minutes he let go and started crying. Got him on the other nipple (finally and with pain!) for about 20 minutes.

A midwife is visiting sometime today, so I'll talk to her. I guess I was just hoping there was some kind of magic trick I didn't know about!

So far my nipples aren't cracked, they just have tiny blisters on them.

I DID try the football hold in hospital (I have very big breasts AND nipples) but had more success with the standard hold.

[abbynmonique]

hello,, congratulations on your new bubba,,
it sounds like you are engorged,, like the baby is trying to suck off of a balloon,, try manually expressing as much as you can,or with a pump,,so your boobs feel softer and you will have an easier attachment,, and if you have heaps of milk , make sure you are taking enough off to get them softer as it can take a bit ,it will make a hell of a difference,,
good luck !!!
abby

[becca74]

:smiliedance: CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR NEW BUBS

Another thing to try (trying stuff doesnt hurt, i suppose...) is maybe feed him a bit more frequently. it sounds like he is waking up ferociously hungry, (especially since you seem a bit engorged - tho this is normal till things settle down).

My middle 2 boys (especially DS3) needed to be woken to be fed at least every 2-3 hours as they would oversleep then wake up p*ssed off as they were so hungry. They would then get so uptight they wouldnt feed properly, and gulp down lots of air when trying to feed, and need burping after only being on the boob for a few seconds - but then get more p*ssed off because I took them away from the boob...a vicious circle I remember only too well - especially when it happened at 3am :eek: . (DS1 and DS4 were/are boobaholics which is a bit different ;) ).

So maybe offer the breast every coupla hours - sometimes they will latch on when half-asleep and are more content to feed as they arent starving for it.....

Everything will settle, by 6 weeks you will most likely be doing all this by instinct :thumbsup:

[DellaWellaWoman]

Hi Nerissa

How did you go with the midwife today?

We ended up staying in hospital for an extra day just to see a lactation consultant, and I'm sooo glad we did.

DD was sort of attaching properly (midwives all said it was good), but the LC identified that she wasn't quite fully attached - once we got that sorted out (and started expressing as my milk wasn't in properly - boy oh boy is it in now tho!) we were fine.

Now that my milk's in and I'm getting engorged I'm finding I sometimes have to hand express (as others have suggested) otherwise she just can't get a good grasp....you should have seen hubby's face when I told him I accidentally shot milk to the other side of the room :eek:

Hang in there - I think it's supposed to get easier...

[lovemybub]

I have to confess I sing the praises of my lactation consultant. I found the midwives at the hospital all said something different and I would just struggle through the night and be dying for the lactation consultant to come on again the next morning. They would all say everything was fine, but it was always such a struggle, and then the lactation consultant would come and suddenly it all seemed easy again.

I cannot recommend a lactation consultant highly enough. After I left the hospital I even paid $65 or something to get her to come to my house because I was still not entirely happy, but I would have paid double. DD is 10months now and feeds like a dream.

Breastfeeding can often take up to six weeks to settle in, because you and bubs both need to learn what to do, and your milk needs to settle in etc. But do hang in there. I know everyone says it, but it does actually get easier. And it's worth it.:yes:

[Funkychicken]

I can't add too much more than the other girl's have already said. Hopefully the visit with the midwife helped out. I do want to say though,
Congratulations on the birth of your baby boy! :yelclap: I hope you are both well. :)

[emilysmumma]

Congratulations on your new arrival. Love his name.

I hope the midwife was helpful for you.
I found that I didn't get cracked/sore nipples but my breasts just hurt as they got bigger over the weeks to accomodate all the milk I was making. By about week 3 I nearly gave up but it is worth it in the end. Expressing and hot face washers worked wonders to relieve the pressure.
For the first couple of months it was taking up to 45 minutes a feed, but now it's done in 10-15minutes.

Good luck with your new boy.

[Africamum]

Hi,

Congratulations on your baby

My breasts hurt for probably the first 6 weeks of breast feeding and I was feeding every 2.5 hours. The discomfort was never my nipples it was a sensation of the milk being drawn from me. The midwives at the hospital and the CHN were all happy with his attachment it just still hurt, then at about 6 weeks the discomfort suddenly went away and I felt relaxed feeding. My SIL's baby is a week younger than DS and she had similar issues.

I know this doesn't provide a practical solution, Hang in there ;)

[missneriss]

Hi everyone,
Thanks HEAPS again!
I had a great day / night yesterday and the midwife said it all looked good. Unfortunately today he kept feeding for three minutes, slipping off, falling asleep, then I'd wake him up and get him back on, and the same would happen!
Eventually I'd figure he was full and put him down, only to have him crying again in twenty minutes and doing the 'clown mouth' and smacking his lips!
I'm starting to worry he just wants the comfort of my boob. I'm hating to think what might happen tonight if he just feeds 10 mins, sleeps 10, feeds 10 etc!
I'm going to create a new post....