Long before the delivery when I was still expecting, I had planned for my ideal type of delivery and feeding method for my baby. Everything just didn't seem to go according to plan. I thought that even if I did not have a choice and had to do a c-sect, I was confident that I could still stick to my plan to latch him on for 4-6 weeks and hence, we did not buy any breastpump and milk formula and nearly didn't want to get the milk bottles but exclusive breastfeeding unexpectedly proves to be a challenge!
On the day when baby A was born, he was too small and needed nutrients to be fed immediately - his first exposure to formula milk even though it was cup-fed. We were told on the next day by the pediatrician that baby could not suck very well - *Alert bell ringing*. My milk had not come in when we were at the hospital plus baby couldn't latch on well, the night shift nurses kept persuading me to feed formula. I eventually gave in after hearing that baby's weight dropped to 1.9kg, more than the acceptable range of 5% wt drop. How could I still bear to insist on exclusive breastfeeding under such situation? So, baby was fed with formula milk at night while in the day, I trained him to latch him on and practised the way to feed him with the help of the lactation consultant. This was difficult as the lactation consultants were not there all the time and most of the times the nurses on duty were the ones assisting me with the feeding and all of them used different methods! By the time we were out of the hospital, baby was still not latching on well and I was still had not got the hang of breast feeding.
At home, things became worse when CL always tells me that the baby is small and has not enough to drink because I have no milk. Even when milk comes in on the 5th day, they still have the impression that I am still not producing milk and baby is not getting enough from me and kept pressurising me to feed him with formula milk. I gave in, like during the hospital stay I got the CL to feed him formula milk at night and I feed in the morning. As the days go by, it became increasingly difficult for me to latch A on now that milk bottles had been introduced to him. I suspect that he is nipple confused. Of course he would prefer the bottle teats with fast-flowing and never-ending milk to his mummy's! For the past two days, he takes up to 30 mins for DC and me to coax him to latch on and as long as 1 hr to feed! Our patience was constantly being tested!
Maybe it's the hormones at work: I remembered spilling the unexpected first milk that flowed out from the breast pump because of my incorrect siting position and felt very angry with myself. The next milk that was collected was deemed to be too little and was poured away by the CL. What a waste, I was really depressed that night! I became very fearful if he stuck out his tongue after every feed and became very irritated and emotional whenever I heard them mentioning about formula milk or use the term "I don't have milk". It's as though I'm at fault that he's not growing well... I seem to hear voices accusing me of not drinking enough water during my pregnancy and this caused the amniotic fluid to run low, that made me depressed - I do not want to bother to explain, they won't understand...I had tried to convince them that there is milk supply and insisted on doing my way but I guess the limited volume of milk pumped faulted my defence!
No wonder so many people didn't succeed at breastfeeding. One really needs encouragement from their close ones! I'm blessed to have DC who understands and supports me... I'm so glad that I have him and my sisters on my side.
I'm slowly coming to terms and coping more positively with the fact that I am not producing enough to meet my baby's needs. I'm also learning how to close one eye and not to be so particular about how the CL take care of my baby. I guess on my part, I can only learn to take it easy and apply the following tips to increase the milk supply.
- Pray for ample supple of breast milk.
- Apply a warm compress to breasts before feedings to improve the let down reflex.
- Feed baby frequently, every 1.5 - 3 hours. It is more important to breastfeed often, rather than having long feedings. The more baby breastfeeds, the more breastmilk the body will be stimulated to produce.
- Don't go more than 4-5 hours between feedings. This includes night feedings. It is usually safe to stop waking the infant for feedings once he is gaining weight well. Since the newborn is supposed to be nursing about 8-12 times a day, even 4-5 hours is a little long and may only happen once a day.
- Pump breasts for five to ten minutes after each feeding. This can stimulate more milk production.
- Make sure that baby is latching-on and sucking well. This is important because if he isn't latching-on and emptying breast during a feeding, then this can lead to a low milk supply.
- Take herbal supplements that might increase the breastmilk supply, like fenugreek (2-4 capsules 3 times a day) or blessed thistle.
- Take food that are said to be able to increase the breastmilk supply, like papaya soup or katuk.
- Massage the breasts during feedings.
- Review any medications with doc to see if they could be interfering with the milk supply. Birth control pills are especially notorious for lowering the milk supply for some breastfeeding mothers.
- Take time to rest and relax throughout the day and night. Try and get extra help from family members or friends if needed.
- Don't smoke. Nicotine enters breastmilk and can also decrease milk supply. Although if you do smoke it is still okay to breastfeed.
- Estimate how much milk is produced by pumping the breasts. If 2-3 ounces of milk can be easily pumped, then you may be reassured that you are producing enough for the average newborn. By two months of age, you should be producing about 5 ounces for each feeding. But keep in mind that just because you are pumping enough, that doesn't mean that your baby is getting it. A poor latch or improper sucking can decrease how much your baby is getting, even if you are producing enough. Also, just because you are not able to pump much doesn't mean that you are not producing enough. It may be that you are just not pumping correctly.
- If it becomes necessary to supplement with formula, you can consider using a lactation aid or finger feeding instead of a bottle if it really bothers you to give your baby formula in a bottle.
[ Updated 30 Jul 2009: No longer dead set on breastfeeding, I have finally soften myself and gave in (actually gave up) on latching him on. Started whole day FM feeding with BM to supplement his needs yesterday. After A went on FM, I felt so much more relaxed with one thing off the daily routine list. Now I only need to concentrate on increasing milk supply and resting well... life is more carefree now, I even had to time to sit in front of my iMac and surf net! :P My only fear now is that he would reject the more diluted breast milk after he is used to the thicker formula milk... ]
[ Updated 6 Aug 2009: After a week, today i tried latching him on (as he was crying for milk but CL wanted to give him milk 1 hr later) and surprisingly he took it! :) I felt like i'm on cloud nine, it's so heavenly! :) ]
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2 comments:
It's ok not to latch the baby. As long as you pump and empty your breasts, milk supply will increase. I only latch my boy twice or 3 times a day in the beginning and I did exclusive pumping later and didn't latch him anymore, my milk supply still increase and able to pump at least 1.2 litres per day. So don't be discouraged! :)
Thanks, milk supply has been increasing slowly but steadily and I've learnt how to take it easy now. :)
Wow, 1.2 litres per day! Is definitely a tall order for me right now... i wonder when I can achieve that?
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