Severe difficulties with breastfeeding.

Moomoo1

have you guys seen something like this: a 4-day old baby has been trying to learn to breastfeed since birth, and it just isn't working. At the start you could put it down to our incompetence (this was our first baby). But now that's not the case: we got the position sorted out, and the baby latches - and then after a few sucking motions comes back off. And so on, for a few times, until she just starts crying hysterically and refusing to cooperate. Then we of course give in and give her some expressed milk, as we've seen that she can go on like this (crying) for hours otherwise. But we'd really like to breastfeed properly, and neither us, nor the various staff at the hospital were able to tell us what the problem could be besides 'more practice'...

aniascor

Two common causes of this are a blocked nose or wind in the baby. Is it possible either of these things is affecting the baby?

That being said my little guy did the same thing and in the end it was practice that did the trick. I regularly gave bottles of expressed milk too ( because I was too sore to feed) and I think in some ways this contributed to how long it took for baby to get comfortable with feeding properly. He was six or seven weeks before he really got the hang of it.

A less common reason for a baby to have difficulty feeding is Tongue tie. It's unlikely but you could ask the nurse to check for it.

aniascor

Oh I just thought of something else that would make my little guy break his latch. If the breasts are engorged then the milk let down can be quite strong and overwhelm the baby. Expressing off a small amount to relieve the pressure before latching the baby on can help with this.

neeb

Have you tried feeding lying on your side? That always helped DD fed when she was having trouble.

beachbabe

I had the same problem, he would latch on great, suck and swallow brilliantly, then come off. Back on again and same thing. The midwives were really at a loss cos he was doing everything right, latching, sucking, swallowing but just would not stay on the breast. I spent 8 hrs one night in the coombe trying to feed him, every time I put him down to sleep he would wake starving but would not stay latched on.
My breasts were getting sore and we were both wrecked, so I gave him 3 oz of formula and we both got some sleep.
I continued breast and bottle at home, but even with expressing I was producing very little milk. If he stayed latched on for 2 mins that was a huge deal!
It turned out my mum, grandmother, aunt and sister were all unable to breast feed, not sure if there is a genetic reason but must be something there.
I bottle and breast fed for a couple of weeks untill my small supply stopped completely. I feel I did my best though. I also figured a wrecked stressed me was no good to the baby.
He is 13 weeks now, well and healthy and loves his bottle!

Moomoo1

I thought it was breathing too, but no medical staff noticed anything. Yes, she does have wind, but when we hold her and slap her back this doesn't make it better. Plus, she feeds from the bottle allright, although sometimes cries for ages after that.

Moomoo1

neeb wrote: »

Have you tried feeding lying on your side? That always helped DD fed when she was having trouble.

I don't know. Since I'm the father, I got kicked out of the hospital at night, when the really bad problems started. But I think they tried everything there. I don't think the position is the issue anymore, it's the baby.

Moomoo1

aniascor wrote: »

Oh I just thought of something else that would make my little guy break his latch. If the breasts are engorged then the milk let down can be quite strong and overwhelm the baby. Expressing off a small amount to relieve the pressure before latching the baby on can help with this.

that reminds me. In theory, we don't mind expressing for the whole time, however my wife's breasts are now so engorged it's really painful, and expressing just doesn't help that. But we tried this thing with expressing and then feeding, and it doesn't seem to work...

Moomoo1

beachbabe wrote: »

I had the same problem, he would latch on great, suck and swallow brilliantly, then come off. Back on again and same thing. The midwives were really at a loss cos he was doing everything right, latching, sucking, swallowing but just would not stay on the breast. I spent 8 hrs one night in the coombe trying to feed him, every time I put him down to sleep he would wake starving but would not stay latched on.
My breasts were getting sore and we were both wrecked, so I gave him 3 oz of formula and we both got some sleep.
I continued breast and bottle at home, but even with expressing I was producing very little milk. If he stayed latched on for 2 mins that was a huge deal!
It turned out my mum, grandmother, aunt and sister were all unable to breast feed, not sure if there is a genetic reason but must be something there.
I bottle and breast fed for a couple of weeks untill my small supply stopped completely. I feel I did my best though. I also figured a wrecked stressed me was no good to the baby.
He is 13 weeks now, well and healthy and loves his bottle!

yeah, all the symptoms seem really familiar, except two things: firstly no one in either of our families had problems feeding, and secondly the amounts of milk produced are enourmous, but the baby just isn't interested...

Nevyn

Some times it doesn't work, has expressing half the ammount of milk worked and then breastfeeding, or feeding the baby using the bottled first so that the hunger and the panic to feed is lessened and then the baby can try feed at a more relaxed pace.

bazwaldo

There are support lines available. One my mrs is involved in is Cuidu.

http://www.cuidiu-ict.ie/frulcrum.html?ep=40&ad=17&to=0 has a list of breast feeding counsellors available for you to call. I would recommend talking to one of these or someone from LaLeche or the like just to hear what they have to say. Its very important at the start to correct any problems with feeding as it can lead of more problems if latching position is incorrect etc....

Moomoo1

thanks. We are now in the UK, but I'll have a look. We've received quite a lot of support (kept for 5 days in hospital partially because of feeding), but it's all been of the choice of position kind rather than 'what could be wrong with the baby for this to happen' kind.

Last night, a few hours after I posted this thread, my wife developed mastitis (I think that's how it's spelled), presumably because the baby wasn't suckling properly. So now she has a rising temperature to add to all other problems. Antibiotics will deal with this problem, but may not stop it reoccuring in the future.

Nevyn

I would suggest if she can that she have a hot bath and try and express with her breasts submerged in the hot water. It was the only thing which helped when I had sever engorgement.

mymo

I really feel for you and your wife, I spent 5 days in hospital after giving birth because my daughter(first and only child) wouldn't feed. Like your baby she latched on sucked a little then stopped. I tried many positions, different times and got so upset and scared she wasn't getting enough. She wouldn't take a bottle either, even when I expressed, one lovely midwife fed her expressed milk from a spoon to check she could take the milk.
2 days after I got home, with painfully sore breasts, she just took off. I have no idea why all of a sudden she was fine, maybe I just relaxed more at home, maybe she just got hungry enough to stay latched on.
Try the hot bath and express what you can, if she is taking the bottle express and feed this way. You can keep an eye on how much she's getting this way, I was surprised at how much milk I could express in the 2-3mins she usually stayed latched on, it was much more than I expected.
How are you expressing?
I found the electric pump very painful when engorged and used a hand pump.

bogtotty

My sister's daughter behaved like this, turned out she had a tongue tie. This is very easily resolved. Try to get referred to a pediatrician or at the very least a lactation consultant. La leche league have members in the UK, they should be able to help too.

Das Kitty

Hi Moomoo. My little guy is 8 days old and days 3 & 4 were exactly the same for me and James. Has her milk come in yet?

What saved me was visiting the lactation consultant on the ward. Basically we were (and are) still learning latch and position. I thought we had it cracked on more than one occasion only for us to forget something again the next feed.

The only advice I can give is to relax and keep calm practising the latch (very difficult when a baby is basically screeching at you). What's happening is totally normal for the baby's age though and even a the couple of sucks that the baby is getting in will help encourage the milk supply.

I'm happy to say after getting the hands on tutorial from the consultant and taking time for us both to practise that James is putting on weight and sleeping contentedly for few hours at a time.

I found the La Leche League forums very helpful also.

Hang in there, it gets better daily.

Moomoo1

thanks everybody. Things seem to have improved somewhat in the last 24 hours, with the baby managing occasional feeds of 7-10 minutes. Still a long way from anything like normality, but every little helps.

Grawns

Does sound like possible tongue tie ( my friend had it and expressed for several months until the baby could latch - serious dedication) but I'm sure the nurses would have checked for that. Hope your wife recovers soon and everything works out well for you all.

Das Kitty

To rule out tongue tie, when baby is alert and not bawling tickle the bottom lip. If the tongue comes out over the bottom gum it's most likely not tongue tie.