Sorry if this seems a bit vague!
Bfing was quite straightforward last time. I fretted and DD fed away, fairly peacefully, put on weight etc. etc. I went to a breastfeeding group in the local health centre, but didn't bother with LLL or anything else. I didn't see a lactation consultant in the hospital as DD was born on a Friday and we left on a Sunday, the lactation consultant was only there from Mon to Fri.
What do I do this time if I have problems? There was another lady in the ward I was in whos baby was very sleepy, I think he was given formula in the end to keep his blood sugar up. What can you do in that case??
Has anyone any advice? Part of me is expecting this to be quite straightforward, but I'm starting to get nervous
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The very sleepy baby effect can be caused by drugs given to the mother, so if it happens to you after the birth (especially after a section) ask them whether the painkillers you have been prescribed are the most suitable for someone who is breastfeeding.
To try to wake baby up you can
change the nappy
strip off some of the baby's clothes or take the little legs out of the babygro
moisten cotton wool in cold water and gently touch the baby's face or foot with it
change position
go into a brighter or noisier area
tickle toes gently
Also it's important to try to feed the infant in the first hour or so if you can. Seemingly that makes a big difference.
If there are problems and the baby is born at the weekend, you could express milk and as far as I know you could feed it to the baby using a Lactaid gadget (designed to stimulate supply) or a spoon or a syringe. At least that would get you through until Monday morning when the lactation ladies would be around again
I'm sure others will have more suggestions.
Don't panic. I'm sure you'll be fine - it's bound to be easier if you know the ropes and what to expect. Best of luck to you!
Dimple
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Thanks Dimple! Murphys law being what it is, I'm thinking there will be no particular problems, but you never know...
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tgirl - both my babies had jaundice and were sleepy babies (at the start!!) and it was impossible to wake DS1 up. They were both given formula to get fluids into them but it didn't affect my breastfeeding (breastfed no1 for 6 months and no2 for 14/15 months) so don't worry - especially as it may never happen!
With no1 I went back into the baby clinic after I left the hospital to see the lactation consultant so you can always do that if you have any problems after you get home - aswell as LLL.
Best of luck,
Cx
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Also - they were only given formula with my permission but I didn't mind at all because it had been done with DS1 and I just wanted rid of the jaundice.
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Hi tgirl, don't worry yet, until you see how things go! Like the others say you've done it before, so that's half the battle, you're not a "novice" at it. On ds2 he was given formula throughout his first night as his blood sugar was low, and we needed to get it up, so I'd bf him, then he'd get a bottle, just to keep his levels up. He bf no problem, until he was a year. On ds3, only 8 months now, he was born at midday, and at about midnight I went into the nursery and told them I was just taking a bottle for him..just to give him and me a break from the constant nursing, did the same over the few days..a bottle every now and again, but always AFTER feeding, so that he'd suckle, and get the milk production going, and then just topped up with a bottle.
I've bf all my three boys, and they've all had bottles in the early days, and from 3 weeks they've had a steady one bottle a night, and they've all loved bfing (apart from ds3 who's decided solid food FAR outweighs my milk!!!). Also, the nurses WILL help if you look for it. In fact, I couldn't get them out of my room, they kept coming in to talk about how breastfeeding was going..and even the "breastfeeding clinic" woman came to see me! I shooed them away, I'd only stopped breastfeeding ds2 10 months before I had ds3, so I could remember all too clearly what I was meant to be doing (wheras it was 11 years between ds1 and ds2). I got him suckling within 15 mins of his birth, and he got the hang of the whole thing straight away, which definitely helped. Don't worry yet..you'll probably fly at the whole thing!
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tgirl: Have your baby on Thursday! Sorry, seriously, my experience of second time round was that they assumed I was an expert by virtue of it being my second, and didn't send any lactation expert my way. Having said that, it was obvious that things were going smoothly on the feeding front, so maybe they would have dealt with problems had they arisen. (Eoin was born on a Friday too, but there was a lactation midwife on the premises.) Sorcha was very sleepy for her first day and night. She was born at 14.11 and didn't manage to latch on before falling into a long sleep. She made up for it from about 24 (or a bit more) hours later onwards, but nobody tried to give her formula, even though she wasn't feeding much. Her blood sugar level was checked twice and it was fine. I had an epidural with her, so maybe that was a contributory factor to her sleepiness. Eoin was the opposite - no pain killers for me, except for one just after the birth. He was feeding happily within minutes of birth, and on and off all day (having been born at 5.35 am). His big sleep didn't come till the following day, when he slept almost 8 hours, even when his nappy was changed! That was the last big sleep for many a week and, as you know, he thrived. My obstetrician, on the 6 week check, enjoyed listening to me enthuse about the difference between first time round and second - in terms of coping with labour, not using pain relief, the feel-good effect of natural hormones, the ease with which the baby took to feeding, etc. He said that, from his experience, especially if a woman has had an uncomplicated first labour, each successive one gets easier and easier - with both the mother and the medics having more confidence to avoid intervention unless absolutely necessary. So hopefully the same will be true for you. I certainly remember saying, in the middle of my first labour, that I wished I wasn't doing this and I was never doing it again - the desire never to do it again lasted at least a few months. Second time round, I was already wishing for another before I got to my room in the hospital! Sorry for going on a bit - haven't had time to log on for a while, so I'm suffering withdrawal.
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Thanks to everyone for the advice! I think it's the end of pregnancy collywobbles...
Gráinne, I never saw a lactation consultant first time round either. I was in a ward with three other women who were breastfeeding and everyone else was having problems, so I was pretty much left to get on with it. I had an epidural, but DD fed with no problems. I think a few nurses sat down with me to go over the feeding, but I'm not sure. I felt very out of it for the first week or two, I think mainly down to hormones and anaemia but I'm hoping it's better this time.
Catd and Adie, thanks for the reassurance. DD didn't have formula untill she was 6 months, and part of me wants to do that for this baby too, but I know formula isn't the end of the world.
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Hi Tgirl - I had probelms BF son 1 so was determined to get things right for son 2. Like you read up lots, asked all the questions but they do assume on your second you have done it all before. During labour I asked a few times to make sure BF was established quickly after birth and even though I had a section the midwife helped me latch him on in recovery. It wasn't plain sailing by any means for a few weeks but eventually we got the hang of things. Well done on your first success and although its no 2 dont be afraid toask for help. Im due no 3 next month and am going to do the same again. In fact read this therad hoping to get tips on feeding new babs and having a toddler - Ill have to ask your advice in a few weeks time!!!
Good luck with no 2.
ang
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Thanks to everyone for the advice. After all that, breastfeeding has been very straightforward, thanks to my daughter, who seems to know exactly what she's doing .
I asked to see the breastfeeding consultant in the hospital, but she was busy, as they had an audit coming up on baby friendly hospitals (I think, can't put it into proper English). Which I thought was odd... The other nurses were good to help though! Anyway, DD has started to put on weight, and I'm not too sore, so it's a success so far!
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Yay tgirl! Congrats on your new dd, and I'm sure feeding will be a dream..and it's not just your dd who knows what she's doing..you do too now!!!
And I like the "baby friendly" audit..they're so busy telling the auditors that they're baby friendly, that they can't even come to see you and YOUR baby!!! Bit ironic
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If you have any problems - contact Cuidiu - the irish childbirth trust who have trained breastfeeding counsellors that you can call and they also host breastfeeding mornings where a BC would be present.
Many congrats on your new arrival.
Emma
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Only saw this thread now
Congratulations on your new baby tgirl
Delighted the feeding's gone so smoothly for you and your DD
My DD2 was one of those sleepy babies you mentioned and I had to do all the malarkey with the stripping down and cold cotton wool. In a couple of weeks she was having hour-long feeding sessions
On the twins was *because* of the lactation consultant doing the audit that I got to make contact with her. She was going around the wards with the survey and when she came to my bed I nabbed her and made an appointment to see her. She was so supportive of my attempts to breastfeed the twins unlkie the majority of the nurses who seemed quite indifferent. One walked by me when I was struggling to get DD to latch on and said "Oh, you're breastfeeding, that's nice"
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Congratulations, and delighted the feeding is going well. I reckon having a more experienced mother helps the second baby.
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