Hey moms, I need help before I give up. I just has dd on 3/12/2013. Was gestational diabetic with her and was able to keep sugars regulated by diet like with my 2 yr old. My thing is I'm trying to breastfeed again, breast fed my 1st and 3rd kids. Thingis she has been having to have supplements and even ended up on an i.v. drip last night because her sugars won't stay up. I have no clue whether I'm producing enough for her at the breast because she is always wanting to be latched on. I have tried to squeeze to see if anything is coming out and barely got anything. I understand the colostrum is different than milk and all that stuff, I just don't have the feelings like I have in the past with "filling up". Please help, what do I do? I only wanna do what's best for her and if that means formula then that's what it means. I'm really wanting to be able to breastfeed her tho but again the most important thing is her safety and well being and I've looked up what could happen with such low sugars and its not pretty.
Edit: had her vaginaly and am still at the hospital right now and trying to work with a lactation worker and the nurses in the nursery and the ped on call. As my colostrum/milk I'm bein told not to worry about it but yea that don't work. She is still on the i.v. drip and hopefully will be able to come off it tomorrow if she can keep her sugars regulated. I'm just trying my hardest not to get discouraged that her sugars won't stabilize with me nursing but they go back up with the supplements.
Thank you moms, this was more of a vent but I know I needed to post a question in it. I was just kinda overwhelming and being my 4th kid was unexpected. Thank you for the advice and the gentle words and letting me know I wasn't the only one out there that has had an issue creep up. We are still nursing now every 2-3 hours and adding about 15cc formula and she decides to nurse again after that. She gets it from a cup and has managed to b off the i.v. for most of the day. This is a good step in the right direction. Thanks again for letting me vent and get my anxiety out and the kind words.
Try syringe feeding formula or pumpedmilk until you can see a Lactation Consultant if you are concerned. If you are still at the hospital then theirs is who you should ask for immediately.
BTW did you have a c-section, often milk takes longer to come in with a c-section.
Get a referral to a lactation consultant - sometimes it's just not easy and a little help goes a long way.
You know what? Never mind what I said before... I misread what you were asking. I thought you were asking about what to feed your daughter--my mistake. I'm sorry.
Yes, it is normal for your milk to not come in right away. It can take up to 4 days. And it may come in whether you do anything to "help" it or not. Gidget suggested you try pumping, and that is a good idea. But I would not let yourself get anxious about it, b/c that won't help. Even if you do not pump, your milk could still come in in a few more days. Hopefully, you are getting to spend time with your daughter and you can put her to the breast. If you do that, even if she supplements with formula or IVs, if she suckles at the breast, that will help stimulate lactation.
If you cannot put her to the breast, then go with pumping every few hours. If you are able to allow her to attempt nursing every few hours, then I think it is unnecessary to follow up with pumping also. You will wear yourself down unnecessarily. Be patient with it.
It's only been a day so of course your milk hasn't come in yet. I hope the nurses are telling you this is all normal?
Just keep nursing her as much as you can and try not to worry too much about the supplements and IV drips. Keep nursing her no matter what, in ADDITION to everything else she is getting and/or needs and you will both be fine!
If she was born yesterday, it's perfectly normal for your milk to not have come in yet.
Are you still in the hospital? Is your daughter in the nursery?
My oldest had low glucose when he was born. I nursed him right after he was born, but the levels were still low and he was taken to the nursery and given formula. Because I told the nurses I wanted to breast feed, they had me pump every 3 hours while I was in the hospital. My son was in the nursery for 10 days (other issues, not just the glucose), and once my milk came in he was fed bottles of breast milk rather than formula.
Try to relax (I know, easier said than done), and pump every 3 hours. Try not to worry about breast feeding right now. You absolutely have the right attitude that if she needs formula, she gets formula. Once she's overcome this hurdle, you can work with a lactation consultant if she has any trouble latching on.
But for now, I would pump so that your milk does come in and comes in strong!
Your milk will not come in for a few days. Colostrum is supposed to be enough for a baby until your milk comes in. Your baby is probably cluster feeding which is normal for newborns. Both of my babies did the same. As for the sugar issue,I think you should speak to the nurse of doctor if you are concerned.
ETA - I'm so relieved that you both are still at the hospital. They are taking good care of your baby. Do what you need to do to take care of her. She can breastfeed AND take a bottle after she is stable. Both my kids took breast AND bottle, including my younger son who lost so much weight in the hospital that the doctor told me specifically to supplement at home. I went on to breastfeed him for months before going back to work full time. Breastfeeding and bottle feeding together CAN be done - my kids are living proof.
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What did the ER say about what's best for her? This is scary and you need to have a specialist working with her if her sugars won't stay up. Your baby is at risk right now and you need to be working with her ped. I'm surprised that they let her come home from the hospital.
Please push for them to help you with this. You have to be very proactive here and advocate for your baby.
Congratulations on your new baby!
Try to relax. I know it's hard to do.
My little grandson was born full-term with a lung infection. He was in the hospital for 5 days after his birth on I.V. antibiotics. It obviously made my daughter very nervous which didn't help with relaxing enough to nurse.
Things calmed down, her baby was allowed to go home and he is absolutely perfectly beautiful and healthy. He will be 2 in May, and you'd never guess he had a rough start.
Just continue to trust your lactation consultants, your doctor, and your nurses. Know they want the best for your baby.
When your milk comes in.......you'll know it!!
Very best wishes!
Your milk isn't in yet mama. It will take a couple of days.
Just keep her on the breast and let her suckle away.
If you do need to supplement (which I did!) then maybe get one of those nipple guards that actually has a little tube that goes into the nipple that has the formula. Then when your milk does come in she wont have "nipple confusion" and can just go right back to breast without knowing the difference.
Just supplement until your milk comes in, and then stop the supplements if everything stays ok. I had to supplement my first- it took almost 5 days for my milk to come in (and he wasn't having it). I was able to drop formula entirely once my milk came in and go on to successfully nurse him. Do what you have to do for now.
Ditto what everyone already said. Plus, with my third I didn't get engorged at all like with the first two, so was always worried there wouldn't be enough milk. Turned out, number three was the chubbiest one, he got plenty even with soft breasts. Keep hydrated and try to relax. Congratulations to your new daughter!
It will come together....I know when you are in the midst of it that it seems over-whelming.
I have GD with my 1st pregnancy, and I researched what were possible complications with my baby. Having low blood sugar for a few days after birth was one of them. Even in the delivery room the nurse reminded me that he might need a quick bottle of formula after birth to pick up his blood sugar if it was too low.
He did need a couple of bottles as it was low and I wasn't really producing much of anything yet. However, I just put him on the breast everytime I could and he ended up breastfeeding like a champ. I did suppliment with formula on occasion. And he was a healthier baby than his sister who only has breastmilk.
Just keep offering her the breast and if she need some suppliments that is okay...it will not keep her from breastfeeding.
HUGS!!
Are you hydrated? My milk took 5 days to fully come in (after a vaginal delivery) and I supplemented with formula after two days of waiting. Yes, I bf around the clock (ouch!), but I did give my youngest a bottle or two of formula each day, while we waited. (he was huge - and so hungry!) Unlike my first delivery, I had really low fluid levels during my second. I think hydration had a lot to do with it, for me.
Good luck!
When I had my son, it was on a Tuesday and my milk did not come in until Friday.
I nursed him often (hourly) to stimulate milk production but for those first few days I had to supplement with formula.
In 2 weeks I was dripping with milk every time I heard any baby cry but it was hard to get milk production established.
Keep working with the lactation consultant and supplement if you have to.
As long as child gets fed one way or another - that's the important thing.
Congratulations on your new baby girl! Hang in there and trust your ability. You have successfully breastfed your other babies. It is normal for her to want to nurse all the time. Allowing her to latch as often as she wants will help your milk to come in sooner. Try to relax and make sure you stay hydrated. When she begins to get more milk then her blood sugars should stabilize.
Hugs. Keep putting her to the breast as often as possible to encourage your milk to come in. If they're giving any formula supplements, pump each time, so that your breasts get the stimulation they need and you don't end up with supply issues. See if she can be supplemented with something other than a bottle, so that she's not learning the bottle latch/developing nipple preference. Keep working with a lactation consultant - when you leave the hospital, a private one might be a better bet (you can contact your local La Leche League group for a good recommendation). Good luck!
For me personally, I would go with formula. If formula feeding assures that sugars remain stable, I would go with it. I would spend the entire day worrying about my little one. A healthy baby is what you want. FF babies grow up to be just as healthy. So if FF guarantees you a healthy baby so be it. Congratulations.
I had GD w/both my daughters & my youngest was in the NICU Unit for a week & a half b/c her sugar bottomed out during delivery. It took that long to regulate her glucose and that was on formula. Don't get discouraged, it will all come together :) Best of luck to you and your little bundle of joy.
