Dc1 was born on Sunday night. I'm trying to breast feed her, but since leaving the hospital yesterday afternoon I've been completely lost. She had 2 good feeds on the ward and I'd felt like I'd got the hang of it but obviously not.
Dd knows what to do. She seems to be able to show when she wants a feed by rooting or sucking on her own hands. She is mainly happy to latch on, and its me who can't do it. Since leaving the hospital I've not been able to get the positioning right, or mainly get my nipple in the right bit of her mouth. My breasts are f/g cup and quite saggy, and my nipples and areolas are large too which doesn't seem to help. At the very least it makes it very hard to see whats actually going on. Already I've got sore nipples which hurt when I try to feed and I'm finding it impossible to tell whether its the current or previous feed that is causing the pain. Dd sucks for ages, which I think indicates I'm getting things wrong. If the nipple comes out slightly wedge shaped that's wrong isn't it?
Dd wants to feed quite a lot and I'm worried she isn't getting any colostrum. (Due to poor positioning) I tried expressing some by hand but with no luck. Am I able to use my electric pump to express a bit of colostrum so I at least know she feeds a bit? I'm also worried that if colostrum isn't being used up I won't get any milk in.
I'm also confused about whether dd wants to suckle for comfort or food. Sometimes she seems happy to suck her own fist or my finger, or even just make sucky mouth shapes. If she is just sucking for comfort does it matter if she does so on the nipple or can this lead to infections?
Sorry this is all over the place and probably totally unclear. I am shattered and achy all over. I'm not sure what I want to know really. General tips and information about how to muddle through the next 24 hours I guess. Dh and I are going to look at what community support we have access to today, but I'm not confident we'll be able to get instant support and I need help to tide me over so not to give in to formula.
And thank you for reading.
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Infant feeding
36 hours in and already failing. I need help.
30 replies
MeanMrsMustard · 03/09/2013 06:40
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