Breastfeeding

Try using the Lansinoh nipple cream and hold your baby like across your body so she’s completely sideways. This helps with the way she may be latching!

I breastfed my first for 6 weeks but it was too physically exhausting for me and even though I produced milk this time for my second, I chose not to breastfeed because it’s just too draining for me to do and also chase after a 1 year old. The guilt for not breastfeeding does get to me sometimes but it’s what I feel is for the best and you do what feels like is best for both you and baby.

Good luck x

Im 30 days pp now and giving up on breast milk as my supply goes down and baby not having emough from breast also he is not interested in breast after having formula milk its so frustrating

Trying pumping! I had to do it with mine because my nipples were so sore and hurting. Some moms exclusively pump but I do both. When my nipples were too sore, I just pumped for two days and it gave me the break I needed.

Awww I totally empathise as I felt the same and had to give up after day 8 as I wasn’t producing enough milk and my nipples were so sore.

I started him on formula and never looked back - he put on weight. I was mentally in a better place. Most importantly, my husband could get up in the night :-)

It’s really hard so be kind to yourself. You’re doing a great job ❤️

3 days postpartum and completely relate, I’ve been hand expressing and I’m going to hire a pump from the hospital and use that whilst my nipples heal and I feel mentally ready to try again

Is there a plan to have the tongue tie snipped? My baby had awful latch & my nipples were destroyed/feeding was painful & my milk supply low. She finally had her tongue tie sorted at 5 weeks & feeding is now pretty much pain free as her latch has improved so much, pretty much as soon as it was done. I still have an under supply so am topping up with formula (I don’t get much from pumping) but the actual experience of breastfeeding is a lot less traumatic now. Evelina hospital at St Thomas’s only have a 2 week waiting list for tongue tie procedure as far as I’m aware - might be worth speaking to your health visitor about a referral. I was terrified to have it done as didn’t want my daughter to have any pain but the team were lovely & she honestly barely flinched! I was more upset then she was 🙈 it’s such early days for you so don’t be too hard on yourself - you are doing amazing & tongue tie is notorious for making breastfeeding so so bloody hard x

My nipples were tore to
Shreads the first few days. I use nipple shields which have given my nipples a rest but allowed me to carry on feeding. The mam or avent ones I've found to be the best. Make sure to measure your nipples to get the correct fit. I also use silver cups to promote healing in-between feeds. You can put breadtmilk in them or use lanolin cream. The multi mam compresse dressings are also a life saver. You can get them on amazon, they promise wet wound healing. You wear them for an hour twice a day and don't need to wipe off the residue before feeding.
My left is now healed but my right is still sore. I have a painful letdown also. I'm starting to wean from the shield on the left but midwife has told me there is no rush. If you have face to face support groups nearby I'd recommend that too! They can help with positions with tounge tie that'll help x

When my nipples are sore I’ve been using Shea Butter, popping a breast pad on and letting it soak in between feeds. I loved the Lanisoh cream but found even after wiping it off was too slippery and baby couldn’t latch.
I’d also definitely recommend pumping, I’m doing a combo of pumping and breastfeeding which seems to help the balance of letting my nipples recover! Also could help with your under supply.

Not sure where you’re based but my local children’s Centre has a breast feeding support group, might be worth having a look to see if you could attend something similar locally? Good luck x

Honestly it's not worth getting putting yourself through the mental distress.
I've had the same issue with my baby. The last 2 days I've just not been able to supple what be needs, and it makes him cry and my heart break. So I've just opted to top him up with formula in the moments when he's still hungry.
At the end of the day feed is best, and there's no point getting yourself into a bad place mentally over it.
Also I've been using the weleda nipple cream, and it's so soothing x

I had a similar issue. C section and baby was mucousy so wouldn’t feed. Ended up having to formula feed for a little bit while I just pumped like mad. Now baby is 90 percent expressed fed with the other 10 percent being the occasional breast feed. The main issue now is she won’t stay on the breast without crying and struggling against it because she misses her bottle. It’s not what I ideally wanted, but she still has breast milk and pumping massively increased my supply.

Do you plan to get her tongue tie cut. I highly suggest it. It helped us a ton and I would do it sooner rather than later

how many times do u pump and using which pumps