Breatfeeding

aw, hugs! unfortunately i have no advice for you, i didn't even try to breastfeed. i do know that it's *hard* though! hopefully laura will be here soon, she's a pro! you are not a bad mother, it'll just take a little practice.

hang in there! i can't wait to see pics of the little beauty!

Hi .Alicia!

First of all, huge hugs! Breastfeeding is super hard and really frustrating. It takes a little while for mommy and baby to get it down. You're doing an amazing job, and .I'm very proud of you for trying!

Arright, let's get to work.

Breastfeeding requires a newborn to use a ton of muscles in their jaws - it takes more work to get milk out of a breast than it does to get milk out of a bottle. Valkyrie sounds like a smart little cookie - she might have figured out already that bottles are easier to deal with. How long have you and .Trevor been supplimenting with bottles? You might be able to wean her back onto the breast.

And try not to blame yourself. She's brand new, and this is a confusing world. She was warm and snuggly, and now she's in a loud, bright place and it's so much for her to take in. No one expects you to be a perfect mother, and in a short amount of time all of this will seem like a walk in the park. You're doing a great job, sweetie.

Hey! I'm not an expert but I just wanted to share a bit of my experience.

I read that you have 'flat nipples' or whatnot and mine are pretty much flat (or atleast one of them is...ya I know, I'm a freak!) but anyways. He Brayden wouldn't latch on to that side because of it so they gave me a nipple shield to use when I was at the hospital. They said after a few days with that and a few days of pumping that my nipple would 'pop' out more but they never did. They say you really shouldn't use a nipple shield for more then a few days but I have been using mine for about 4 months. Its the only way for him to nurse and I really wanted him to breast feed. Its given us a few challenges but if nothing else works maybe consider trying it.

wowowoo! OMG! Breastfeeding is way tough.. i had it had hard for the first month. The best secret is to be persistant. Use No bottles if completely necessary! IF of course the baby is really super hungry then def give a bottle but offer yourself first for at least 10 minutes! Take breaks after 10 mins with something else and if no boob will crue him then babe it looks like the bottle time..lol

! i too had flat nipples the secret nipple sheild(guards)! Talk to a lactation specialist! She'll help you in every way like special holds and more! Latching is totally another secret. Make sure the baby's mouth is wide open and your squeeze your aerola and nipple into the direction of your baby's mouth! then with your other hand move her head onto the nipple while her mouth is still open! A really great site is breastfeeding.com
the video site for that is
http://breastf eeding.com/helpme/helpme_video.html

You can also get the sheilds from the specialist or from target! The specialist also helps you to use the nipple guards the right way which will help your nipple pop out even further for your baby!

The best for me was never using a bottle(though that doesnt always work for everyone) But it kinda left him only to use me!

THe football hold worked extremely well for the first two months!

The nipple sheild helped bring my nipples out further and stop me from chaffing and bleeding!

i wish you luck. Dont give up girl! Keep us posted. i hope the best for you! Try the site and a specialist. good lucK!

thanks for all the help

this all just keeps getting even more frusterating

laura, we havent been using bottles, weve been using a finger feeder thing, but its only been since thursday night that weve been doing it, so not too long

jennie ive tried nipple sheild but she doesnt really like it

meggan, we are trying not to suppliment, but i cant do it any more, at her doctor appointment yesterday she weighed 7lbs 11 oz, almost a whole pound less then her birth weight, im just getting kinda worried

bridget, thanks, you are wnderful

i really dont know whats wrong with her right now, she isnt even wanting the formula, she takes less then an ounce and falls asleep and wont wake up for a long time (more then 3-4 hours, thats when i try to make her wake up) and she doesnt even really wake up when i try to wake her up

im just really worried, thankfully she has another apointment on tuesday

~alicia~

Aww, poor girl sounds like little .Valkyrie is having a rough time adjusting to life on the outside.

Since she's lost so much weight, my recommendation is to do whatever you can to help her eat. If that's a bottle, a finger-feeder, your breast... so be it. You are definitely not a failure - as long as she's healthy, you're doing great.

Did her doctor give you any tips on how to help her eat? Some things I had to do with .alyvia to keep her awake was to unbutton her onesie, stroke her cheeks, talking to her continuously, shake my boob a little while she was sucking on it...

Keep us updated, okay? We're here for you, .Alicia!

thank you for the support laura, i just feel so crappy, ive been crying so much the last few day cause im so worried about her, i know its proably the hormones but this is just killing me

ive tried all that, i strip her down to her diaper, i play with her, i talk to her, i "tickle" her, i move the boob around, i try to burp her, i try to change her diaper, i even tried feeding her this morning when she was completly naked all she did was pee on me then cry and fall asleep

only other thing the doc suggested was to feed her alittle with the fingerfeeder then to try the boob so shes not frantically hungery, but that only worked the first 2-3 times and isnt working any more

geez im so worried about her, i love her so much and just hate to see her having such a hard time, but nothing im trying is doing any good

~alicia~

wow hun.. im so sorry to hear that. have you tried different formulas'' i know that when i have to supplement don only takes the walmarts formula,, he was first on similac but he hated it so i switched! i hope things get better.. good luck