Help new mum and newborn

N

NewBabyLA

Registered User
I am first time mom with 5 day old, and have following probes/questions.
1. Want to bf but no milk yet so bb constantly hungry
2. Bb want to sleep sucking so I'm always feeding around the clock ie feed schedule is every 1.5 hrs
3. She feeds short bursts ie feeds for 15 mins only
4. I'm trying to express but no milk coming out only about 50ml in 30 mins

Any advice?
How much expressed milk should I give?
How much formula per day should I give if I'm doing both bf and formula?

Really appreciate some help as this is our first child and not sure if I'm doing it right.
 
Congratulations on the new arrival! It's a bit scary at first isn't it:) I remember trying to figure all the breastfeeds out. My milk only came on day 4 or five. Pump as much as you can for the next couple of days - it will increase the production. Try Mothers tea - its fennel and sth - you can get it in any health store and drink it through the day.50 mls is plenty for a newborn.Have a look at this website - heaps of info :http://www.kellymom.com/ I found it very useful in those early days. It also helps you calculate how much breast milk your bub needs.
Also try kangarooing (I got this advice from a midwife and it worked magic) put your baby only in a diaperskin to skin on your chest you can put a blanket over his back of course:) and just sit like that for while.
My baby kept falling asleep when feeding so I'd take some of the clothes off, rub the feet or just give a break for a minute or two and continue when awake.

It's ok to feed just for a short while - mine was so good at getting what she wanted that she would get full after about 10 minutes:)

Contact local La Leche league for more advice and the most of all don't let the pressure get to you. I felt like I was failing as a mum as I imagined that all the bfeeding would happen as if by magic as soon as the baby came to the world. No it didn't it took a while and I had to persevere and yes I had moments that I wanted to just give formula, and moments when I actually cried out of frustration and raging hormones. I ended up bfeeding for 7 months and I'm glad that I did.
Good luck - you will get there!
 
I agree 50 ml is quite a lot for new born. It also depends on the baby's size.
My second baby is about 2 weeks old. I'm flexible about giving him formula for top up if he is still hungry after on both breast, especially at night so he can sleep longer stretch. He is also on the small side(2.6kg at birth) so I dont mind giving him more milk (30-60ml top up). I wanted to exclusively bf for the first one, tried feeding on demand for weeks but I just didnt have enough and got very stressed out. So eventually, I gave him formula for some feeds too. It's up to you how hard you want to try but cut yourself a break sometimes. Too tired or too stressed won't help your supply.
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Hello, your milk supply is only just starting to establish itself. You should breastfeed your baby as much as possible (every 2 hours or so) to keep stimulating your supply. Don't worry about expressing milk, direct breastfeeding is the best way to increase your supply. Even if you don't have much milk flow, remember that your colostrum (yellowish, thick discharge from nipples) will nourish your baby. My milk supply did not start until the 5th day after birth and I was just as worried as you were, until a nurse reminded me that my baby will not starve whilst there has been no 'let down' yet.

Please do call La Leche League volunteers for advice at any time, they have encyclopaedic knowledge and can answer all the questions you have about breastfeeding. http://www.lllhk.org/

All mums worry about whether they have enough milk for their babies. Nature has a good way of taking care of this. Although I did not have a huge supply of milk (about 100ml each feed after a few months of feeding), I kept going until baby was 10 mths and she has done very well.

Good luck and do call LLL for help.
 
Hi NewbabyLA, my baby is 5 weeks now and still only feeds for around 10-15 minutes. The longest he has ever fed has been 20 minutes but that was only once or twice. He is healthy though, growing and putting on a lot of weight, so don't worry about how long the feed. If they put on weight and can go 2 to 3 hours between feeds when your milk comes in I think its fine.
 
If I were you, I wouldn't worry about it - to be able to express 50mL in 30 min at 5 days old is not bad! Particularly if you're also directly breastfeeding! It doesn't sound as if your supply is a problem.

If your baby is satisfied within 15 minutes, she probably doesn't have a problem with latch. She's getting the milk and is happy.

Personally I think that if you are pumping, you may end up with more milk than your baby needs. If you want to be pumping on top of nursing every day, there's no problem with this - but if you want to just breastfeed, I wouldn't encourage you to pump so frequently. In addition, frequent bottle feeding at this age can very easily lead to your baby rejecting the breast meaning that you may be unable to breastfeed.

It's easy to worry when you're a mum but it sounds like everything is going fine! If you continue to breastfeed on demand, your baby will start to drink less frequently in her own time. It doesn't take THAT long to go down to every 3 or 4 hours instead of every two hours...

If you breastfeed directly and don't worry about how much your baby is getting unless there are signs that she is not getting enough (if she is not wetting 6-8 diapers a day, I think), you'll be making your life a lot easier. I breastfed my first but due to medical issues, am exclusively pumping for my second. Breastfeeding is a million times easier! You have the milk there ready whenever you want, there's no need to wash and sterilise bottles and pump parts, you don't need to spend the time pumping and then also spend MORE time feeding - plus you don't have the expense of formula. I would do anything to be able to breastfeed instead of needing to pump!

All the best :) It sounds like you are doing just fine :)
 
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