Breastfeeding (or lack of) at hospital - debrief...

[Rosie's Mum]

I am so sorry you had that experience! It would have been so easy to end up not breastfeeding after that. You should be very proud that you pushed through.

I had a weird experience, I fed for the first 2 days and then my milk didn't "come in" and they said my baby was hungry and gave her some formula and then before I was discharged I had to go and learn how to make formula. I didn't really take it in because I had an emergency c section and I didn't know which way was up. But I remember feeling devastated that my baby would be formula fed.

Then that afternoon my milk came in and I could have fed an army for a year, my baby never had any problems attaching etc and in hindsight I think, "I can't be the first person whose milk took awhile to come in, why dicount breastfeeding so quickly?"

I should have joined this website BEFORE I had my baby!

[Barb Glare]

H

I think the answer lies in your baby. Her growth rate seems pretty normal. Is she happy and content? You've got to love that long stretch over night.
There are just some general parameters that guide health professionals dealing with babies. They don't apply to all babies - babies haven't read the rule books. When a baby follows a bit of a different path, it's just worth having a close look to make sure all is well. If you then conclude it "aint broke" there's no need to fix it. But most babies do feed according to the ABa information - and on the other side of the coin many mothers feel that their baby is not normal if it feeds 8-12 times per day. It is!
Just as a guide, babies usually lose around 10% of their birthweight in the first days after birth (yours lost less) and then regain their birthweight by 2 weeks, then put on 150-250g therafter for the first 12 weeks. They usually have one longish sleep in 24 hours. And one time of the day when they are grumpy and unsettled and want a cluster of feeds. And otherwise, they are just babies - sometimes they sleep, sometimes they don't, sometimes they cry for no reason, sometimes they don't
Have you considered joining the Australian Breastfeeding Association and getting along to their meetings? It's great to get out and mix with other mums and babies - see that they come in all shapes and sizes and with all temperaments and they are all....normal. And there are always breastfeeding counsellors available to chat over any issues you are having

[coffeegal]

thank you that is reassuring. I think she is happy and content. sure she can scream just like any baby, i think she suffers pains and lots of wind. mostly she is fine and her unsettled/cluster period is btw 6-10pm. When she's screaming it can normally be resolved with a big burp and sometimes burp after burp. Last night she wouldnt stop crying so I kept feeding (maybe growth spurt i fed on the hour!) with lots of burps and she flaked 10pm and then slept til 3.30am back down 4.30 and awake again 7am. Day hours she is happy and content IMO. When she is awake too long then she gets grizzly. So her times of unsettled behaviour I can normally pinpoint to hunger, pain, nappy or tiredness.. If she grizzles strait after a feed I take that to mean she wants more and I put her back on to finish, I dont count this as another feed I just count it as finishing off the other. She doesnt seem to be putting on 150-250g a week though. I have thought of the local meets, I might go next wk esp if I cant get appt with the council LC