OMG I just want to hug you and congratulatons. I can't comment on having a bad experience myself because my hospy was fantastic, I felt so encouraged to establish bf.
Firstly demand to stop those top ups, it is not going to help you milk come in and it is going to confuse him as to what is going on. My milk didn't come into almost day 6 with DD1, we fed fine. Bottles are easier, they free flow with pretty much no effort, he really needs to learn to breastfeed first, the more he gets bottle possibly the more he might start to reject you. They can be really sleepy the first few days, doesn't mean they are not doing well, or they can't suck, they just need a little extra encouragement.
I still can't believe a hospital could be like that. From what you have said there is no reason at all for the formula.
Remember they cannot force you into treatments such as shoving a tube down his throat without your consent. Please don't be pressured into anything you don't want to do. Maybe at the hospital is not going to be the best thing for you. I'd be finding a private lc personally.
Try not to stress. This is by no means ideal, but please don't feel that you have missed the boat either. Please don't feel like the opportunity is slipping away each time you give formula. Yes, best not to give any in an ideal world but don't feel like you're doomed either. I say that because I thought all was lost when I couldn't BF despite trying for three weeks and DD2 not attaching. I stopped for six weeks and then relactated. Your baby is so young and you still have so much time.
Get all the help you need. As the others have said, see a LC. You can get this sorted with some perserverance, patience and gentleness with yourself.
Congratulations on your little one.
You need to write a formal complaint to the hospital. The information and treatment you have been given is not best practice and probably not in keeping with hospital policy - but the hospital will never know or have the opportunity t ensure that this doesn't happen to other women unless you tell them.
The world of breastfeeding can be a strange one. Most mothers find that attending an Australian Breastfeeding Association class before their baby is born is a huge help in understanding how breastfeeding works and what is normal for babies in the early days and weeks.
I wonder, how often does your baby feed at the breast? How big was he when he was born? How much formula is he haing now? The first milk babies recieve is colostrum, and they would only expect to get about a teaspoon per feed. It's all they need - they have stores of brown fat which are utilised at this time. Milk normally comes in day 3 or 4. It's important babies feed frequently at the breast - 8-12 times in 24 hours. Big feeds of formula may make them sleepy and not able to breastfeed as often ast they need to.
The good news is most women go on to breastfeed fine, even after such a difficult time early on.
Hi girls
Thanks everyone for your support, advice and encouragement - I needed to hear these things as I was getting very worried I may have missed the boat. Yes, I will definitely be writing a letter of complaint to the hospital when I have time! The hospy has posters all over their walls about breast being best, so I have been quite surprised by all this too..
But we have managed to fully transition from formula and EBM to full breastfeeding now, within 1 week with lots of sleepless nights in between. Its all going pretty well thank goodness!!
and congratulatons. I can't comment on having a bad experience myself because my hospy was fantastic, I felt so encouraged to establish bf.
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