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WTG Belfie!!!!!!!!! I am so happy to read this :D. I truly understand how excited you are, and how much you've wanted this to work. Good on you for standing your ground, and working so hard to breastfeed your daughter. Can't wait to see you at another meet up, BREASTFEEDING your bubba :cheer:
Belfie, can you soften them up a bit yourself by hand before attaching A? And be really really sure that she is in close to you so that she's not pulling more than necessary?
Kmn - thanks for the suggestions. I've tried trying to draw the nipples out more myself before a feed but haven't had much luck. Nothing gets them out as well as she does, so I'm wondering if it's just a matter of time till they toughen up/ adjust.
Fleur - the pump draws them out a bit, but nowhere near as much. Luckily the fact that the rest feed is good is helping keep me motivated (as if I wouldn't be haha).
Progress thus far - over 3 days since we were topping up. And I have 600ml in fridge/freezer!!! Seems amazing for 9 days old. Oh and today is our edd. :cheer:
:hooray:
:leap: :leap: YOU ARE AMAZING :leap: :leap::
Well our LC came today and we did a weigh - bubba girl has gained 220g in the 6 days since we were discharged from hossie!! YAY.
Plus our feeding is going great, now 5.5 days since we topped her up and I think it's finally sinking in that I am actually BF'ing my daughter!
And from a soapbox perspective, what I don't understand is why women like myself can't be provided with the support we need to overcome flat nipples, potential problems with BSL's etc as a matter of course. People in the system talk about early intervention... Both myself and my children are at higher risk of diabetes - isn't this the best kind of proactive early intervention there is??
Firstly, HOORAY! You don't need no top ups!
Second, well yes, we should be able to expect that, and a whole bunch of other stuff that just doesn't happen.
YAY!!!!!! Good for you hun!
Sue xxx
Yay belfie!!!! I was wondering how you were doing with bf dd and did a bit of stalking and was so happy to read this!!! Your story is so encouraging to me for when
I have this baby!! We will be able to feed this time i'm sure!!I hope i can find a wonderful LC like yours.
Well done again Hun, I'm so happy for you :)
You rock, Belfie!!!!! Way to go!!!
Oh wow Belfie, you're my new hero :) Thank you so much for sharing, I am hoping to b/f this time around and might just follow your lead :)
that's great Belfie :dance:
oh belfie! I'm so damn proud of you!! I got happy tears and a big silly grin. You're an inspiration hunny! Good on you for persevering. You and A are doing wonderfully
Ok about time for another update. Annika is now 3 weeks old and we are STILL exclusively breastfeeding :dance::leap::dance:. Still haven't had to top her up at all. So for all those people out there who were like me and didn't feed successfully last time, oh my goodness what difference a different baby can make! We're still using the nipple shield, and after one brief attempt at attachment without the shield (in the bath), I'm not quite game to try ditching it yet (I think she'd mangle my nipples tbh!). I'm also still doing some expressing (cos of the shield) and now have about 2 litres in the freezer!!! The pain on attachment has lessened considerably and I am finding the vast majority of the feeds are VERY comfortable. I don't feel worried that she's not getting enough, her weight gains have been fabulous and she seems settled and contented... even with some cluster feeding in the evenings. I'm finding it easier than I expected to just "go with the flow".
Does anyone know if there is a point at which you can say you don't need to express with the nipple shields? I'm only expressing once a day and feel that I could probably drop it, only doing an occassional express if I felt she hadn't drained my breasts enough.
Interestingly I was looking at pictures of my DS at about 2-3 weeks old. I'd forgotten that he was already in mittens (for scratching) by the same age... (he virtually lived in mittens for the first 6 months of his life) what a clue to the fact there were allergies there - if only we'd been able to recognise it at the time. With DD now, there's none of the incessant scratching and itching that poor DS went through. So there's something for anyone out there with an "itchy" baby!!!
And when I was at the GP for something and she asked casually if baby was on bottle or breast... and I replied (oh-so-casually) "breast". Ah the world of meaning behind that one little word! I feel lucky beyond belief to have been blessed with this beautiful girl who is making our BF'ing so easy and successful!
What a lovely update. So glad to hear that all is still going well.
Hi,
That is a very inspirational story. To be honest, I would suggest you don't need to express at all with shield. It is largely a myth that shields reduce your supply. (but of course for many women the poor attachment which lead to the nipple shields in the first place is the cause of the poor supply) However, you seem to be doing great. Over the next week or two see and LC or breastfeeding counsellor and see if you can ditch the shields - for your ownlong term convenience.
Belfie - congratulations! I am thrilled that the breastfeeding is going so well for you :)
well done thats a great story and journey xoxoxox :clap::clap::clap:
You are truly an inspiration Belfie! I felt an amazing sense of admiration reading about your journey.
You rock!
You are both amazing and I am SOO pleased for you hun, I know how hard you worked before Annika arrived and how much it worried you and LOOK AT YOU GO GIRL!!! :happyforyou: Awesomeness!!!
Well done hun! I especially adore the sign you made! I wish you all the best for the rest of your bf journey!
Thanks Barb. I've spoken to my LC and we both think I can safely stop expressing unless there's a side that hasn't been draining well. I've been doing that for the last few days and feeling fine with it. I'm also going to start attempting to attach DD without the shield part-way through feeds. I feel like my nipple is a better shape after feeding than expressing, so will try little by little, particularly on days when DS is at daycare (as he generally wants to get as close as possible to both of us while we feed! There's lots of "cuggles" going on!).:
And big thank yous to the rest of the cheer squad :grouphug: it makes my day.
I feel a bit nervous about attempting shieldless attachment as I've never had any success historically... so will just try remind myself to keep calm, keep baby calm - and if it's not working (or hurting hideously) then stop & try again another day. Because our initial latching WAS very painful (but that has now settled considerably) sometimes I'm not sure how much pain is normal and how much isn't. I know that BF'ing "shouldn't" hurt, but it certainly was toe-curling pain for those first 30 seconds initally. So saying, that isn't the case now so I suppose I should assume that a good shield-free latch will hopefully be painfree.
And finally, Annika's weight gain is great... another 305g in 8 days... but our MHCN thinks she has thrush. Her tongue is looking quite white-coated. My nipples seem to be fine... but I've started using the daktarin gel on both nipples and A's mouth after feeds. I figure I'll also make sure I eat well (not too much sugar) and take some probiotics. Any other suggestions? Also, I'm now wondering if I should wait to attached shield-free once the thrush has cleared up? And do I need to sterilise the nipple shields differently or more often (currently do microwave steriliser once a day).
TIA!
Belfie
You are totally amazing, good job!
*ETA* I was only ever told to wash with warm soapy water, I never sterilised my nipple shield.
I reckon you'll be off those shields in no time :) You're so close now and once she's a little bit bigger she'll have no worries getting a good mouthful.
I agree with Marcellus - you will beat the nipple shields in no time.
You have experienced quite a few *firsts* in this breastfeeding relationship - you will soon add feeding without a nipple shield to the list! Good on you.
Your strength and determination is amazing Bel. Just wanted to pop in and say go girlies!!!! :hug: