I was told the 10 min 90% thing in the OP on about day 8 by a visiting midwife.... Said they'd seen something at a conference.... It's crap, well it was for me! When I was taking him off and swapping sides after such a short time all bubs was getting was fast flowing watery skim milk x2. This quenches the thirst and stops the crying but lead to poor weight gain and colic.
I saw a LC who said to keep him on 1 side till he had completely drained it. This could take sometimes up to 45 min in the early days (probably cos the 10 min feeding crap had mucked up the balance of my supply so much). I noticed after 10-15min he'd almost look asleep and finished, but if I pulled back a bit gently or stroked or tickled him, he'd have a few more sucks. This is the time when they are getting the fatty hind milk, I could feel my boobs tingle with it as let down. I'd feed him till the nipple fell out of his mouth as he was so drowzy and what my mum would call 'milk drunk.' (which is what the fatty hind milk does to them, they look and act 'drunk').
Jake had lost more than 15% in 3 days and I was advised formula top ups because he was only gaining 60g in like 5 days. THEN I changed from the ' must give each side, 10min' philosophy to the ' drain each boob' philosophy, and he shot up 260g in 6 days, and has continued this growth rate ever since!
Also, LC said when you keep them on the 1st side till they are milk drunk, then burp them, change them, offer other side. Sometimes they won't take it, and that's ok, I would then express a little from other side, just for some relief. Also I demand fed him but also was careful to make it 3-4hrly. Jake has never slept for 4-5 hrs between feeds like I hear other newborns can do, he likes his milk too much (and he poos a lot!)
Hope some of that helps!
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Thanks BBB I have done that in the early days. I think you had an emergency caesar too?
Sometimes I would swap sides, but only after 20 minutes. So here is a list of what we did, some of which you would know already but I am just adding to the info on this thread as there's not much about comping out there.
Had emergency caesar (literally arrived by ambulance and bubs was footling breech)
Put him on as much as I could, not much help from staff.
They took him to nurses station for the first two nights, brought him back for feeds, but I threw up on him etc.
Gave top ups but they wouldn't always give them to me.
Staff seemed annoyed that I had done the ABA class.
Nurse who discharged me at 7.30am, wrote that I hadn't attended their "breastfeeding session"! and went on and on about Mastitis as well as sending us home, I was in my pyjamas!
Went home, tried to BF exclusively.
Put him on the boob a lot.
We realised he sucks like a Dyson, so no prob there.
I can't remember when but we saw an LC as an outpatient at the RBWH.
One night though, I had had him on for hours and hours, and he was starving, and we rang the ABA and she said to go and get some formula at 3am, and so we ended up taking a risk and feeding him some kind of diluted Carnation milk (my Mum was a Mothercraft nurse many, many years ago).
By I think it was the Sunday after coming home, to my parents, had the midwife refer us to Royal Children's re failure to thrive and red umbi. They gave me a bit of counselling, Motilium, and said 20 minutes and then top up.
So in that time I had loads of conflicting advice, the worst from some of the midwives. Also I was annoyed I was not referred to an LC as an inpatient.
However as outpatients we have been treated like royalty with home visits!
Also due to having the catheter in for an extra day, I had a bladder infection and so I was on antibiotics for ages, from the caesar and then from that.
I tried Fenugreek but it made me throw up. What happened one night was I was constipated, nauseous from the Fenugreek and obviously I still had the bladder infection, so I was in agony, it was the Queen's birthday holiday so we went back in again, ended up in Obstetric Review lol, and it was just the bladder infection.
So in that time my parents were helping me with expressing and comping, he had three people looking after his feeds, but overnight just myself. The baby's father just was not there for us, and I broke it off with him (stress), bizarrely despite claiming to support BF he has still harassed me at times while feeding! Also we've had to go shopping and move back here (more stress).
Now it's just me and bubs on my own, I am managing as I live in a small unit, but a couple of days here I have tried to exclusively BF all day, and by midnight, I have had to end up giving him a bottle, with my eyes closed and him lying on the bed next to me.
Comping can be done, but you have to manage it so your health isn't compromised either.
So BBB, basically sadly I did have him on one side at times but it just didn't happen for us enough.
Whenever it was that I saw the LC as an outpatient (might have been at one week old) my milk literally came in that day, so we did a feed in front of her which was fine. The main tip she gave was to push my breast forward with the side of my arm, and to hold my breast for him at times.
I had an emergency csection too at 38 weeks but I had a spinal, I think you had a general? So your recovery was worse I think, plus I didn't have a foot kick through my lady parts!!!
You are doing so well by persisting and seeking help. The other thing I forgot to say is I used to have to express the first 20ml of watery milk so baby could latch on.
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Jim's so funny he knows the bottle and the boob. If I sit him up in the bottle feeding position he will make a certain O shape with his mouth, ready for the bottle. Sometimes he will refuse the bottle, and he wants the boob though, and so then he will make his way to my left side, and look at my boob and open his mouth in a different way.
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sorry that it's going so rough for you ... big hugs ...
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