I need help- urgent :'(

I have a 6 week old bub (exactly today, it's gone so fast ) and he's been exclusively BF from birth, we have had no problems. I had a c-section. Now I have a massive infection (endomitritis) which has been there for a while so it's spreading and if left for any longer I could lose my uterus :( The 2 types of antibiotics I'm on arent safe to take while BF- long story short he has to have formula until I'm off these antibiotics which is at least a week :'(
I am very lucky to have met some beautiful people on here, 1 who loaned me a pump and another who left her 4 beautiful children last night to come and comfort me as I was a mess- she also taught me how to use the pump :) One of my beautiful BElly buddies offered me some of her EBM but DF isn't keen, nut I've been talking him round.
But I HAVE to start FF from 7 this morning- which formula is best? I have avent bottles with the newborn teat....
How do I know he's not tolerating it?
How often should I express?
I'm so upset that I can't even wean him onto it- he's just going from exclusively BF straight to FF!
I'm worried about losing my supply.

But most of all I'm so scared that after this is over he won't take the breast again :'(
TIA, sorry for the novel.

Hi,

You need to ring Rodney Whyte at the Monash Medical centre as soon as it opens at 9am The phone number is 03 9594 2361. Breastfeeding is very important and needs to be preserved - so does your uterus. Very few drugs are contraindicated with breastfeeding and there should always be alternatives that are suitable. If you need to express you need to express every 3 hours and I suggest you hire a pump from ABA - they are just better and easier when you have such a workload ahead of you. Look after yourself, you have been put in a terrible position - not easy

Oh I'm so sorry! :hug: I hope Barb and others pop in here soon. All I can help you with are the teats for bottles, unfortunately. Many brands claim to be breast like and nature like, but none of them really are...the best and closest I found was the Medela Calma teat. It's made for already bf babies and is designed based on actual research. The actual teat isn't anything spesh, but the way it works is, to get the milk baby has to suck it into a reservoir, and then into their mouth, so when they stop sucking there's not a constant drip. Its teat is also a little longer than sone other types. Anyway that worked well for me when I was ebm feeding dd.

I'm on my phone so I can't see, but are you in Melbourne? I have ebm if you need it.

ETA Barb and I posted together :)

I'm sure everything will be ok.

Express at normal feeds or close to it. On average 3-4 hours. If you miss a night you should be ok. 15-20 min either side. When you bring him back to bf he may feed a little extra to bring back supply

One way to see if he is tolerating it is to keep an eye on him after feeding. My dd came up with a rash from s26 original but after the s26 gold was fine.

He will poo more and if it's a hot day you may need to introduce some water.

Barb- thankyou. I was told by the doctor that the antibiotics are unsuitable while BF , he could'nt give me anything else because the infection is severe. But the main concern we had was I had a UTI when Riley was 10 days old and took antibiotics for that. 2 days later he had a fit and stopped breathing. I stopped them and he never had one again.

PZ I'm on the gold coast, thanks for the offer anyway :)

Onelittleprincess- thankyou :hug: I have S26 gold- I'll start with that.

Pz- how where do I get that teat from? Does it fit avent bottles? Thankyou, sorry I'm on my phone so forgive the short replies!

Please Ring Rodney Whyte

hi hun sorry to hear you are going through all this, just wanted to remind you that with the time difference you can ring the man barb is suggesting at 8am your time, can you hold Riley off until after that for a feed ?

:hug: So sorry you're going through this hun.

Just a heads up, he will poo more but also be prepared for a colour change and possibly for it to be a bit more whiffy than a bf poo too. No one told me about this when I had to put DD on formula unexpectedly and I freaked out a bit - but she was totally fine in the end. He may also have a bit of an upset tummy or be a little bit windier than usual as well.

:hug: :hug: Ring Rodney Whyte. Call a local LC.
One feed on the teats you have won't ruin everything - then go out & get a slow flow teat, the slowest there is. If you go to Treetops pharmacy they have a baby nurse there on Wednesday mornings who is also an LC, I will find out for you if she's still there. She'll be able to advise on teats also, she's very pro-BF.
Express every 3 1/2 hours. Start bub on the S26 and see how he goes.

It will be ok :hug: Call me if you need.

I'll PM you Hun but definitely ring Rodney, he's very friendly and helpful.

Rodney Whyte also helped me. He is a lovely man, and if he doesn't know the answer straight away he will find it and get back to you. Please ring him.

GPs don't always understand the importance of breastfeeding and how it works.

I have no advice sorry but i just wanted to offer you some support and let you know you CAN get through this. Do what you need to do to make yourself well. Your little one will be fine on FF for the time you need to feed him that way.'

Take care (and ring the doctor as advised!!) x

i agree with PP but also wanted to say that if you need/would like reassurance that he will take the breast again, ring the ABA. i rang them in tears when DS was a NB & the counsellor told me some amazing & inspiring stories about women who have continued (or started) to BF in extremely challenging circumstances.

take care of yourself & i hope the infection clears up quickly :hug:

Oh I can't even imagine how you are feeling :hug:
Please give the guy a ring that Barb said. Sometimes GPs don't really understand about medication and breastfeeding. It is likely that there will be something that will work for you and you can continue to feed. I don't know about formula sorry. I'm in Brisbane so if you need anything just yell :hug:

Here is a site that i have found handy to look up research on meds & breastfeeding LactMed Search

It is not a substitute for talking to Rodney :lol: but can be good if you want quick info now (not neccessary but it is handy if you have some medical/science experience and can weigh up the data)

Yas

I hope you have managed to get some answers. Its alarming to read that you may loose your uterus, if you do not take the medications. Please commence them as soon as the doctor recomends, a serious operation, like a hysterectomy, is not something you want to go through, at any age, let alone 23 :grouphug:

Hi - I had ABs (2 types) for endometritis a month ago when DD2 was 3 weeks old. They were prescribed by the doctor at the main maternity hospital here and I continued to breastfeed as the doctor said it was safe. I wonder if they are the same medications you are on? All major maternity hospitals in capital cities have a pregnancy and breastfeeding drug information service for other doctors/ health professionals to consult with if unsure when prescribing drugs. Patients can also contact these helplines. Rodney Whyte is a good resource also. Good luck and hugs x

How did you get on hun? Big hugs!

Thankyou everyone for your support. I haven't replied earlier as I'm really struggling, I can't stop crying. I rang Rodney and he's away on holidays :( The lady I spoke to said that Rodney had ok'ed BF with the antibiotics I'm on before- but on half the dose I'm on and only for a week. She wanted to speak to him before saying anything either way. She tried to call him and couldn't get through, but said it'd 'probably be ok' but there's not alot of research and its a grey area. I didn't want to risk it, so I've been giving bub formula :cry: and expressing.
But now I'm losing supply in my left boob, I suspect I've got blocked ducts because when I express I can only seriously see milk coming out of one hole. The most I've gotten out of it is 40mls, and the last 2 times I've expressed I've only just covered the bottom of the bottle.
I can't stop crying, this is a nightmare!

:hug: yas. hopefully barb will pop in soon but remember that expressing isn't always a good indication of supply - i struggled to get 10ml when my DS was only a couple of weeks old but he still went on to feed until i weaned him at 20months. alot of people have success when they're expressing if they look at a photo of their baby or look at their baby while they're expressing. you may also not be in quite the right headspace at the moment - it's obviously a stressful time but maybe when things have calmed down a little, you may get some more milk. for the blocked duct - keep massaging the breast/s, i found in the shower was a good place because it was warm.

and you don't need to be a member of the ABA to ring their helpline - 1800 686 268 - they're very helpful & supportive. their website is also very informative & has lots of good suggestions for things like relieving blocked ducts.

hang in there :hug:

Hi,

You are having a horrible time. Can you PM me with the name of the drug and the dosage and I will see what I can find out for you.
what kind of pump are you using? Get a hospital grade medela symphony and express every 2 hours during the day. You will get through this. If it turns out you could have breastfed on the antibiotic your doctor needs a good smack. This is what health professionals so often don't understand - just how important it is to breastfeed for a mother, and how difficult expressing can be. And formula is regarded as having no risks at all - though the evidence tells us otherwise. Use icepacks on the affected part of the breast. Express every 3 hours in the night. YOur milk will come back when your baby is back on the breast.

And PS, why don't you put your little one back on the breast for a few feeds to clear the blockage? It will be less than the week the pharacist spoke about

Sorry you are having such a hard and stressful time. Getting your head around full time expressing, albeit temporary is stressful too. Once you get the hang of it it will be a bit easier and it sounds like it will be temporary in your case.

Yes, try and get a medela symphony they are the rolls royce of pumps. With this you can double pump if you are confident to try and would reduce the amount of time on the pump. The easiest way to do this is to just do your bra up around the flange. The low amount of milk could be because of the pump type. The other thing a LC showed me was to do a single pump doing the bra up around the flange and put bubs on my opposite side of my body and feed a bottle using some skin to skin. This could help if your body needs contact with bubs for a let down. At first it feels a bit awkward but like everything gets easier after a couple of goes.

If you've got a blocked duct you will get a lump in the breast and it will end up being painful. It will reduce the amount of milk whilst it is blocked. I'm a full time expresser and I get these several times a week. People find different methods that work for them to get rid of it. For me I warm up a heat bag in the microwave and hold it on the lump whilst I'm expressing. It's the only thing that works for me and for me I usually have to do this for two expresses in a row to get rid of it. I've heard of other people expressing after having a hot shower.

With respect to your DF, it's not his long-term health at stake here, it's your baby's, and if there are offers of EBM from other mamas, your baby will be much, much better off with that - a lot of women don't know how to access someone else's EBM, so you're in a very good position with offers.
Rodney's work is bothering to know which drugs ARE compatible with breastfeeding because the drug companies don't - they advise against BFing whilst taking the meds because they haven't bothered to actually find out what it is about BFing that could be incompatible with their drugs. It's not based on what they know, it's most definitely based on what they don't know. But guess what? Rodney DOES know - he's a chemist who uses his chemistry knowledge, rather than the marketing knowledge. And he CARES about breastfeeding, which is why he does this, so that mamas can keep doing a really important job at such a critical time of little people's lives. If you're still unsure who to believe about 'safe side', as your doc just what it is about the drug that makes it risky for babies having breastmilk. I bet he won't know - I also bet there'll be a pause and some guess about why that might be. Doctors advise as much on the basis of not knowing as they do on knowing (I'm being very generous here!), because they know how much we trust them and they know how much they have to pay in premiums to their insurers. That sounds cynical, it's also true. They are under a lot of pressure, not to get it right, but to not get it wrong!
Meanwhile, not having access to breastmilk poses risks that last over a lifespan, not just 5 years and "phew, not ill-effects, we're in the clear". Your DF doesn't have a natural right to make that kind of decision about your baby's life, especially if he's not done research into the benefits of donated BM (he's probably not even done much research into the negatives...cos there aren't many, and they won't apply to you!).
Definitely get that baby on your boob to remove the block - you're at least going by the minimum knowledge of Rodney's colleague :hug:
You can do it, you can do it, you can do it - please keep telling yourself this as a mantra. Many of us here have been through seemingly impossible starts and just stubbornly stuck to our guns, not taking 'no' for an answer - you can do it :hug:

Thankyou for your support, it's really helping. I just had the medela symphony delivers this morning- it's so much easier to use and I managed to get 30mls out of the left breast. I put bub on to suckle for 10 mins to try and stimulate that left side. I've got to go and express again bbl xx

you can do it Yas! What an awesome mumma you are. :hug:

You're doing a great job Yas, hang in there. Feeling so stressed and worried about it is bound to effect your ability to express, it probably isn't an indication of your supply. When you can feed your baby again you will get your supply back. :hug: I can only imagine how you're feeling. I hope you can get some answers about the antibiotics soon. :hug: And if you decide you want to use donated EBM just yell I'm sure you would get lots of offers of help.

:hug:

My heart is breaking for you xoxo
I am so glad the new pump is working well - all my love and support is coming your way xoxo


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ;)

Thankyou girls :D

Heaven- the reason i'm so worried about the left boob and the amount coming out is because im getting a good amount out of my right boob (i think? Im not really sure how much i should be getting)

Ok, iv'e been recording how much ive gotten and what time. So far iv'e expressed 4 times and am about to do the 5th after this post.

1) Rt 140mls Lft 25
2) Rt 90mls Lft 30 mls
3) Rt 70mls Lft 15mls
4) Rt 50mls Lft 15mls

Is that enough?

wow that pumping is impressive!!!! excuse the typing, im expressing myself... lol that sounds wrong, i think it needs a comma lol

hun, i think your supply is coping fine :) remember you will never be able to express as much as bub can get out. if i was expressing fulltime with the amount i get out she would be a screaming banshee and she would be very ill and not growing! my lefty is abit crap with supply too.. or i just cant express much out of it. the most i get out of lefty is 20 mls!

wow that pumping is impressive!!!! excuse the typing, im expressing myself... lol that sounds wrong, i think it needs a comma lol

hun, i think your supply is coping fine :) remember you will never be able to express as much as bub can get out. if i was expressing fulltime with the amount i get out she would be a screaming banshee and she would be very ill and not growing! my lefty is abit crap with supply too.. or i just cant express much out of it. the most i get out of lefty is 20 mls!

You're doing well Yas!!! My left boob is a low producer, has always been that way. My right makes at least double on a regular basis.

I'm not sure of how long you are expressing for and the intervals in between. I normally go for 20 minutes each side (but only 20 mins all up as I double pump) and in the first 6 months I was doing 8 times a day. To know if you are getting enough milk the main thing is to get enough to cover your bubs feeds. If you want more detailed information about expressing look up kellymom.com Scroll towards the bottom and there is a section on Pumping with heaps of information.

I'm glad you got the symphony it will be worth it.

I know it's hard but you are doing well. Hang in there.

You're doing a great job sweet :hug:

You'll get there hun. Don't forget if you do have blocked ducts you can get physio ultrasound to help clear them. When I had mastitis badly the supply in one side dropped really low like that, but it eventually recovered.

You are doing an amazing job. Don't forget to keep the milk you're getting in case you find out later it's ok to give bubs. And don't forget to have a probiotic before bed each night. And dose yourself up on them once the abx are over.

Wow, you're doing amazingly well.

When I was in hospital and Liebs was tube-fed (OK at 2wks not 6wks old), I would feed him from me, feed him the expressed milk from the last pump, then express again. I might manage 30ml all up if I were lucky!

I was advised to express the "bad" side first, then the "good", then back on the "bad" again. This would increase supply to the lower supply breast. Don't know how true that is, but that's what I did.

Many babies cope with bottle then back to breast - mine did. And that was without decent teats that mimicked the breast.

You're doing a fantastic job hun. Try not to worry about how much you are getting - in fact if you manage to not measure it at all it might help you relax - which in turn will help you get more out. As long as you are expressing regularly you will maintain a good supply until you can feed again. And if your supply needs a boost then your little one feeding will achieve that pretty quickly. Keep up the great work and try not to stress. I know that's easy to say but you are already doing so well with all you've been through so I know you will fine :hug:

No advice sorry, but just wanted to say I think you're doing a tremendous job and your determination is admirable! :clap: I hope you realise this, and are proud of all you efforts!

Your determination is inspirational! Great job Mama!

Thankyou so much for all the support and encouragement you have given me :)
I am in hospital, the infection wasn't responding to the antibiotics, so I'm having them intravenously. I'm so upset that it's all been for nothing :( I may as well have kept feeding my baby, I would've ended up here anyway.
I'm still expressing, I brought my pump to hospital with me, but I couldn't bring my baby. Because he's not BF. :cry: