Breastfeeding after breast reduction

[liya]

Ive been trying to breasfeed my son exclusively for two months now and im just going crazy in all my attempts nothing has gone right since the first day in the hospital i noticed my baby was screaming and yelling because of hunger he wasnt like all the other babys all dorwsy he was screaming off the top of his lungs..In the nursery they felt bad for my baby and the nurses decided to give me a bottle of those RTF formulas. Sure enough my baby stopped crying and after that acted like a normal baby sleeping and waking when he was hungry. After that inital time at the hospital i noticed that my milk supply dindt ocme down as it should by the week so i went to a lactation consultant at the same hospital. She told me i was fine ( as she squeezed my breast and some milk came out) but something said i wasnt by two weeks my son had noticebly lost weight and again the doctor told me to suplement...We tried every formula on the market and nothing seemed to work with my DS and then he was diagnosed as having a narrow pyloro..This had been making him unable to feed and also making him vomit everything he ate.....After this i decided to change peds because the one i chose didnt want to help me breastfeed my child he just said it was easier to bottle feed....My new ped gave me a one week test to see just how much milk im producing, sure enough something is wrong since my shild lost weight again...He placed me on the SNS with regular formula and my son seems ok except hes not stooling...My DH and I have to watch him cry because hes so full of gas and have to force him to stool with glycerin supositoris.....i just hate all these formulas :(....My only dream was to breastfeed my child has anyone had any experience in this area did the SNS work...Im pumping and using the SNS but its sooo awfull and sooo consuming.....at night i was told to exclusively breastfeed but its just not going well if my milk is low during the day can you imagine at night :* Anyhow i need support if anyone has gone thorugh this please answer.......



Mommy of gorgeous Arian ALexander 2/13/03

[Marisa6826]

Liya-

I didn't have a reduction, but since I'm quite well endowed, I naively assumed that I would be able to breast feed.

My milk came in, although I never became engorged, but Sophie wasn't able to latch on. Apparently I have flat nipples.

She started to lose weight, became jaundiced and had to spend two days under the bili lights. At that point I had already been trying the SNS, saw that she wasn't thriving and gave in to the formula.

Once we came home, I continued to try and breast feed and supplement with formula. It was so infuriating for both of us. I finally rented a hospital grade pump and bottle fed her what breastmilk I was able to produce (not much - about an ounce and a half collectively) - but then again I wasn't pumping as much as I could have.

I sat here and cried constantly over the fact that I was unable to breast feed. The truth is, once you get over the fact that it's all about making YOURSELF feel better, you will be able to do the formula without feeling guilty. The baby honestly doesn't know any difference once he's that hungry. Your main goal is to help him thrive.

As far as the baby not pooping that much, talk to your ped (and find one that you click with pronto!) about switching formulas. I was lucky in that Sophie had no problem with the one they started her on in the hospital (Similac Advance) and she's still on it. Incidently, babies don't necessarily poop every day. Some only go every couple of days or so. According to my doctor, it's only when it's been 6 days or more that they get worried. Sometimes Sophie can go three days in between dirty diapers. You really only need to be sure that the baby is WETTING at least eight to ten diapers a day. If you're not sure whether he's wetting the diaper, but a tissue in between his bottom and the diaper - it will stay wet and you can stick your finger in to check. Sometimes the disposables are TOO good at absorbing and you can't tell easily.

I know it's SO difficult in the beginning - I promise - it will get easier.

hugs

-m

[Momof3Labs]

Have you seen a lactation consultant recently? That's what I would suggest - find an IBCLC (board certified LC), and see her. Two months is a long time if you haven't been successfully bf'ing, and you may have to work hard to build your supply back up.

One thing - it sounds like you are blaming yourself for all of this. Are you sure that you are not able to produce milk? It might be that your baby just wasn't latching properly or nursing efficiently (and the LC can help you with this). Either way, you should not feel bad - you tried, and if bf'ing is not working for you, allow yourself to grieve for what you missed, but try to move past it so that you can enjoy your baby. Your baby needs a happy mommy, first and foremost, even more than he needs breastmilk.

Good luck - let us know how it goes.

[egoldber]

I agree with Lori. If you want to try and breastfeed, you will need to work with an LC. Due to various issues I was never able to 100% breasfeed my baby. But with a great LC I was able to probably breastfeed 80% and supplemement about 20%. Any amount you can breastfeed is a benefit to your child, so just do what you can and don't stress over the rest. And most of all, as the others say, don't blame yourself. A happy mommy is DEFINITELY the best gift you can give your child.

In terms of the formula and bowel movements, you may want to try a different formula. I had a similar problem with my DD when she was on Similac. We switched to Enfamil and that worked much better for us. While all the brands are fine, sometimes one agrees with a particular baby more than another brand does.

HTH,

[Marisa6826]

Liya-

I forgot to mention that there are also various things you can try to increase your breastmilk-

Fenugreek pills are supposed to work (although you might start to smell like maple syrup a little bit) - you can get them at healthfood stores

Oatmeal and Tunafish supposedly increase your supply

I took Reglan which is a prescription medication for anti-nausa. One of the side effects happens to be increased breastmilk. However, while it does work, it really makes you tired.

Good luck

-m

[stillplayswithbarbies]

Have you seen a lactation consultant? Going to a La Leche League meeting can help you too, they have seen it all and have suggestions for everything.

Generally speaking, the more you substitute with formula, the less milk you will produce, so supplementing with formula sometimes sets up a downward spiral. A lactation consultant can help you through that.

...Karen
Jake age 12
Logan Elizabeth 3/25/03

[liya]

My ped's nurse is a certified lactation consultant...Ans es ive tried the fenugreek and the little more milk plus drops etc etc....I have also tried not substituing for formula various times and using only my breast but these things dont work right i think my plastic surgeon broke them :). I know what you all mean about the blaming i am blaming myself alot my husband says i refuse to be a formula mommy. I find nothing worng with it its just that they just havent worked for my son tummy wise i mean...Plus to top it all off where i live there are no such milk banks where mothers get screened and donate their excess milk so its kindda not very safe to just take donated milk or so they say..i would also feel much safer knowing.....i havent gone to a la leche league meeting but i was planning to so thats a good idea but they only meet every 3rd wednesday of the month so id have to wait another month for that....i am though feeding him in the sns all the milk i produce but sometimes its just not enough i only make like one to one and a half ounces total....:( depressing!!! But anyhow i have an appointment at the peds on wednesday ill let you know what he says.....(and yes i did get worried about the stool because 6 days had passed and still nothing maybe its the milk, ill tell you all wednesday) by the way how do you all get the pics of your baby on here? ive been dying to do it and i dunno im such a bad computer geek....
Mommy of baby Arian Alexander 2/13/03

[liya]

went to the dr and it seems as though my breast are begining to work...the dr said he thinks i may never breasfeed 100% but hes going to try his best to make is atleast a 70 -30 ratio....the baby has still been gaining very little weight ( half and once) and hes still quite worried about the whole ordeal but he increased the formula in the SNS to 2 onces hoping that hell gain some weight...nest thruday ill have the 2nd apptm ill tell you all how everything goes again.....I do have a question though my ped has my DS on low iron formula from similac because he says that since he is getting breastmilk it already has iron so therefore there is no need to put more iron in his diet, he says to much of something is never good...should i be worried is this true/....??

[liya]

Went to my last weight check up with my ds today, he had gained some wheight!!wooohoo downsider to all of this is that suspicions were right dr and lactation consultant say i am unable to breastfeed my child 100% but thank god they got me of the SNS.....that was one of the most uncomfortable things i had to wear...anything for ds....anyways even though the breastfeeding 100% thing wont be happening i still informed both the lc and the dr that i would continue to provide the little milk i make until hes six months old...right now im making more milk than before but this seems to be my limit(said by the lc)but anyhow its 1.5 less ounces of formula i give my baby and its 1.5 ounces of breastmilk he benefits from....i know i can make it to six months, after all this i think it will go much better from here on....(finally my breast dont feel sore another plus).....
thanks for all your help:)


Mommy to Arian Alexander
2/13/03

[trumansmom]

Congratulations! You should be so proud of yourself for all that you're doing for your son.

Good luck!

Jeanne
Mom to Truman 11/29/01

[liya]

Im soooo upset but happy at the same time, i dont know if thats possible but its a mix of emotions right now. Today i went to a support group in the hospital where my babys ped works at. Tha support group was guided by a IBLC certified doctor. That chat was so amazing i never new i could find people to help. One mom(pregnant with her first and with a breasreduction) told me that i inspired her to breastfeed her child..WOW!!!that blew me off....Another mom told me about her daycare( for breastfed children) and how she got it started because she saw the way they treated children in other daycares ( shes a registered nurse)..you know the routine:
1) feed baby constantly more than their supposed to so that he/she sleeps more
2) place a pacifier in their mouth so they shut up
3)place them in a crib until they cry themselves to sleep
This same mom i believe is my savior..After the conference( thank god my ped was there) i went over to talk to my ped because i saw some type of rash all over my ds body. It had been a rash that had been spreading all around. We knew that ds had been so unlucky as to not tolarate any type of formula but had given it one more try..today the ped finally had it and sat down and told me he belived that my son didnt have a protein intolerance but that what he was alergic to was some type of preservative that formulas have.This is why with every formula even the hypoallergenic ones he has had a reaction...This devastated me completely i didnt knwo what to do i asked about other milks and he said that ds is only 2.5 months old and that there is no way he was giving him cows milk...(goats milk has the same preservative since its powdered, well atleast the one they sell here is) I was in tears i dint know what to do...Where i live there are no milk banks so therefore no way to get milk for my child..In the chat a woman saw me crying desperately and being consoled by the doctor and she came up to me and told me that she had a condition that made her overproduce milk and she had a huge supply at home that her daughter was never going to use....She said "you can have it and if you need more i will give you all i have so you can feed your child"....I looked at her amazed i didnt know what to think at first i thought is this safe?My ped says he knows her personaly and the IBLC DR does also plus she has donated milk to around 30 children he knows of and there has never been any problems, plus in her line of work(shes the one with the daycare) they are tested regularly.....After this i didnt know what to think she told me that she foudn my efforts to be grand and she handpicked the people she would donate her milk...We have an interview said up this week with the ped, my dh, the IBLC certified dr and myself to go see her home, her children etc....i hope everything goes ok and i hope to god that this is the end of regular dr visits for my child im so tiered of going week after week it has been 2.5 months of this.....
If you all have any opinion on this please let me know...Let me know of questions i should ask and everything i should look out for or even if your totally against it...Right now i just need opinions on this matter...

thanks :)


Mommy to my cutie Arian Alexander
2/13/03
http://www.geocities.com/nayapr/babyboyannounce.html