Hello all. I am new to the site and have been lurking for a few days. So far I am loving it!
What brought me here was BF'ing info. The issue is that I failed at BF'ing my son, and I pretty much feel like a, well, failure. I don't know what exactly the problem was, or if it was a combination of a lot of stuff. My birth experience was not what I had planned (a natural hypnobabies birth) and I was quite traumatized. I have PCOS, which may have hurt my supply. I also have flat nipples and I believe DS was tongue-tied and is was not diagnosed/corrected. Any support or suggestions would be appreciated.
This is my first baby, and I had a planned pregnancy with the help of fertility treatment. At 24 weeks I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes that was initially treated with diet alone, but at 30 weeks had to be treated with the addition of Glyburide. At 26 weeks I began having BP issues, but no other signs of pre-e. My BP continued to rise and I was placed on Aldomet. At 30 weeks I was taken off of work due to very high BP. I had serious swelling issues, but my urine if office was clean. At 32 weeks I had a 24 hour urine that showed high protein. This was repeated 2x a week, and it showed it remained stable and didn't go any higher. I was getting a u/s every week that showed the baby was great and that he was avg/above avg in size. Then at 38 weeks I went to an appt at the GD specialist and my protein was sky high, BP was sky high, and LFT's and kidney function were seriously out of whack. I was told I would have to be induced. I told the doc that I would call my midwife and head to the hospital I would deliver at, and they told me to wait while they made a few calls. They came back in and informed me that my midwife couldn't deliver, because my OB (who she works for) was suspended and lost his privileges. Uh, what?
So, I ended up being admitted to a hospital I hadn't planned to deliver at and had residents and staff doctors. They used Cytotec to soften my cervix and I went into labor with just that. Then, they added Pitocin and my contractions stopped. When they stopped the Pit I went into active labor on my own again. DS's heartrate kept dropping very low and wasn't bouncing back well, and I had some overlapping contax. They gave me Brethine to stop them, but that stopped labor all together and they had to give Pit again to start it. His heart rate was again dangerously low, so they broke my water to put a monitor on his head to see if it was actually dropping or if the monitor was just losing it. Turns out, his heart rate really was dropping.
So, 16 hours in I conceded to a walking epidural. I didn't want one. I didn't think I needed one pain wise. But, I was afraid we were heading for an emergency c-section and the doctor on call then (who I really did like and had her own babies natural) explained that I would be put under if I didn't have the epi in place. Lo and behold, I quit dilating after the epi. For the next five hours, I didn't dilate at all (I was at 5). Then shift change happened and I got another doctor. She walked in, did a quick exam, and told me they were going to do a c-section. I told her no we weren't LOL. She said that I wasn't dilating. I told her I would like to be wait and see. Then she told me that my pelvis was small and even if I dilated I wouldn't be able to push him out because with my GD he would be big. I told her I would cross that bridge later. She said I had 1 hour to see what happens and they would section me.
By then, my epi was pretty much wore off. I started feeling the pain very strong and more pressure. I asked my nurse to check me and I had went from 5 to 7 or 7.5 in 30 minutes. Very soon after that I asked to be checked again, and had went from 7 to 9.5 in 20 minutes and was allowed to push. The doc that suggested the section did not come back in, but instead a midwife (who was also a nun) came in and delivered.
My son was 19.5 inches, but only 5 lbs 12 ounces. The stress of my high BP apparently didn't let him put weight on
Anyway, I started him at the breast right away. However the latch was very painful. At first I attributed this to my nipples, but then one of the LC said it was his latch. He would not put his tongue out and was only getting the tip. I continued to try my best, putting him on the breast every 2 hours around the clock. He lost about 10% of his weight (a little more) in two days. He continued to only get the breast.
I met with six LC through the hospital (it was a UNICEF hospital known for promoting BFing) and one private LC. None could get his latch straightened out. At 3 days we began supplementing after nursing. We used a syringe to feed him. I also pumped in between feedings to try to build up supply. I asked our home visit nurse and LC if he was tongue tied, and they said no.
I never engorged and with pumping was barely getting anything. DS would scream on the breast and even with sucking there was no swallow. I would get in the shower and massage my breasts and had no milk leaking. At two weeks we finally switched to formula fully. His wets/dirties increased into the normal range finally.
I guess I just feel like there must be an answer somewhere as to what the issue was. Or was it just me? Did I give up too soon? I always thought people who said they didn't have enough milk were full of BS. Now I wonder.
What brought me here was BF'ing info. The issue is that I failed at BF'ing my son, and I pretty much feel like a, well, failure. I don't know what exactly the problem was, or if it was a combination of a lot of stuff. My birth experience was not what I had planned (a natural hypnobabies birth) and I was quite traumatized. I have PCOS, which may have hurt my supply. I also have flat nipples and I believe DS was tongue-tied and is was not diagnosed/corrected. Any support or suggestions would be appreciated.
This is my first baby, and I had a planned pregnancy with the help of fertility treatment. At 24 weeks I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes that was initially treated with diet alone, but at 30 weeks had to be treated with the addition of Glyburide. At 26 weeks I began having BP issues, but no other signs of pre-e. My BP continued to rise and I was placed on Aldomet. At 30 weeks I was taken off of work due to very high BP. I had serious swelling issues, but my urine if office was clean. At 32 weeks I had a 24 hour urine that showed high protein. This was repeated 2x a week, and it showed it remained stable and didn't go any higher. I was getting a u/s every week that showed the baby was great and that he was avg/above avg in size. Then at 38 weeks I went to an appt at the GD specialist and my protein was sky high, BP was sky high, and LFT's and kidney function were seriously out of whack. I was told I would have to be induced. I told the doc that I would call my midwife and head to the hospital I would deliver at, and they told me to wait while they made a few calls. They came back in and informed me that my midwife couldn't deliver, because my OB (who she works for) was suspended and lost his privileges. Uh, what?
So, I ended up being admitted to a hospital I hadn't planned to deliver at and had residents and staff doctors. They used Cytotec to soften my cervix and I went into labor with just that. Then, they added Pitocin and my contractions stopped. When they stopped the Pit I went into active labor on my own again. DS's heartrate kept dropping very low and wasn't bouncing back well, and I had some overlapping contax. They gave me Brethine to stop them, but that stopped labor all together and they had to give Pit again to start it. His heart rate was again dangerously low, so they broke my water to put a monitor on his head to see if it was actually dropping or if the monitor was just losing it. Turns out, his heart rate really was dropping.
So, 16 hours in I conceded to a walking epidural. I didn't want one. I didn't think I needed one pain wise. But, I was afraid we were heading for an emergency c-section and the doctor on call then (who I really did like and had her own babies natural) explained that I would be put under if I didn't have the epi in place. Lo and behold, I quit dilating after the epi. For the next five hours, I didn't dilate at all (I was at 5). Then shift change happened and I got another doctor. She walked in, did a quick exam, and told me they were going to do a c-section. I told her no we weren't LOL. She said that I wasn't dilating. I told her I would like to be wait and see. Then she told me that my pelvis was small and even if I dilated I wouldn't be able to push him out because with my GD he would be big. I told her I would cross that bridge later. She said I had 1 hour to see what happens and they would section me.
By then, my epi was pretty much wore off. I started feeling the pain very strong and more pressure. I asked my nurse to check me and I had went from 5 to 7 or 7.5 in 30 minutes. Very soon after that I asked to be checked again, and had went from 7 to 9.5 in 20 minutes and was allowed to push. The doc that suggested the section did not come back in, but instead a midwife (who was also a nun) came in and delivered.
My son was 19.5 inches, but only 5 lbs 12 ounces. The stress of my high BP apparently didn't let him put weight on
Anyway, I started him at the breast right away. However the latch was very painful. At first I attributed this to my nipples, but then one of the LC said it was his latch. He would not put his tongue out and was only getting the tip. I continued to try my best, putting him on the breast every 2 hours around the clock. He lost about 10% of his weight (a little more) in two days. He continued to only get the breast.I met with six LC through the hospital (it was a UNICEF hospital known for promoting BFing) and one private LC. None could get his latch straightened out. At 3 days we began supplementing after nursing. We used a syringe to feed him. I also pumped in between feedings to try to build up supply. I asked our home visit nurse and LC if he was tongue tied, and they said no.
I never engorged and with pumping was barely getting anything. DS would scream on the breast and even with sucking there was no swallow. I would get in the shower and massage my breasts and had no milk leaking. At two weeks we finally switched to formula fully. His wets/dirties increased into the normal range finally.
I guess I just feel like there must be an answer somewhere as to what the issue was. Or was it just me? Did I give up too soon? I always thought people who said they didn't have enough milk were full of BS. Now I wonder.
