changing a 3 day old from formula to breast

[SouthernStormy]

So a little short background- was planning a UC, ended up having to transfer due to maternal exhaustion and then things went downhill from there. Lots of "complications" and ended up having a c section. Individually I could have argued that the complications were normal, but when thrown all together it didn't present a very pretty picture so I ended up with a section and my birth plan ended up in the trash.

I'd planned on her being put on my chest immediately for skin to skin and attempting to breastfeed. What ended up happening was I saw only a glimpse of her face before she was rushed away. DH went with her and they told him they wouldn't give her formula unless it was medically necessary. I was supposed to be able to see her within an hours two, ended up not seeing her til almost 8 hrs later. We were both healthy so I don't know what the problem was. When I finally got to go see her, they'd already given her formula. Every time I would go see her she would be wrapped up like a little sausage and they would be practically forcing her to take a bottle.

I was not able to do any breastfeeding b/c one of my blood test came back as a false positive for barbiturates and they had to make sure the baby's blood tests turned out negative.

I had a lactation consultant come in and show me how to use it and told me to try and pump every two hours. I attempted to pump and got some colostrum at first but after a couple pumpings even that dried up.

They FINALLY took her out of NICU and let her room in with me last night and we are going home today!!!!

How do I go about taking her off the bottle and putting her on breastmilk only?

She has been getting 25-30 mL each feeding ad they were feeding her every 2-3 hrs (that amount in that time seems WAY too much to me)

We did lots of skin to skin last night and I put her to the breast some and she'll suck a little but I think she probably feels like its too much effort since the milk flows so easily out of the bottle.

We don't have a pump at home and can't afford one right now- so pumping and the feeding her from a bottle isn't an option.

[Adaline'sMama]

Oh, Im sorry that things didnt go the way you had planned. Im so glad your baby is okay.

Im not sure where you live, but maybe you could borrow a pump from a friend and just get the new accessories for it? Maybe someone in Finding your tribe would be willing to help with that. I know WIC can get you a pump if you really need one. I want to address the idea that your milk has "dried up". You only have birth three days ago. Its really likely that your milk hasnt come in yet. My milk didnt come in until day five with DD. Get into a comfortable lounging position, relax, drink a beer, and see if your milk will flow. I had a period of three days between when my colostrum stopped and my milk came in. Please dont beat yourself up about her having formula either


After you try relaxing and getting your milk to come in, I suggest you make yourself a "nursing nest" and have a seat for a few days. I know its hard with all the commotion and excitment of a new family member, but this is an important time for nursing. I found that I owned one end of the couch. I had a table with books, snacks, a drink, my phone and its charger, and the laptop right in front of me. Is anyone there to help you? Are they helping or are you having to entertain them? Make sure that anyone in the house is there to help you and understands that you need to build this nursing relationship with your DD. Dont find yourself getting drinks for guests and getting stressed out. Wear your pj's and dont move too much from your spot. Try to keep baby at the boob as much as possible.

Oh, and beer really does help the supply come in.


A friend of mine who had a similar issue used a nipple sheild since that had a more bottle- shaped nipple and the baby was more inclined to suck from it. ]]]

[Bird Girl]

Although, if CPS has been alerted because of your false positive for drugs or your unassisted childbirth attempt, you may want to wait on the beer...

WIC can help you get a pump. Call them tomorrow, if you can. There are hand-pumps that are much less expensive and can help you for a couple of days. However you feel about formula, the first rule of breastfeeding is "feed the baby." If you wind up back in the hospital with a dehydrated baby, you will feel worse than you do now.

Put her on the breast--do it often--at least every two hours or as often as she is awake, if that's more than every two hours. Perhaps your partner can pick up a nursing shield for you to use if your baby seems to have trouble latching on. And call La Leche League http://www.lalecheleague.org/resources.html  They have a ton of free resources that can help you get on the right track.

Hang in there, Mama. Three days of formula is far from ending your breastfeeding relationship. My oldest DD did not nurse at all until she was 7 days old--and she didn't nurse without a nipple shield and major help until she was 14 days old. We used bottles, syringes, you name it, to feed her. But we wound up with a beautiful nursing relationship by six weeks, and she self-weaned at two years of age. You can do it.

[SweetSilver]

Pump, pump and pump.  Nurse, nurse and nurse some more.  My milk took 3 days to come in.  Colostrum, check.  Perhaps it was the C-section, but there it is.  Your little one might be giving up because the volume just isn't there.  Yet.  I was able to feed my daughter with a tube of formula on the breast.  Then that was filled with breast milk when it was there.  Pumped at every "nursing".  Pretty soon she was doing fine.

[myfairbabies]

I had planned a homebirth, ended up with a cesarean, and then had major breastfeeding problems as well (dd was tongue tied), so I know a little bit how you are feeling. That said, I never pumped a single drop of colostrum. I didn't get anything until day 4 when my milk came in. And it came in fine, slowly, but fine. I did have to rent a hospital grade pump because of dd's tongue issues, she was unable to get any milk out until we clipped her tt a few weeks later. It was $70 for a month. One thing we did was put her to the breast, and then stick a syringe full of milk into the corner of her mouth. If she got antsy, then I would squirt a little milk in. But since you're only on day 3, you might be able to just get her straight to the breast. Just watch her diaper output. Good luck!