Hey girls... I'm new to this side of the forums

My baby girl Evie is 6 days old and I've been breastfeeding since day 1 but I've really been having some problems with it. She seems to latch on ok but then she has this habit of falling asleep after a few sucks. I've tried everything to get her to wake up while feeding... tickling her feet, rubbing her back, blowing on her face, you name it, I've tried it and still she'll wake for a second or two to suck a little more then doze off again. Of course this means she's not taking as much as she should and is still hungry when I put her down in her cot. I've spent the last few days and nights chained to the sofa, fighting sleep so I can feed her pretty much round the clock. I'm at my wits end now. We've had to start supplementing her feeds with formula (Aptimil in those Breastflow bottles) a couple of times a day and this is the ONLY thing that settles her enough to sleep. What am I doing wrong? She seems such a lazy drinker. The MW checked on the latching last night and said it was fine and that I'd just have to persevere and take her to bed with me (?! I thought this was a no no cos of the SIDS dangers ?!)
I'm on the verge of quitting because I hate to see her so hungry and I feel like I'm failing because something obviously isnt working here.
Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated, cos I really am so tempted to just go the easy route of formula feeding but I dont want to... I'm so torn!!! GAAAHHH!!

congratulations on your LO
I had hideous problems at first too so massive

Do you express milk at all? I ended up having to give EBM in bottles rather than boob feeds for several days so he was still getting a proper feed without using formula (I'm too lazy to work all that out) . My LO was fine and had no nipple confusion with the bottles.

I now mix the two which works well for us. It is really really REALLY difficult at first though - we've all been through it on here so come and rant to us

This can be a problem, my wee one was the same, and she used to use my nipple as a dummy too....

i would express milk and give her a bottle of that rarther than formula, see how u get on with that. as it will reduce ur milk if ur givin a bottle so soon.

speak to ur HV as well, they have great advice

There's nothing wrong with taking them to bed with you as long as you follow the co-sleeping guidelines. Many BF mums do this, especially in the early days as, as you are finding out, it's bloody hard work. Honestly, you are doing nothing wrong, it's just what newborns do. Don't feel you should be up and doing things for at least another week, just plug your baby in and enjoy the closeness.

If you want to keep BFing, try not to supplement at this time as it an mess up your supply. Hang in there, it does get better

Oh i remember that first week! Hun, its totally normal. To feel like your constantly feeding! I was the same when my little man was born 6 weeks ago. Its so difficult. At the beginning Logan would just snack all day long and i was so close to giving up, but honestly if its not what you want just persevere because it does get better!

I co sleep with my baby, i did with my first aswel. Infact i think i would panick more i he was in a moses basket now as id be awake all night checking he's ok. I love him being next to me and its so easy when they wake up for a feed (of course this is providing you dont drink/take any medication)

The difference with me was Logan was feeding so often he wasnt giving me chance to fill up, so instead of having a full feed he was snacking all day long. So i gave a bottle between feeds to give my breasts chance to fill then he'd take a proper feed the next time. It really worked to break the cycle and hes now exclusively BF.

When she falls asleep have you tried actually moving her, to wind or change her nappy. Then she completely wakes up properly.xx

The snacking thing sounds exactly like what Evie is doing! How long was it before your LO stopped doing that?
We've tried the moving her while asleep to wind her, and it wakes her up no problems but then within seconds of sucking on the breast, she's asleep again. Tried changing her nappy too and cos she hates having it done at the moment, she cries till she's back on the breast and, you guessed it, asleep within the first few sucks! It feels like an uphill battle at the moment.
I'm expressing as much milk as I can at the moment but because Evie's snacking on my breasts pretty much all day, I'm lucky if I can get an ounce out of them! Hence why the formula came into play.
As for the co sleeping... it might be worth a try I guess, to see if it helps her during the night.. this seems to be when she's at her worst with the feeding.
I really admire all you ladies that have done this and managed to get thru the first few weeks, and I can really sympathise with women that give up BF in favour of FF. It's so hard when you've had little or no sleep to keep your own tears away while your baby is crying for more more more, or sitting on the sofa for the umpteenth hour wondering if you should move so you can go for a pee!
Thanks for the advice so far girls

Firstly well done at sticking in at the breastfeeding

A few practical points - try to limit how much formula you feed her from bottles, it is much less effort for her to get from a bottle so she may be inclined to give up at the breast if the flow isnt as fast as what she expects.

If she is sleepy, strip her down to her vest, she may be too cosy next to you which is why she falls asleep.

Try the rugby ball position - the cradle position encourages them to sleep

x

Thanks hun
We only give her 2 ounces of formula and that's maximum in any one feed. Most of the time it's just once a day too. We're also using those Breastflow bottles which encourage a more natural sucking and pumping action like they'd have to use on the breast, so she still has to work pretty hard to get the milk. It's kinda wierd seeing her mouth almost "latching on" to these teats! We got them in the hope of using them for EBM so OH can feed her during the night.
I'll try the stripping her down to her vest while feeding, you could be right about the too cosy bit, it's pretty warm in our flat.
The rugby ball position seems to work.. sometimes but not all the time, she'll still fall asleep! My lazy baby

Can I just say, thanks for all the hugs girls, they're soooo needed right now and I really appreciate them... damn baby blues lol!

I have been giving my new LO an ounce or two of formula a day also, I was fighting off jaundice and too much weight lose so we could keep him at home (he was born at 36 weeks, not really early, he was home in two days, but if it got too low, I'd have to bring him back in, something I really didn't want to do as my daughter was born at 32+5 and she was in the NICU for 5 weeks. It wasn't pleasant). I will say that there is a slight struggle getting him back on the breast, but he's always gone back with no real issues. Something for you to keep in mind; not everyone has too much trouble with nipple confusion, and if it is keeping you on the breastfeeding train for the time being, I say go for. Not the advice everyone will give you, some may not agree at all, but I've had no problems. And now I know I can get out of the house for more than 1 hour at a time if I need to! I'd hate to have to struggle in a couple months getting him to take a bottle of EBM (which is what I have OH give him every evening, just a couple ounces, now as my supply is in strong). Again, no problems, knowing that he'll resist for a minute or so to feed off of me.
And yeah, strip your LO down to their diaper when its time to feed, it will keep them awake.
Don't give up! And congrats on your new LO!

Don't give up the first weeks are the hardest! Ben used to fall asleep at the breast too definitely try stripping your LO down to her vest as recommended above - we were also recommended to do that and it worked! Good luck xxx