https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 05 Apr 2026 19:06:47 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-we-mess-everything-up#post-88866 Thu, 08 Mar 2012 00:19:48 +0000 lemondrop 88866@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@His Barista: it took us a while to get things functioning to where I wasn't going completely crazy- hang in there, it isn't easy, but it is worth it. Hope things shake out better for you guys soon! And congrats on the little one!</p> <p>Also your hospital may have a breastfeeding support group- something to ask about (I found out about ours when I registered for birth classes). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-we-mess-everything-up#post-88861 Thu, 08 Mar 2012 00:16:59 +0000 His Barista 88861@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@lemondrop: LO has an appointment at the hospital on Friday for her hearing test. I am going to speak with their LC before we leave so that we can figure out new techniques. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-we-mess-everything-up#post-88856 Wed, 07 Mar 2012 23:40:29 +0000 lemondrop 88856@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Every baby is different, but it wasn't a problem in our case! Our son went to the NICU for 48 hours when he was 2 days old and was supplemented by a bottle with formula at that time. Breastfeeding wasn't going great, so we would practice for 20-30 minutes at each feeding, then finish him with a bottle of formula. He would fall asleep at boob, my husband would drip cold water on him to keep him nursing- you do what you gotta do!</p> <p>At 8 weeks he happily takes both bottle (of pumped milk) and boob, which gives me a great break too! I make sure to reinforce the bottle every day since he prefers boob. </p> <p>Do you have any lactation consultants available to help you? Meeting with an LC helped calm me down and gave me new techniques to try when I got frustrated. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-we-mess-everything-up#post-88729 Wed, 07 Mar 2012 20:09:10 +0000 His Barista 88729@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks ladies! I have found that if I pump first she will latch easier. Then if she gets frustrated we switch to bottle. She isn't having too much confusion. I feel so much better today and a lot more confident. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-we-mess-everything-up#post-88476 Wed, 07 Mar 2012 14:26:33 +0000 ohapostrophe 88476@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Just echoing the others.... my son had formula from a bottle at 5 days old while I had emergency surgery. He went right back to nursing hours later and we're still nursing at 11.5 months. Hang in there, it does get easier! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-we-mess-everything-up#post-88444 Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:53:04 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 88444@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Give her enough to calm down by bottle and then go back to trying the latch when she's less hungry. She'll get there! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-we-mess-everything-up#post-88442 Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:51:30 +0000 owlmom 88442@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Hang in there, mama! My LO took half of her meals from bottles for the first 2 weeks, and now at almost 5 months, she vastly prefers the boob over the bottle. It will get easier :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-we-mess-everything-up#post-88436 Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:43:45 +0000 His Barista 88436@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks Ladies. I feel better now that we have had more sleep. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-we-mess-everything-up#post-88340 Wed, 07 Mar 2012 11:19:30 +0000 BabyLove 88340@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Don't stress it at all. As the others have said, this thing happens, and babies have been able to seamlessly transition back to the breast. Your lactation consultant will be a great resource. Good luck! And congrats on your new baby :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-we-mess-everything-up#post-88332 Wed, 07 Mar 2012 11:09:41 +0000 LivsMama 88332@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>nope, it wont mess things up. Promise. Liv was bottle fed for 4 full days (and half of a 5th) before I got the LC to come to my house and teach her a proper latch. I had her EBF shortly thereafer </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-we-mess-everything-up#post-88266 Wed, 07 Mar 2012 10:02:00 +0000 Mrs. Bee 88266@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>olive was exclusively bottle fed for almost a month before she became exclusively breastfed. don't worry - one time isn't going to mess things up at all!</p> <p>the lactation consultant will be a big help with your latch. good luck and don't stress out so much. i know it's hard, but you'll get there! :-) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-we-mess-everything-up#post-88265 Wed, 07 Mar 2012 10:01:47 +0000 T.H.O.U. 88265@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@His Barista: Good luck with everything! You are doing such a good job for your baby girl! It is really hard to keep them awake at this stage. A few tips would include completely undressing them down to the diaper, rubbing/tickling their feet, and even a cool wet wash cloth. </p> <p>I don't know what your pedi says or what your daughter weighs but the first while we also fed every 1.5-2 hours (max 3 hours if she was sleeping during the day). Not feeding any sooner than 1.5 hours helped her build up an "appetite". </p> <p>I also had to pump at first and my LO still loves to nurse. She's older now so she nurses to sleep at night but during the day will eat a full meal and then be wide awake. </p> <p>If you do have trouble latching you can make sure to have lots of skin to skin bonding time to help out! </p> <p>Also, if you do need to call someone, look up your local LaLecheLeague and they typically have phone numbers of people you can call. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-we-mess-everything-up#post-88255 Wed, 07 Mar 2012 09:52:28 +0000 Maysprout 88255@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Congrats on the new baby!<br /> Have you tried the 5 S's from happiest baby. Sometimes that calmed down my LO just briefly enough to help her latch. When she was swaddled there was less she could flail and she had to be more focused. You definitely didn't ruin anything, many babies get a bottle and go onto nurse wonderfully. If you give her a little from the bottle to help calm her she might be more receptive to nursing once she knows food is nearby, I'd always put a little milk on my LOs lips so she knew there was milk. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-we-mess-everything-up#post-88194 Wed, 07 Mar 2012 08:20:11 +0000 Lozza 88194@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We had latching/supply issues for a while too, and supplemented with formula once or twice a day for the first 4 or 5 days of LO's life, and from then on we didn't need to use formula anymore but I pumped a lot and we gave LO at least one bottle of pumped milk every day.... and this was on the recommendation of our lactation consultant. She said that for most babies, one bottle a day shouldn't affect breastfeeding, plus it gets them used to a bottle, plus it gives mom a break.<br /> Worked fine for us.... I did sometimes find that if we gave LO say, 3 bottles, in one day, the next day he'd be fussier than normal, but then we'd just go a day or two without a bottle and it would be fine.<br /> You have definitely, definitely, 100% NOT messed anything up, and you can absolutely go on to exclusively breastfeed for as long as you want. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-we-mess-everything-up#post-88192 Wed, 07 Mar 2012 08:11:21 +0000 His Barista 88192@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks ladies. We are definitely going to talk to someone but I just needed to hear something good.to calm my nerves for the rest of the night...well morning now.<br /> I am just glad that at least we are trying and I was able to give her breast milk even if it was from a bottle. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-we-mess-everything-up#post-88188 Wed, 07 Mar 2012 08:06:19 +0000 Rubies 88188@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Absolutely not! My milk didn't come in until day 4, and I literally could only pump a teaspoon of milk, which we fed to LO through a syringe! We finger-fed her formula, too. We went to a breastfeeding clinic and learned that LO couldn't latch because she was tongue-tied. It took a long time before LO became a champion latcher. Hang in there, you didn't mess it up - it just takes time! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-we-mess-everything-up#post-88179 Wed, 07 Mar 2012 08:00:06 +0000 BabyBoecksMom 88179@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>First of all, take a deep breath - it's not an easy thing to learn and it takes time for both, you and your LO, to figure out. My LO is 6 weeks and we're still getting the latch down. </p> <p>My LO would always fall asleep at the breast (and still tries to!) and had some trouble latching so we used a combination of a nipple shield and a pacifier. We would start with the pacifier (a finger works too), and gently apply some downward pressure on the tongue to get the baby to start sucking and "train" her tongue. While that was happening I would put the nipple shield on and then when the baby had a good sucking rhythm going, we would transfer her over to the breast. </p> <p>I used the nipple shield for 3 weeks and then eventually weaned her to just the breast. There were times where I did have to supplement with formula, but I think, by using the nipple shield, it actually helped to prevent nipple confusion. And now, she switches back and forth between the pacifier, bottle and breast with no problems. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-we-mess-everything-up#post-88176 Wed, 07 Mar 2012 07:53:42 +0000 Andrea 88176@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No, definitely not, but seek out a lactation consultant right away to help with the latch issues. Good luck and congrats!!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-we-mess-everything-up#post-88175 Wed, 07 Mar 2012 07:52:42 +0000 chopsuey 88175@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't think it's too late either. I would continue to try to get her to latch and would pump to keep your milk supply up and to help with engorgement.<br /> You should go see a specialist asap though.<br /> Good luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-we-mess-everything-up#post-88174 Wed, 07 Mar 2012 07:40:46 +0000 CameronsMomma 88174@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't think you ruined it at all. My LO is 6 weeks and he did bottle for the first month because he wouldn't latch. Now he latches perfectly, but I don't have enough milk for him so we still have to do partial formula. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/did-we-mess-everything-up#post-88172 Wed, 07 Mar 2012 07:23:06 +0000 His Barista 88172@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My daughter is 3 days old and I just got my milk in. All yesterday we were having issues getting her to latch w/o galling asleep on my breast. She also sleeps so much that when she starts wailing its nearly impossible to get her calm enough to latch.<br /> Tonight after 3 hours of trying to feed I broke down and pumped. Because my breasts hurt so badly. We Gave her the bottle. Because she is so new do you think we ruined our chances.of getting her to latch?<br /> We do plan on going back yo the lactation consultant but I thought it would be nice to hear from you ladies. </p>