u/AbjectDingo3804

Would love to tell my story and get some support. Sorry for the length and grateful to anyone who reads this. When my baby was born, the hospital staff made a big fuss that my baby wasn’t gaining weight at day 3 and told us we needed to use formula. I started sobbing and felt so bad my baby wasn’t getting enough food that I just folded. I’ve since learned that this is common with c section babies, and I’m still mad at myself for letting them convince me to use formula.

When we got home from the hospital, my nipples were cracked and bleeding, and I saw blood come out of my son’s mouth when he spit up. So I took a break breastfeeding for a few days. And only gave him bottles. After the nipples were better, I started pumping to try to get my supply up. And that’s pretty much what I’ve been doing for almost four months now 😭

I’m lucky to get half of my son’s food to be breast milk. I’ve tried all the tricks for supply, everything except consistency, which is so hard. I just can’t seem to do it. I have a baby who mostly contact naps and I have no idea how anyone can get 8 pumps a day in. I’m getting around 6, and averaging 3oz or so. But my boy eats 4-5oz per bottle.

I just feel so at a loss. I keep thinking if I could latch him more, it would be so much better than pumping all the time and my supply would build. But now he’s at a point that he starts crying when I offer the breast. I usually have been able to latch him once or twice a day, but every time he tends to either not get enough milk and falls asleep there, or get really frustrated because he’s hungry and it’s not as fast as a bottle. We both end up disappointed and have tried less and less.

All this to say, I went out with some other moms recently and I was so sad I couldn’t just pull my boob out and feed my son. And I felt ashamed to have to make a formula bottle in front of them 😔 Between a failed induction and c section and never being able to properly breastfeed, I just feel like I’m failing sometimes. Like I could do more or could have done things differently to avoid these things. It’s hard not to be sad about them.

What are the guidelines for safe chest to chest sleep?

- a desperate for a solid chunk of sleep ftm of a 14 week old 🫠

My boy is 14 weeks and he will only sleep in contact with my husband and I. We’ve been trying the bassinet and sidecar for months and he will only sleep there in short spurts (maybe an hour or so) before he starts wiggling around uncomfortably.

I really want to try to cosleep but I have some specific questions. I’ve read the safe sleep 7.

1. I’m not exclusively breastfeeding, is this detrimental? We are combo feeding with pumped milk and formula and maybe will breastfeed once or twice a day. But it’s usually just more of a comfort thing for him.

2. My arms will get cold. Do you wear long sleeve shirts? A sweater? Do these need to be tight fitting?

3. Do you just tuck the blankets around your hips? I know they’re not supposed to come up past your waist. Or should I get one of those adult sleep sacks?

4. Can the baby sleep belly to belly? Under the crook of your arm? Or do they need to be on their back?

5. Should I invest in an owlet or nanit to feel safer?

6. I have very large breasts, could this be a problem for suffocation?

7. Want to do C-curl at night. But also curious about chest sleeping protocol as well for naps, where can I find safe chest sleeping rules?

Thank you in advance!!

Been feeling some irritation and just looked down to see redness around what I thought was a pubic hair. But on closer inspection looks like a black stitch coming out. I also felt a different tiny one a few days ago that just looked like a black dot, it isn’t bothering me now though, although you can still see it. This new one looks red and inflamed, about the size of a dime. It’s concerning me. My obgyn is closed right now with no nurse line, and I’m planning on calling as soon as they open in the morning to get it checked out!

Has this happened to anyone else? I think my body is rejecting the dissolvable stitches?!