u/Disastrous_Flower311

I planned on breastfeeding so I didn’t look into pumping that much when I bought my pumps (prior to baby girl being born). I bought a medela hand pump and Momcozy V2 Pro wearable pump. My thought was to exclusively breastfeed at first, then start pumping so my husband could give bottles. That didn’t pan out because of a NICU stay and some other issues, so I’ve been exclusively pumping since day 2.

I keep reading online that wearables shouldn’t be your primary pump as they’re not effective for milk transfer. I’m currently 6 weeks pp and I’ve never had an issue with supply. I pump regularly with my wearables and produce enough to feed my baby plus a little extra (about 6oz per day or so) that I freeze. I would love to freeze a bit more, but I’m worried about creating a big oversupply so I haven’t tried too hard to increase my supply.

Since wearables seem to be working for me right now, is there are any problem continuing to use just my wearables? Or will I be screwing myself up for once my supply regulates?

First, we’re seeing a paediatrician about this and we have a game plan. I’m not looking for medical advice, just insight from anyone who may have gone through something similar.

Our girl came out big at 10lbs and had a big appetite. She was in the NICU for the first 4-5 days of her life and was bottle fed and they kept giving her bottles with faster and faster flow and she was eating a lot of her age. She got back up to birth weight fast and her weight was trending was so well. Then around the 2 week mark she started having some issues with what we think is/was silent reflux. Feeding became more difficult and she stopped gaining weight as fast. She would cry on the bottle and was so fussy, plus all the symptoms of silent reflux. I exclusively pump and she receives breastmilk by bottle. We were told to increase the nipple flow (she’s struggling to finish and falling asleep on the bottle!) and decrease the nipple flow (slower flow is better for reflux) and we honestly struggled a lot to find the right flow for her. We finally feel like we have the perfect bottles with the perfect flow (when she eats, she eats a good amount in a good amount of time), but she’s still not eating right…

Sometimes she falls asleep while eating. Sometimes she stops eating halfway through a bottle and just plays with the nipple, sucking on it but not actually sucking and spitting it out. She’ll have 2oz in a good amount of time but then spend 20 minutes playing on the bottle and maybe have another 0.5-1oz. We’ve gotten into the habit of feeding her constantly throughout the day just hoping she’ll eat as much as she’s supposed to, but clearly she’s not because her weight gain is below the threshold.

The paediatrician gave us a medication for reflux and also told us to limit her feeds to every 3 hours because she’s likely tired from eating so often. The problem is she screams for more food every 1.5-2 hours during the day because she just doesn’t get enough in a single feed. We pushed it at her last feed and got to almost 3 hours and she again ate less than she should be for her weight. She ate a lot at a good speed then was suddenly just done. She was wide awake but playing with the bottle. I’m at a loss, I have no idea what to do. It’s not like it’s a supply issue or latch issue. I genuinely don’t know what the problem is and how to fix it.

For reference she’s 5 weeks 5 days old, currently weighs 11lbs 1oz, was 9lbs 15oz at birth. We’re using Philips Avent Anti-Colic bottles with nipple flow 2 (for 1m+).

I’m a FTM and my baby is 5 weeks. I feel like everyone else has it more together than I do. I have lots of support (family, friends, and husband is off work for 6 months), but I still feel like I’m drowning. Specifically, I’m so scared to take my baby anywhere or do anything with her. There’s a small festival I’m supposed to go to tomorrow and someone I know is bringing her 2 year old and 3 week old to it, but I’m so scared to just bring my girl. So far our only outings have been to the doctor and chiropractor, or short walks around the neighbourhood. Yesterday I walked to a nearby Subway to pick up dinner and she started crying in the store and I felt so overwhelmed. My family keeps asking us to come visit like it’s no big deal but it feels like a big deal to me. My only other reference point is a friend who had perfect angel babies who never cried, she was going out and hosting parties within weeks postpartum. I also know someone who had a baby a week before me and it looks like they’re already doing outings. On a side note, I literally can’t figure out baby wearing. I have 3 different carriers and each time I try to put her in one she has a meltdown and I feel like I’m doing it wrong and hurting her. It means I’m always nap trapped with her and can’t do anything else unless my husband takes over and that feels overwhelming too. I just want to be one of those moms who takes her baby out and handles everything well and throws her in a carrier and baby wears her if she starts getting fussy. I just feel like I’m failing.