really upset about breastfeeding?
i have to give up breastfeeding and im very upset about it. my daughter is a month old and i had planned on breastfeeding for at least six months. However i have blood pressure and heart problems so my cardiologist put me back on all my medications. I was trying to put them off for bf. i feel like a failure and that she only got to bf for one month. what formula is the best choice? and how do i not become engorged.. i cant have her feed off me anymore
im on midodrine which is a vasoconstictor, flonief a steriod, and a beta blocker. they also want to start hydration therapy on me with a PICC line within the next month
o yeah and Mestinon
Tagged with: best choice • beta blocker • bf • blood pressure • cardiologist • failure • heart problems • medications • midodrine • picc line • six months • steriod
Filed under: how to lower blood pressure
I’m so sorry you are having health issues. You are definitely not a failure. You gave your baby all you could and she got benefits from it. Your pediatrician can recommend a good formula for you. The basic ones are Similac, Enfamil, and Carnation Good Start. Now you need to take care of yourself so you are healthy for your daughter. Wear a tight bra with cabbage leaves in them to help you dry up (the enzymes in cabbage hasten drying up). If you absolutely have to drain your breasts a little because of pain, do as little as possible in a hot shower to be comfortable. It will take time, so hang in there. Just DON"T fully pump your breasts because it is a supply-demand system. If there is no demand, the supply will lessen until gone. Good luck!
First off your not a failure for not breastfeeding anymore. These things happen and unfortunately there’s not much you can do about it. It’s important for you to stay healthy so that you can be there for your child so don’t feel guilty at all. Secondly she got the really good stuff out of you! The first month of breastfeeding has SO many good vitamins and nutrients in it (like your colostrum is packed with good stuff) so she’s lucky that she got all the really good milk from you from the beginning! I also breastfed for 4 weeks then had to switch to formula and I switched to the Enfamil A+, it’s the closest to breastmilk and in my opinion tastes the closest to breastmilk. My daughter had no problem switching (we also tried the Gentleease and Good Start and she wouldn’t eat either) so that’s what I would recommend for formula. As for not becoming engorged, the first day I massaged and pumped every 4 hours but only enough to empty my breasts a little bit so they didn’t hurt as much (maybe about 2 ounces per breast), then the next day stretched it out to every 5 hours until eventually I was just pumping once at night. After about a week I didn’t have to worry about it anymore. If you don’t have a pump you can always hand express. I don’t know if this is the "proper" way to wean but it worked for me. Good luck!
Your body will stop producing milk when it becomes obvious that you’re no longer nursing. Your breasts will return to normal. But I’m afraid that I can’t help out with the formula suggestion.
Ask your pediatrician. Every baby is different and your may need some suppliment we don’t know about or she may develope an allergy. This is why you have him to help with this sort of stuff. You need something very gentle on her tummy and I’d recommend DHA if you can.
I know what you mean about feeling like a failure, you know logically its not your fault but us moms are so hard on ourselves. I had my baby ten weeks early and I just kept saying, "I’ll never forgive myself." She’s a year old and took her first steps today. You’ll get over the ‘failure’ when you see her happy and healthy.
What exact medication are you on?
You can email me if you don’t want to say on here. Most doctors will advise against breastfeeding while taking medications without actually finding out if the medication is suitable or not.
I have a great reference book by Thomas Hale. It is called Medication and Mothers milk. If you give me a list of the medications you are taking I can tell you if they are suitable with breastfeeding.
Here are some sites with some general medications maybe the ones that you are taking is on here. http://www.babycenter.com/0_drug-safety-during-breastfeeding_8790.bc
http://www.kellymom.com/health/meds/aap-approved-meds.html
The first 2 are rated an
L3 which is moderatly safe
The last one is an L2 which is safer
If you really want to breastfeed you could ask your doctor if there are other medications that are rated in the L2 category that you could take in place of the L3.
Here is a link to Dr. Hales website http://neonatal.ama.ttuhsc.edu/cgi-bin/discus/discus.cgi?pg=topics&access=guest
You should double check and triple check to see if you can still breastfeed, or see if there is another medication that is safe with breastfeeding. Talk to your pediatrician, they will know for sure if you can safely breastfeed on that medication.
Kellysmom.com has a huge list of all the safe medications to take, including blood pressure and heart medications.