From Triple Feeding to Almost Exclusively Breastfeeding: One Family's Journey

Guest blog by Francesca

In this guest blog, Francesca shares her family's feeding journey, from the challenges of the early weeks and triple feeding to eventually achieving almost exclusive breastfeeding. Thank you to Francesca for sharing her story so openly, in the hope that it might offer encouragement to other families facing similar challenges.

Our hopes and early challenges

Before our baby was born, as first-time parents, we attended antenatal classes with Andrea and had the intention to breastfeed, hoping this would work for us, but at the same time trying to keep an open mind.

Our son was born by a planned caesarean section. Immediately after birth, we began trying to express colostrum. Over the first 24 hours, we continued both offering the breast, with no successful latch, and hand expressing/pumping with limited success. After discussion with the midwives, we decided to give him some formula whilst continuing to try getting him to latch onto the breast, hoping to move towards breastfeeding.

Unfortunately, feeding remained difficult for the next 24 hours and, after having no sleep and having heard conflicting opinions in the hospital, we were keen to get home, hoping things would improve with some rest, my milk supply ‘coming in’ and being in a more relaxed environment.

Early Days at Home

Following our ‘Day 1’ visit with a midwife at home, we were still unable to achieve a successful latch, and so we decided to reach out to Andrea for support, knowing that early intervention was important.

After explaining the challenges we were facing, Andrea recommended that we try and get an appointment with a cranial osteopath as soon as possible, as she suspected there could be some tension issues, alongside arranging a visit herself so she could give some face-to-face support.

We were fortunate to secure an appointment with Chloe Savage the next evening, and during the appointment she identified significant tension through our baby’s jaw and neck. She carried out treatment and recommended at least one follow-up session.

Andrea visited us on day three at home, spending considerable time going over everything. Although we could not get our baby to latch during the visit, she left us with a realistic plan moving forward, along with making a referral for suspected tongue-tie.

She also carried out a breast pump flange fitting, which made pumping more comfortable.

One of the reasons we chose private support was to have consistency and ongoing guidance from one person without having to repeat the history with every new healthcare professional that we spoke to, as in those few early days this had become quite exhausting in itself. By this stage we had also been referred to the infant feeding team due to concerns around post-birth weight loss.

Perseverance & Triple Feeding

At around three weeks old, we went to the hospital for the suspected tongue-tie appointment. We were told the tongue-tie was mild, and they were unsure whether releasing it would make any difference to breastfeeding, but we felt it was another potential barrier removed, so decided to go ahead with the release.

Within the next few weeks, we also attended two further osteopath appointments, but sadly breastfeeding still wasn't happening.

We were determined to persevere in the short term, so for seven weeks most feeds followed the same pattern:

• Offer the breast first

• Give previously expressed breast milk

• Top up with formula

• Pump again to prepare milk for the next feed

  
  

It was relentless and time-consuming, and we were getting to the point where we knew that if there was no improvement soon, then we would have exhausted everything and would move to solely formula feeding.

Gradual Progress!

At around 8–9 weeks old, we started achieving the occasional successful latch, then another and another.

Over the following weeks, I continued offering the breast at most feeds while using formula top-ups and pumping.

When our baby was around 10 weeks old, I returned to Andrea for some further help as I was experiencing some pain whilst breastfeeding. With some minor adjustments to positioning, breastfeeding became much more comfortable.

Where Are We Now?

Very slowly, we reduced the formula top-ups, and by the end of May, we were down to one or two small top-up formula feeds per day.

Looking back, it has been a very intense journey. Reversing weeks of triple feeding and building breastfeeding from such a difficult starting point has taken a long time and required serious determination, so I am incredibly proud of how far we have come.

We cannot pinpoint one particular thing that suddenly helped us turn a corner. Instead, improvements came from a combination of time, practice, professional breastfeeding support, osteopathy and tongue-tie release.

What’s next?

We are continuing to breastfeed and at some stage we may be able to stop the formula top

ups, however there is absolutely no pressure to do so. As long as our baby is happy and

healthy that is most important and there has definitely been positives in him taking a bottle

too.

A message to others

Something we have learned through this experience is that something that you think should

come naturally isn’t necessarily easy. We were always open-minded about how our baby

would be fed but once our baby was born, we wanted to try everything we could to try and

breastfeed and see where it led.

If you're currently struggling with latching, supplementing with formula, pumping around the

clock, or wondering whether things can improve, our experience shows that progress can

happen even after a difficult start. At the same time, every feeding journey is different and

what matters most is finding an approach that works for you, your baby and your family.

Preparing to breastfeed?

If you're expecting a baby and wondering what you can do to prepare for breastfeeding, take a look at my article How to Prepare For Breastfeeding Before Your Baby Arrives, where I share practical advice to help you get off to a good start.