Dehydrated....my baby is 2 1/2 weeks old and is yellow?

Question

I took my newborn in for his 2 week check up on monday, he was yellow , did biliruben test and it was high. dr told me to stop breastfeeding for 2 days and supplement with formula. did it and my newborns jaundice is going away.

The dr told me that he was dehydrated thats why he was yellow. he asked if i had enough milk....i think i do...after each feeding im still leaking!!

im so sad now because i dont think my milk is good and i dont want to give him formula i want to continue to breastfeed!!

does anyone know of anything i can eat or drink to make my milk "good"? i asked the dr and he said no but i think there is

i do eat healthy just incase anyone asks!!

im so hurt and sad please!!any advice would be appreciated

Answer 1

Man my son had extremely high bibiruben levels and he had to be under blue lights for a week. We had a nurse come every day and poke his foot for blood and it was the most horrible thing I have ever experienced. He is yellow because he has jaundice, which is why his biliruben tests were so high. My sons were 19. And it freaked me out bad. The doc told me to put him in direct sunlight when he wasn't in the blue lights. The first day after the blue lights he started making yellow poo, which meant the jaundice was leaving his body. I never had the doc tell me to stop breastfeeding, but I guess every doc is different. Wait a week or two to make sure the jaundice is gone and have faith in you self. Its not your milk that made him sick. My son was born 3 weeks early and the doc said maybe that was why he had it. I'm sorry for the stress and pain your going thru but it will get better. So maybe ask your doc about those blue lights. It came in a suitcase with lights on the top lid and the bottom was cushioned for him to lay on. It had a partition for the top part of his head and I had to put soft goggles on him so the lights wouldn't hurt his eyes.

Answer 2

First of all jaundice is cause by the break down of red blood cells, which produces bilirubin. Bilirubin is usually filtered in the liver and then expelled from the body. Your baby may just have a little more bilirubin than his new tiny liver can keep up with. The more the baby eats and poops the more bilirubin that is expelled. If the baby's bilirubin was that high the doctor should have admitted him for photo therapy. If the bilirubin starts to go down with more frequent feeds and a little sun light, there is no reason you should stop nursing. The only reason your doctor should ask you to stop is if the problem continues to worsen with other treatment. And even then it should just be temporarily. I would suggest finding a new doctor that is more supportive of breastfeeding. There is nothing wrong with your milk. If the baby is having an appropriate amount of wet diapers then he is getting enough. Just check and make sure the baby is latching on correctly. Also you could pump after he eats. This way you have some in case you need it. Also look for a lactation consultant they can be great help!! You are doing wonderful!! Keep it up!!

Answer 3

Your Doctor doesn't know what he is talking about. You have to remember most are not lactation experts - you need to start breastfeeding again asap! If jaundice was that bad - he should have recommended photo-therapy at the hospital. Not stopping nursing! There is nothing wrong with your milk! Oh my goodness! Your doctor is crazy. Dehydration symptoms are significantly different!
Your newborn has jaundice due to biliruben - sunlight or light therapy will help. Take all clothing off baby, hold in a blanket and stand in front of a window (if you can't go outside) with him for several minutes every day. If that doesn't work, take to the hospital and let them put him under their lights.
Jaundice is very common in newborns, esp breastfed newborns, but it's very manageable too - babies recover quickly!
Run from that doctor asap and find another who encourages breastfeeding - this guy is a quack! Also - contact your local Le Leche League or a lactation consultant. They will tell you the same thing I did.
I have breastfed 4 babies up to 13 mos and used midwives for all of my care, pediatricians for the babies'. None of them would have ever said anything like, "You have bad milk" - they all encouraged nursing "on demand" and said to breastfeed exclusively for 6 mos and this was back in the 90's!!!

Answer 4

well my daughter had jaundice and she was also put on formula but i also put her in her bassinet by the window with just a diaper at least 3 times a day while she napped this helped it go faster. if you are worried about milk production it sounds like u are making enough but your baby might be like mine she was a very slow eater and i was taking her off before she was satisfied that could be part of your problem also. what i did is what every women in my family has done for years to have richer milk and it is a drink that you make you can buy it at any grocery store it is called MAIZENA and they have a lot of different flavors i did notice after taking this drink for a while milk became thicker i don't know if it will work for you but it's worth a try. you can also give your baby a bottle of water in between feedings even if he/she drinks a little bit it will help his dehydration well that's my advise hope everything turns out good and that u find this help full

Answer 5

It is not that your milk is "bad" it is just that the baby has a liver that is a little slow. It is easier for the liver to digest formula. When our son was born with jaundice and dehydration they had me pump and dump until his liver functioned better. We breastfed til he was 14 months old, and he is a very healthy boy. They say that boys have a higher tendency. Babies who take formula can also get this. Just relax. It was not your fault and your little boy just needs some time to develop his liver a little bit more. Just make sure you pump just as many times as he is eating so you do not lose your milk supply. You will have a healthy baby just keep doing what the dr says. Best of luck!
The formula is only better becasue it makes your boy poop more which is how they get rid of the extra billirubin that has built up.

Answer 6

My daughter was so juandiced, they would not let us leave the hospital. The best thing to do is to but him to breast as much as possible. Nurse, and then nurse some more! This will increase your milk production and give your baby the nutrition needed to help get rid of the juandice. My doctor never recommended that I feed my daughter formula. He only told me to breastfeed a minimum of every 2 hours, and to make sure she was latched on and feeding properly. Formula is not necessary to get rid of jaundice, but you have to make sure baby is getting enough to eat. Is he eating long enough? My daughter kept falling asleep, and was therefore not nursing well. My pediatrician suggested that I undress her down to her diaper, and tickle her feet to keep her awake during a feeding.
I felt bad too, like I had done something wrong. However, doctors now say that most babies develop jaundice, and it has nothing to do with your breastmilk. There is nothing wrong with your milk. Keep breastfeeding! Supplement with formula if you feel that it is necessary, but keep breastfeeding and pumping (you can get a manuel pump; they are fairly inexpensive) to encourage your milk supply. Good luck to you.

Answer 7

dont listen to the doctor, ur milk has nothing to do with ur child having jaundice, i have 2 kids, but none had it. my friends son was VERY jaundice, and she ONLY breastfeed, and he was in only his pampers for about a week, in sunligh, or bright light in the house. i don't know why the doctor told u to give him formula??? what is that gonna do? make sure u pump while not feeding him , before the milk dries out... i would stop the formula asap though...and like others said, drink alot of water, and eat healthy.

please dont listen to the doc telling u not to breastfeed!!! so upsetting. U have nothing to feel bad about sweety. nothing is wrong with ur milk, well sometimes women have less milk then others, but that's ok. u wll know if ur baby is having alot by looking at his wet diapers, is he peeing alot? if so, u better believe he is getting lots of milk. talk to someone in person, la leche leage is best. find any woman/nurse, who can help u to check the baby suckling, to make sure he is latched on, that way u will also know for sure that he is getting alot.

Ok...enough said. i hope u feel better now...:)

Answer 8

The same thing happened to my sister. Within a few days the jaundice went away and she went on nursing as usual. It does help, however, to place the baby in bright light, eyes covered. My niece used to sleep under an office lamp with a tiny pair of goggles on. Her condition cleared up in 2-3 days.

I don't know the cause of the jaundice, has something to do with the liver, but I don't have any doubt that you are a wonderful mom and that you eat healthy food just so you can pass it on to your baby. This is not your fault!!

Congratulations on the birth of your baby!!

TX Mom
Debbie

P.S. My niece is 5'9" 120 lbs and absolutely gorgeous. She wore a red dress with strappy sparkly red high heels to her first homecoming dance last week. She's 17, and was not harmed by the jaundice in any way.

Answer 9

Hi, the best thing to do is feed feed feed, this will increase your milk, Please don't give up so many people do in first few weeks, My daughter is 16 weeks and I'm still breast feeding after many problems. I took fenugreek capsules which helped with the volume of milk, I also now take motilium tablets, which are meant for upset tummies, they contain domperidone which stimulates the milk supply, I went to see my G.P ( I live in the U.K) and asked for them on prescription and although this isn't what they are licenced for he was happy to prescribe them. Try and relax, my little girl also had quite bad "breast feeding jaundice" but it went within a month, like I say keep feeding on demand and if your baby is not feeding often enough then try and express milk. The more you stimulate your breasts the more milk you will produce, save any expressed milk you offer as top ups after a breast feed. Good luck, Dianne

Answer 10

I had 3 kids and all of my kids were Jaundice, but my pediatrician never suggested to me to stop breastfeeding. But the recommendation was to place him in the sunlight. I found a warm spot in my house where the sunlight shined in so I stripped him down to his diaper and had him lay in the sunlight, only one of my kids had to go to the hospital and be put under the UV lights. But it has nothing to do with your milk being not good, its gets the baby's liver having a hard time breaking up the bilirubin, it will take a week or too and then your baby won't be yellow anymore.