Hey ladies! I've been having a tough go at this breastfeeding thing so would love any suggestions/advise. Friday C was 11 days old and still hadn't gained any of the weight she lost (born 7'4, Friday 6'6). Queue breakdown in pedi office and he recommended we pump/supplement. He's no LC so definitely didn't give me exact advise on timing. I also have something going on with my right nipple, thought it was a clogged milk duct but I've tried massage in hot shower, warm compress before bf/pump, ice after feeding, but it is still there. It has made breastfeeding so painful and while I am still doing it, I'm not for every feeding. She's been getting bottles of breast milk with a top off of formula to bring it to 2 ounces every 3 hours. I can already tell her latch has suffered as a result of the bottles but I can tell she has already gained weight, and I also love knowing exactly how much she is getting. I'm pumping every 2 hours (3 MOTN) to try and improve my supply which has gone up slightly but still not enough for her. Any advise on what to do? Planning on trying to see LC or OB Mon to address.
Hey ladies! I've been having a tough go at this breastfeeding thing so would love any suggestions/advise. Friday C was 11 days old and still hadn't gained any of the weight she lost (born 7'4, Friday 6'6). Queue breakdown in pedi office and he recommended we pump/supplement. He's no LC so definitely didn't give me exact advise on timing. I also have something going on with my right nipple, thought it was a clogged milk duct but I've tried massage in hot shower, warm compress before bf/pump, ice after feeding, but it is still there. It has made breastfeeding so painful and while I am still doing it, I'm not for every feeding. She's been getting bottles of breast milk with a top off of formula to bring it to 2 ounces every 3 hours. I can already tell her latch has suffered as a result of the bottles but I can tell she has already gained weight, and I also love knowing exactly how much she is getting. I'm pumping every 2 hours (3 MOTN) to try and improve my supply which has gone up slightly but still not enough for her. Any advise on what to do? Planning on trying to see LC or OB Mon to address.
I'm sorry you're having a tough go. My first thought on the nipple issue was also milk bleb, the link posted above has good advice if that's what it turns out to be. With the bottles, are you using the slowest flow possible and doing paced feeding? kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/feeding-tools/bottle-feeding/ This may help keep baby from developing a poor latch or preference for bottles while you work with an LC to get everything established.
@amc25 and amandamh2 thanks for the info! I initially thought it was a milk bleb too bc I had a white spot on my nipple but now it's gone and the pain feels a little deeper so I was thinking milk duct. It seems treatment is pretty similar for both so I'm going to keep on and hope it helps. Kellymom seems to have a ton of resources so im gonna look through all that. Been doing Mother's milk tea and lactation cookies but may have to increase the supplements. Have a slow flow nipple but gonna go out today and get a few more, silly me didn't think I'd need bottles for a while.
I'm so glad I happened to come in here and click that link, because I def have a milk blister. I thought it was just that my nipple was super sensitive (and maybe cracking) but glad to know I can do something specific.
Would eating hommade oatmeal cookies help with supply? I've tried to make oatmeal for breakfast but I don't like it enough to do it everyday.
Fenugreek tea seems to upset ds' stomach so I'm cutting it out again. Its either the tea or milk. I worry about trying the other momma milk teas in case they will also cause him problems.
My supply still hasn't increased much despite pumping 8-10x a day for 20-30 min each session. Baby usually only takes the breast once a day if I'm lucky but I try before each feed.
I am desperate to be able to pump more than 2-3 oz each session to give me some freedom from my pumping schedule. I have no back up and I'm always pumping just enough for the next feed. At night he gets more formula because he eats so much between 8-1am and I can't keep up. I sleep 10-1am while H does his baby shift for the day.
In general, EAT. Don't worry about weight loss, eat all the things. Drink water like you're still pregnant. Your body needs calories to make milk and it's easier while hydrated, too.
ETA also, skin-to-skin helps signal your body to make milk. Snuggle that baby whenever you can, right up on your naked boobs. I know this isn't always practical but when you can, do it.
Post by erinshelley21 on Apr 4, 2017 9:07:05 GMT -5
mikaela20 I've been drinking Gatorade pretty regularly too and that seems to help. When Dh made my lactation bites, he put flaxseed in them. I think you're supposed to use flaxseed meal and I'm not sure what the difference is but I think the bites worked.
I have flaxseed meal and oatmeal - now I have to find time to make something.
I do drink water constantly but eating is sometimes hard. I don't get enough time to get anything hearty going so I do end up snacking all day without true meals. I don't feel like I have a big appetite either. But maybe with some cookies and bites it will help get my calories up.
I have flaxseed meal and oatmeal - now I have to find time to make something.
I do drink water constantly but eating is sometimes hard. I don't get enough time to get anything hearty going so I do end up snacking all day without true meals. I don't feel like I have a big appetite either. But maybe with some cookies and bites it will help get my calories up.
It's okay to let him cry for a few while you get a meal made. You can't feed him if you can't feed yourself
I have flaxseed meal and oatmeal - now I have to find time to make something.
I do drink water constantly but eating is sometimes hard. I don't get enough time to get anything hearty going so I do end up snacking all day without true meals. I don't feel like I have a big appetite either. But maybe with some cookies and bites it will help get my calories up.
With DS, one friend baked me the most amazing lactation cookies. They included chocolate chips, nuts, oatmeal, flax seed, and bacon grease. I'm sure each cookie was a zillion calories, but they were delicious and seemed to help.
mikaela20 fenugreek upsets my tummy too. Well it did with DS so I haven't even tried this time. I eat oatmeal when I can but also make lactation cookies that include oats, flaxseed meal, and brewers yeast. It's the first recipe that comes up if you Google lactation cookie. Be sure to drink lots of water and that you're getting enough protein, especially if you're snacking more than eating full meals. I struggled with supply with DS so am taking lots of precautions this time around to make sure to keep my supply up.
Post by erinshelley21 on Apr 5, 2017 7:24:16 GMT -5
meggypoo1 I don't know about what you can eat but I think with bf'ing it's more about what you don't want to eat. Let me see if I can find the picture I saw on Pinterest.
meggypoo1 I don't know about what you can eat but I think with bf'ing it's more about what you don't want to eat. Let me see if I can find the picture I saw on Pinterest.
I pretty much figured that but I am really not sure what I ate to make him suddenly so uncomfortable.
ladytiffany24 I do what ugaqueencity does during the day. At night I burp for about 10 mins (patting) and keep her upright for a total of 30-35 mins after eating. I attempt to reposition her without waking her during that time in hopes that a gas bubble will escape. Sometimes she just doesn't burp, though.
Nipple pain. Help! This has probably been covered already so I'm sorry for a repeat but there's a lot of pages to read through now.
DD is 4 days old and nursing overall is going much better than it did with dd1. My milk came in on the night of day 2 and she was only down 5% from birth weight at 3 days, but I think there were/are some latch issues (Dr didn't mention anything about tongue/lip ties at her appt yesterday). Nursing on the left side is generally fine (a tiny bit of soreness at latch but I think it's just my boobs getting used to nursing again).
The right side, though, is miserable. After a couple mins the pain is mostly gone, but I'm crying (like sudden outburst can't stop it crying) from the pain every time. Mostly, I'm looking for advice on how to deal with the pain while my nipple heals. It looks fine but I'm wondering if it's a crack b/c OMG it hurts and I cringe just knowing I have to nurse on that side. Any advice? I'm working on making sure her latch is good and will be calling the LC today or tomorrow.
Post by kristhegirl on Apr 6, 2017 14:24:47 GMT -5
kaits8 try different holds on that side so the latch is slightly different - even switching between cradle and football each time might help.
I had a tiny abrasion from an accidental bite after my daughter's teeth came in (she got startled by a noise.) I would squeeze a tiny bit of bm out when she was done nursing, rub it on my nipple, then blow it dry. Breast milk has magical healing properties - not really, but kind of. This also helped early on when I was just trying to get used to nursing.
So, not really a "feeding" question per say but...
I did not breast feed either of my children. With DS I got mastitis at 4 or so weeks. I guess I just had trouble drying up.
This time I was more careful while drying up and I have had any leaking or hard spots in like...2 weeks maybe. But my left boob is leaking a little again. I'm worried I'm going to get an infection again.
Should I go back to my drying up routine or am I most likely safe this far out?
Post by kristhegirl on Apr 6, 2017 15:24:51 GMT -5
@priss08 I'd go back and actively try to dry out, especially with your history. Up all the drying foods, tight bra, no nipple simulation, etc etc. Overkill is way better than mastitis again.
Then Comes Family, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising
program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.