10/31 Newborn Check In

[lilyelayne]

Welcome! Please come in and chat!


How old is LO?

How's everything going?

Questions/concerns/cute stories to share?

Is this your first experience with BF?

GTKY: what's something you're looking forward to in November?

[penguin129]

How old is LO? 1 week old

How's everything going? Hetic, but good. My schedule is so busy with HL being in the NICU. I nurse her about 10 mins on each side, then feed her a formula or breast milk supplement with a bottle, then go pump, log my milk with her nurse, and do it all over again an hour later. The nurses told me I don't have to be at every feeding and to take some time to put my feet up so I finally started listening I think Saturday. The days all run together.

Questions/concerns/cute stories to share? Well, she peed all over herself while I was changing her diaper this morning. I thought only boys did that.

Is this your first experience with BF? No, I briefly BF my first daughter, AG, for about 3 days. I had post-partum hemorrhaging so bad 24 hours after she was born I was rushed into emergency surgery to stop the bleeding. The nurses suggested I take a break and formula feed her with the bottle. I tried to get her to latch when she was about 5 days old, but she had already gotten used to the bottle. Her sister is a trooper and can go back and forth between bottle, breast, and pacifier with no issues at all.

GTKY: what's something you're looking forward to in November? Taking my sweet HL home from the NICU and having AG meet her for the first time.

[macaronmama]

How old is LO? 2 weeks, 5 days.

How's everything going?
Eh. His latch is inconsistent in the evenings and he seems to be having a growth spurt so his feedingson are off and it feels like I am not making enough milk, which probably isn't true. Also wish he wouldn't fall asleep during.

Questions/concerns/cute stories to share?
His best hungry indicator is this snort snuffle he does with a scrunched up nose. Call him my Snufflepuff.

Is this your first experience with BF? Yes.

GTKY: what's something you're looking forward to in November? Thanksgiving is my fave holiday.

[kaliRN]

Hai!

P is 11 days old.

He was born at 9#5oz and got down to 8#10oz. Today we weighed in at 8#10.5oz and he's not gaining despite a LC visit and pedi every other day. So current plan as of today is BF for 10-20 min per breast only, then pump while DH feeds him 1-2oz by bottle of breast milk. I'm feeling frustrated by the lack of gains but I'm appreciative that my supply is good. I currently have 24oz in the fridge and I make about 1-4oz per pump session depending on time of day.

FTM with first BF experience

GTKY: I lurve Thanksgiving. The food, the family, the pies! Yum!

[lilyelayne]

kaliRN sorry nursing is giving you a rough start but glad supply isn't the issue! Have you done a weighted feed (put baby in just a clean diaper, weigh on a super accurate scale like at the pedi, nurse baby, then weigh without changing diaper)? How often is LO feeding? Are you feeding on demand, doing lots of skin to skin to encourage baby to nurse? Are you working with an IBCLC?

[lilyelayne]

macaronmama remember that diaper output is the best at home indicator of getting enough milk. 6+ wet diapers and 3-4+ dirty diapers per day. The early weeks are basically back to back growth spurts so hang in there. It gets easier! You're doing great!

[hikingmama222]

How old is LO? 3.5 weeks

How's everything going? Really well! Going a little longer between feeds and not falling asleep every single time anymore!

Questions/concerns/cute stories to share?

He has been really gassy for the last week. At what point do I start looking at my diet and avoiding certain foods vs just assuming it's normal newborn gassiness? What foods should I be avoiding?

I'm home on mat leave for a year (in Canada) and plan to EBF for the year. I don't forsee being away from DS that often but probably should have some milk ready to give him if I'm gone for a few hours. When/how often should I pump to get a little freezer stash? What pump should I get? I don't want to spend much since I probably won't use it much.

Is this your first experience with BF? I tried for about 2 weeks with my daughter but it didn't work out.

GTKY: what's something you're looking forward to in November? Not much. Thanksgiving is already over for us and I usually only start getting ready for Christmas once December rolls around.

My brother is coming to visit next weekend for a week... that will be nice.

[emmyg65]

kaliRN, since your supply seems good, I wonder if it's a transfer issue. Has he been evaluated for lip/tongue tie. I'd do a weighted feed too. If he's transferring well, he might just be a slow gainer. The nurse/bottle/pump triple threat is such a PITA.

hikingmama222, you'd want to see other symptoms than just gas, like green stool with mucus or blood, eczema, hives, wheezing, etc. It's normally for newborns to be fussy and gassy. Bicycling legs or rubbing tummy help.

[hikingmama222]

Nov 1, 2016 8:02:32 GMT -5 emmyg65 said:

hikingmama222, you'd want to see other symptoms than just gas, like green stool with mucus or blood, eczema, hives, wheezing, etc. It's normally for newborns to be fussy and gassy. Bicycling legs or rubbing tummy help.

That's what I thought. He has absolutely none of those symptoms. We'll just keep trucking along.

[hummingbird125]

Do I still go here? LO is 11.5 weeks...

old is LO? Will be 12 weeks on Sat

How's everything going? Pretty good except for frequency - see question below

Questions/concerns/cute stories to share? So, LO has been gaining ok, but he is still eating SO frequently. At night, he sleeps exactly 2hrs at a time, and won't go back to sleep without eating. Is it possible he's not getting enough at each feeding to keep him full for longer than 2 hours? I'm going to experiment with giving him a 5oz bottle of pumped milk tonight, but I'll take any other suggestions. I'm going back to work on Monday and it's going to be awful if he's still waking up 3x a night...

Is this your first experience with BF? Yup

GTKY: what's something you're looking forward to in November? DS's first Thanksgiving!

[emmyg65]

hummingbird125, he could just have a fast metabolism. My guy woke 3x a night till like 14 or 15 weeks, then 2x till 9 months. Fwiw, 5 oz. is a pretty big bottle for a BF baby, especially one that little. My guy was taking 3 oz. at that age.

[hummingbird125]

Nov 1, 2016 11:34:02 GMT -5 emmyg65 said:

hummingbird125, he could just have a fast metabolism. My guy woke 3x a night till like 14 or 15 weeks, then 2x till 9 months. Fwiw, 5 oz. is a pretty big bottle for a BF baby, especially one that little. My guy was taking 3 oz. at that age.

Thanks! He does take 4oz regularly. He was born at 41+2, idk if that makes a difference

[melody330]

hummingbird125 I'm sure you don't want to hear this but my 3 month old eats every 2 hours around the clock. Even at night. I've tried to send H up to soothe him but he only wants to nurse.

He's 3 months, over 15 lbs and only takes a 2 oz bottle.

[saraml13]

How old is LO? 2 weeks 6 days

How's everything going? Ok. He's starting to stay awake for longer stretches during the day, but then has a hard time going down for a nap when he clearly needs one. He does lots of nurse, fall asleep, wake up 10 minutes later, get cranky, repeat.

Questions/concerns/cute stories to share? Not sure if this is 3 week growth spurt, getting distracted by gas, or just weird sleepy behavior, but he's been doing a lot of popping on and off the breast and kind of fighting with the nipple. Pulling back and twisting or unlatching and gumming the nipple for awhile before latching again.


Is this your first experience with BF?
I BF DS1 for a year.

GTKY: what's something you're looking forward to in November? Our annual post Thanksgiving Christmas tree cutting trip to my parents' cabin in Michigan.

[hummingbird125]

Nov 1, 2016 13:22:22 GMT -5 melody330 said:

hummingbird125 I'm sure you don't want to hear this but my 3 month old eats every 2 hours around the clock. Even at night. I've tried to send H up to soothe him but he only wants to nurse.

He's 3 months, over 15 lbs and only takes a 2 oz bottle.

That's okay! The frustrating thing is, I know he CAN go longer than that because he does during the day sometimes, and he takes 4oz whenever we give him a bottle. Bleh. I just don't know how much longer I can continue breastfeeding at this rate. I'm exhausted and that's without working.

[lilyelayne]

hikingmama222 it's recommended to wait until at least 4-6 weeks to begin pumping because your supply is still getting set up until then, and the best thing for that is nursing.
In the US, most insurances cover a double electric breast pump, but I don't know the regulations in Canada. May be worth asking about. A manual pump is much less expensive & okay for infrequent pumpers. I have the Medela Harmony manual and like it, though I use the Pumping Pals flanges. I got all of this from Amazon.
To get a little milk in the freezer, I'd pump once a day when it's convenient, doesn't have to be every day. Supply is highest in the morning. Lots of women have success nursing one side and pumping the other (simultaneously or immediately after) for the first feed. Or you can wait until LO goes down for the first nap and pump then.
It's normal to get as little as 0.25-0.5oz in a pumping session when you are also nursing full time. Some women get more. That's fine too. When you have enough and you want to try a bottle, be sure to use a slow flow nipple and paced feeding techniques. Paced feeding is about how you feed a bottle, not when - babies should always be fed on demand. Paced feeding protects against bottle preference and overfeeding. I can come back with links if you'd like.
You can try 0.5-1oz in a bottle and then nurse immediately afterward, or you can try replacing a full feed with a bottle. The general guideline is 1-1.5oz of milk per hour since last feeding. If baby takes a bottle instead of nursing, you need to pump at that time (or as close as possible) to protect your supply.

[lilyelayne]

hummingbird125 I agree with pp that waking every 2 hours is developmentally normal. Sorry. Some research shows that frequent night wakings can protect against SIDS, if that helps you feel better about it. (Not that babies who naturally sleep longer need to be woken, if past birth weight and gaining well.)
You can try getting more nursing sessions in during the day so the long stretch of sleep is at night, not a nap.
What does your night routine look like? Can you divide the night feeding labor with your partner so you get similar amounts of sleep? Partner can bring you the baby, do the burping/diaper change/rocking baby back to sleep, and you can just do the actual nursing. Have you looked into safe bedsharing if that is something that could work for you and your family? Sweet Sleep is a book by La Leche League about bedsharing & breastfeeding safely.

Definitely be sure to use slow flow nipple and paced feeding techiques when giving a bottle. 4oz is already a pretty big bottle, and 5oz is even more.

ETA: there's a growth spurt at 3 months and a wonder week / developmental leap at 12 weeks, so frequent feeds and frequent night wakings can go hand in hand with either one, much less both at once. Hang in there! You're doing great!

[lilyelayne]

saraml13 sometimes that kind of fussy behavior is baby acting out to get another letdown. Baby fussy noises and nipple stimulation can both trigger letdowns

waitwhat Congrats on baby! Newborn wanting to nurse constantly is normal. Be sure you're watching diaper counts to know baby is getting enough and keeping it down. Day 3 you should get 3+ wet diapers and 3+ dirty diapers. Day 4 should get 4+ wet diapers and 4+ dirty diapers. Since your milk is already coming in, you should see an increase to 5-6+ wet diapers in 24 hours and 3-4+ dirty diapers in 24 hours very soon.
Have you tried laid back nursing to help with strong letdown? Keeping baby upright for 20-30 minutes after a feed to see if that helps spit up? Are you burping pretty frequently during a feed?

[penguin129]

lilyelayne Thank you for that graphic.

I wonder if you could help me. When HL was in the NICU I was told to pump every 2-3 hours to help my milk come in and keep up supply. Now that we are finally home I find myself worrying about hitting the 2-3 hrs mark. HL went a stretch of 4 hours sleeping this afternoon and I was so full I decided to pump. She woke up right as I was finishing and drank the fresh milk. Should we let HL sleep long stretches like that or should we be waking her up? I nurse her and she gets bottles of formula or breast-milk. It is what she was getting in NICU. After a week of having the NICU be my guide I'm not sure how to transition out of that routine and into a new routine for home. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[LadyNymeria]

penguin129 - Our LC/Ped said until DS hit birth weight he should at least every 3 hours during the day. It was ok to go a bit longer over night. But that if we tried to wake him to feed him at the 3 hour mark, and he wouldn't wake up after 15 min, to stop trying and try again a half hour later.

Once DS hit birth weight, we didn't need to wake him to eat anymore.

[hikingmama222]

lilyelayne thanks for all the info. I don't think pumps are covered by insurance here. I'll probably just get a manual. I'm really in no rush to start pumping I'm fine doing all the feedings at this point, I'm really enjoying it actually!

[melody330]

Nov 2, 2016 17:50:09 GMT -5 waitwhat said:

Another question. Sometimes he tends to only eat one side. What should I do with the other? Pump? Just let it be and feed him from that side next time?

I have a one side nurser, definitely don't pump. Wear good nursing pads or a milk saver until your boobs get the memo!
And yes, Start from the unused side next session.

[melody330]

Nov 2, 2016 18:45:36 GMT -5 waitwhat said:

Nov 2, 2016 18:36:27 GMT -5 melody330 said:

I have a one side nurser, definitely don't pump. Wear good nursing pads or a milk saver until your boobs get the memo!
And yes, Start from the unused side next session.

what's a milk saver?!

It catches the leaking milk from the side your not nursing on!

Milkies Milk-Saver Breast Milk Collector Storage BPA Free www.amazon.com/dp/B001SMBRWO/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awd_x_KgVgybWS8C03V

[emmyg65]

penguin129, babies need to eat every 2-3 hours till they regain birthweight. After that, you can follow their lead more. But I wouldn't generally let them go longer than 3-4 hours during the day without eating.

waitwhat, you should find the engorgement gets better over the next few days. If they're really, really painful, you can hand express just till you're comfortable again, but it's generally better to leave them alone so your body can figure out the best supply.