Breastfeeding thread II

[katelou]

I thought I'd make a new thread instead of bumping the only one...

Anyone struggling with distracted or otherwise high-maintenance babies?

With DD1, around 4 months we got to the point of only being able to nurse in her room or the car. It was fine and worked well, but felt kind of limiting.

Baby R has become a giant diva and does not want to nurse in the car at all, which is basically a disaster. This morning she hadn't nursed since 2 am (she also doesn't like to eat right after waking up and we had to take DD1 to school) and kept refusing and freaking out when I offered in the car. At 8:45 it ended in a battle of the wills where I had to get her almost to sleep to get her to eat. Argghhhh. How do I make the car an acceptable nursing spot?

[melody330]

Oh man! Add us to this list. B was up all night demanding boob. Then...he was on a nursing strike for five hours. I eventually won that battle and he's napping on the boob.

As for hating the car nursing - is there enough room? Too hot? Cold?

Can you nurse her outside? I get the distractable thing. DS1 was like this. I use to wear a zip up sweatshirt or a cardigan and sort of cover the top of his head with it so he wouldn't be distracted by what was going on over my shoulder.

[acorn99]

katelou, will she nurse under a cover? If it is a distraction thing maybe that would help.

[madamewaffles]

Distracted baby here too. I was ready to smack MH when he decided during bedtime nursing session would be a great time to take out the trash and recycling. Literally after I said, "Jaysus, every little noise, he has to see what's up." I think I will try a cover again, even so I don't think he likes it.

[ellebelle]

We've entered distracted nursing too. She basically just ends up snacking here and there during the day because of it. I have started bringing her up to her room if there's a lot going on and she needs to eat.

Have you seen this katelou? Don't know if any of the suggestions will help. kellymom.com/ages/older-infant/distractible-baby/

[comicSans]

Yes, distracted nursing. He's smiles and goofs at me or is looking around to see what big sister is doing. The last 2 times I tried to nurse in the car were disasters - he just smiled at me and looked around and wouldn't latch and then I drove home with a screaming, hungry baby.

I usually nurse him when he wakes up and since he's been napping in the swing now, that's been in his room. That consistency seems to help.

If he really won't latch, I just stop and try again in half an hour. Usually once he's really really hungry he'll get down to business so there's no sense in letting myself get frustrated trying to make him latch when he's distracted.

[jenn83]

Yep +1 here. But she gets distracted and keeps my nipple in her mouth as her head swings around. Ouch!!

[tikoberry99]

M has been smiling and giggling during nursing sessions and started punching my boob as well! Def seeing an increase in distractions.

M has started to reject bottles too...so much fun!

[madamewaffles]

tikoberry99, sorry about the bottle refusal! A is grabbing for his bottles and won't eat if the person feeding him doesn't let him hold it himself. The catch is, he's not coordinated enough yet so inevitably he's poking himself in the eye with the nipple, dropping it on his face, and then getting mad that it's not working. He got his fiercely independent gene from his mama, obviously.

[rungirlrun]

My confession is I can't wait to wean. Breastfeeding is going well - there are absolutely no issues. I'm not going to go to formula, but I want my body back. I want to be able to leave E and not have to bring a pump or limit my time away. And most of all is when I weaned my older son at 14 months he and my H got really close. I hate that I'm the only one who can soothe this baby so I hope when he's weaned, he and my H will develop the same bond my H has with DS1.

[melody330]

Nov 2, 2016 16:48:05 GMT -5 rungirlrun said:

My confession is I can't wait to wean. Breastfeeding is going well - there are absolutely no issues. I'm not going to go to formula, but I want my body back. I want to be able to leave E and not have to bring a pump or limit my time away. And most of all is when I weaned my older son at 14 months he and my H got really close. I hate that I'm the only one who can soothe this baby so I hope when he's weaned, he and my H will develop the same bond my H has with DS1.

I'm right there with you! I hope that isn't a confession.

Ds1 was fiercely attached to nursing and weaned at 25 months because I was pregnant and made him stop. It was really hard. I'm going to try some thugs differently with B as he approaches one and hope he self weans around then. DNW to nurse for another two years. Who know- maybe I'll feel differently when the time comes.

I can say that after a year it so so much easier because you don't have to pump when you're apart, and still can NOD.

But yes, I want my body back. I've basically been nursing for three straight years at this point. Oof.

[sarcaztic10]

S has a one track mind when nursing. He is totally focused and I hope that doesn't change.

I am the other side of the coin and I love nursing S. I love that I can provide something that H just can't do. Maybe my feelings will change later but for right now I can see us going past a year if S wants.

[tikoberry99]

Nov 2, 2016 17:51:44 GMT -5 sarcaztic10 said:

S has a one track mind when nursing. He is totally focused and I hope that doesn't change.

I am the other side of the coin and I love nursing S. I love that I can provide something that H just can't do. Maybe my feelings will change later but for right now I can see us going past a year if S wants.

Totally this! Bf is the first freaking thing my body has done right! It feels good after dealing with infertility and having all the medical intervention. I plan to let M self wean.

[rungirlrun]

sarcaztic10, tikoberry99, yes there is a big part of me that feels so badass knowing that my body is solely responsible for all of E's growth and development. And I'm very thankful that I'm able to breastfeed. For me, it definitely got easier and more enjoyable the older DS1 got, but I can say I was sad for about a day after I weaned him. Then it was just really nice to have a period of time when I wasn't pregnant, nursing, or trying to get pregnant. It was so freeing, and I can't wait for that feeling again! But who knows, I'll report back how I'm feeling around his 1st birthday. I'm sure my emotions will be all over the place.

[mcktymck]

+1 to distracted nursing! Sam acts like he's always so excited to see me as soon as I plop him on. He's constantly unlatching to smile or talk to me, never stops flailing his arms and legs around, if I talk to H he'll pop his mouth off and stare at me, it's so hard to get him to just latch on and eat.

tikoberry99 Sam has completely stopped taking bottles over the past couple weeks, it's so frustrating! We already went through the PITA effort trying to find a bottle/nipple he would take when he was a few weeks old, whyyy are we having this issue again. And of course it's right when he decided he needs to stop sleeping through the night and is up multiple times (atrb_partsz)

And another +1 to wanting to bf forevaaa. I love when Sam gets sleepy while nursing and just curls into me half/completely asleep and eats, making his cute little noises. The thought of him one day not needing to nurse makes me sad. My goal is to make it at least a year and would love to leave it up to Sam, but I'm already getting negative comments about it from H and my SIL. They're both in the camp of if the kid can walk and talk they shouldn't be nursing. I don't plan on doing it to the point where Sam's all "hey ma, feed me", but I also don't want to cut him off early just to make others happy.

Is anyone elses baby still nursing every 1-1.5 hours? I feel like it's still all I do, and I really thought we'd be going longer stretches by now.

[rungirlrun]

E still nurses constantly during the day (not as frequently at night). It's probably more my fault bc I do not know how to comfort him without nursing. I nurse when he's hungry, upset, in pain, bored, and really whenever I don't know what else to do with him. It was the same way w my older one and only decreased around 9 months when I was giving him more solids bc I was over nursing so much. I think my kids have fast metabolisms and also poop a lot (as babies) so they are always hungry. Not really helpful, but I'm in the same boat.

[sarcaztic10]

I have officially become super lazy at night and only nurse S while lying on my side. I just can't bring myself to sit up to BF at night because I feel like it wakes me up more. I still have to sit up to burp him but that's only for a moment usually.

Do any 2+ moms remember when babies don't really need to be burped at night anymore? It has been so long I have forgotten.

[melody330]

Nov 3, 2016 19:39:10 GMT -5 sarcaztic10 said:

I have officially become super lazy at night and only nurse S while lying on my side. I just can't bring myself to sit up to BF at night because I feel like it wakes me up more. I still have to sit up to burp him but that's only for a moment usually.

Do any 2+ moms remember when babies don't really need to be burped at night anymore? It has been so long I have forgotten.

B has terrible reflux, and I only half heartedly try to burp him at night anymore. He (::knocks on wood: hasn't spit up at night in a long time. Most of the time he doesn't burp and I just lay him down after nursing. He's not more gassy or fussy because of it.

I would say it's okay to stop burping at this point unless he's squirming and uncomfortable.

[katelou]

Um... I don't think I've burped my baby at all since the first month. I feel like when they start to spend more of the day upright, the burps come out on their own. She hasn't had any digestive issues though.

[ellebelle]

mcktymck I'm pretty sure I fed Irene every hour today. I think she is going through a growth spurt or leap right now but she nurses pretty frequently during the day still though.

I only half-heartedly burp her these days and usually don't bother at night since I don't wake her up if she falls asleep nursing.

[tikoberry99]

Nov 3, 2016 19:39:10 GMT -5 sarcaztic10 said:

I have officially become super lazy at night and only nurse S while lying on my side. I just can't bring myself to sit up to BF at night because I feel like it wakes me up more. I still have to sit up to burp him but that's only for a moment usually.

Do any 2+ moms remember when babies don't really need to be burped at night anymore? It has been so long I have forgotten.

We bed share so I side nurse about 2x a night and never burp until the morning. M doesn't seem to need burping at night and it makes our transition back to sleep quicker.

[cabbagecabbage]

Nov 5, 2016 10:38:31 GMT -5 tikoberry99 said:

Nov 3, 2016 19:39:10 GMT -5 sarcaztic10 said:

I have officially become super lazy at night and only nurse S while lying on my side. I just can't bring myself to sit up to BF at night because I feel like it wakes me up more. I still have to sit up to burp him but that's only for a moment usually.

Do any 2+ moms remember when babies don't really need to be burped at night anymore? It has been so long I have forgotten.

We bed share so I side nurse about 2x a night and never burp until the morning. M doesn't seem to need burping at night and it makes our transition back to sleep quicker.

Me too. I'm mostly asleep the whole time. No burps.

[madamewaffles]

I feel like A would go back to sleep better without burping but he will 100% spit up if we don't. ::kicks rocks::

[ellebelle]

How do you sideline nurse? I feel like an idiot but I could never figure it out with DD1 and I can't get it to work with Irene either.

[cabbagecabbage]

I lay on my side with my bottom arm up and behind my head. Baby snuggles up on his side. I can use my top arm to position my breast if necessary. Both my babies have done it since they were newborns. I have big boobs, do that may factor in.

[mugster]

Nov 6, 2016 6:57:42 GMT -5 ellebelle said:

How do you sideline nurse? I feel like an idiot but I could never figure it out with DD1 and I can't get it to work with Irene either.

I do the same, but sometimes extend my arm. The key for me is to rotate my torso down. When r was tiny I sometimes lay him on a pillow too.

[madamewaffles]

I tried side lying so many times. Much like cabbagecabbage does, but A is a wiggle worm and kicks me (and eventually pushes himself too far away to stay latched). Good luck me trying to put my hand behind him to stabilize, he wants complete freedom. Maybe when he's older and can move more coordinated?

Now what we do is modified side lying. I get in the recliner, put the footrest up, and make a "mama nest" with a pillow next to the armrest and let him lay alongside me, but he is more or less wedged so he can't move. One arm braces him. I *never* sleep in the chair with him--it's just less strain on my neck, shoulders, and back, much more comfortable.

[Ray]

Nov 6, 2016 6:57:42 GMT -5 ellebelle said:

How do you sideline nurse? I feel like an idiot but I could never figure it out with DD1 and I can't get it to work with Irene either.

I think it depends on how big your boobs are? Lol

I have DDs so I can actually get away with lying on my back and he lies on his back right beside me and turns his head to the side and eats.

I'd try lying on your side with your bottom arm extended like 90 from you, bring your LO close on their side

If you have smaller boobs and LO still can't teach your nipple maybe try to prop them on a pillow?

[ellebelle]

I think our issue is that she is always falling off my boob when I try side line nursing. I didn't think a pillow was safe for some reason? I'll try it though.

[cabbagecabbage]

Nov 6, 2016 11:38:37 GMT -5 ellebelle said:

I think our issue is that she is always falling off my boob when I try side line nursing. I didn't think a pillow was safe for some reason? I'll try it though.

if you're awake it's safe. If there's any chance you'll fall asleep, skip the pillow. Sometimes I bring my arm forward to cradle him instead of above/behind my head. Maybe that would work?