12/26 Newborn Check In

[lilyelayne]

Welcome! Please join us!


How old is LO?

How's everything going?

Questions/concerns/cute stories to share?

What positions/props are working for you? What are you struggling with?

GTKY: do you make new year's resolutions?

[emilie]

Hey, I'm new here!

How old is LO? 1 week

How's everything going? Really well so far, I think. I'm so happy and surprised. I had a c-section but my milk came in about 48 hours after birth. Baby girl had a tongue tie at birth and tore up my nipples pretty badly on days 1 and 2, but then they fixed it and now her latch is less painful. I'm using a shield for now until they finish healing up.

Questions/concerns/cute stories to share? Anyone have any advice about nipple shields? I'm not quite ready to wean off of them yet since my nipples are still a little scabbed/sore. For those of you who used them at the start, how long did you use them for? How did baby react when you removed them?

What positions/props are working for you? What are you struggling with? I mostly use cross cradle hold and occasionally football hold. I am using a Boppy but I sort of hate it. I am tall with a long torso and it always slides down/makes baby slide down even with a second pillow under it. I ordered a Brest Friend that I will be trying instead.

GTKY: do you make new year's resolutions? Not really. I like to make goals for myself but I think New Years resolutions inflict a lot of undue pressure.

[lilyelayne]

emilie feel free to make a separate post about nipple shields as you may get more responses outside of this thread. A common weaning strategy when you're ready is to start a feed with the shield & then remove it mid-feed. Some women find it easier to nurse without the shield when baby is sleep, like in the middle of the night, whereas others find night/sleepy feedings to be the hardest to latch without shield.

This kellymom article has good info about using a shield including weaning.
kellymom.com/ages/newborn/nb-challenges/wean-shield/

Glad you got the tie revised and things are going better!

[lilyelayne]

@kc295905 you can try massaging the lumps while nursing, and/or nursing in a position where LO's chin is pointing toward them. But as long as they don't persist long term or get uncomfortable, it's probably just part of engorgement. All those nursing sessions will help keep your breasts empty & clog free :-)

[anotherdreamer]

Not sure how regular I'll be, but I thought I'd stop by and post/check in! I have a 5y DS, 2y old twins, and the new LO. I nursed my son for 3m (had a lot of issues), twins for 18m, and am currently nursing our new LO.


How old is LO?
3.5wks

How's everything going?
Good so far. I have an overactive letdown, which presents challenges, but I dealt with that with the other kids too. She likes to be more awake at night, so I am trying to get us back on track with days/nights... Wouldn't be such a big deal, but the other kids are up all day (no one naps) so sleep is precious.

Questions/concerns/cute stories to share?
She makes little noises while she eats, and it cracks me up. Like happy/hangry noises. None of the other kids did that.

What positions/props are working for you? What are you struggling with?
I'm doing cross cradle hold and sometimes football hold. I need to get my BFing pillow down, I still have my Twin Plus My Brestfriend Pillow and I'm sure it would make things more comfortable at night... But having more freedom (no pillows or what not) is easier during the day.

GTKY: do you make new year's resolutions?
Sometimes. I usually stick to them when I do, so I rarely make them 😅

[anotherdreamer]

Dec 28, 2016 15:01:02 GMT -5 @kc295905 said:

How old is LO? 2 weeks
How's everything going? Good. Latch is good. Baby is currently going through a grow spurt so lots of nursing and fussiness.

Questions/concerns/cute stories to share? My supply is still being established and I have some engorgement and what feels like lumps, I'm hoping it is not a clogged duct.

What positions/props are working for you? What are you struggling with? Cross cradle and side lying

GTKY: do you make new year's resolutions? Just to survive with two kids

I agree about massaging while nursing. I get like that sometimes, massaging helps quite a bit.

[mrswillie]

New here! I have 3 DS's but this is my first time breastfeeding.

LO is 4 weeks already.

Things are going well so far. He takes forever to feed, but I've heard the feedings will get shorter as he gets bigger. Whew!

Since he takes so long to feed and I'm so tired, if I pump a bottle or two to have for MOTN feedings, is it ok to go overnight without feeding/pumping? Will that ruin anything?
If anybody used a nipple shield for flattish nipples, how long did it take you to wean from it? Were you able to wean from it? He will do a direct latch for a minute or two before he starts fussing if I try mid-feed.

Cradle hold with just a regular pillow underneath. I tried football in the hospital, but it was when I was having latch issues. Cradle just seems easier for me.

GTKY: Not really.

[lilyelayne]

mrswillie yes feedings should get shorter as he gets bigger. Lots of BF things get easier as baby gets older!

Especially this early on it is not recommended to skip feedings; you should pump any time LO gets a bottle. The longer between feedings/expressions (the longer milk stays in your breast) the stronger signal your body gets that it is overproducing and to make less milk.
At 4 weeks your supply is still getting set up for the long haul, so those MOTN feedings are important for both of you :-)

Have you tried side lying nursing? It can be great for those extra tired times.

Common night time strategy: partner gets baby, brings to you, you nurse baby, you sleep while partner burps baby / changes diaper / swaddles / rocks baby back to sleep. For some or all MOTN feedings.

If you're interested in bedsharing or try MOTN side lying and find yourself falling asleep, I HIGHLY recommend the book Sweet Sleep to learn to bedshare safely. I can come back with a couple links for some intro reading on the topic if you want.

You can also consider side car-ing a crib to your bed.

My son is super independent and always refused to sleep unless in his own space, so BF on demand including MOTN can be done without merging your sleep spaces, but often it really helps when done safely :-)

[lilyelayne]

mrswillie I shared a good kellymom link about nipple shields in a post above. How long women use them really varies.

I have one flat/slightly inverted nipple and one inverted nipple. We didn't use a shield. It was a struggle to teach my kid to latch without a nipple but he was interested and I was prepared, so we figured it out.
That said to say, yes, babies can latch even on problematic nipples. With time you'll wean from the shield. You've already started - it's great that he's willing to latch without it even for a bit!

[peaseblossom55]

E is 9 weeks and came home 12/23.

She latched sometimes but most times she isn't interested. Today she had a good latch and nurses for almost 45 minutes.

My supply has tanked since she has been home. I've been trying to be better about eating more and drinking more to reboost what little supply I had.

I met with an LC last week it was so helpful. She helped me get E to latch and latch better. She also gave me two supplements I can take to help with my supply. We will see if it helps. I am not so sure it will.

[emmyg65]

peaseblossom55, yay for having her home! Have you been doing lots of skin to skin? I always found it calming at the least (who doesn't love a good snuggle?) and it can boost supply.

[peaseblossom55]

Jan 1, 2017 20:58:25 GMT -5 emmyg65 said:

peaseblossom55, yay for having her home! Have you been doing lots of skin to skin? I always found it calming at the least (who doesn't love a good snuggle?) and it can boost supply.

Some but probably could do more 😃

[lilyelayne]

peaseblossom55 omgosh yay for LO coming home!! I'm so excited for you! Lots of skin to skin, latch her as much as she will, and pump every time she gets a bottle. Much harder to keep up the pumping schedule with a baby in the house but hopefully she'll keep latching and increasing your supply on her own!

[summergirl1211]

Hi ladies! I'm also new here!

DS is 7 weeks (adjusted age 2 days).

Things are going... okay. I EPed with DD and was hoping to avoid that, but nursing has been a challenge since he was born so early. I've been pumping most of the time but still trying to nurse and have been dealing with super sore nipples from pumping and nursing. I've realized recently that DS has a tongue tie, which we are going to fix here shortly. So in the meantime I'll still probably pump the majority of the time and nurse once daily until it's fixed. Hopefully he'll still be interested in nursing once his tongue is better, but I've accepted the fact I might end up EPing in the long run.

Questions: when I do nurse, he will nurse for 2-3 minutes with good strong sucks, then comfort sucks for about 5 minutes, and then pass out. He'll sleep for 30 minutes and wake up hungry, so I'll nurse again. It's a never ending cycle until I give him a bottle. I'm guessing the more he nurses the better he'll get at it, but does anyone have other suggestions for me?

Positions: I started with the cross hold but have found that the football hold works better for now.

[mrswillie]

lilyelayne thanks. If I'd known it'd be hard to break him, I'd have said no thanks in the hospital.

I think I'm going to try the side lying. If you have those links, I'd be very interested in looking at them for some info. Right now, he's in the PNP next to our bed.