mamosey We're still on demand as well and very frequently. Somedays I still feel tied down by his schedule because he won't go very long without feeding. I'm also not comfortable with NIP, especially given how easily distracted he is.
Post by carissalynp on Jan 19, 2015 9:06:44 GMT -5
tLex and mamosey I just want to give you guys some hugs, and say you guys are amazing for hanging in there. I really hope you get a break soon.
@frenchtoast I feel ya, ready to ditch the pump!
I think this week we'll up the ratio of wcm in his bottles and if it goes well I'll go to pumping once a day. Then the plan for a bit is wcm for day and bm at night. Though we actually still have about 3/4 a tub of formula left now too. Formula just seems like a pain lately compared to milk.
T has started taking BM from a sippy. He's also been drinking some soy milk here and there. There's no rhyme or reason why I gave him soy... but he seems to be doing ok with it, and I may switch it to WCM in a week or so. He still has all his regular sessions though...
5am 9am 2pm 6:30pm and a MOTN
When I pump to replace a session which I've only done 2x so far I'm getting 3-4oz total from both sides... this doesn't seem like enough and I'm not sure if that is the equivalent of what he would get if he nursed, which makes me nervous...
I'd also like to get him back to no MOTN feed... he went 2 weeks without one around xmas, and then 2 teeth happened and now he's back to wanting it every night and nothing with console him except a boob.
I know we will get there... and when we do I'll be a little sad... but right now it's so hard to see the day where my boobs are just my boobs and not a buffet.
LO bit me hard a few times last week before we realized she had an ear infection. One bite broke the skin and now it won't heal even with pumping. Does anyone have suggestions? It hurts so so bad when she nurses, and this is my main producer so I can't just feed her primarily from the other side.
bluedot, I pump 3 times a day and usually walk away with 12-15 oz. everything I have read says that what you pump is not an indication of what you produce when nursing. In my head it doesn't make sense, but I'll go with it.
Yep, this. If I had to EP, we would've been done ages ago, because I just don't respond well to the pump.
I'm down to about 3-4 oz total from both sides as well. I would say this is normal.
@elf828 I'm so sorry you're dealing with that. It would definitely hurt my feelings too. I'm sure it's especially hard that LO changes your nursing relationship before you were truly ready.
tLex I feel ready to be done nursing too. Trying not to feel guilty about that. One the other hand I have no idea how to calm LO in the MOTN when she only wants to nurse.
Post by jessasaurus on Jan 19, 2015 9:39:07 GMT -5
Hi friends.
I mentioned in another thread that I'm beginning the weaning process. I just want to be done. For those that don't remember, I EP, so I'm slowly working my way down. Guys, my hormones are WACK. I'm crying about everything and these hormones coming down are no joke. For me, they're much more intense the right after I had E.
@elf828 - these emotions are no joke. I was that way and still get emotional sometimes because breastfeeding didn't work for us. Hope it gets better for you.
mamoseytLexLBS2012 - we are also in the nursing on demand and very frequently boat. X nurses about every two hours when we are together but then will go much longer without a bottle of BM at daycare or when w/ DH so I think he just likes the boob still.
bluedot, i'm over the MOTN feedings too. That's great that T had gone without, hopefully he'll get back to it soon for you. X has never made it through a night without nursing at least once, but usually i'm in there 2-3 times still. I really hope he'll stop soon. Everytime he starts to make progress and gets down to 1-2 it only lasts a few nights and then we are back to square one.
We just hit 11 months and my 'goal' was at least one year so things are looking good. I honestly don't mind BFing and since he shows no signs of weaning i'm going to just keep going as long as we both still enjoy it. He's so squirmy and on the move all the time that I feel like nursing is the only time we get to sit and cuddle quietly.
@elf828 hugs, I would be a hot mess if LO was rejecting the breast as well. This game is a mind fuck. It seems no one really wins.
The babies win? Right? That wasn't snark, it was sincere. I'm trying to be thankful that she has basically taken herself off bottles and is weaning on her own with no prodding or effort from me, and that she knows what she needs. As hard as this rejection is, I can work through it even though it's breaking my heart - I'm not sure how I would do with telling her no.
That is such a good outlook! It must be so hard with her weaning, but you're so right that it would be equally as hard to say no.
Something about how LO latches on the right side is intensely painful. Like his teeth are rubbing or something. A couple times I've had to unlatch him and switch sides because it was so uncomfortable. That spot also had dried blood on it a couple times. I'm wondering if our LC can help. I've been trying to experiment with positioning because, for example, it doesn't hurt at all during the 5am feed when we're both half asleep.
I talked out a plan for weaning with my mom yesterday -- like in which order I'll eliminate the feedings. Strangely, it helped me feel okay with weaning. It won't be a cold turkey thing, and it will be an adjustment for all. But I really think I can convince LO that an afternoon snack in his high chair is just as cool as sucking on my boobs.
One last thing -- I'm trying to transition to table food, so LO doesn't get baby food for breakfast or lunch anymore. I know he's not consuming as much solid food, and he's definitely making up for it while he's nursing. I'm hoping he'll get better with eating and actually getting food into his belly. I guess it's good we're doing this now rather than a month from now when I'm wanting to begin the weaning process.
LO bit me hard a few times last week before we realized she had an ear infection. One bite broke the skin and now it won't heal even with pumping. Does anyone have suggestions? It hurts so so bad when she nurses, and this is my main producer so I can't just feed her primarily from the other side.
APNO saved me when I got bitten on the only side LO will nurse from. Healed things up in a day or so.
This week has been a perfect storm. LO cut her two top teeth this week and I started my first PP AF and my supply took a huge hit because of it. Both the teething and the supply drop has led to an impatient baby who's not latching right and is more inclined to bite. Every time I get bit, I become more anxious to BF, which then slows down my letdown because I'm anxious, which then encourages frustrated biting, and it becomes a vicious cycle.
I feel like I'm at a crossroads and it shocks me how quickly things can change. Just last week I couldn't ever imagine weaning ... and now this week I feel ready to be done, but not, but I am. I'm so confused. It's like, I don't want to lose that connection, but I'm done with the actual physical act of breastfeeding. Does that make sense? I'm just tired of being sore (which I always have been) and I'm tired of being fearful of being bitten.
We have three weeks until LO's first birthday and I'm already slowly introducing WCM at dinner. If I can get to her first birthday, I'll be happy, but I'm not sure how to go about this in the meantime. How many times a day should she be BFing? Right now I BF at 8am, 10am, 2pm, and 8pm, plus I pump at 6pm. Do I need that many sessions? Can I start cutting back if LO is ok with it? I want to cut out some sessions to help my anxiety, but I want to make sure she's still getting enough. Any advice? Obviously I'm a wreck.
Post by monkey1980 on Jan 19, 2015 11:16:03 GMT -5
Hi all! I haven't been on this thread for a while. I probably won't be for long. DD will be 1 on the 6th. Last week, she completely lost interest in BFing except in the morning. I'm fine with it except that I had no time to wean her to WCM. She doesn't really want that. And now she won't take formula with a bottle or sippy cup. She does eat solids well. And she eats a lot. Not sure if I should call the pedi for advice or just keep following DD's lead. Sorry this isn't really BF related after all.
tLex I didn't get to post it in your other thread, but I am so happy up hear about the weight gain! I know you must be so over the nursing, but you are an incredible mama no matter what the next stage is--don't forget that.
@elf828 I think my journey is probably 2-3 weeks behind yours but on the same schedule. Your relationship may be changing with LO, but you are always the best mama for her.
bluedot That's exactly what I get when I pump to replace a feeding (when I'm at work). I try to remember that--in terms of maintaining supply--amount is less important than the actual act of eliminating milk from my boobs.
jammersc Your schedule sounds a lot like ours, except my extra pump is AM. I'm working on eliminating that now. We moved our 2pm feed steadily back to 4pm with the goal of eventually cutting it altogether--and 4pm seems easier to replace with a sippy of milk or water and a little snack. (LO is a big fan of solids and just had substantial weight gain, plus she's cutting the 4pm feeding to 2-3 minutes, so I feel like we're close.)
As for me... Our long weekend away helped me realize I can cut my assistant-side-only AM pump and my boobs will adjust (LO only nurses on one side each feeding). I was in tears last night after nursing because she's torn up my assistant side so badly, and DH had to remind me (again) that it's not a good sacrifice (to be in so much pain I sob silently while nursing) when there's a bottle in the fridge to give.
I think my next goal is to replace our 4pm nursing with freezer stash milk in a sippy. That would mean she'd only nurse once a day on my much more painful side (assistant).
But when this kid actually gets a tooth, I'm pretty sure everything will change...
Post by wildflowers on Jan 19, 2015 12:04:28 GMT -5
LO Is still BFing 6+ times during the day at 4+ time at night. It is too much I am ready to nightwean and take it down to 4 or so times per day.
I know I have offered encouragement on this one before, but to in my experience it only gets easier and easier. Once you transition into a toddler nursing routine over a baby it is like night and day. You can miss sessions and be very flexible, but also have the ability to BF if your baby is sick etc. ((Hugs)) to all of you feeling frustrated and ready to be done. It is hard when you start to feel that way. Try to remember if it isn't working for you, it isn't working and it is okay to work towards change.
My plan is pretty simple. I am just going to really encourage solids and regular meals and offer small amounts of water, and coconut milk in a sippy cup. When LO is hungry I will offer her a snack first, and breast second. Lately we have been using coconut milk and she will tolerate it.
My biggest problem is LO bites. Often. Hard. She has a shallow latch and 8 teeth. It is bad. I have tried calmly telling her no and removing her with no success. I am growing increasing frustrated and feel like this might force some weaning before she is ready. I feel a lot of pressure to continue as long as I did with DD1.
It seems like I am in the same spot as many of you ladies are right now. I am so unsure of this transition. I would really like to keep breastfeeding past a year. However, I'd really prefer just before bed nursing and maybe first thing in the morning only. I'd love to cut out MOTN.
We currently still nurse on demand when we are together. Honestly, I am unsure how often that even is. I feel like it is a lot less during the day than it used to be. Maybe 4 times? This biggest thing is that we are still nursing to sleep, so he gets the boob for each nap and then for bedtime. Overnight, its still all over the place. He does a lot of comfort nursing to get himself back to sleep at night. I would say he latches maybe 4 times or more overnight? Im not sure how much milk he is getting each time though. I think we both fall back asleep pretty fast. I've tried just giving him a paci instead, but then he seems to just wake up more and the whole process takes longer to get him back to sleep.
When I work during the week, he seems to have cut back on his bottles. At his max, he would have 3, 4 oz bottles. Now, he seems to snack on them instead of having them all at once. He usually gets 8-10 ounces total, just spaced out with an ounce or two here and there.
I have been cutting back on pumping at work the last couple weeks. I am mostly only pumping once a day. This pump gets me only 4-6 ounces depending on how much LO had that morning. I make up the difference for his bottles with my freezer stash. My plan currently, is to continue with this once a day pumping through the end of the month and then cut pumping out entirely in February. He turns 1 on the 11th. I have about 400 oz left of my freezer stash so I should have plenty to get past one year ( when I first started domperidone, I went from no supply to a huge oversupply until I found the right dosage for me).
At a year, we plan to just switch to straw cups ( he already has milk and water from them now, he just doesn't seem to have much) I'm hoping that by introducing it when I'm not home, he will adapt quickly without a bottle option). We will also start mixing in WCM and use the remainder of the freezer stash.
My bigger concern is that I will be running out of domperidone at the end of next week and do not plan to refill the prescription. Im worried that I won't be able to maintain enough to supply to nurse him before bed and overnight. I tried coming off the domperidone in November and my pump output went from 16 oz in 3 pumps to 4-6 ounces in 3 pumps. I know pump output does not equal nursing supply, but I have to think it is still and overall big decrease. Plus, I started the domperidone in the summer when I thought my supply was dropping with a huge decrease in pump output and then found out LO had lost a fair amount of weight from 4-6 months. I don t think Im ready to be done with breastfeeding completely yet, but don't want to keep paying for the domperidone after a year. One thought I had though, was that if my supply DID drop, maybe he would be less inclined to nurse overnight if there was not much to get with it? Then he might FINALLY switch to taking in more during the day?
Ugh, sorry that was so long. I'm amazed if you've made it to this point. Obviously, I have a lot of rambly thoughts I am trying to figure out as we go through the next month!
tl:dr I don't know how I feel about this one year transition and am very confused.
Just saw this thread after megash pointed it out. Haven't had a chance to read yet but just throwing in my question from randoms: I haven't seen any BFing threads in our new home yet so I will throw this is randoms. I'm having lots of pain when lo nurses from my left side. It doesn't feel or look weird and it doesn't hurt when she nurses from the other side. What's going on? Diagnose me, Dr f14.<br/>
Just saw this thread after megash pointed it out. Haven't had a chance to read yet but just throwing in my question from randoms: I haven't seen any BFing threads in our new home yet so I will throw this is randoms. I'm having lots of pain when lo nurses from my left side. It doesn't feel or look weird and it doesn't hurt when she nurses from the other side. What's going on? Diagnose me, Dr f14.<br/>
hmm... no answers, but I can commiserate. I have always had more pain when nursing on one side. It does seem to make a difference if I change positions though. For instance, his latch is lazier in the side lying position, but is better (hurts less) if we do a cradle hold. Maybe its time to try a new position?
Just saw this thread after megash pointed it out. Haven't had a chance to read yet but just throwing in my question from randoms: I haven't seen any BFing threads in our new home yet so I will throw this is randoms. I'm having lots of pain when lo nurses from my left side. It doesn't feel or look weird and it doesn't hurt when she nurses from the other side. What's going on? Diagnose me, Dr f14.<br/>
Are her teeth uneven? Like does she have two on one side and one on the other in the top or bottom rows? that made LO's latch a bit uncomfortable for me for a few days until she figured out how to deal with the aysemmetry. I found holding up some of the weight of my breast helped.
squirm - I have much more pain on the left side and it is teeth for sure. It helps some to take her off and force her to latch again, like when you are first learning to BF. Maybe try that and see if the pain improves?
Are her teeth uneven? Like does she have two on one side and one on the other in the top or bottom rows? that made LO's latch a bit uncomfortable for me for a few days until she figured out how to deal with the aysemmetry. I found holding up some of the weight of my breast helped.
squirm - I have much more pain on the left side and it is teeth for sure. It helps some to take her off and force her to latch again, like when you are first learning to BF. Maybe try that and see if the pain improves?
This. I have a lot more pain on my left side - even getting blisters. I have attributed this to teething. She also has a shallow latch and likes to push against me / pull away to make her latch more shallow. I just unlatch her and try again. Otherwise maybe try a different position? Does football hold work for you at all?
FFMC I used a nipple shield until she was 7 months old and for the sake of my nipples I sometimes wish we were still using it.
Post by starfisher on Jan 19, 2015 15:29:05 GMT -5
rosiepeare one of the LCs I saw early on told me "never sacrifice your breast for baby". This has stuck with me through this journey, although I am guilty of doing just that at times. Think of how far you've come - You're doing such a wonderful job.
Post by beachgrl0127 on Jan 19, 2015 17:01:44 GMT -5
Hi! Hoping to join in here to help stop my lurking habit. Background since I am new: DD was born at 37 weeks by C-section and my milk was a little slow to come in so we supplemented for a couple of days. I ended up with a huge oversupply which caused a lot of problems and it took about 3 months to get my supply regulated. After that it has been mostly smooth sailing with a few hiccups.
tLex LO doc is also encouraging us to keep going and I am feeling conflicted. jammersc we had the same perfect storm of teeth and low supply due to AF, we supplemented with freezer stash which made the biting stop and everything when back to nomal as quickly as it started.
Our breastfeeding relationship is changing a lot right now and I am so conflicted on what to do. DD is all over the place with nursing. Somedays I can't get her off the boob and others I have to make her sit still to eat and she is refusing to nurse to sleep now which was the only way she would fall asleep for me a week ago. I would love to just nurse when she wakes up in the morning/after naps and before bed but I dont know how to make it happen. I feel like I could keep up that schedule long-term and it would be a good compromise.
I hope this goes through bc I have been having trouble posting on just this thread all day. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions! I tried having her sit up (usually side lie) while supporting my breast and it seemed to help. Still hurts but not quite as bad. Her teeth are even on both top and bottom and she doesn't seem to have any more coming in so I think it is just lazy latch. Thank you for your help!
Post by dizzycooks on Jan 19, 2015 22:21:49 GMT -5
Did seems to know when I'm not around she's not getting milk so she doesn't take anything from dh or my mom. She's still taking 3 bottles at daycare around 11-12 oz total. I'm pumping twice at work (same as usual) but only getting 2 oz a day. Thankfully I have a freezer stash that should last the next week or two and then she'll be on whole milk when's she's away from me. This is not how I wanted to end our nursing relationship and I plan to continue nursing on demand at home. She still wakes to nurse 1-3 times per night and really my tanking supply is the only reason. I continue to entertain motn feedings. I didn't have this issue with dd1 so I'm feeling really frustrated. We aren't doing fertility treatments so I have no real "end date" in mind, but o am going away for a weekend in April so it will probably cut back a lot around then if I still have any supply.
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