My husband thinks the head wagging is hilarious. He literally laughs out loud EVERY time he sees it.
Anyone else's baby stretch while still latched on? I had no idea nipples were that stretchy. Straight up laffy taffy status.
YES!! She stretches and groans and acts like a man who's eaten way too much. She also wags her head when she's latched and that hurts!! Silly kids.
To all the head waggers, babies don't understand cause and effect, so sometimes they are just so excited they start moving arms and legs and their head back and forth and don't realize that they aren't helping things here.
They may move their head back and forth cause they are rooting around, getting the nipple toward the roof of the mouth signals them to close their mouth and latch on all the way.
They may move their head back and forth cause they are trying to make you let down milk faster..
Or if you are holding directly square on the back of their head they may push back against your hand or move their head back and forth as a defense mechanism from being suffocated, so don't push on the back of their head.
Who's weaned from a nipple shield? Can you tell me how it went?
DS nursed like a champ w/no shield in front of the LC this am, and of course this afternoon he was a fuss pot without it.
We've done about half-half this afternoon, but I also feel like the babe has been attached to my boobs from 2pm on today.
Let's hope tonight is better than last night!
Just be patient with the weaning from the shield, it may take a few weeks to get off it completely.
Try at the beginning of the feed, if she won't latch then use the shield. Then after a few minutes, take her off and try latching with the shield off and see if she'll relatch. Or toward the end of the feeding, or when you switch to the other side and she's not so hungry and may be better able to concentrate on latching without the shield.
DB makes a clucking sound when nursing sometimes. I know this can be a symptom of tongue tie/lip tie but that is the only one we have. I have zero worries but wonder why this could be? I do seem to have an over supply.
A clicking sound means baby is losing suction.
That can often be due to a tongue tie--the frenulum stretches out so they look like they have a good latch, and then the frenulum is like a rubber band and snaps the tongue out of position and they click.
It can also happen if you have oversupply, milk comes pouring out and they move their tongue to try to stem the flow to keep from drowning and they lose suction. You can try laying back when nursing or keeping baby's head higher than the breast to slow the flow a bit, or when you hear gulping and spraying milk, pull baby off and let the extra hard flow go into a towel or cup and then relatch.
Either of these can interfere with nursing and cause sore nips.
Ladies- I am seriously at my wits end. My nipples are so raw- and I don't think it's from a bad latch, but simply that LO seriously gives me maybe (if I am lucky) an hour between feedings. My parents are coming into town tomorrow, and I am a pretty private person. The thought of having to feed LO almost constantly makes me miserable just thinking about it. I do not feel comfortable whipping my boob out in front of my parents. I seriously just want to give up. This is so hard
This is me, except my nipples are raw because of overactive letdown and engorgement (baby can't latch properly until partway into the feeding). It makes feeding him in front of others tricky because I usually swear, sometimes cry, and have to unlatch/relatch about a dozen times.
Do you have a cover, or can you use a blanket to cover while you feed? This is what I've done with visitors.
Are you getting any improvement? If not, go see an IBCLC lactation consultant in person, cause even with engorgement you should be able to get a good latch sooner in the feeding.
Im right there with everyone going through this 2-3 week growth spurt, constant eating, eating until theres nothing left to eat, and its been leaving me feeling like I have no choice but to supplement with formula because I feel like shes screaming like shes starving. Im trying so hard to get one step ahead of ourselves by pumping at least one bottle but shes eating so frequently at this point I cant even barely catch up. Yesterday it got to the point that I did pump one 2.5 oz bottle while she was asleep but she woke up hungry as soon as I was done, and I had emptied myself pumping it, so I had to feed her the bottle right then. Of course it was not enough and she was still looking for more, which I didnt have in me but I put her to the breast anyway. She manages to get slightly more than the pump does, so she got alittle bit more at that feeding, but it seemed she was still hungry. From there we were behind all night. She was never satisfied at any feeding, she was waking every hour hungry as ever, and I was never full enough to give her a good solid feed. I followed my moms advice and just let her suck anyway, and today seemed to go a bit better already actually. She was still hungry and eating ravenously but I had a bit more to give. One day at a time seriously is all I can tell myself, because every day is so different.
It took me 2 hours and 3 feedings to write this!
Stop the pumping to try to get ahead with the pumping and the bottles. It's not helping is it?
Unless diaper count drops below 6-8 a day, she's getting enough milk and you don't need to reach for that bottle. she's just programmed/acting instinctively trying to increase your supply by nursing often and longer--an emptier breast signals your body to make more milk and that's her job during the growth spurt right now, to nurse nurse nurse and boost your supply to meet her coming needs. She's not really starving, she's just nursing all the time by instinct, like she's driven to it.
the pumping and bottles short circuits the message getting thru so everything gets all messed up. Relax, it will be ok. Nurse the baby and switch back and forth from one side to the other side.
Your breasts are never empty, they are always making more milk. It will be slower flow, but it will be higher fat and calorie milk. So if she wants to eat, feed on one side for 20 minutes ish or until she comes off on her own, burp, then feed on other side for 20 minutes ish or until she comes off on her own, burp andthen swaddle tightly and hand off to dad or your mom and tell them to use a pacifier or their finger for baby to suck on and to shush and rock and walk and bounce and give you at least 20 minutes without bab--tell them no bottles and no formula, baby can wait a few minutes to eat again, honest! You go run and go pee, and eat and drink and go outside and scream and then lay down with your eyes smushed closed tightly and the pillow over your head and see how long before they come find you. You may be surprised that handing baby off to someone that doesn't smell like mom and milk will buy you a bit more time to rest and recharge your batteries. And then do it all over again.
It will get better. The growth spurt should be about 3 days, could be 5 esp since you were doing the whole bottle pump thing. But you can do this. It will be hard but you will get thru.
BFing has gotten better in the past week - LO is latching without the shield from time to time! She actually latched and fed in the doctor's office which was the first time we nursed in public! Her latch isn't perfect without the shield though so I still use the shield - especially in the MOTN- so my nipples get some rest.
She's not gaining like she should so we have to feed more often and/or supplement. I've been pumping and have four two- three ounce bottles ready to go. Today she's been nursing, wanting to nurse an hour later (like screaming for more wanting to nurse), sleeping for two/three, and then repeating the cycle. We weighed her after feeding at the doctors and she had gained an ounce after around 10 minutes so we know she's getting stuff out. She's a lazy nurser, though, and usually Falls asleep so I could see how she wasn't getting enough.
Still working on increasing my supply but we're in the three week growth spurt so maybe it will increase now?
How much is slow weight gain? normal weight gain is 4-7 oz a week, or 1/2-1 oz a day. I'm betting she hasn't regained birthweight yet, which is why you are supplementing, but is gain per day fine or lower than 1/2 oz a day?
Be very careful with supplementing such large bottles in the middle of this three week growth spurt. You don't want her to sleep too long and skip feedings at a time when she should be nursing as much as possible to get your supply to match her needs for the coming months. But if you've been pumping and have that many bottles already collected it doesn't look like you really have a supply problem if that much milk is being pumped in addition to nursing. Sounds like The milk is there, you just need to get her to eat it for herself so you can skip the pump and bottle part of the equation.
Can you go do a full weighted feeding at a breastfeeding group or with an LC and get hints for lazy nurser, and see how much she'd get for a full feeding of 15-20 minutes rather than just 10?
If she can get 1 oz in 10 minutes, maybe she can get 2 oz in 20 minutes, eh? if so, then you would want to temporarily nurse for 12 feeds a day, every 2 hours --do that for like 1 day and you'll probably be nuts, but that would give her the amt of milk a baby normally takes in during a day which is 25 oz a day-- starting around 3 weeks of age that's the amt they need and it stays that level til way past 6 months of age.
Of course you wouldn't want to stay at 12 feeds a day for long, but sometimes a short term one day push to feed every 2 hours, works to raise your supply to where it needs to be.
You says she's very sleepy, so you need to nag her to eat longer, sit up at the waist, tickle toes, rub the bridge of her nose, open her palm and rub the palm, switch sides, cool washcloth on the back of neck and toes, unswaddle, go lay her down flat on her back on the changing table or crib mattress, that usually wakes them up too. Use breast compressions and massage while she nurses and make sure she gets all she wants from side one before offering side two, that can help her get more hindmilk to gain more weight.
Hand in there, get more help, and know that the nurse, pump, supplement cycle should be very very short term thing.
There some things about switching to night pumping and giving bottles instead of nursing that you need to think about before committing to doing it. It may be something you want to try, but it does come with some possible complications for your nursing relationship.
At night right before bed it's normal for baby to cluster feed, or to feed for an extra long time to tank up for a longer sleep. This extra nursing is good for your supply and giving milk pumped at a different time of day tends to have different % of fore and hindmilk, and may not contain the bonus hormones that help encourage baby to sleep longer at night.
Sometime between midnight and daylight, your prolactin hormone level is highest of the day, Prolactin is the breastfeeding hormone and means that at this time your milk supply is at it's highest. The skin to skin of frequent Night nursing increases your body's demand and helps to raise your prolactin hormone level as well.
Right now baby has a fairly weak muscles of their mouth, tongue and jaw. Those muscles get worked out every time baby nurses, especially during marathon nursing sessions those muscles get much stronger. you short circuit that with giving bottles as they use different muscles, baby holds their tongue in a different place for a bottle.
Pumping will almost always take about 20 minutes. As baby's muscles get stronger, their nursing gets faster and faster and more effective so they may be able to drain a breast in 5 minutes flat.
pumping and only giving bottles at night takes away baby's practice at the breast for all those hours--if it's 6 to 8 hours or more, that's 1/3-1/4 of baby's nursing time, and may reduce the prolactin level and milk supply may be effected cause a pump doesn't' empty the breast as well as a baby nursing.
And ask yourself Will you want to always give a bottle at night and pump? Cause if baby becomes used to bottles at night, they may actually come to refuse to even try to nurse at night. So then if you return to work, you will have to pump at night AND pump during the day both. Nursing when together in the morning, evenings and overnight tends to help moms maintain their milk supply while pumping at work.
An occasional nightly bottle if you find bottle is way faster than nursing, may be an ok way to get a bit more sleep. Giving a bottle all the time every night may run into some issues that may make things harder for you overall to breastfeed.
short answer, try not to give just bottles at night, it works to complicate everything when you are just starting out on nursing and trying to get it all to work right with supply meeting baby's needs and baby getting more efficient at nursing.
After three weeks of crying and absolutely hating breastfeeding, I am finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. I saw the LC yesterday who really helped ease some of my worries. I've realized one of my biggest problems with BFing stems from the fact that I'm really routine oriented & type A- it's been very difficult for me to let go and just watch LO's cues instead of the clock. I was constantly timing feeds, feeding him every 2 or 3 hours even if he didn't seem hungry, stressing out if he didn't eat off of both sides or if he wasn't eating for at least 15 or 20 minutes. The LC said that I have a lot of milk (I was literally spraying LO in the face before he even latched on) and he just doesn't need to eat for 15 minutes to be full. We did a weighted feed and after 5-6 minutes, he had taken in 1.5oz. I kept trying to make him latch back on and eat more and the LC finally was like "he's not hungry. you dont need to force him to eat when he's clearly not hungry anymore". We had also been struggling with getting rid of the nipple shield and he has been latching on without it and eating well although I do still use it sometimes because it seems to help curb the massive flow of milk, so he doesn't always get choked out.
I'm still struggling with just watching for his hunger cues because the kid could easily go for 3+ hours without acting hungry. Today I took him to a breastfeeding support group and weighed him before I fed him and he was 9lbs 1.5oz. I fed him (in public- huge feat!) and he was not really into it; kept unlatching and relatching, I was spraying milk everywhere, etc and it lasted for about 5 min. He was 9lbs 2.5oz after that. I have no idea how accurate that is but if he really got 1oz from that feed, I must just be spraying milk down his throat or something. Anyways, the LC told me multiple times that he's a pound over birthweight, he knows how to eat, he'll eat when he's hungry...so in short, calm down.
I know it's hard to find the balance. WE worry so much about supply and are they eating enough, did they nurse long enough, too long, not often enough.
Try hard to look at the baby, not the scale or the clock.
If you have a high milk supply and baby is effective they may get all they need in just 5 minutes of nursing. And he may not want to eat 12 times a day, only 8 or 10, and that's ok too if weight gain is on track.
If you want to track something, stick the number of feeds and diaper count into one of the common baby apps and then look at it once a day and realize baby is eating as much and as often as baby needs to as long as diaper count is at least 6-8 a day, and I'm betting you have closer to 10-12 diaper changes a day.
It's really hard when everyone seems to have weight gain issues and sleepy babies that don't eat enough and it's easy to worry so very much. But it will be ok. You will learn baby's cues for hunger, and right now if you offer and he eats, he's probably hungry, lol! Don't overthink it! You'll find your rhythm, and it will get easier to trust things, but you are doing just fine!
Yes!! I answer breastfeeding questions most every day and most of the questions I answer are about supply. We worry so so so very much about supply.
it seems everyone is told they have a low supply and have to get on a nurse, pump and supplement routine or reach for formula when it's not usually the case. Often it's doctors not helping the situation when they have unrealistic expectations for weight gain. Normal is 1/2-1 oz a day, and that starts from the day your milk comes in. It may take 3 weeks for baby to regain birthweight and they may lose up to 10% of their birthweight even if everything is going fine. That's why we are so swollen at the end of pregnancy, we are retaining fluids to keep us ok thru labor when we might not want to eat or drink, but also so baby has enough fluids to sustain themselves when they are just getting colostrum for those first 3-5 days. Baby may seem insatiable, and want to nurse nonstop. Realize part of this is their stomach is so small, colostrum is just a teaspoon amount at first, and it digests so very fast. But a lot of it is also that they have never ever felt hunger before. They've never not been attached to mom. Some of them really don't like that feeling and they'd just be happiest if they are nursing all.the.time. others shut down a bit and don't wake up thinking they are still attached to the umbilical cord and can just sleep and get food at the same time so you have to nag them a bit to get them to eat often and long enough.
And if you do have low supply, get help!! There are soooo many things, about low supply that are fixable if you get the help you need in time-- including thyroid issues, hormone imbalances and retained placenta fragments in addition to latch issues that may be the cause of a low supply.
I'm on the bf, pumping and supplementing boat as well. It's been really tough and hard to stick to. I have an spot with a LC tomorrow and I'm hoping for some insight as to what the issue is. Baby girl can nurse on both sides for 30 min and then still eat a 4oz bottle. It doesn't make sense. Is she not actually eating, just using me as a pacifier? Is my supply not enough to fill her?? Grrrr!! I hope for some progress tomorrow - as I don't know if i have the stamina to keep going as we are.
It makes perfect sense!
A breastfed baby will OFTEN down a bottle even if they got plenty of milk at the breast. And they won't spit up, cause their stomach is super stretchy right now, that's why it can stretch from the size of a marble to the size of a golf ball and then even more so quickly as your milk comes in.
If you are giving such large bottles, and are not pumping to collect that milk, then your milk supply doesn't know it needs to be making more milk does it?
and yes, 4 oz is a large bottle for such a small baby. AT a week ish old, baby's stomach probably holds 1 to maybe 2 oz
If you are going to give bottles realize that a breastfed baby if they latch onto a bottle like they do a breast they cant stop the flow of milk from a faster flow bottle without moving their tongue. They often don't realize they need to do this with their tongue, so they will just keep sucking and eat the whole bottle and may even look like they are chugging the bottle. So you need to use a super slow flow bottle--if you hold it upside down no milk should come out.
Then for every bottle you give, you need to pump to collect that amount of milk so your supply doesn't' decrease. If you've been giving large bottles and not pumping then your supply may be lower than it should be.
Hope you have a good visit with an LC and get a weighted feeding and some reassurance that things are ok. Let me know what the Lc says.
bruunk, my baby does the head wag! Sometimes I think it's hilarious, but sometimes it's so frustrating (when he also seems frustrated). I can't figure out why he's doing it because sometimes he does it at the beginning (so maybe the fast let down) and sometimes near the end, so I think he wants to be done but then he gets mad if I don't let him continue.
My issue is that DB wants to comfort nurse, especially in the evening, but then recently he spit up for the first time (and second time) which made me feel like he was getting too full? But I thought I read somewhere else that they know how to limit themselves and won't over-eat...
If they take in too much volume of milk, they will spit up the excess foremilk.
It may also be just that they needed to burp and when they burped some milk came up, that's due to the immature sphincter at the bottom of the esophagus that usually keeps food from coming back up when you burp as an adult.
The struggle is real. I was riding the breastfeed, pump, supplement (with pumped milk) merry go round for the last few weeks. This week I've thrown in the towel and am "just" pumping. I've been working with an LC and even she is baffled as to why LO can't empty my breasts. We did weighted feeds and she isn't even coming close to emptying after 20 minutes each side (.5oz one side, .7oz the other) and if you watch and listen it sounds like she is getting much more. It's a good thing I've been pumping after every session or my supply would be shit by now… but MY GOD it is/was so much work. Did I mention I'd also been using a shield and trying to wean that (the LC doesn't believe that's the cause of the transfer issue either).
I'm sad and feel like a failure that I can't just nurse her. It would be a million times easier. So for now I'm exclusive pumping and giving pumped milk in bottles. I'm trying nursing at least once a day but not letting myself get too stressed about it. The LC thinks that as she grows it might get easier when her mouth gets bigger (she has a small/tight mouth). I also have an appointment next week for LO to get some craniosarcral fascial therapy/massage to try and loosen her latch. I'm literally willing to try anything right now.
kemdupuis, I feel your pain, it sucks. I was hiding in the nursery every 2-3 hours for an hour at a time trying to nurse while we had visitors because I didn't want to whip out my boob in front of ILs, especially. It's overwhelming on top of an already overwhelming time. Take it one day at a time. I keep making small goals and it helps. Tomorrow is a new day and we have to be kind to ourselves.
I will suggest seeing a different IBCLC lactation consultant.
A small tight mouth is often a sign of a tongue tie, lip tie or a side or posterior tongue tie. They effect milk transfer and are often missed even by an LC, which is why I recommend another set of eyes taking a look.
Tongue ties also tend to go hand in hand with nipple shield use[cause baby couldn't or wouldn't latch, or baby couldn't latch without messing up your nipples due to bad latch] and shield plus a tongue tie could definitely be interfering with milk transfer.
Have you tried a weighted feeding without the shield?
Overactive letdown is a bitch. Sometimes DS feeds well, isn't to aggressive, stays latched, and can keep up with my Super Soaker tits. That's when BF feels great. Other times, especially at night, he chomps my nipples, pops on and off (screaming bloody murder in between), and my whole breast feels raw. At night the pain keeps me from sleeping soundly. Does anyone BF by day and pump at night? Is that kosher? I feel it would help me get more sleep, ease the frustration of BF, and reduce my physical pain.
I feel like I'm doing breastfeeding gymnastics: keep LO's head above hips to manage reflux, recline or lie down to nurse if boobs are full, but angle myself above him if my supply is low.
BF win: First public nursing session was a moderate success. I forgot my nursing cover when at the mall waiting for DH to finish his eye doctor appointment. Managed a good, comfy BF session at a Panera using a smallreceiving blanket to provide just a touch of privacy, since the restaurant had a weird layout and lacked proper booths.
Have you seen another LC in person to see if there is something to help with latching in the evenings if that's when he's doing most of the popping off? shouldn't be hurting so much at this point.
Sorry your having a hard time kemdupuis. I agree maybe try to bring a pumped bottle or two.
I've been a little crazy with breastfeeding, trying to give the breast, pump, and supplement w formula. Today I just gave the boob, if M was hungry or even if crying ( colic?) and its been so much easier. How can you tell if they are emptying out your breast,? He usually latches for 25 min on one side and often will want the other side. Can I be over feeding him?
Doubtful you are overfeeding. Likely you have a growth spurt going on, or baby getting used to nursing without additional supplement which would mean they'd nurse a bit more often and a bit longer to still get the milk they need without the bottle. That should regulate in a few days.
Count diapers, with sudden stop of supplement you may see a drop of 1 or 2 but still stay above a minimum of 6-8 a day. If diapers drop too much, give a bit of pumped milk to boost him back up. If diapers stay fine or do down a bit and then recover after a day or two, then you are fine.
Dont' worry about if they are emptying the breast. The breast is never really empty, it's like a sink with the plug out, but the faucet is on so it's always refilling.
BF is going fairly well. She will typically only do one side at night, and then pass out, but then wake up an hour later for the other side. She is really hard to wake up, so I'm letting it go, and hoping it's just a phase.
She does a lot of comfort nursing, which is ok, but yeah, it is getting tiring always having her on me--even though I know it's good for my supply.
You can try a bit of extra nagging and a bit of breast compressions and massage to try to get a bit more hindmilk in her so maybe she'll go a bit longer than an hour before her next feeding. sometimes that helps a bit.
Hi ladies!! BF has been a challenge for me, DD had a lip tie and a tongue tie, add to that that my supply has dropped. I also had an infection so my nipple were all torn up. We have added formula into the mix because DD isnt getting enough. I have started to add a morning nursing session back into the mix instead of pumped milk. It is much harder then I ever imagined it would be. But I am taking it one day at a time.
Did you get the tongue tie and lip tie fixed?
Hope you are getting in person help to get this all resolved?
Things were good for a bit where nursing was comfortable but he has decided to have a shallow latch now. It's frustrating because no matter how hard I try he pulls away/pushes the nipple out. It often makes a click sound. Doesn't hurt really but nursing takes forever and I don't think he really empties me out.
I mentioned to someone else, clicking is a sign of a tongue tie pulling baby's deep latch out of position into a shallow latch,
or a sign of an oversupply. Has baby been evaluated for a tongue tie?
Ladies- I am seriously at my wits end. My nipples are so raw- and I don't think it's from a bad latch, but simply that LO seriously gives me maybe (if I am lucky) an hour between feedings. My parents are coming into town tomorrow, and I am a pretty private person. The thought of having to feed LO almost constantly makes me miserable just thinking about it. I do not feel comfortable whipping my boob out in front of my parents. I seriously just want to give up. This is so hard
Well you could tell your parents that you are in the middle of a tough patch and you'd like them to wait a few more days?
Or plan to retreat to your room, with a teeny bit of pumping/bottle once a day maybe, and a nursing cover for the other times.
Raw nips and one hour between feeds, are you in the middle of the 3 week growth spurt? If so, go with the first suggestion and tell parents to wait til the weekend or so to come visit, it should be a bit better by maybe sunday?
For your nips, after nursing, rub breastmilk into them, then use a hairdryer on low warm to dry them, add a good quality nipple cream--if lanolin isn't helping get some earth mama nipple butter or other non-lanolin nipple cream. use bacitracin antibiotic ointment if they are getting damaged and cover with a nonstick pad if they are sticking to the nursing pad or your bra. Then use cool compresses or a bag of peas in your bra, to help with swelling and inflammation and some motrin for pain relief. You can also do a warm water soak of the nips to speed healing, but it may make you let down, if so you might want to do that right before a feeding so the milk is right there when baby latches and maybe it won't hurt so much when they nurse.
@amyg she was 6 14 in Wednesday 7/1 and 6 15 on Monday, July 6. So, a gain of an ounce in four-five days.
We did a weighted feed two weeks ago at the LC but I might give them a call again for the lazy nurser thing. We wake her up - we strip her, use cool water, and tickle her but after the initial flurry of feeding she's done without me waking her up. She's in her feed feed feed cycle now (she ate every hour for four-four 1/2 hours last night) and yesterday she averaged every two hours to nurse during the days (so, she nursed at 9 and 10, then at 1. Nursed at 3 and 4, then at 7 and 9). H gave her a 3 ounce bottle without my knowledge last night (I may have passed out while he offered to put her to sleep) so she's milked out and still sleeping now, almost 5 hours later. We'll be back in the two hour cycle when she gets up I'm sure.
Things were good for a bit where nursing was comfortable but he has decided to have a shallow latch now. It's frustrating because no matter how hard I try he pulls away/pushes the nipple out. It often makes a click sound. Doesn't hurt really but nursing takes forever and I don't think he really empties me out.
I mentioned to someone else, clicking is a sign of a tongue tie pulling baby's deep latch out of position into a shallow latch,
or a sign of an oversupply. Has baby been evaluated for a tongue tie?
LC checked after birth and he can stick his tongue put past his gums so she said he was good. Breastfeeding actually felt good for a little bit. Then his latch got shallow. Sometimes he pulls off my left boob and gets sprayed the in the face but my right boob is the one he really clicks on. That one is smaller and significantly softer so I don't think it's an engorged forceful letdown situation. That one drips but doesn't spray. My nipples are sore and I'm so tired from trying to relatch a million times tonight. I tried football hold instead of cross cradle and it was worse. I'm frustrated because things were going good. We self weaned from the nipple shield and everything.
kemdupuis and budders and anyone else struggling, I am so sorry and can empathize. Nursing can be the hardest part of having a baby. The first weeks with DS1 were awful. I had horrible cracks and oversupply and I cried every time he latched. He looked like a vampire every time he popped off with blood dripping from his mouth. I tried everything but ultimately I got mastitis, stopped nursing and EPed for 2 weeks while the cracks healed. From that point forward we were golden and I nursed him for 2 years. It can get better and easier!
I also agree with billyhorrible that it is so much easier this time. I do have the same oversupply issues but knowing how things are supposed to feel, etc. really helps.
bruunk LO does the shaking head thing in the evening too. But the second I take him to his room and swaddle him for the night in his sleepsack, he will latch decently, get down to business, and fall asleep for a good stretch. So for us, swaddling is the trick.
Still battling oversupply and crazy let down but sweet boy is dealing. Worst part is actually the PUPPs rash - he is such a little heater that my arms and stomach flare up every nursing session. Not at three week growth spurt yet but know it is coming.
Post by ravinraven216 on Jul 9, 2015 3:24:46 GMT -5
Well, my plan to bottle feed at night came to nothing as the 2.5oz I pumped was apparently insufficient and I needed to BF anyway. The amount he eats is kind of unreal sometimes.
Well, my plan to bottle feed at night came to nothing as the 2.5oz I pumped was apparently insufficient and I needed to BF anyway. The amount he eats is kind of unreal sometimes.
My little guy seems to always still be hungry after a bottle as well. When he was just a few days old, H ended up giving him 5oz from a bottle when I was sleeping because he was still acting hungry. Now if I give him a bottle, we take it really slow, I burp him and then give him a paci for a little bit. If he doesn't settle with that after a few minutes, then I know he's actually still hungry and I'll nurse him for a bit. It seems like they just don't realize they're full as quickly from a bottle as they do from the breast.
Well, my plan to bottle feed at night came to nothing as the 2.5oz I pumped was apparently insufficient and I needed to BF anyway. The amount he eats is kind of unreal sometimes.
My little guy seems to always still be hungry after a bottle as well. When he was just a few days old, H ended up giving him 5oz from a bottle when I was sleeping because he was still acting hungry. Now if I give him a bottle, we take it really slow, I burp him and then give him a paci for a little bit. If he doesn't settle with that after a few minutes, then I know he's actually still hungry and I'll nurse him for a bit. It seems like they just don't realize they're full as quickly from a bottle as they do from the breast.
Yeah, I tried to feed him slowly, but maybe I need to burp as we go. He finished it and continued to scream and root around for more, like he hadn't even eaten. Any attempt to sooth or settle was met with fierce resistance.
My little guy seems to always still be hungry after a bottle as well. When he was just a few days old, H ended up giving him 5oz from a bottle when I was sleeping because he was still acting hungry. Now if I give him a bottle, we take it really slow, I burp him and then give him a paci for a little bit. If he doesn't settle with that after a few minutes, then I know he's actually still hungry and I'll nurse him for a bit. It seems like they just don't realize they're full as quickly from a bottle as they do from the breast.
Yeah, I tried to feed him slowly, but maybe I need to burp as we go. He finished it and continued to scream and root around for more, like he hadn't even eaten. Any attempt to sooth or settle was met with fierce resistance.
I figured you might have tried some of that already, but I wanted to put it out there just in case.
Post by periwinkledaydreams on Jul 9, 2015 10:25:59 GMT -5
Thank you @amyg for responding to my babbling, and for all of your responses! Your advice is so clear and helpful and I feel better just reading what you have to say. Thank you for being here for us!
I have to second the recommend for earth mama nipple butter.. for all the torture mine have taken this stuff has seemed to do the trick much better than the lanolin or whatever the hospital had given me. Plus it smells like cocoa and you can double it as chapstick
breastfeeding is better this week but now my right breast is sooo painful! My nipples are pink but not itching or feel like glass when feeding so I dont think its thrush. What else could it be. im in some serious pain over here ?
Do you have a fever or any flu-like feeling? Mastitis usually pops up in just one breast as well.
A breastfed baby will OFTEN down a bottle even if they got plenty of milk at the breast. And they won't spit up, cause their stomach is super stretchy right now, that's why it can stretch from the size of a marble to the size of a golf ball and then even more so quickly as your milk comes in.
If you are giving such large bottles, and are not pumping to collect that milk, then your milk supply doesn't know it needs to be making more milk does it?
and yes, 4 oz is a large bottle for such a small baby. AT a week ish old, baby's stomach probably holds 1 to maybe 2 oz
If you are going to give bottles realize that a breastfed baby if they latch onto a bottle like they do a breast they cant stop the flow of milk from a faster flow bottle without moving their tongue. They often don't realize they need to do this with their tongue, so they will just keep sucking and eat the whole bottle and may even look like they are chugging the bottle. So you need to use a super slow flow bottle--if you hold it upside down no milk should come out.
Then for every bottle you give, you need to pump to collect that amount of milk so your supply doesn't' decrease. If you've been giving large bottles and not pumping then your supply may be lower than it should be.
Hope you have a good visit with an LC and get a weighted feeding and some reassurance that things are ok. Let me know what the Lc says.
So a little more background about me - I had a breast reduction about 5 years ago - so I wasn't sure if my supply is/was the issue. The LC did a weighted feeding - after 15 minutes on one side, she only ate 1/2 oz. She then attached a supplementer to the other side with 2oz formula. After feeding on that side with the supplementer, she ate 2.5 oz - so the 2oz of formula and then an extra 1/2 oz from the breast. The LC also noted that Amelia has a tongue tie - she said that she has a good latch and sucks good, but that still may be getting in the way of her. So the new gameplan is to use the supplementer on each side every time she feeds - and hopefully this will also help boost my supply.
That's still a lot of supplementing, 3 oz feeds total is more like a 3 week old would eat, most recommend getting them up to about 2 oz total (which would mean 1 oz of supplement and 1/2 oz on each breast) for the next week and then moving up from there to a larger amt of supplement after another weighted feeding in a week and of course depending on signs of hunger after feeds.
With your history I would get tongue tie fixed to rule out that being part of the equation. You are early on right now but baby able to get 1 oz total at the breast at about a week old is pretty good. It's a sign that your milk supply is working. The tongue tie may be interfering with baby's latch just enough that you don't have a full supply yet, cause baby is having trouble transferring milk.
I would most likely start galactogogues immediately To help to give yourself a boost, at least a mother's milk tea and eating oatmeal every day, maybe some lactation cookies.
I would pump for 15 minutes after every feedings to signal another let down and a higher supply. Use whatever you pump as part of the supplement.
Basically I would recommend being very pushy about getting your supply up to take the worry of the breast surgery out of the equation faster. Sometimes there is a bit of a negative attitude that since it's not likely you'll have a big supply due to the surgery, so an LC might not recommend pulling out all the stops and trying everything. I would basically work to try everything for a week to ensure milk supply increases as it needs to and then reevaluate. Does that make sense at all?
Supplemental nursing systems are a useful tool. Some moms and babies struggle with keeping the tubing in place as baby swings their arms around widely and may grab it and pull it off--sometimes it feels like you need an extra set of hands to hold the tubes in place. A way to avoid that if baby will latch with you having a pumping bra on, they usually fit tighter to the body, like a sports bra with holes in it for the breast, and running the tubing under the straps so that the only tubing they can get to would be that right at the areola. That may help you keep things in place.
Good luck!! When do you go back to the LC for a follow up?
Do you have a fever or any flu-like feeling? Mastitis usually pops up in just one breast as well.
I have a headache and im tired, but who isnt with a newborn. No fever though. I think i may call the LC. This happened overnight!
Could be a clogged duct heading toward mastitis. Pump pump pump and nurse nurse nurse on that side. soak in warm water and massage toward the nipple, esp if you feel any clogs. Check for a nipple bleb or a blister on the top of the nipple which keeps milk from flowing out, and then when you nurse it hurts like the dickens.
My little guy seems to always still be hungry after a bottle as well. When he was just a few days old, H ended up giving him 5oz from a bottle when I was sleeping because he was still acting hungry. Now if I give him a bottle, we take it really slow, I burp him and then give him a paci for a little bit. If he doesn't settle with that after a few minutes, then I know he's actually still hungry and I'll nurse him for a bit. It seems like they just don't realize they're full as quickly from a bottle as they do from the breast.
Yeah, I tried to feed him slowly, but maybe I need to burp as we go. He finished it and continued to scream and root around for more, like he hadn't even eaten. Any attempt to sooth or settle was met with fierce resistance.
Yeah feed with a super slow flow bottle nipple, no milk should come out when you hold it upside down.
Tilt bottle downward and sit baby more upright.
Pause every 1/2 oz and burp for a minute or three. Then switch sides you hold him on to make it more like nursing.
A whole feed with a bottle should take 20 minutes so his brain has time to know his stomach is full.
offer a pacifier after a reasonable size feed (around 2.5-3 oz) for five minutes or so to see if he just wants more sucking satisfaction, or if he's still hungry.
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.