Hope I can jump in. I was mostly a lurker on TB and had decided start posting but then everything went crazy and then I had a baby. Came back and saw everyone had moved over here.
My LO is 8 days old.
Our struggles are sleeping during a feeding and a bad latch on my left side. I have tried everything but Maxwell always pulls back on my nip after getting a good latch. Any suggestions would be great.
I plan on BF/pump for a year like I did with my DD.
My husband is great. He keeps on asking when we will start offering the bottle bc he wants to help out. Even the night time feelings. I want to make sure we get the latch down on both sides before introducing the bottle though. My IL are also great. They didn't BF but got used to it with DD.
Sorry if the was rambling. I am on mobile so will see how it turns out
I just talked to a LC and she told me to switch sides every 5 minutes. Anyone else heard of this? She said it keeps the baby awake during feedings.
Well sort of. If baby is young and conking out and really sleepy you switch back and forth as needed to keep him awake but that doesn't mean necessarily five minutes
I just talked to a LC and she told me to switch sides every 5 minutes. Anyone else heard of this? She said it keeps the baby awake during feedings.
This surprises me because I would think that your little one would fill up on the foremilk and not get enough hind milk.
She said you go back and forth so he gets hindmilk from both sides. I tried switching at 10 during his last feed and it was a fail. L ended up eating for 20 mins total, once on each side.
How long do you ladies nurse on each side? L is a week old but a big guy (9 lbs 7 oz as of yesterday).
I do 20 min on one side and then switch? Am I waiting too long? LO is especially sleepy at the end. I try all the normal stuff like skin to skin, tickling and cool cloth
Ongoing struggles? Mommy does not make enough milk. I'm drinking water, taking capsules, pumping, nursing, and supplementing.
Struggles that you have worked through? We have good latch and apparently, according to the LC, my nipples are "perfect" for breastfeeding. Just not enough milk behind them.
How long do you plan/hope to BF? As long as she wants to in light of the bottle.
Do you have a lot of support for BF IRL? My dr and LC are supportive with real help. DH is supportive in theory, like he wants me to do it, but doesn't really want any extra work on his end. Hoping that will change.
You should nurse on side one til they pull of on their own or sucking becomes light with little swallowing. Then burp and offer side two as dessert. They don't always need dessert. If they are really sleepy and don't do very long like the five min feed or even ten you do everything to nag them awake to eat longer including switching sides. But don't watch the clock and switch at a certain time. Watch baby instead.
15-20 minutes on each side is considered normal. Of course there is a large variation in what is normal
I only feed one side at a time, which usually lasts for about 16 minutes. She's pretty good about pulling herself off when she's done. However, during cluster feeding time when she needs a little break, she won't unlatch she'll doze off and use me as a pacifier.
Post by tomorrowisanotherday on Jan 28, 2015 9:39:40 GMT -5
How old is your LO? Two weeks tomorrow!
Ongoing struggles? Been going pretty well so far, only complaint is that my flow seems to be faster on the left side and it's harder to feed him on that side because he gets choked and sometimes spits up. Been trying different holds and pulling him off, burping... any other suggestions?
Struggles worked through? I'm lucky, he is feeding really well overall. At his one week check, he had already gained a half pound past birth weight!
How long do you plan to BF? I would like to make it at least a year and then reevaluate. I stay at home, so I am EBF, but I am getting a manual pump for if we want to be able to leave him for more than a few hours.
BF support IRL? My DH is very proud/supportive of the decision to BF and is good at soothing, changing diapers, etc. so that I don't have to do everything when he is home. My mom BF both of her kids, so she has been good for support and advice, and my midwives at the birth center were great from the start. I also want to attend an LLL meeting in my area soon
Ongoing struggles? Been going pretty well so far, only complaint is that my flow seems to be faster on the left side and it's harder to feed him on that side because he gets choked and sometimes spits up. Been trying different holds and pulling him off, burping... any other suggestions?
You can try reclining while you nurse on that side to allow gravity to work in your advantage. At the very least make sure you aren't leaning down over him so that he can unlatch and let milk flow out the side. You might find it helps to manually express some on that side before feeding so that the flow isn't so fast for him. When he does start gulping unlatch with your finger in the corner of his mouth and then let the milk flow into a burp cloth or towel until it stops. It gets better with time. And then when your supply finally regulates a bit you might find that he is dissatisfied with the slower flow for a while!
Ongoing Struggles: Emotionally for me just having to pump to replace missed feedings when daddy or someone else feeds her with a bottle or needing to be with her all the time.
Struggles you have worked through? I had really bad engorgement, felt like I could feed all the LOs on the maternity floor of the hospital but was able to get through that and the first two weeks of really sore and cracked nipples.
How long do you plan/hope to BF? 9m-1y, until she can eat real food regularly and so that I won't have to pump while at work.
Do you have support to BF IRL? Yes, my DH is very supportive of it and would be extremely disappointed if I gave it up. All our family and friends are supportive as well even though my mom and my BF were unable to BF.
Post by grumpycat88 on Feb 1, 2015 11:52:36 GMT -5
Ladies who pump, how are you storing your bm in the fridge? We've been using bottles but LO is starting to use the big bottles for feedings now. Should I bite the bullet and just go out to buy more bottles? I don't pump enough for a freezer stash and we use what I've pumped within two days.
Ladies who pump, how are you storing your bm in the fridge? We've been using bottles but LO is starting to use the big bottles for feedings now. Should I bite the bullet and just go out to buy more bottles? I don't pump enough for a freezer stash and we use what I've pumped within two days.
I use storage bags I have yet to freeze any but that way you can still have all your bottles clean
Ahh this is a good idea. We bought storage bags thinking they would be for a freezer stash. But since I'm not making enough for that, this works! Thank you!!
I use storage bags I have yet to freeze any but that way you can still have all your bottles clean
Ahh this is a good idea. We bought storage bags thinking they would be for a freezer stash. But since I'm not making enough for that, this works! Thank you!!
I use the storage bags too! You can get them super cheap on Amazon if you're a prime member! If not Our local Walmart had some medela stuff on sale the other day so maybe your local store will too!
I freeze my first two pumps of the day. After that I pump into the medela 5 oz bottle or the medela 2.7 oz collection bottle, depending on the time of day as I make less in the afternoon.
Ongoing struggles? Nursing often makes me feel extremely depressed. I think part of it is feeling like I never get a break. Another part is hormones. But even though nursing has been relatively easy for us, I'm often reduced to tears during a session.
Struggles that you have worked through? Haven't worked through it yet. I started pumping a little in hopes that DH would share in the feeding aspect but she hasn't taken a bottle yet.
How long do you plan/hope to BF? The goal was 1 year.
Do you have a lot of support for BF IRL? My husband is really supportive of it but sometimes to the point that it drives me crazy. I know he's trying to help but I don't need him to tell me how we could do things better. I'm doing it just fine.
Post by Jellypepper on Feb 1, 2015 17:57:45 GMT -5
How old is your LO? 2 days old
Ongoing struggles? We are getting good latches about 80% of the time with very minimal discomfort. If we happen to get a bad latch(sharp pain) I unlatch her and start over. I have very large breasts so I find I have to use 2 hands to nurse. I'm looking forward to when I can multi task while nursing.
Struggles that you have worked through? I was feeling really uncoordinated on my right side yesterday. It was a real struggle to get her on the breast. The LC said it was because that's my dominant hand. It's much better today and we get a good latch on that side in the cradle hold.
How long do you plan/hope to BF? My ultimate goal is 1 year. My mini goals are 1 month, 3 months, 6 months.
Do you have a lot of support for BF IRL? DH has been awesome so far. He let me get two stretches of 2 1/2 hours of sleep and just brought baby to me to eat. He also brings me snacks and water while I'm nursing. Since I'm using to 2 hands during feeds he holds the straw to my lips so I can drink.
Ongoing struggles? Fussy/gassiness. Hard to tell if just normal newborn issue or something in my diet bothering him or mild reflux?
Struggles that you have worked through? Shallow latch while in hospital but got an extra session in with LC before we were discharged to get the latch fixed before my nipples got too sore
How long do you plan/hope to BF? Def to 1 year with hopes of getting to 18 months. Got to 15 months and 18 months with my daughters but had to wean them both since I got pregnant while I was still BFing with both of them.
Do you have a lot of support for BF IRL? I'd say so. My husband is on board and our family supports it.
Post by hollydfromtn on Feb 2, 2015 7:17:33 GMT -5
How old is your LO? 4 days
Ongoing struggles? He's very uninterested in latching onto my nipple. I was given a shield at the hospital but not really clear instructions on how to get him to latch. So very frustrated with that. I don't feel like my LC really helped at all. She told me a few tricks to try but didn't actually show me anything.
Struggles that you have worked through? Using the shield helped with latch issues I the beginning but it is only supposed to be a temporary fix.
How long do you plan/hope to BF? I hope for a year.
Do you have a lot of support for BF IRL? DH is very encouraging and supportive but that only goes so far. My step mother is also a great support person. She breastfed my brother who is now 3, so all of this is still very fresh in her mind.
shehulk723 I'm sorry you're struggling. I went through the same thing in the beginning. I felt like there was so much pressure on me and it was overwhelming causing me major anxiety. Then I realized I was putting the pressure on myself. If I need to give her a bottle and pump, I do. We still have days where I have to remind myself to relax, but it's a lot better. Hang in there!
Post by mapetitefamille on Feb 4, 2015 22:03:26 GMT -5
How old is your LO? 8 days
Ongoing struggles? Working on her latch. She had a posterior tongue tie that was repaired yesterday. Prior to that, her latch was shallow and caused cracking and bleeding. It got to the point where I was EPing for the past few days just so I could heal. She's doing a lot better now and is starting to figure it out, but still occasionally falls back into the shallow latch. We're seeing the LC on Saturday just to see if there's anything else I should be doing in terms of positioning, etc.
Struggles that you have worked through? Just the above.
How long do you plan/hope to BF? I'd like to get to a year again. I EBF DD1 until 8 mos, then supplemented until she self weaned at a year. My goals are similar this time around.
Do you have a lot of support for BF IRL? Yes, most of my friends BF and DH is super supportive. My mom also BF so she knows the deal. And my in laws are also supportive, though they didn't BF so don't understand the struggles in quite the same way.
Ladies who pump, how are you storing your bm in the fridge? We've been using bottles but LO is starting to use the big bottles for feedings now. Should I bite the bullet and just go out to buy more bottles? I don't pump enough for a freezer stash and we use what I've pumped within two days.
I use bottles for the current stash because I think the bags can get messy when poring them back into the bottle. You have to use the bottle anyway, so for me it was just saving a step. I use the bags for my freezer stash though. I actually found the Medela bottles for the cheapest on the Walgreens website and if you spend over $25 you get free shipping. You can go onto the Medela website and they give links to all of the places that sell bottles and accessories.
How long do you plan/hope to BF? still bf/ing my 3 year old a little bit, so i imagine he will wean in the next year and this baby will be similar. My first was close to 5 when she had her last breastfeed.
Do you have a lot of support for BF IRL? Most everything I learned was from online. Had my first at 18 and had never seen anyone breastfeed before except my aunt one time, so I had to start from scratch.
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