Thirsty Thursday BF Check-In 8/6

[clbehenna]

How many weeks is your LO?

Questions/Concerns?

Celebrations?

Any funny/cute boob stories recently?

[clbehenna]

How many weeks is your LO? 9w3d

Questions/Concerns? Little dude still won't take a bottle, and I'm a little worried that the last few days he will only fall asleep while comfort nursing...I hope it's just the leap we are in and not a bad habit forming!

Celebrations? I'm just happy to have made it this far!!! I had a nightmarish experience BF DS1 (ended up EPing until I went back to work and then switched to FF), so I'm glad to have been able to have a more positive experience this time around! I actually love it most of the time, except for MOTN comfort nursing when I'd give anything for him to take a pacifier!

Any funny/cute boob stories recently? I just love when DS2 stops nursing and looks up and smiles at me...like he thinks it's the best moment in the world- which he makes it when he does that!

I also thought it was cute/funny when we were at the zoo last week and went to see the gorillas. A mom was holding her baby monkey in a cradle position, and DS1 screams out (loudly...because that's how almost-3-year-olds talk...) "Mommy, that baby's drinking milk from that big monkey!" It wasn't, but I appreciate the association!

[billyhorrible]

clbehenna, LBB nursed to sleep until he was 10 months old. Then he just didn't. I didn't need to break the habit, He just stopped getting as sleepy when he nursed. I really don't believe babies can create habits, they do what they need to do, until they don't need to do it anymore.


I've got nothing this week, no concerns, celebrations or cute stories. Weeks 7/8 are pretty boring round here.

[erbear]

How many weeks is your LO?
7 weeks, 3 days

Questions/Concerns?
I still feel pain when she latches on the right side. Her latch *looks* good. What can I do to stop the pain?

Celebrations?
Every week we make it through is a celebration for me! She's been really fussy today and only satisfied by nursing/sucking. It's been frustrating, but thankfully my H is willing to bring me meals upstairs and he even moved the nice TV upstairs. Oh, and I NIP at Nordstrom's!

Any funny/cute boob stories recently?
She's really gotten into the habit of smiling when she's finished. It's adorable!

[wegrowsheep]

Aug 6, 2015 9:56:28 GMT -5 clbehenna said:

How many weeks is your LO?

Questions/Concerns?

Celebrations?

Any funny/cute boob stories recently?

We are in the 9th week! I had thrush early on, and it seems to have disappeared, thank God. I love T's face when he knows food is "at hand." So excited!
erbear I have a little pain at latching as well, but it's normal, as long as it isn't lingering.

[erbear]

It goes away when she's done nursing, but it is a pinching pain. I produce less on the right, so I don't know if it's her working harder?

I actually didn't feel it when we were out yesterday. I held her in the same position I usually do, but maybe her angle was different or something?

I can't afford to see a LC until I start working again but I might call one. Phone consultations are free.

[mathistm]

Loren is 5 weeks-will be 6 weeks on Saturday.

No questions or concerns here lately.

I made some lactation cookies this past week for my sister who has been having a little trouble with breastfeeding my 12week old niece, due to supply issues. She smokes (which is a whole other battle) and I think that is causing the issues but she will never quit-which is super frustrating. Anyway, the cookies were delicious and increased my supply and what looks like from my pumped milk the consistency has changed as well. It used to look like a lot of foremilk when it separated and baby girl had green poops. Now it looks more balanced and the green has subsided

[paintdadanta]

How many weeks is your LO? 5w4d

Questions/Concerns? How often does everyone burp LO a feeding? I try to do it when he naturally pauses but wonder if it should be more often. DS has problems with gas lately during feeding and reflux.

Celebrations? Finally got him to take a bottle of pumped milk. We had to change out the nipple with Medela ones.

Any funny/cute boob stories recently? Love it when he curls up in a ball against me after a night feeding. As for funny, he was fussy the other day trying to latch and when I tried to position myself I accidentally sprayed milk in his face. He gave me a bewildered look that was priceless.

[billyhorrible]

erbear, stupid obvious question, but where are her hands? Sometimes when I get that pinching feeling, it's because he actually is pinching me. Or digging his nail into me. Or pulling at my breast which is affecting the latch.

paintdadanta, I just burp between breasts.

[jessila]

How many weeks is your LO? 6w1d

Questions/Concerns? Just realized that his poop is green which means I have too much foremilk. How do I fix this?

Celebrations? I was able to fix his latch and therefore stop pain in my nipple! Also, there was a good few oz left in a bottle and he took it from me.

Any funny/cute boob stories recently? He keeps falling asleep and dramatically throwing his arm over my boob making it look like he's claiming me as his.

[thecatsmeow]

Aug 6, 2015 11:15:27 GMT -5 billyhorrible said:

clbehenna, LBB nursed to sleep until he was 10 months old. Then he just didn't. I didn't need to break the habit, He just stopped getting as sleepy when he nursed. I really don't believe babies can create habits, they do what they need to do, until they don't need to do it anymore.

Happy to read this. I keep reading how nursing to sleep is a bad habit and also to lay him down drowsy, but not asleep. That just isn't how it has worked for us. He comfort nurses, nurses to sleep, and hates  sleeping on his back so needs to be OUT (usually) to go to sleep. It is just nice to read someone else's experience that turned out well.

[thecatsmeow]

How many weeks is your LO?
8 weeks

Questions/Concerns?
Will my nipples ever be less sensitive?? For instance, I have to be careful drying after I shower, just dab around... do not rub! They are a little sore too just when first latching. I think he has a good latch, but sometimes nurses a long time and irritates them. Still using lanolin frequently. It is way better than at the start, I just thought they'd "toughen up" more.

Celebrations?
Just keeping at it! Reason in itself to celebrate. Also have a big healthy boy!

Any funny/cute boob stories recently?
Still loving when he gazes up at me while eating.

[billyhorrible]

jessila - green poop can be related to a lot of things, not just imbalance. For instance, if you eat a lot of green veggies, it may show up as green poop in your kid. If you don't have any other symptoms/issues, don't worry about green poop.

thecatsmeow- I have stood in your shoes. I got so stressed out with LBB because we could never put him down drowsy like you're "supposed to." Even after he stopped nursing to sleep, he still needed to be rocked. But as my mom always said, you won't still be rocking him to sleep in college. And it's true.

As a STM I can also tell you BH has no problem with going down drowsy but awake. And since I'm doing the same things with him, I feel pretty confident that the ability to do so is related to the kid, not the parenting.

[erbear]

Aug 6, 2015 13:14:33 GMT -5 billyhorrible said:

erbear, stupid obvious question, but where are her hands? Sometimes when I get that pinching feeling, it's because he actually is pinching me. Or digging his nail into me. Or pulling at my breast which is affecting the latch.

paintdadanta, I just burp between breasts.

I have noticed I'll get an itchy feeling and it's her fingernails on me, but not the pinchy feeling.

And she's nursing now and it doesn't hurt. Odd.

[kemdupuis]

LO is 6w 5d

I am starting to get really frustrated with the comfort nursing. LO wants to be on my boob constantly and screams bloody murder when I don't get it to him fast enough. We were traveling last week, and I ended up pumping a lot so other people could feed him. I found it so much more enjoyable to not have to deal with the constant fast breathing/whining and latching/pulling of my nipples. When he is latched well, nursing is fine- it's just when he is playing around with it that I am bothered. I'm feeling pretty frustrated these days, and am left wondering if he is getting enough milk- and if he isn't, maybe that's why he wants to constantly nurse? I am going to contact my LC tomorrow, but I'm just feeling particularly discouraged right now. I'm so glad the rest of you are enjoying gummy baby smiles.

[dogmama22]

How many weeks is your LO?
8 weeks
Questions/Concerns?
Sorry if you're also on the BF board, because this will be a repeat of my novel with a little new info at the end. LO has only gained 4 ounces in the last month. He's up less than a pound from birth weight. His output is good, he's hydrated and eats 8-10 times per day and typically gets 2 1/2 oz at weighted feedings. I was working with an LC on overactive letdown because we thought the problem was from all the spit up and he seemed to struggle with the flow of milk.
Now that's under control and we have much less volume and frequency with the spit up, but he's still not gaining. I finally spoke with the LC at my BF support group and she believes he has tethered oral tissue (lip and tongue tie), causing him to burn more calories while eating from working so hard. My LC disagrees, but it's kind of our last resort so I scheduled a consultation to see if the dentist believes it should be revised. As much as I don't want to see him in pain, I really hope this is it and revising takes care of the problem. For now, I'm pumping and bottle feeding more so that he hopefully doesn't have to work so hard to eat. I don't know how much it will help, but it was the only thing I could think of to feel like I'm doing something until his consult.
Celebrations?
We're still here and still BFing!! Also, all of this pumping has made me realize how much I really enjoying BFing directly from the source. It was totally the opposite when he was tiny, but I really miss the closeness when we bottle feed.
Any funny/cute boob stories recently?
A couple of times this week LO has started fussing because he's hungry and as soon as I pull my bra down, he breaks out in a big grin. This could totally be a coincidence because I'm not sure if he's old enough to make the connection, but it's so funny!

[ravinraven216]

LO is 8 weeks 2 days.

My only concern is that today when DH tried to give LO a bottle so I could sleep in a bit, he didn't want it. We've never had trouble with getting him to take one before and he starts daycare in two weeks.

On the plus side, I'm really excited that I've made it this long. Now if we could just reduce the number of night feelings to less than 4 I'd appreciate it immensely. Last night he kept waking to snack and it was irritating.

My DH has nicknamed my right side The Snack Boob and the left is Smorgasboob.

[tiffbot]

Aug 6, 2015 14:23:26 GMT -5 thecatsmeow said:

Aug 6, 2015 11:15:27 GMT -5 billyhorrible said:

clbehenna, LBB nursed to sleep until he was 10 months old. Then he just didn't. I didn't need to break the habit, He just stopped getting as sleepy when he nursed. I really don't believe babies can create habits, they do what they need to do, until they don't need to do it anymore.

Happy to read this. I keep reading how nursing to sleep is a bad habit and also to lay him down drowsy, but not asleep. That just isn't how it has worked for us. He comfort nurses, nurses to sleep, and hates  sleeping on his back so needs to be OUT (usually) to go to sleep. It is just nice to read someone else's experience that turned out well.

Yep, I second that statement. I also put down DS asleep for months until he just didn't anymore. He started sleeping so well especially around 1 that by the time he was around 21 months we moved him into his own bed vs a crib and it didn't affect his sleeping habits at all!

Anyway, to do with the thread at hand DD is 9 weeks today, nothing really out of the ordinary happening! She's one of the mystical little beings who has spit up 3 times her entire life. I think DS would spit up 3 times a day!

I don't know if I have any cute stories but I have started slowly getting more comfortable BFing while babywearing in the last week!

[ladysif]

6 weeks.

Still have overproduction and crazy letdown but still only pumping once a day to relieve myself so that is good. Definitely have high lipase again so have started scalding everything I pump which is super annoying. Will try introducing a bottle this weekend with fresh milk.

DS2 is pretty strong and so instead of fussing when he is hungry, he just wiggles his way down (if he doesn't outright facedive) and will try to latch on anyone.

[pghtruelove]

How many weeks is your LO?
6 weeks 5 days

Questions/Concerns?
I think I am having an oversupply issue. J has started nursing a lot longer than normal and my breast still feels completely full. When she does nurse she is latched for 30 seconds -2 mins and then starts coughing or choking. It seems like she can't get comfortable on my breast. Not sure what to do about it.

Celebrations?
Been NIP a lot. Getting a lot more comfortable with feeling like I am feeding my child not flashing the world.

Any funny/cute boob stories recently?
I always worry but think she looks so cute when she is coughing. Also think she is adorable when she is full but still wants to just lick and rub all over her face. It always has me laughing.

[dogmama22]

Aug 7, 2015 6:09:24 GMT -5 pghtruelove said:

Questions/Concerns?
I think I am having an oversupply issue. J has started nursing a lot longer than normal and my breast still feels completely full. When she does nurse she is latched for 30 seconds -2 mins and then starts coughing or choking. It seems like she can't get comfortable on my breast. Not sure what to do about it.

Your supply will start to regulate naturally after the 6 week growth spurt - LO has probably just increased it a lot if they were cluster feeding during the growth spurt.
Here are suggestions from my LC about oversupply/ overactive letdown in the meantime:
Face away from the shower head
Lean back while nursing - football hold is not good to use for this situation
When baby pops off during letdown, hand express a for a bit into a burp cloth, until the spray is less forceful
Reduce inflammatory foods (dairy, gluten, sugar, processed)
Take 750-1000 mg of magnesium/ day (helps the body more effectively communicate the correct amount of milk it needs)
Hand express/ pump only to comfort, not to drain

[Deleted]

Aug 7, 2015 8:02:32 GMT -5 dogmama22 said:

Aug 7, 2015 6:09:24 GMT -5 pghtruelove said:

Questions/Concerns?
I think I am having an oversupply issue. J has started nursing a lot longer than normal and my breast still feels completely full. When she does nurse she is latched for 30 seconds -2 mins and then starts coughing or choking. It seems like she can't get comfortable on my breast. Not sure what to do about it.

Your supply will start to regulate naturally after the 6 week growth spurt - LO has probably just increased it a lot if they were cluster feeding during the growth spurt.
Here are suggestions from my LC about oversupply/ overactive letdown in the meantime:
Face away from the shower head
Lean back while nursing - football hold is not good to use for this situation
When baby pops off during letdown, hand express a for a bit into a burp cloth, until the spray is less forceful
Reduce inflammatory foods (dairy, gluten, sugar, processed)
Take 750-1000 mg of magnesium/ day (helps the body more effectively communicate the correct amount of milk it needs)
Hand express/ pump only to comfort, not to drain

eh some of that advice I have never heard for oversupply (like "inflammatory foods).

Also I probably don't have to say this, but if you take magnesium, also take calcium (they should come in a combo) and they work to stabilize hormones and make for less swings in supply due to ovulation and your period.

Oversupply usual advice is to feed primarily on one side per feeding, not on both sides unless baby really demands it, then main meal is side one, side two is just dessert.

feed with baby's head higher than the breast, so gravity tends to pull baby down into a deeper latch, and milk is flowing against gravity which slows the speed of the milk so baby doesn't cough or choke.

at let down you may have to pull off and spray into a towel or cup and then relatch when the flow is slower.

[dogmama22]

Aug 11, 2015 16:08:10 GMT -5 @amyg said:

Aug 7, 2015 8:02:32 GMT -5 dogmama22 said:

Your supply will start to regulate naturally after the 6 week growth spurt - LO has probably just increased it a lot if they were cluster feeding during the growth spurt.
Here are suggestions from my LC about oversupply/ overactive letdown in the meantime:
Face away from the shower head
Lean back while nursing - football hold is not good to use for this situation
When baby pops off during letdown, hand express a for a bit into a burp cloth, until the spray is less forceful
Reduce inflammatory foods (dairy, gluten, sugar, processed)
Take 750-1000 mg of magnesium/ day (helps the body more effectively communicate the correct amount of milk it needs)
Hand express/ pump only to comfort, not to drain

eh some of that advice I have never heard for oversupply (like "inflammatory foods).

Also I probably don't have to say this, but if you take magnesium, also take calcium (they should come in a combo) and they work to stabilize hormones and make for less swings in supply due to ovulation and your period.

Oversupply usual advice is to feed primarily on one side per feeding, not on both sides unless baby really demands it, then main meal is side one, side two is just dessert.

feed with baby's head higher than the breast, so gravity tends to pull baby down into a deeper latch, and milk is flowing against gravity which slows the speed of the milk so baby doesn't cough or choke.

at let down you may have to pull off and spray into a towel or cup and then relatch when the flow is slower.

It's so interesting to see all of the different advice out there. I forget the exact explanation the IBCLC gave for reducing inflammatory foods, but it seemed to make a big difference for me. I'm not very good at remembering to take the magnesium and I already would only feed on one side and it decreased quite a bit. It could just be coincidence, though.

[bookninja]

I've been reading that LO will nurse a lot to increase supply, (she's 8 weeks on Thursday), but wanted to ask if the opposite was true? She's been so sleepy yesterday and today, going 3 - 5 hours between feedings. I haven't been pumping In between because I don't want oversupply... Will this negatively impact my supply?

[Deleted]

Aug 11, 2015 18:00:47 GMT -5 bookninja said:

I've been reading that LO will nurse a lot to increase supply, (she's 8 weeks on Thursday), but wanted to ask if the opposite was true? She's been so sleepy yesterday and today, going 3 - 5 hours between feedings. I haven't been pumping In between because I don't want oversupply... Will this negatively impact my supply?

If you are nursing on baby's demand your supply will adjust to match that demand. So if baby needs more food, supply goes up, and if baby needs less food supply goes down.  But as your supply becomes regulated, most of the milk for a feed starts to be made mostly right as they start to nurse, rather than being stored up (and feeling engorged).

[Deleted]

Aug 11, 2015 16:50:41 GMT -5 dogmama22 said:

Aug 11, 2015 16:08:10 GMT -5 @amyg said:

eh some of that advice I have never heard for oversupply (like "inflammatory foods).

Also I probably don't have to say this, but if you take magnesium, also take calcium (they should come in a combo) and they work to stabilize hormones and make for less swings in supply due to ovulation and your period.

Oversupply usual advice is to feed primarily on one side per feeding, not on both sides unless baby really demands it, then main meal is side one, side two is just dessert.

feed with baby's head higher than the breast, so gravity tends to pull baby down into a deeper latch, and milk is flowing against gravity which slows the speed of the milk so baby doesn't cough or choke.

at let down you may have to pull off and spray into a towel or cup and then relatch when the flow is slower.

It's so interesting to see all of the different advice out there. I forget the exact explanation the IBCLC gave for reducing inflammatory foods, but it seemed to make a big difference for me. I'm not very good at remembering to take the magnesium and I already would only feed on one side and it decreased quite a bit. It could just be coincidence, though.

There are small studies that suggests moms who take in a lot of carbohydrates may produce more lactose in their milk. But over all, a good quality diet is your best bet.

Refraining from eating one particular food (dairy, soy, gluten) can restrict mom's diet enough to cause supply to lower on it's own which takes care of signs of oversupply (just like if mom was going on a weight loss diet and her supply lowered).

Do be sure that you take calcium if you take magnesium as those two minerals need to stay in a perfect ratio for health--calcium without magnesium doesn't work well and magnesium without calcium doesn't work well.