try this again? CHAT! thru Sunday Feb 21st - Page 2

[Magistra]

Dealing with an oversupply issue and its attendant gas and fussiness. Some improvement with Hyland's and nursing against gravity, but it's still exhausting. I feel bad about complaining though, because he's otherwise such a pleasant baby and he never cries without reason. He's sacked out across me right now.

Think the 7-year-old may be coming down with something. He's out of sorts today and running a very low-grade fever. I feel really lucky that my partner is so hands on (and that older son is in school most days and has occasional playdates).

[Catubodua]

two weeks old today. we're doing ok.

he has a "witching hour" each evening from 9 ish to 11 ish - so could be 9 to 10 or 10 to 11. we just never know. during this time he screams his head off and will not be comforted.

but, other than that, he's a wonderful baby. i'm totally in love with his smiles and how he hugs my hand so hard when i put it on his chest with his two little hands.

[mrsfrenchy]

Originally Posted by Magistra

Dealing with an oversupply issue and its attendant gas and fussiness. Some improvement with Hyland's and nursing against gravity, but it's still exhausting. I feel bad about complaining though, because he's otherwise such a pleasant baby and he never cries without reason. He's sacked out across me right now.

Have you tried block feeding? That was what helped get my oversupply under control with DD1. But oversupply sucks for you and for the baby. And both of my girls have tended to get really gassy in the middle of the night which of course is lovely. I hope you get it taken care of soon. (and make sure you don't get too engorged and get mastisis--that really blows)

Originally Posted by Catubodua

two weeks old today. we're doing ok.

he has a "witching hour" each evening from 9 ish to 11 ish - so could be 9 to 10 or 10 to 11. we just never know. during this time he screams his head off and will not be comforted.

but, other than that, he's a wonderful baby. i'm totally in love with his smiles and how he hugs my hand so hard when i put it on his chest with his two little hands.

Oh DD1 was like that (and she too was a 'great' baby). except her witching our was somewhere around 2 or 3 am. The first night she screamed for 2.5 hours. After that it went down to about an hour or so each night. I think it went away by 4 weeks or so, but it was so difficult to deal with, emotionally. The first two or three nights, DH and I were in tears and we were both thinking "WTH have we done?" s I hope it passes quickly for you.

[devasma]

Originally Posted by AfricanQueen99

Well, we're alive - so that's a good thing.

Right now we have a couple of challenges:
* Griffin has a killer rash that we're working on clearing up. I'm 100% positive that it's yeast so he's in 'sposies right now since it will live in the cloth. I'm creaming his butt and talcing his bits at every chance. I am really interested in hearing if any of you use probiotics *AND* give some to your newbies - how much do you give them? brand? how do you get it in?

My midwife recommended BioGaia for Ethan. It is probiotics in drop form, so you just give 5 drops a day. I got it at the drug store - OTC but had to ask at the pharmacy for it. It was $30 (cdn) and lasted about 3 weeks. I've read that you can get regular probiotic capsules, open a few up, wet your finger, dip in the probiotic powder and get the baby to suck it off your finger. We've had thrush off and on for about a month, it hasn't been fun. The probiotics seem to help his stomach issues a bit.

[Magistra]

Originally Posted by mrsfrenchy

Have you tried block feeding? That was what helped get my oversupply under control with DD1. But oversupply sucks for you and for the baby. And both of my girls have tended to get really gassy in the middle of the night which of course is lovely. I hope you get it taken care of soon. (and make sure you don't get too engorged and get mastisis--that really blows)

Forgot to say that I was block-feeding too. From what I've read, it's not too surprising to be hitting this obstacle at 10 days on, so I'm hoping we'll be turning the corner soon since I've been proactive on managing it. Since I want to get him to take the occasional bottle soon (need to get in some observations for my ed course), I've been pumping off just enough to make sure I don't stay engorged for too long, but hopefully not so much that I make the oversupply permanent. It's quite the balancing act!

[jillmamma]

Originally Posted by Astraia

Everything is "no" (and throwing herself on the floor) and she's really pushing boundaries right now. Also LOVES the baby and wants to give him hugs and kisses all the time. Unfortunately, she just squashes him so it's a fight to keep her off while letting her feel like she's hugged or kissed him sufficiently to avoid the tantrum that always follows if we tell her "no" or try to redirect.

I have another one of those here! Except she is 4.5 and weighs 29 lb, so I definitely don't want her laying on top of the baby!

Marissa will be 4 weeks tomorrow! Not sure what she weighs at this point (8 or 9 lb?), but definitely we are getting lots of milk in and pee and poop out. Her nickname for now is "Squeaky" as she makes a lot of those sweet baby squeaky sounds. She is so snuggly and just plain cute if I do say so myself. We are cosleeping for now (I do have a pack n play w/ bassinet insert set up in my room, but mainly am using it now for diaper changes/safe place to set her down) as that gets her and mama the best sleep. She is up about twice a night to nurse. The biggest challenge for me lately is trying to make sure I can get enough into her right before we have to get in the car to take the older siblings where they need to go (preschool, plus after school activities). I just hate it when we get in the car and she is crying because she is hungry, but there is nothing I can do at that moment. But, I do feel it is quite an accomplishment to get 3 kids into carseats all across the backseat and get someplace on time! It does help that my older two are 7 and 4.5 and can mostly get themselves in and out, although I still have to hold hands and remind them not to just run off in a parking lot.

I THINK my bleeding may have FINALLY stopped (hooray!) which hopefully means I get a nice long break from that (PPAF came at 15+ months with the other 2). Stupid hemmorhoids are still bugging me too, and seems like those make it a bit harder to do #2 (sorry, TMI). I have some hydrocortisone cream from the hospital I am using, so hopefully that will go down soon. Plus, I am upping the fiber in my diet (raisin bran every morning!) to help too.

So far, so good on PPD. I had that with both of my first two (actually just a worsening of my clinical depression that I have all the time), but this time I am under care of a psychiatrist who is managing my meds so we seem to have found a good dose for me. I hope all of you are managing to avoid it too!

It is great to hear how our LOs are growing and doing well.

[Catubodua]

a few things -

does it hurt them when they lose their umbilical cord? Andrew has been especially fussy / cranky pants last night & tonight and i'm noticing that it's starting to come off. could that be causing his fussiness?

and, i'm even more depressed about my lack of breastmilk than i was yesterday. while visiting a daycare we may use i was speaking to another mom who's had to pump and she was telling me she gets 5 to 6 oz of milk after only 10 minutes.

and, here i am with only 1/4 ounce after 30 minutes.

[AfricanQueen99]

^^^ I'm sorry, I can't remember. Are you solely pumping or nursing and pumping? I ask because I donated my milk for my daughter's first year of life and would get *very* little if I wasn't nursing her at the same time. My body needed her to make me let down. It's worth a shot.

[smokeylo]

Catubdoa, a few things...

- first, it takes awhile for boobs to get used to the pump. the first time i pumped, i barely got anything. it took a week of daily pumping to start getting a good amount reliably.
- a good pump is required -- i hope you have a purely yours or PISA. that being said, some women have better luck with a hand pump, or hand expression. try different things if one thing doesn't work after a week or so.
- it takes awhile for your body to adjust to pumping ON TOP OF feeding the baby. when you're away from the baby, you'll tend to get more when you pump because you're replacing a feeding with pumping, so your boobs are like THANK YOU RELIEF!! but when you're pumping to build a stash on top of feeding the baby, your supply has to increase which can take some time.
- all that being said, 1-2 oz per breast per pumping session is normal output. if you're replacing a feeding, you might get closer to 4 oz total. that 5-6 oz lady is NOT typical!!

Hang in there. It will get easier and you will be able to nourish your baby!!

[Catubodua]

thank you both.

he is not breastfeeding at all. when i try to get him to latch he pushes away and turns his head and screams and cries.

i have been using the Purely Yours electric pump for over a week and i still barely get anything even though i keep getting told my milk will come in. i have tried a manual pump (got literally nothing) and when i try to hand express i get one or two drops.

i started pumping / feeding formula b/c he lost a huge amount of weight - went from 8.4 birth weight down to 7.2 at his first Peds appointment where he wasn't even a week old yet.

they suggested that i breastfeed every other feeding while giving formula for the other feedings. this only worked for the formula feed. he'd be happy and sleep for a bit. for the breastfeeding feed he'd latch for a moment, then pop off and scream and then continue screaming for a loooonnnnngggg time - basically until i fed him more formula.

they then encouraged me to get a pump to help keep at least some breastmilk getting in to him. the Peds practice is probreastfeeding and gave me the name / contact of a LC (same one i saw at the hospital) and she was very helpful with different positions to hold him in, etc. she said he had a great latch and a great suck (it is very strong) but the bottom line is, when i was EBFing he doesn't gain weight, and went like 20 hours without a pee. this is just not safe for such a small infant.

so, it doesn't surprise me that i'm not getting anything when i pump. i don't think there is anything to get. i never have that my boobs hurt and / or are full feeling.

as for the 1 to 2 oz thing - i'm not even getting 1/4 of an ounce. most times i'm barely covering the bottom of the bottle that collects the milk pumped. and, sometimes that's only happening if i pump for 30 minutes and for 29 of those minutes i'm massaging and milking my boob.

[smokeylo]

catubdoa, sounds like you need to consult with a lactation consultant (preferably one with an IBCLC credential) ASAP. Docs/nurses often give terrible, counterproductive advice that can hinder nursing. Do you have a LLL chapter near you? You can call leaders even if you've never attended a meeting. There's still a chance to get your LO back to the breast, and bring that milk in, but it sounds like since the pump isn't working for you you REALLY need him nursing to do that. Seriously, call a breastfeeding guru ASAP to get some real help and not just advice about using formula, which will only hurt your supply.

Have you tried or thought about using an SNS tube feeder instead of bottles to feed your son? This could help stimulate your breasts to produce milk, encourage him to return to nursing, and guarantee that he's still being nourished.