Breastfeeding update

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post #1 of 11

5/22/10 at 12:56pm

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So if you remember things started out rocky with my flat nipples and with dd's lip tie. then because of her slight jaundice they had me already supplementing at the hospital with formula. I was sure it would be another fiasco. I had dealt with nipple confusion in the past with ds so all of dd's feeding were done by syringe to avoid that. Sadly all feedings were done by syringe for the first week to 10 days. I pumped and was able to give her a few feedings a day of my milk. Syringe feeding isn't the easiest or neatest esp when feeding in bed at night and these syringes the hospital gave me only lasted bout 3 days before they break and loose suction. So I had to make a choice as to what to do next. I decided to buy a starter set of the adiri bottles that are breastlike and go from there. I got the bottles on Wednesday this week and my dd loves it. She drinks from it just fine. What surprise me is that this was the first time he ever latched on to anything since she couldn't do that with a syringe. Once she figured out what she had to do she learned to also latch on my breast! It was the opposite of nipple confusion!! After much practice today at 15 days postpartum I'm happy to say that dd now latches on great to my breast! Of course sometimes we need to try 10+ times for that perfect latch but we get it and she stays on anywhere from 5-45 min and does great on both breasts. I figured out what positin works best for us and I think we are gonna make it

today I'm going to try and avoid the bottle 100% and see if I can do all feedings by breast. I'm just so happy about it. I was amazed with that first great latch where I actually hear swallowing!!! I'm still so very new to this and don't know what to expect with frequency of feedings or anything... I just put her on the boob anytime she is hungry and keep her there till she says she's done. I think that works for us.

OPM, I also have been having issues with breastfeeding. My son is very sleepy and falls asleep probably about 80% of the time I try to nurse him, sometimes after sucking for only a few seconds. There have been a few times when I've gotten him to nurse for 40 minutes, too though.
He was born 2 weeks early and I have always thought my edd was a little too early and should be later so probably really at like 37.5 weeks. And he was pretty tiny. The nurses said this behavior is typical of a somewhat early baby.
I have been working with a lactation consultant and what they are having me do right now is first try to nurse him. Then if he falls asleep or won't nurse, immediately give him a bottle of pumped breastmilk (or formula as a last resort) and pump. Also, get as much skin to skin contact with the baby as you can. (I know it's not always possible but even getting yourself down to a tank top and him down to his diaper and holding him helps). Since he was early it took a little longer for my supply to kick in so I've been dealing with that issue as well.

I have read about the nipple confusion as well, but it doesn't seem to be bothering my baby. In fact, when I let him suck on a pacifier for a few minutes before I nurse him, I find that he actually does better. And even though I have introduced some formula, he still prefers the breastmilk to the formula. (I dont blame him, the formula smells pretty rancid while the BM doesn't seem to smell at all).
In the end, making sure he got the calories he needed has only made him stronger and he is actually getting better at breastfeeding, not worse. Don't let all the stuff on the internet scare you. Yes, you want to BF but you also want to make sure your daughter gets some food in her in the meantime.
My son lost too much weight and that is why I ended up having to supplement. And he was a little peanut to begin with so I was really worried about him! It wasn't my first choice, but not every baby "gets it" right away and I will do what I have to do for him to eat!

Anyway, I'm only like a week into it so I'm no expert but I thought it might help for me to share my story. I'll keep ya posted on how it all works out! We are meeting with the LC again today to check his progress/weigh him. Wish me luck!
Oh yeah, also I ended up renting a hospital grade pump. It works really well and I had tried pumping with the manual one and got nothing! It cost me $75 per month but I figure it is worth it if I can get him to BF. Hopefully I"ll only need it for the month! She said if I had been on WIC or had different insurance it would have been free. Mine didn't cover it but eh oh well.

post #9 of 11

5/23/10 at 5:14pm