How's breastfeeding going? - Page 2

[Surfacing]

[welsh]

nak
Cerys is nearly 3 days old and the gassiest baby ever....her tummy gurgles so loudly and she's in alot of discomfort. Not getting much sleep here.

Milk is in and she nursed alot for comfort last night then did 2 green, mucusy poos.
Is it too early for block feeding?

Latch painful too as I've got big nipples and she's got a small mouth.
oy.

[CorasMama]

I'm PAK, but I have a hands-free pumping bra, which has become my bff!

We're doing well on nursing, when we can and when I can get her awake enough.

Our schedule is every 3 hours, but skipping one at night by approval of the nutritionist (the schedule, with only getting an hour to hour and a half of sleep at a time, was just unsustainable). She gets to take the breast 3-4 times a day, and a bottle the other 3-4 times. She does oral feeding for 15 minutes, and then gets the rest of a feed in her ng tube. All the milk that goes in her bottles and through the tube is breastmilk, fortified with protein powder, to add protein and calories, both of which she needs for healing and growing. She gets too tired to nurse or drink from the bottle much longer than 12-15 minutes, and it burns too many calories that she needs to use otherwise. She's currently ramping up to 95ml/feed, then going up 5ml/feed each week. When it's a breastfeed first, I just have to estimate how much she's taking, based on how it feels and how long she nurses, and then our experience while we were in the hospital, with weighing her before and after nursing.

I'm pumping every feed, while she gets her tube feeding. I'm getting royally sick of pumping, but I'm going to be doing it for quite a while. I'll keep doing it, though, for a year, or whenever she stops needing it. But my hope is that she can be just nursing by six months. Pumping full-time sucks hardcore, and I'm getting blisters on one nipple (long story, convoluted cause). But so far, my supply is okay. We're using about 700ml/day of pumped milk (some gets wasted each day,) and I'm putting an additional 100-200ml (that's 3-6oz, approximately) into the freezer. If I weren't on meds, I'd donate through milkshare, eventually. I'm taking More Milk Special Blend, so that I can keep up with her increasing feeding amounts, especially now that I'm going six hours at night between pumpings.

When we do nurse, we are using a nipple shield, because I have really short nipples, and she is super chompy. I used a nipple shield for the first few months with Cora, and she transitioned off just fine when her mouth was a bit bigger, so I expect a similar experience. And the OT/PT/lactation people keep giving me nipple shields when I lose one, so I have 3 scattered around the house, and I'm fine with using the shield as long as we need it. Even a year, if that's what enables us to nurse.

Other than that, though, she's a champion (considering her issues) nurser, and I'm so proud of her. When we side-lie nurse, and she starts out awake, she'll nurse really well for a good 15-20 minutes before she pulls off, and tries to cuddle her face up to my breast (which, because the nipple part of the nipple shield is kinda stiff, results in it poking her in the nose, and my laughing my butt off at her.)

Well, that's our teal deer. I'm glad nursing is going so well for the majority of us (I do include myself in that category), and hope it gets better for those struggling.

Oh, I'm also using APNO (All-Purpose Nipple Ointment), prescribed by the OB, to help with the blisters and scaring away the possible thrush that's threatening to be an issue, both on the left side. If you have trouble, especially if you aren't sure of the cause (thrush/yeast, sores, cracks, etc) I totally recommend it. It has an antifungal, antibiotic, and mild steroid, so it really is All-Purpose. You may have trouble finding a pharmacy that makes it, but a hospital pharmacy should. It was Dr. Jack Newman, a leading breastfeeding expert, who came up with it, and it's marvelous stuff.

[craft_media_hero]

Originally Posted by mataji4

matthia, sorry you are having a bit of nursing frustration. was he early? could he be hypoglycemic, hence sleepy because his blood sugar is low? sometimes with sleepy babies you have to be pretty aggressive about waking them- undress them, mess with them, take them outside, i've even known someone to use ice on baby's feet! once disturbed and fussy, offer the breast and then keep sort of jostling/talking, etc to keep them awake. perhaps you are doing this already. if your midwife isn't helpful enough, then i encourage you to contact a local la leche league leader or a breastfeeding consultant (either from the local hospital or some doulas are certified as well). good luck!!!! and congratulations

I totally agree with this! My first was a very sleepy nurser and would kind of conk out after only 5min or so at the breast; for the first few weeks, I had to tickle her neck and chin to keep her awake pretty much through every feeding.

Very good advice ^ and maybe nurse in a more stimulating environment with the lights on and talking to him, etc. Also, I would wake him up to feed and try and nurse very frequently until he kind of perks up about it. I think your reservations about feeding NOT from the breast are good sound mama instinct. I have also heard if your babe is awake and alert, offer the breast just so that they can "practice" and get milk as much as possible.

I think this can be a very short hump to get over and wishing you happy nursing vibes!