How's Breastfeeding going?

[Lyss]

Just wondering how you other moms (where's MLM) are doing with the breastfeeding?

Molly is doing well - our latch and everything is good - but she's showing signs of allergies like her brother and sister.  Mucousy, runny poops instead of the pretty mustard seed ones she had the first few days.  I've been avoiding dairy and soy since she was born just because the odds she wouldn't have gut issues seemed pretty slim.

I forgot just HOW MUCH TIME it takes to nurse an infant.  It seems like on the off-chance I can put her down successfully, she's up shortly wanting milk.  My other kids are very understanding, but the housework isn't.

[Sandrine]

He still goes on and off at first. So I try to get a burp and once he does one, he's nurses better. He's latch is good. He also doesn't have a good poop. It's green and very watery. I just took out nuts/treenuts and today, I got to see yellow instead of green. So I think I'm on the right track. I've been dairy free too since he was born.

He's slower than his sisters were. He takes about 30min or so while the girls took max 10min or so.

[1bighappyfam]

Fairly well. We have green poops but positive it is too much foremilk. He is a sleepy fella.

[Lyss]

Sandrine, I totally forgot about burping her for days.  Burping helps!  It must be frustrating to have a slow nurser when you have three other little ones.  Molly only likes my "fast" boob.  She fusses when I put her on the slow one.

If you're avoiding dairy and nuts, what are you doing for fats? 

1bighappyfam, it IS tricky balancing the milk.  I have been trying to really empty each boob and make sure the milk is white.  I didn't follow the hospital directions this time for nursing, which really cut down on my oversupply.  So did offering the pacifier early and often.  Hope it evens out for you soon.

[rockycrop]

It's going OK here.  Georgia is slightly tongue tied, so my nipples are pretty sore, but she is eating well.  My milk came in Sunday and I still feel painfully engorged a lot of the time.  I can't remember how long that takes to go away.  I bought some cabbage today, and I hope that helps.

It does feel like all I'm doing is breastfeeding, but I guess that comes with the territory!

[jcregan]

Rockycrop (and anyone else engorged).  You should also consider cool packs!  I was really engorged for a couple days, could not get a handle on it and then bought the NUK warm/cool packs.  You could probably use other kinds too.  I spend an afternoon and evening using them for 20 minutes or so in between each feeding and by that evening the engorgement was 100% gone!  I actually bought 2 sets of them cause my boobs are too big and even then I had to rotate where I put the cool packs to get all the swollen areas covered.  Engorgement is in large part swollen tissues so cold works well just like with an injury. 

The cabbage might work too, never tried it before.

BFing is going well.  We just went through the 10 day old growth spurt and the other night he nursed basically non-stop from like 7pm - midnight.  At that point he still wanted more but I was about to go insane and he needed to sleep and give my boobs a chance to actually make some milk so that he could fill his belly instead of just getting little bits at a time.  Finally I walked around with him in the sling for awhile and that put him to sleep and gave me a short break. 

He still prefers to try to latch onto his hand when I am trying get him started but his latch has improved a TON since I took care of the engorgement issues.  He does not really open that wide but manages to sort of suck in enough  that he ends up with a good latch in a couple seconds.  I know that is not really the proper way but it is not causing much pain or anything.

[mylilmonkeys]

It's been harder than I thought to get a good supply going for these little girls.  They are doing their part fine, but I guess I wasn't eating enough calories because the poor little things weren't gaining much and spent all night nursing with very infrequent let downs.  Since upping my intake and water, things are going much better.  We're finally starting to get some sleep at night.  The first two weeks were seriously insane, with one babe nursing a straight three hours, at which time the other would wake and take the next three hour shift.  I'd get maybe an hour sleep and start over.  Hence, no posting or even trying to do anything that required thinking.

The girls were weighed today and Lucy is now 8lbs2 and Lily is 7lbs, so they are above their birth weights by 6oz and 8oz, respectively.  It is just very hard to feed myself and the babes all by myself.  Thankfully my 5 yo makes sandwiches, so he can get lunch for he and his sister when I'm unable.  And, I've been whittling down my Netflix instant queue, too. lol

[mylilmonkeys]

Originally Posted by jcregan 
He does not really open that wide but manages to sort of suck in enough  that he ends up with a good latch in a couple seconds.  I know that is not really the proper way but it is not causing much pain or anything.

Lucy does that exactly, too.  I can't get her to open wide for anything, and since we're often tandeming, I often don't have the free hand to try to work on it.  Since it's not causing my any pain atm, I'm willing to let it go until she gets a bit bigger.  

[Sandrine]

Originally Posted by Lyss 

Sandrine, I totally forgot about burping her for days.  Burping helps!  It must be frustrating to have a slow nurser when you have three other little ones.  Molly only likes my "fast" boob.  She fusses when I put her on the slow one.

If you're avoiding dairy and nuts, what are you doing for fats? 

1bighappyfam, it IS tricky balancing the milk.  I have been trying to really empty each boob and make sure the milk is white.  I didn't follow the hospital directions this time for nursing, which really cut down on my oversupply.  So did offering the pacifier early and often.  Hope it evens out for you soon.

My girls are pretty understanding and patient. They are also between 4.5yrs and 8yrs old, so they are more independant than say a 2yrs old, iykwim.

I cook with coconut oil and olive oil. I also buy fatter meats like ground beef isn't extra lean, etc... I also need to lose weight, so i may not need fat as much if I was at my ideal bmi.

i made a snack for my girls and it had sunflower seeds. dd3 didn't finish her snack and without thinking about it until too late, i ate a mouthful. oops. 2hrs later, he nurse and then had gas and a bit of cranps :)

[jcregan]

kudos to you MLM!!! 

Glad you are getting more sleep - i am guessing still not much - and have your supply going better now.  I am working on using a finger to open Max's mouth and showing him what I want him to do, and that seems to be helping him open a bit better.  I don't know how you would  manage that while nursing 2 though.

[mylilmonkeys]

I have let her suck on my pinky a couple times before latching, and it does seem to help.  I guess I'm getting 4-5 hours at night.  Not a ton, but so far we're functioning.

[Aliy]

it's going really well... he is the super cluster feeder. he'll eat every hour or so early morning afternoon and in the evening and then goes for 3-4 hour stretches. he doesn't nurse for long when he does only 15 minutes or so

as for  the foremilk issues i feed him on the same side for two or three feedings. and if the other side needs it i pump off a bit. i'm trying to build a stock up so it works out for us

[Lyss]

Aliy, ugh.  I'm dreading getting out the pump.  I suppose since I am not working this time, it will not be as horrible as it was before, but pumping moms are amazing.  I HATE pumping.

MLM, THANK GOODNESS FOR STREAMING NETFLIX!  And hooray for 5yos who make sandwiches!  Glad you worked it out and can get some food.  I find that I am starving most of the time.  I can't imagine having two arms full.  I don't suppose you would be willing to do bottled water?  It makes it a lot easier to grab a bottle and keep it near you.  I had to do that with #2.

Sandrine, isn't coconut a nut?  I was trying to choke down coconut milk on cereal and it's too fatty, but I do love coconut butter.  I should cut out nuts, too, but will try to attack one thing at a time.  Next is gluten, for me.

Baby's fussing - have to go.

[StellaNuova]

Hi Mamas,

Aily I have a cluster feeder here too...lots of nursing in the later a.m. and evenings and less so at other times...she's also a good napper.

Forget who said the housework doesn't go away...same boat here but oh well for now....my boys have discovered that the Swiffer Wet Jet is a lot of fun to use!  It's mud season here so that's a blessing.

Lyss...so with you on the pumping...I HATE PUMPING!  Not sure I can swing it this time either after I go back to work.  Though I am with DP, we don't live together, and essentially I am a single working mom with 3 kids.  I think the stress that having to pump may cause me may not be worth it this go around.  I used to be really hard core about 100% nursing so I am struggling with this a bit.  But I already feel time constrained re: other things and adding this to the pile might just be too much.

No blisters this time around so happy about that. At the docs on Monday she was up to 9 lb 8 oz so she's gained back her birth weight & then some in less than two weeks and that made the ped happy :)

Oh yes, and thank goodness for Netflix streaming I am with you all on this one!  Don't know why but I am loving Cake Boss!

Happy babymooning Mamas!

Stella 

[mylilmonkeys]

Lyss, my dh is a route driver for a bottled water company.  We have a cooler with a 5-gallon bottle and the kids will fetch me water if my bottle runs dry.  I try to have something near me all the time. 

Sorry to hear you are dealing with allergies!  It can be so hard to feel like you are getting enough yourself when having to eliminate so much from your diet.

[forest~mama]

It's going good here. Finley just went through her first growth spurt at 7d which seemed a bit early but I'm sure that's what's going on. She was nursing like every hour, then had a few hours of no sleep/fussy/constant nursing the last two nights. I'm hoping we're past it today-seems more normal so far. DD1 had horrible colic and I had to cut out dairy, but so far this LO seems fine with my diet. It is really time consuming, and I've seen DH quietly get a little stressed with working then housework once home. I've had a few weepy moments from feeling useless, but after two weeks I'll try to get more than just nursing done

[katroshka]

Going really well here, my one complaint is that I keep getting a letdown when she is not remotely interested in feeding, which is pretty annoying. She's pretty good about just eating and being done, so not feeling like she is glued to my boob. I'm totally enjoying the nursing time, after 8 years I had forgotten how nice it is to snuggle with a baby and just stare and stare at her. It also gives me a good excuse to steal her back from her dad and her sisters, we all want to hold her all the time!

After her initial 7 oz drop in weight she gained 8 oz in three days, so at 6 days old she was 1 oz over birth weight. I'd love to see how much she weighs now, she is getting chubby and seems longer, I guess I can measure her at least.

Freja is funny, when her dad holds her she seems to get worried about where the milk went and starts rooting around, then he hands her to me and she falls straight asleep without eating. With two older girls who are very independent and have been for a long time, it's nice to feel so needed!

[Virginia884]

Well I'm 6 days out and not sure my milk has fully come in yet. I don't feel any sort of let-down and I have absolutely no leaking at all. She spends a decent amount of time on each breast and I know she's getting some milk, but I am so hoping for a better flow. Diapers look like what I assume they should look like (mustardy yellow and seedy). Any suggestions to get things going?

Other than that, good on one side, not so good on the other. My left nipple is cracked and scabbed over on the end. It hurts when she feeds. I've been hearing a quiet popping sound on that side. Am hoping it will heal quickly and I can figure out why the latch is bad.

[StellaNuova]

Virginia884,

I never had any letdown feelings with my first ever, even though I nursed him till he was two!  So I think it's possible not to have them -- also I am not a leaker.  But I did nurse my first two exclusively for their first six months and they grew just fine :)  so I think it can be a variation of the norm. Hth...

Stella

[Lyss]

Adrienne, she is so pretty!  If she's having normal dipes, I wouldn't worry.  I didn't feel letdown w my 1st either, & this time not until after 10 day clusterfeed. 

Make sure you feed her a npl sanwich.  I had a cracked bloody npl too - the first time lots, this time once.  I don't use any lanolin, I just work at getting a good latch.  lact cosltnt suggested pumping until it hurts less.  do you have a pump?