Breastfeeding, etc. - Page 23 « Back to Group Discussions

[birdhappy85]

Alright, next time it happens (ie: tomorrow), Sora is going to get a face-smoosh into my boob.  We'll see how it goes! I'll try anything.

[dashley111]

Ive also heard that making no loud noises, but a very "angry" face can communicate to babies that you dislike that behavior.  Babies inherently love to see smiles and have people smile back, so maybe if she thinks the loud words are funny she will respond better to you looking obviously upset or angry?

[seraf]

Babes who take bottles pinch and bite, too.

Shay has accidentally bitten me a couple of times.  I try to make it a rule now not to offer a boob to a crying baby because that seems to get me bitten (accidentally) more.  He hasn't done that awful chomp and not let go, like I said, his haven't been on purpose (closing his mouth and turning his head), so I haven't pulled him in close.  I did yelp in surprise and pain one time and he cried like I beat him.  He wouldn't look at me for a long time and just cried and pushed me away when I tried to calm him down. I kind of think yelling scares and confuses more than teaches lessons, my older kids respond much better to my voice becoming calm and serious than to my voice being loud.  I'm sure you've told her that biting hurts, but maybe talk to her before each nursing session, and remind her that you would like her to bite a toy if she needs to bite something? Perhaps even hold a toy and get silly, smile and demonstrate that biting the toy is good and fun and biting you is unnecessary?

[Jaimee]

Biting hurts for sure, but has always been a very brief period or maybe a few brief periods in an entire breastfeeding career.  I just know that I would have deeply regretted weaning when my babes were biting had I known just how short a time it would last and how long, enriching, and helpful the rest of breastfeeding was for my kids and myself.

When my babies bite, I have always smashed their faces into my breast to get them to release, exclaimed something loudly like "ouch!" or "that hurts mommy!" with a very sad/upset face, and then put them down on the floor.  I let them sit there for just a few seconds- just until it sets in and they become upset- then I pick them up and try again. If baby laughs, then you need to find something else to do that sends home the message that biting is not okay.  If loud is funny, then try quiet/firm with the upset face instead.  Usually the putting down on the floor works, though.  If biting happens again, repeat the process until the biting stops and baby successfully finishes nursing.  If I remain consistent with this, the biting has always stopped.  It may start up again with the next round of teething, but baby's ability to learn not to bite increases with age.

Good luck!

[jbk21]

a

Edited by jbk21 - 10/6/12 at 10:21pm

[dashley111]

Originally Posted by jbk21 



Weaning before a child is ready could potentially lead to an oral fixation as well, and that could manifest in biting you or other kids.  I'd imagine that sort of biting is a much harder habit to break. 



 

Yes! I weaned my son earlier than I should of, just from night nursing because he wasn't nursing during the day. And he started biting. Everyone. Even strangers who were trying to play with him. It was terrible.

[Mal85]

I'll second (or third) that as well. My nephew wasn't breastfed, but he took a pacifier and my SIL took it from him cold turkey when he turned one. Not only did he immediately replace it with thumb-sucking, but he was the worst biter I've ever been around from then on. He turns 4 next month and still bites from time to time. My niece also replaced the pacifier with her thumb with my sister took the pacifier away at a year old. Now, she's 6.5 and still sucks her thumb. She probably would have been better off just taking the pacifier a little longer.

Greta is biting a little right now. She just popped her two top teeth though, so I know that is part of it. It's not only biting, but she seems to be having a hard time figuring out how to suck with those teeth. Her latch is different than it was and she often scrapes her teeth on the breast. Not pleasant at all. I'm hoping it will pass once these teeth stop causing her discomfort.

[seraf]

Mal, ouch!

Is anyone else still leaking?

[Jaimee]

I leak while nursing all the time, but not often between nursing sessions.  He still nurses quite frequently, but on the occasion that he goes a long stretch without nursing, I will fill up and leak.

[LunaLady]

I've really randomly started leaking from the other boob when nursing. Just started happening in the last month or so.  Not every time, thankfully, but often during longer (napping) nursing sessions.

[jbk21]

Originally Posted by Jaimee 

I leak while nursing all the time, but not often between nursing sessions.  He still nurses quite frequently, but on the occasion that he goes a long stretch without nursing, I will fill up and leak.

Yeah that! 

[MrsKatie]

I leak while nursing pretty much every time.

[seraf]

It still frustrates me.  I guess I'm glad to hear I'm not alone.

[Abraisme]

Yup, I still leak, especially if I'm not wearing a bra. 

[Mal85]

I don't leak often, but sometimes. When I feel the letdown coming on, I press my arm against the breast that's not in use. It keeps it from leaking. I don't think about it at night though when we're half asleep and often end up leaking all over myself then!

[birdhappy85]

Does anyone know if breastfeeding can significantly decrease your iron levels in conjunction with iron lost during menstruation? I've always had great iron levels but am wondering if I might be deficient right now. These last two AF of mine have been extremely taxing on me to the point where I've been sleeping all of the time when I can, I'm literally weak and exhausted, and then twice today I felt like I was about to pass out... It scared me. The room started tilting and things just don't feel "right." My cycle was short this month too... only 23 days, ugh. So basically I've only had 2 weeks off from bleeding.  fml

[dashley111]

I've always had problems with anemia when having any kind of cycle. I just had my first cycle 2 weeks ago and definitely noticed weakness and bruising were much worse in the few days before and after. So I would say probably, yes.

[Jaimee]

You are providing iron for Sora in your breastmilk, so your stores may be lower than usual.  It's also been my experience that my period has changed its character postpartum.  So if you didn't used to have a problem, it wouldn't necessarily be unusual to have an issue now.  It's also been my experience that my period changes quite a bit as it regulates postpartum. After my first, it took a full year for my cycles to regulate and become fertile again.  So it's also possible that what you're experiencing now will not continue as your body balances out. 

It certainly couldn't hurt to get your levels tested and also consciously increase your intake of iron rich foods.  Have you considered Floradix as well?

[birdhappy85]

I need advice from all of your experienced breastfeeders! This advice is for my friend. Here is the situation:

She is currently pregnant with her second baby and wants so badly to successfully breastfeed this one. She is anxious and worrying all of the time that she's going to fail. It's tearing her up inside. She had her first baby 1-1/2 years ago through a traumatic hospital birth that didn't go anything like she had planned. She had placenta previa and was terrified going into the birth in the first place. Then she was induced because the doctor claimed she wasn't progressing enough, so she blames herself for that. She had to get an epidural. Then the doctor told her husband while she was pushing that the baby's head was stuck on her pubic bone or something and scared him to death thinking the baby would die if they didn't get it out ASAP. Then - the worst part of all - is that the nurses took the baby to the nursery to let my friend sleep, and she ended up sleeping through the entire night... and nobody ever woke her up to nurse the baby ... so she ended up having a difficult time getting the baby to latch after that, he would just chew her nipple and cause so much pain, her milk didn't come in for 5 days and the doctor scared her saying the baby was losing too much weight and she had to supplement, then she ended up just pumping for 6 weeks and had to give up... The baby just never took to feeding at the breast. My friend was absolutely devastated and feels so guilty. She wants the best outcome this next time around and is going to take a breastfeeding class but she still just has no confidence in herself. I want to help her with that! She's going to be a SAHM once this baby arrives, and we're going to have weekly playdates, so I want to give her all of the support I can and help her overcome any hurdles like I tell her YOU all have helped ME! 

So - I'm going out to dinner with her on Friday to give her support and encouragement that I know in my heart of all hearts that she CAN do this - if she's armed with information and support! I just want to make sure I go to dinner armed with some really key helpful bits of info to share with her. So my questions for all of you are...

What are the most important/helpful pieces of advice and information that you would give someone to increase their chances of successfully breastfeeding? What steps could she take to set up her environment/mindset for the greatest likelihood of success? What helped you?

For instance, I told her already that one of the key things for me was that I went into it with breastfeeding as the only option in my head (clearly I would've supplemented if I was unable to BF but you know what I mean...). I didn't even have formula in the house to fall back on because I didn't want the temptation. I went into it with confidence that I CAN do it and WILL. I also told her that I sought out support from everyone on this Mothering forum when I was running into obstacles.

I also expressed to her that how your birth goes can have an impact on your ability to breastfeed, so I want to give her information about how to do things in the hospital and advocate for herself. What is most important about the birth? To have the baby latch on immediately following the birth? How frequently should she nurse in the beginning? The lactation consultants in the hospital last time were apparently useless and just told her to feed on an every-two-hour schedule. I encouraged her to feed on demand. I’m also unsure how many days is safe to go by with just colostrum feeding so she isn’t scared into supplementing if her milk doesn’t come in right away. Does having a med-free birth versus epidural impact breastfeeding outcomes significantly?

Any and all suggestions appreciated! 

[jbk21]

a

Edited by jbk21 - 10/6/12 at 10:17pm