Breastfeeding, etc. - Page 5 « Back to Group Discussions

[jbk21]

That's awesome!
 

Originally Posted by TTCChloeOrConner 

Update:

Thanks for the encouragement everyone.

I quit being lazy and nurse 100% now. I'm still not getting engorged (Not mad about it, LOL) but I have to be producing more because he's done eating in 20 minutes now usually instead of 45-60.

I'm solely giving him one breast per feeding.

I also notice the let down with every feeding, which I wasn't before. And the way little guy responds, it's gotta be an intense let down but he's a champ and handles it.

He's eating every 2 1/2-3 hours with some cluster feedings thrown in, usually in the evening.

I'm so excited!!! I was so worried about my supply.

=D

I will be going to the BLO this year too Becky.  I don't know details yet but I've missed it in the past too because I wasn't nursing.

[Motivated Mama]

K is not able to sleep because of constant gas and poop. She keeps squirming and passing gas and pooping like 16 times a day. At what point do I start changing my diet? This is getting frustrating.

[Jaimee]

Originally Posted by Motivated Mama 

K is not able to sleep because of constant gas and poop. She keeps squirming and passing gas and pooping like 16 times a day. At what point do I start changing my diet? This is getting frustrating.

We're in the same boat and I JUST got the probiotics in the mail today.  I am crossing my fingers that they work to alleviate this problem.  Have you looked into probiotics for K? 

The jury is out on whether babies are affected by the food we eat at this young of an age.  There is much evidence that true allergy doesn't show up until around 2 months old.  But I have known newborns who got relief when their mother eliminated foods, so it's hard to say.  Dairy would be the first to go.

[mamabelle]

We are dealing with gas issues here too. The probiotics shipped yesterday, thanks for the recommendation Jaimee. Fingers crossed that it helps. She's not a frequent pooper (every 2-4 days), but lots or farts, burps, and spit up. She doesn't seem to cry in distress about it, but cries when I burp her until she actually passes some gas. It's most annoying at night when it seems like I have a ton of milk and she gulps a lot of air while feeding. Then she's either crying about being burped or spitting up, both of which make me fully awake instead of the dreamy co-sleeping and breastfeeding I was used to with my son. I am finding it helpful to burp her for a good five minutes after she unlatches from each breast, EVERY time. It was hard at first because she was so sleepy and peaceful after eating, but it would lead to pain and spit up later and the immediate burping seems to reduce that.

I hope that with time my supply will regulate and she will get accustomed to nursing and things will get better? And that the probiotics help (I figure they can't hurt)! I bought some Gripe Water and gave some to her for the first time this morning, I'll see if it helps tonight, it was really hard to get her to take it.

Good luck everyone!

[CDsMom1031]

I use Gripe Water and Probiotics. The gas issues are g.o.n.e!!! =D He farts. A LOT. But I love it because that's less crying. =) He also only poops every 2-3 days.

Since starting the Probiotics, I rarely use the Gripe water. I use it to give him the Probiotics. I mix the powder with some Gripe water and give it to him that way with a dropper... Because I'm too lazy to pump a teeny bit of milk out. I always do it right after a feeding though so that he still has the milk in his tummy.

I also use the Gripe water as a "shutup" button. If he's fighting sleep, AKA, screaming... I dip his pacy in the Gripe water then put it in his mouth. Instant shutup. LOL It calms him down enough to fall asleep every time. Love it. I recommend trying it if you have a fighter like me.

[jbk21]

Gosh I hope the probiotics get here soon.  This sounds promising!!  

So I should give him the probiotics after a feeding?  

Originally Posted by TTCChloeOrConner 

I use Gripe Water and Probiotics. The gas issues are g.o.n.e!!! =D He farts. A LOT. But I love it because that's less crying. =) He also only poops every 2-3 days.

Since starting the Probiotics, I rarely use the Gripe water. I use it to give him the Probiotics. I mix the powder with some Gripe water and give it to him that way with a dropper... Because I'm too lazy to pump a teeny bit of milk out. I always do it right after a feeding though so that he still has the milk in his tummy.

I also use the Gripe water as a "shutup" button. If he's fighting sleep, AKA, screaming... I dip his pacy in the Gripe water then put it in his mouth. Instant shutup. LOL It calms him down enough to fall asleep every time. Love it. I recommend trying it if you have a fighter like me.

[Jaimee]

Originally Posted by jbk21 

So I should give him the probiotics after a feeding?  

This depends.  Is Dylan barfing?  If not, then after or before a feeding would be fine.  If you are dealing with vomit issues then you'll have to figure out the best time to give them so that they do not come right back up.  I dose three times a day so that you do not have to give as much at once and if it does come back up you don't lose as much.

[CDsMom1031]

The only reason I do it after a feeding is because it says to mix with milk. I didn't know if they had a specific purpose for that so I give it right after the feeding so it's still "mixed with the milk".

I also have zero vomiting issues since I quit supplementing so I don't have to worry about that.

[jbk21]

no vomit here just some spit up.  i'll do before just to be safe!

[birdhappy85]

Does anybody happen to know what a good balance would be between breast feedings and bottle feedings w/ pumped milk? As in... is there an optimal balance between mostly breast and occasional bottle? How many times a day could a person bottle feed their baby and still preserve their milk supply? Can some people actually exclusively pump and keep producing milk?

I don't want to exclusively pump by any means but I have to start bottle feeding sometimes or else I'm feeling like I might throw in the towel completely where breastfeeding is concerned if I don't get some relief from the cluster feeding and lengthy nursing sessions. Most days and nights things are bearable but on days like today when I'm barely gotten any sleep and start rapidly spiraling downward with health condition flare-ups and massive anxiety, I feel like one more day like this is going to send me into a nervous breakdown. I've cried off and on all day and was in tears when DH left for work, which I'm sure he felt horrible about. I'm starting to get irritated with the baby and that's the last thing I want is for her to somehow feel my frustration and feel like I'm sick of holding her (I don't know if she actually can sense these things but I still worry).

Can I just add that I'm still extremely bitter that nobody in my life ever prepared me for what breastfeeding would be like? Nobody. Ever. Nothing about taking care of a newborn has been as much "work" as they warned me about and I wondered what the heck people were always complaining about. It's been relatively easy on DH and I. So why did breastfeeding have to be the ONE thing that made things difficult? I never would've imagined things would be like this. And honestly, seeing how easy DH has it since I'm breastfeeding is just making me that much more bitter. This is so not healthy.

[jbk21]

Joanie you need to do what you need to do in order to preserve your own sanity.  If that means pumping and feeding some bottles here and there, do it.  And don't feel an ounce of guilt about it.  Babies deserve mamas that are emotionally healthy!  Some women do exclusively pump but I honestly don't know how that works.  Honestly, breastfeeding is going to get so much easier in a month or two.  So if during that time you feel like you needs some breaks, do that for yourself.  Then when the nursing sessions slow down in frequency and life is a little bit more routine for you, you can go back to exclusively BFing again if you'd like to.  You can syringe feed for a week or two in order to avoid nipple confusion, or you can risk it and see how it goes w/ the bottle.  My first son had a lazy latch after taking a few bottles from my DH (and that was at 7 weeks, so it's not like we started too early with the bottle) so we just worked on it and it was easy to remedy.  Not everyone is so lucky but just be aware of changes in her latch and be ready to troubleshoot or take away the bottle if you need to.  

Seriously, though.  Take care of yourself!  Do what you need to do and don't let anyone make you feel bad about it.  Your relationship with Sora and your experience as a new mother will be much improved if you are gentle on yourself during this tough time.  

[Abraisme]

Yup, you're only a few weeks in on this whole parenting thing.  It takes time, but it WILL GET EASIER!  If you stick with it, pretty soon it'll be an normal part of your life.  Breastfeeding my first was awful for the first 6-8 weeks, then one day it was easy and I was so glad that I stuck with it!  Now that I'm on #3 and starting to feel better it's amazing what I can get done while nursing.  This morning I pretty much made breakfast for everyone while Coralie was feeding.  One-handed egg cooking is totally possible with a little practice.  Ha ha.  ;)
 

Originally Posted by jbk21 

Joanie you need to do what you need to do in order to preserve your own sanity.  If that means pumping and feeding some bottles here and there, do it.  And don't feel an ounce of guilt about it.  Babies deserve mamas that are emotionally healthy!  Some women do exclusively pump but I honestly don't know how that works.  Honestly, breastfeeding is going to get so much easier in a month or two.  So if during that time you feel like you needs some breaks, do that for yourself.  Then when the nursing sessions slow down in frequency and life is a little bit more routine for you, you can go back to exclusively BFing again if you'd like to.  You can syringe feed for a week or two in order to avoid nipple confusion, or you can risk it and see how it goes w/ the bottle.  My first son had a lazy latch after taking a few bottles from my DH (and that was at 7 weeks, so it's not like we started too early with the bottle) so we just worked on it and it was easy to remedy.  Not everyone is so lucky but just be aware of changes in her latch and be ready to troubleshoot or take away the bottle if you need to.  

Seriously, though.  Take care of yourself!  Do what you need to do and don't let anyone make you feel bad about it.  Your relationship with Sora and your experience as a new mother will be much improved if you are gentle on yourself during this tough time.  

[KayPea]

NAK. If it helps you, do it! My DD never took a bottle, but I wished she did, just to give me a break. But personally, I found pumping added to my anxiety - I never got much milk out of pumping, and while I could do other things while nursing DD, I had to just pump while pumping, because I needed both hands to pump one of my giant boobs, which I found hard. But if it is easier on you to pump and feed by bottle a couple of times a day (like getting your DH to feed with the bottle once in the middle of the night!) then go for it, for sure. You could cup or syringe feed until the danger point of nipple confusion s passed. 

I know this won't be too much help right now, but with DD, I felt exactly the same way with our non-stop breastfeeding (DD would wake and scream upon being put down even from the deepest of sleep.) But then, when I was chasing around a curious crawler, or dealing with her frequent tantrums as a toddler, I MISSED those sleepy days of cuddling on the couch with a movie. SO MUCH. I wished I had appreciated them more at the time, because it was really so serene and wonderful much of the time. And though I am trying to have more of the same with Oren, I now have a two-year-old that climbs all over us while nursing, so it just isn't the same. 

But I also know just how crazy-making those long sessions can be, and I found that distracting myself with books, TV, movies, surfing while nursing all helped. Also, having projects to work on while nursing - I organized all my photos, e-mails, computer files, flickr, Ravelry, recipes, lists etc. I had a blog, I was an excellent correspondent (even typing one-handed!) I did this on my laptop, as we needed to be sitting on the couch and using a breastfeeding pillow for nursing for the first 5 months (the big boob thing.) Though with the pillow I could always have one hand, and often both hands free. And to break up the long sessions, I'd take her out for walks in the carrier or stroller, and sometimes she slept, but sometimes she'd cry. But at least I wasn't nursing, right? Harder to do in the winter (she was a spring baby) but you could maybe go to a mall or something to get out and about? I had a hard time nursing in public (again, boob size) but I was determined to learn because it meant I wasn't always nursing on my couch at home. 

And then in a few months it will be over, and you will miss it, I promise.

Originally Posted by birdhappy85 

Does anybody happen to know what a good balance would be between breast feedings and bottle feedings w/ pumped milk? As in... is there an optimal balance between mostly breast and occasional bottle? How many times a day could a person bottle feed their baby and still preserve their milk supply? Can some people actually exclusively pump and keep producing milk?

I don't want to exclusively pump by any means but I have to start bottle feeding sometimes or else I'm feeling like I might throw in the towel completely where breastfeeding is concerned if I don't get some relief from the cluster feeding and lengthy nursing sessions. Most days and nights things are bearable but on days like today when I'm barely gotten any sleep and start rapidly spiraling downward with health condition flare-ups and massive anxiety, I feel like one more day like this is going to send me into a nervous breakdown. I've cried off and on all day and was in tears when DH left for work, which I'm sure he felt horrible about. I'm starting to get irritated with the baby and that's the last thing I want is for her to somehow feel my frustration and feel like I'm sick of holding her (I don't know if she actually can sense these things but I still worry).

Can I just add that I'm still extremely bitter that nobody in my life ever prepared me for what breastfeeding would be like? Nobody. Ever. Nothing about taking care of a newborn has been as much "work" as they warned me about and I wondered what the heck people were always complaining about. It's been relatively easy on DH and I. So why did breastfeeding have to be the ONE thing that made things difficult? I never would've imagined things would be like this. And honestly, seeing how easy DH has it since I'm breastfeeding is just making me that much more bitter. This is so not healthy.

[IwannaBanRN]

Joanie, I don't have any help, just hugs.

[meesh933]

Ditto Abra and Kay.  This too shall pass. It will get better, and relatively soon, I promise. I watched an inordinate amount of daytime television when my first was teeny. IMO, the constant nursing is often something that you just have to get past. I am one who is always really hesitant to introduce pumping/bottles unless totally necessary. If you are pumping to give yourself a break, every time DH feeds the baby a bottle, you will still need to pump, or your supply will suffer. So in the middle of the night, you really, really still need to get up if he feeds her. Him getting up with the baby sounds good, but in practice, you're still up anyway. These marathon nursing sessions are building your supply. It's frustrating (infuriating, at time), but necessary to not have to fight your body to produce enough later. By 6-8 weeks, it will be different, I promise. I've said so many times that during those first weeks with DD, I told myself we'd just nurse that day, and the next day I was done. By 6 weeks, those thoughts were gone. Your supply regulates, hopefully baby is sleeping a little better and more efficient at nursing. Abra is right - you are just a few weeks in to the whole parenting gig. It's hard. But it does get better.

And I have to say I agree with you. Even when everything is going well, the first few weeks of BFing are HARD. And no one tells you that. I don't know if it's because so few women truly work to nurse their babies anymore, or because so many of our mothers and grandmothers didn't BF and don't know, or what. I swear the whole "feed the baby every 2-3 hours" load of crap has to come from the formula companies, setting women up to fail, lol.

[TalkToMeNow]

Hugs to you, Joanie, and ditto to the advice you've been given. Especially what KayPea said about missing this time! I am getting as much out of it as I can. I'm being totally lazy and enjoying the silence in my house (big kids are at school during the day) and reading. I've been reading a book a day! I know I won't get the chance to do this again... Even if I had another baby, I'd have a toddler with me at that point. Try to get whatever enjoyment out of it that you can.

Also, will she take a pacifier? I give one to Jasper when he clearly wants to suck but will not take the breast. I wish he would, but that's another story! Anyway, it helps if I hold him in the nursing position and kind of position the pacifier against my chest. He's actually napping like that right now!

I've been using probiotics for him for two days now. Yesterday was awesome! He slept so much and so peacefully. He even went to bed for the night at 7:30 while nursing. No screaming, no bouncing him and walking for two hours. No gas keeping him up! I'm thinking it's a coincidence, but hopeful all the same.

Ok, off to start book 3 of the week.

[jbk21]

This is an awesome perspective.  I think a lot of times the hardest parts of parenting (breastfeeding, teething, sleep refusal, night waking) are remedied not by a quick solution (like cry it out) but by a change in perspective.  We have to just take a moment and realize that this will be our reality for the next day, week, month- whatever, and adjust our expectations so that we're ready to take it on with grace and patience.  

I still think that in the short term it's okay for you to do what you need to do- but like other posters have mentioned, you will still have to pump and that can be a huge pain and maybe not worth the trouble- but if it makes you feel more human, then try it!  Even if just for a few days.  

But try to keep some of these lessons in mind- every hard part of parenting is just a season; it's temporary.  It's hard to see that when it's your first- I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND!  Teething with my first son just about drove me insane.  Also, he would wake 3-5 times a night until he was 2, and when he was young everyone was telling me to let him cry it out.  I didn't want to, and never did, but the pressure was enough to knock my expectations off of what they should have been, you know?  Once I was away from those outside voices and able to think for myself about it, I was able to realize that he was going to continue to wake at night until he was ready to sleep all night- there was nothing I could do about it that I hadn't already tried- and I could only change my response.  Once I stopped expecting him to sleep all night, I was able to more patiently parent him through those night wakings and I stopped being so angry about not getting any sleep.  It's the same with breastfeeding, too!  This isn't going to last that long in the grand scheme of things, but it is SO hard when you're going through it.  Everyone has given great advice re: other things you can do while nursing.  I know there are a lot of other things you'd like to do- shower, eat, etc.  Try to strategize and find other times you can do those things, and set aside stationary activities for when she is nursing.  You can get through this!  
 

Originally Posted by KayPea 

NAK. If it helps you, do it! My DD never took a bottle, but I wished she did, just to give me a break. But personally, I found pumping added to my anxiety - I never got much milk out of pumping, and while I could do other things while nursing DD, I had to just pump while pumping, because I needed both hands to pump one of my giant boobs, which I found hard. But if it is easier on you to pump and feed by bottle a couple of times a day (like getting your DH to feed with the bottle once in the middle of the night!) then go for it, for sure. You could cup or syringe feed until the danger point of nipple confusion s passed. 

I know this won't be too much help right now, but with DD, I felt exactly the same way with our non-stop breastfeeding (DD would wake and scream upon being put down even from the deepest of sleep.) But then, when I was chasing around a curious crawler, or dealing with her frequent tantrums as a toddler, I MISSED those sleepy days of cuddling on the couch with a movie. SO MUCH. I wished I had appreciated them more at the time, because it was really so serene and wonderful much of the time. And though I am trying to have more of the same with Oren, I now have a two-year-old that climbs all over us while nursing, so it just isn't the same. 

But I also know just how crazy-making those long sessions can be, and I found that distracting myself with books, TV, movies, surfing while nursing all helped. Also, having projects to work on while nursing - I organized all my photos, e-mails, computer files, flickr, Ravelry, recipes, lists etc. I had a blog, I was an excellent correspondent (even typing one-handed!) I did this on my laptop, as we needed to be sitting on the couch and using a breastfeeding pillow for nursing for the first 5 months (the big boob thing.) Though with the pillow I could always have one hand, and often both hands free. And to break up the long sessions, I'd take her out for walks in the carrier or stroller, and sometimes she slept, but sometimes she'd cry. But at least I wasn't nursing, right? Harder to do in the winter (she was a spring baby) but you could maybe go to a mall or something to get out and about? I had a hard time nursing in public (again, boob size) but I was determined to learn because it meant I wasn't always nursing on my couch at home. 

And then in a few months it will be over, and you will miss it, I promise.

Originally Posted by meesh933 

Ditto Abra and Kay.  This too shall pass. It will get better, and relatively soon, I promise. I watched an inordinate amount of daytime television when my first was teeny. IMO, the constant nursing is often something that you just have to get past. I am one who is always really hesitant to introduce pumping/bottles unless totally necessary. If you are pumping to give yourself a break, every time DH feeds the baby a bottle, you will still need to pump, or your supply will suffer. So in the middle of the night, you really, really still need to get up if he feeds her. Him getting up with the baby sounds good, but in practice, you're still up anyway. These marathon nursing sessions are building your supply. It's frustrating (infuriating, at time), but necessary to not have to fight your body to produce enough later. By 6-8 weeks, it will be different, I promise. I've said so many times that during those first weeks with DD, I told myself we'd just nurse that day, and the next day I was done. By 6 weeks, those thoughts were gone. Your supply regulates, hopefully baby is sleeping a little better and more efficient at nursing. Abra is right - you are just a few weeks in to the whole parenting gig. It's hard. But it does get better.

And I have to say I agree with you. Even when everything is going well, the first few weeks of BFing are HARD. And no one tells you that. I don't know if it's because so few women truly work to nurse their babies anymore, or because so many of our mothers and grandmothers didn't BF and don't know, or what. I swear the whole "feed the baby every 2-3 hours" load of crap has to come from the formula companies, setting women up to fail, lol.

[Butter is Better]

Originally Posted by Motivated Mama 

My nipples are all healed! My breasts are so much bigger this time around. I was talking to DH about how they weren't getting at all engorged this time and then we realized that if they did get engorged, I'd have a serious oversupply issue My only annoyance right now is that I have to use both hands when sitting up to breastfeed. When I let go of my breast and try to type or anything, the weight of my boob pulls the nipple out of her mouth. I suppose it just happens when she's really tired. I don't know how you all are pumping. With three other little ones and the first time I'm not going back to work, I guess I just don't have the desire to pull the pump out! Maybe I'll regret it when I want to get out for an evening and don't have a stash

My nipples were starting to peel initially but after meeting with a Lactstion Consultant I realized I needed to tweak how I was holding the baby (baby's belly should always be facing mommy's body.

My LO nurses for 45 mins to 1.5 hrs, and I too have to use both hands if not he slips off the nipple just enough for it to be really painful.

Nursing is a very sweet time with my LO but also takes a ton of dedication. Any given day I am nursing for 8-12 hours! Also my nipples are still sore.

Wish I was at least healed Postpartum! 

[Jaimee]

Joanie, you've gotten some great advice from others and I don't really have anything to add, except to reiterate that it will get better and you will be so happy and proud that you powered through.  A bottle here and there will probably not hurt and if it helps your sanity then that is absolutely the right thing to do.  If you do notice nipple confusion then I would recommend stopping immediately to preserve your nursing relationship.  Syringe feeding would be better at this early point.  By 6-8 weeks nursing should be well established as should your milk supply and bottles at that point should be fine.  If you do end up alternating bottles and breast now then I suggest pumping when someone else is giving the bottle so that your supply does not diminish during this crucial time- especially at night!  Your body is building the most prolactin receptors at night so continuing to stimulate milk production at night is very important.  And you may find that only you can give the bottle, which doesn't really offer you much of a break.  Much of parenting is experimentation!

Overall, what I really want to impart is that breastfeeding is NOT always easy and does NOT always come naturally, but it is SO worth working through the tough times because soon, very soon, you will look back at this and realize what a small blip it was in the big picture.  You will be surprised at how effortless breastfeeding has become and you will so value the nursing relationship with your baby.  You will be thankful you made it through because it's SO much easier to breastfeed than feed bottles (whether pumped or formula).  You will be proud that you are supplying your baby's food anywhere your baby needs it and that you can control for food allergies, provide immunity through illnesses, and easily soothe baby's hurts.  And when you're still nursing at age one, two, three, or longer, you can feel that sense of accomplishment at a job very well done of gently weaning baby from breast to food, from dependence to independence. 

Disclaimer: this is no way meant to trivialize or insult the relationship that formula feeding mothers have with their babies, but to highlight all the positives of a long term breastfeeding relationship.

I'm so glad you are continuing to post for support through this difficult time.  You can do this, Joanie! 

[seraf]

Originally Posted by jbk21 .  

I know there are a lot of other things you'd like to do- shower, eat, etc.  Try to strategize and find other times you can do those things, and set aside stationary activities for when she is nursing.  You can get through this!  

I agree that perspective is critical.  

And this line made me giggle because I totally nurse in the shower.  I don't use a sling in the shower, but learning to nurse in the sling is freeing.  If you're feeling touched out that's another matter.  I'm not above handing baby off for a burping and walking away for a few minutes if there's someone to hand him of to.