How's breastfeeding going? - Page 2 « Back to Group Discussions

[livelovelaugh]

Love the head lamp idea!!!  And I agree with the pillow behind the back - helps so much with positioning!
 

[TenzinsMama]

I also like the headlamp idea, and with wrapping it in a white blanket so it glows-- I'm going to try that!

[tinams8]

We sleep with a dim light on.

I've had the usual cracked, bruised nipples. I went to the breastfeeding clinic when she was a week old and the doctor gave me a prescription for antibacterial ointment because one nipple had a staph infection (yellowish scabs give it away).  That's pretty much resolved now (3 weeks later).  For anyone who is blistered or bleeding, a pump break is a must in my experience.

I also had supply issues because I had a retained placenta, even though they got it out within 24 hours, my milk didn't come in fully until day 9. That was scary. But everything is ok now and babe is gaining and having lots of wet diapers.

[iowaorganic]

I sleep with a little battery powered tap light under my pillow.  I can pull it out whenever I need a little light and it doesn't really wake anyone up.  I think they are only a couple of bucks a  piece and are a must in my book!

[sraplayas]

iowaorganic--love that idea about the little light! i'm trying out a book light clipped to our currently-unused cosleeper (heehee) and i switch it on whenever ds has a tough time latching on. what a great alternative to the brighter light i was keeping on all night long for this very purpose!

[frioct3]

Originally Posted by TenzinsMama 

I also like the headlamp idea, and with wrapping it in a white blanket so it glows-- I'm going to try that!

+1 I will totally be doing this when we are at the cottage this summer!  At home we have a light on a dimmer so I set that to a low level before going to bed so when I need light it's just soft. I had been stumped with what to do when we aren't at home and I think this will work great!

[wanderinblues]

love the idea of a little, portable light. we have a night light but it's not really bright enough sometimes. he has trouble latching on at night; he just moves his head around frantically with his mouth open and it's very hard to coordinate getting my boob in there when i can't see what's happening lol.

[FaithHopeLove29]

I need some help! C occasionally has these fussy nursing sessions where he will unlatch over and over and scream, and fights re-latching. He shows signs of hunger, I change his diaper just to be sure, but it's awful! I've checked that I'm not out of milk on that side, but sometimes switch him to the other side anyways and he continues this fussy nursing. It's not just wimpering - it's outright screams when he unlatches, and he holds his head back. When he relatches, he eats for a moment, sometimes a minute, and then repeats. I try switching positions and sometimes that helps. I don't think I have any plugged ducts (no sore/hard spots).

Any ideas? If it becomes more frequent, I'll call the lactation consultant, but I thought I'd ask around here first.

[redbird77]

Originally Posted by wanderinblues 

love the idea of a little, portable light. we have a night light but it's not really bright enough sometimes. he has trouble latching on at night; he just moves his head around frantically with his mouth open and it's very hard to coordinate getting my boob in there when i can't see what's happening lol.

My little guy does that too ~ it's kind of comical, kind of frustrating. It's right there in front of his face but he needs to see it too, I guess!

I've also started keeping the headlamp in a white newborn hat, a little bit easier to move with me as I switch sides instead of using the white blanket, which often unwound. :)

[redbird77]

Originally Posted by FaithHopeLove29 

I need some help! C occasionally has these fussy nursing sessions where he will unlatch over and over and scream, and fights re-latching. He shows signs of hunger, I change his diaper just to be sure, but it's awful! I've checked that I'm not out of milk on that side, but sometimes switch him to the other side anyways and he continues this fussy nursing. It's not just wimpering - it's outright screams when he unlatches, and he holds his head back. When he relatches, he eats for a moment, sometimes a minute, and then repeats. I try switching positions and sometimes that helps. I don't think I have any plugged ducts (no sore/hard spots).

Any ideas? If it becomes more frequent, I'll call the lactation consultant, but I thought I'd ask around here first.

I sometimes will burp him, but sometimes I think it's just gas which is often heard a minute or too later. :( So hard to watch! I find if he wants to latch, but can't for some reason, it's usually gas or a bubble needing to be burped. Also, have you tried different positions? I swear mine gets gas from being on his side for too long, so I'll try to switch it up with a different hold. Good luck! It's so tough when we can't figure out how to make them comfy right away!

[CA Country Girl]

Faithlovehope- I agree with redbird-when mine does this, it is usually gas, because it usually comes with spastic limbs and then an audible fart.

[TenzinsMama]

Ditto what redbird and CA has said, when it comes to DD.  Also, I notice that she will let out a shriek at the start of a session if she is really hungry, and my letdown takes a few extra seconds to happen.  She can be so impatient!

[Nicole730]

Faithlovehope- Sounds like it could also be overactive letdown.  Check on kellymom.com to see for sure and some tips.

[FaithHopeLove29]

Thanks for the suggestions!

[wanderinblues]

i've been having the same problem, FaithHopeLove. just at night, he will fuss around, pop off, cry, relatch (with difficulty!) and do it all over again repeatedly. frustrating! still figuring out if it is gas, burps, being tired or what. i've been burping him really well and he doesn't fart much. sometimes getting a burp out will help, sometimes offering the other side will help. he does choke on my milk when it lets down sometimes, but this fussyness is mostly closer to the end of nursing.

[SherlockHughes]

My little guy is doing great with breastfeeding  but I am just worrying about his weight gain especially after reading everyone great gains.  He is six weeks old as of yesterday and he is only up about 9ozs past his birth weight.  He was born at 8.2 and dropped to 7.9 before we left the hospital but as of Wednesday he was up to 8.11.  We don't have an issue with supply because I pump after each feeding so even when he hits an eating spurt I have milk to give him but he is just gaining the weight super slow.  Anyone else struggling with slow weight gainers?

[FaithHopeLove29]

wanderin - mine fusses usually halfway through or towards the end, so same thing. I've figured out sometimes it's burps, this morning it was because I didn't notice the neck of his sleep sack had gotten wet with spit up and he didn't like that, and just Saturday, I'm pretty sure it was because he wanted to continue to nurse but didn't want any more milk (if that makes sense? non-nutritive sucking is what my LC would call it) so I offered a pacifier instead and handed him to dad and he calmed right down. weird. It doesn't seem to be the same two times in a row, but I'm glad to hear from others that I'm not alone and have some ideas of things to look for (switch sides, bounce for burps/gas, etc).

Sherlock - Are you tracking wet/dirty diapers? If he's having plenty, then I probably wouldn't worry much myself if the only problem is slow weight gain, but I might still check with a lactation consultant or the pediatrician because I like to check those kind of things.

[SherlockHughes]

Yeah he is doing fine with the dirty and wet diapers, our doctor isn't to concerned but I will probably look into a lactation consultant

[kjourdan]

How often does he eat?  If he wants to go back on within an hour, you might want to put him back on the same breast, because he'll get more fatty hindmilk.  I think they refer to that as block feeding.

[wanderinblues]

Originally Posted by FaithHopeLove29 

wanderin - mine fusses usually halfway through or towards the end, so same thing. I've figured out sometimes it's burps, this morning it was because I didn't notice the neck of his sleep sack had gotten wet with spit up and he didn't like that, and just Saturday, I'm pretty sure it was because he wanted to continue to nurse but didn't want any more milk (if that makes sense? non-nutritive sucking is what my LC would call it) so I offered a pacifier instead and handed him to dad and he calmed right down. weird. It doesn't seem to be the same two times in a row, but I'm glad to hear from others that I'm not alone and have some ideas of things to look for (switch sides, bounce for burps/gas, etc).

yeah same here, it seems to be a variety of things. last night i gave him a pacifier for the first time after he finally calmed down from sucking on my finger and it totally worked. i've been nursing him even when he obviously doesn't need the milk but it just seems to make him frustrated sometimes.