How's breastfeeding going? - Page 3 « Back to Group Discussions

[frioct3]

DS is almost 7 weeks and I'm still leaking a lot.  Mostly during a nursing session from the other breast but sometimes randomly from both.  Does anyone know when/if I can expect this to slow down?  I had just been using disposable pads when out of the house and a receiving blanket or face cloth when home but now that I'm out and about more I'd like to get some washable pads.  Does anyone have a brand they particularly like?  My let down isn't crazy so I don't think I need anything too heavy duty. 

[MovnMama]

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.

You've already gotten some great responses. Have you noticed if the fussy times are around the same time each day? This is what I've noticed with ds2. This article from kellymom made me feel a lot better about it.

http://kellymom.com/parenting/parenting-faq/fussybaby/

[iowaorganic]

Originally Posted by frioct3 

DS is almost 7 weeks and I'm still leaking a lot.  Mostly during a nursing session from the other breast but sometimes randomly from both.  Does anyone know when/if I can expect this to slow down?  I had just been using disposable pads when out of the house and a receiving blanket or face cloth when home but now that I'm out and about more I'd like to get some washable pads.  Does anyone have a brand they particularly like?  My let down isn't crazy so I don't think I need anything too heavy duty. 

I have always leaked a lot.  Like for months with each of my kids.  I have tried about every kind of pad and there is nothing worse than cold wet cotton pads.  I love lanacare ones.  They never feel wet since they are wool- but that is kind of misleading since I don't realize my shirt is wet then....  Ugh.  I think I am going to get a pair of lilypadz for being out and about and still wear the wool for home- so that is my suggestion I guess :)

[kjourdan]

I really like the Bamboobies washable pads!

[LionessMom]

Originally Posted by frioct3 

DS is almost 7 weeks and I'm still leaking a lot.  Mostly during a nursing session from the other breast but sometimes randomly from both.  Does anyone know when/if I can expect this to slow down?  I had just been using disposable pads when out of the house and a receiving blanket or face cloth when home but now that I'm out and about more I'd like to get some washable pads.  Does anyone have a brand they particularly like?  My let down isn't crazy so I don't think I need anything too heavy duty. 

i would leak really crazy with my last 2. i had bought reusable but i would soak right through them right away. so i went with disposable. this time i took my reusable cotton pads and put a pul backing on them and bought some lilypadz. i also bought nursing bras with a little bit of padding in them. ( i also did this bc my breasts are a little different sized and it makes me not feel lopsided. lol) but i didnt really need it this time. maybe for one day i had some heavy letdown all day and i soaked a pad, but the pul kept it from leaking straight through. it was awesome. i havent tried the wool ones though. when i am at home, i dont wear a bra. when i feel a let down i stop it on the other breast by pressing my finger into the nipple until the sensation passes. no leaky. if i am in public i will press my arm or something against it. it helps too. 

[FaithHopeLove29]

Originally Posted by MovnMama 


You've already gotten some great responses. Have you noticed if the fussy times are around the same time each day? This is what I've noticed with ds2. This article from kellymom made me feel a lot better about it.
http://kellymom.com/parenting/parenting-faq/fussybaby/

Thanks! That's a very helpful site - I keep forgetting to check kellymom. We're trying lots of different things, nothing works all the time but some of it works some of the time :)

New issue here, we're having tons of spit up and then follow that with lots of gas... I'm trying a gas-reducer (ours is made by PediaCare, but mylacon or something like that was recommended by a friend.) I think it's a change in C's eating, not in my milk, because I haven't changed my eating habits at all or introduced any new foods into my diet... Anyone have any other suggestions for babies with lots of spit up? By lots, I mean we saturate burp cloths (multiple) at some feedings. It's so frustrating, because when this happens, I don't have anything left to pump! It doesn't happen all the time, and he ends up satisfied even when it does happen, so I'll be asking at his dr appt next week (2 months already... where did the time go?!?!). We just started the gas reducer, so it's too soon to tell if that's helping or not. fingers crossed!

[Calycanth]

Just dropping in to say I find this thread really helpful. My little girl has a lot of the same issues you ladies have described (pulling off the breast and fussing when she eats, lots of spit up and gas). It's nice to hear I'm not the only one and to read everyone's suggestions. My mental image of breastfeeding was rather idyllic and a maybe a bit naive prior to actually having a baby.  Seems like every time we solve one issue, another one crops up!

BUT, things are going a lot better now, at four weeks, than they were in the beginning.

[FaithHopeLove29]

Originally Posted by Calycanth 

Just dropping in to say I find this thread really helpful. My little girl has a lot of the same issues you ladies have described (pulling off the breast and fussing when she eats, lots of spit up and gas). It's nice to hear I'm not the only one and to read everyone's suggestions. My mental image of breastfeeding was rather idyllic and a maybe a bit naive prior to actually having a baby.  Seems like every time we solve one issue, another one crops up!

BUT, things are going a lot better now, at four weeks, than they were in the beginning.

I'm in total agreement with the bolded - I feel the same way! I am finding nursing much easier as time goes by, but it is a lot more work and more complicated than I had imagined.

The gas seems to be getting better, possibly because of the drops and possibly because I'm being much more vigilant about burping or noticing if he's fussy when nursing and trying to get him to burp.

Question for night time burping- do you mamas who nurse in bed burp your babes between sides, after each feeding, or just whenever you're awake enough to? Last night, he wouldn't go back in his cosleeper after his 2am feeding, so I brought him into bed and he stayed with me and nursed or slept over the following 4 hours. I don't think I burped him again until we got up (he didn't need a diaper change in that time, or I would have burped him then). Just wondering if anyone more experienced cares to share their experience :) Thanks!

[TenzinsMama]

I don't burp during the nighttime, when we are co-sleeping (DD starts out in the Arm's Reach, but then after her first wake-up she ends up coming in for the rest of the night)... I'm not awake enough to do it for one thing, but more importantly, DD doesn't need it like she does during the day.  I would say it's because my flow slows down more because I'm side-lying, so she isn't gulping and taking in air.  Also, I don't switch sides-- unless she's been waking up more frequently than usual, in which case I will eventually switch-- but normally, it's one breast during the night.  That really cuts down on the flow and any gas as well.  One other thing I notice-- If I were to put her back into the Arm's Reach after a feed, then I would for sure have to burp her first-- laying flat on her back seems to make the gas issue worse.  (When she's on and off the breast during the night, she tends to be on her side a lot, and any gas she would have doesn't affect her in the same way.)

[FaithHopeLove29]

Thanks, that's what I had kind of thought - turns out it's a non-issue, because we just don't do well if I nurse him in bed. He overeats, I think, because he ends up frequently spitting up lots of milk, and neither of us sleeps very well. For a couple nights a few weeks ago it worked ok, but not this week. If I get out of bed and nurse him in the glider, he goes back to sleep much easier even though sometimes it's still with me instead of the cosleeper. We're doing much better with spit up other than the night time in-bed nursing, so I think I'll just deal with having to get out of bed. Last night, it was every two hours :( He seems to be sleeping much more poorly this week, I think it's allergies that are making him congested and it's hard for him to breathe on his back.

[FaithHopeLove29]

Well, turns out the spitting and gas are all most likely due to reflux. Honestly, I'm relieved to know what the problem is. We're avoiding a prescription for now, and instead keeping him upright or at an angle as much as possible. He sleeps so much better inclined, and he has had much less gas and spitting with keeping him upright especially after he eats. He's also had less fussy-nursing sessions, which is nice. I haven't even been using the gas reliever for the past few days. I'm hoping it keeps getting better from here! :) If anyone has any tips or experience with reflux, I'd love to hear from others.

[livelovelaugh]

We've got a very fussy little guy here.  He slept all of the time for the first two weeks home and has always done a good stretch at night (4 to five to start, then some good 7 hour stretches until about a week ago when everyone in the house got sick, he hit the 6 week mark, etc.  But since about 2 weeks he has been uncomfortable and pretty much screaming when awake if not nursing.  Spits up constantly, and lots.  Every feeding.  He has been growing great, though, a pound every 2 weeks, so I am not concerned about that piece - just bummed it makes him uncomfortable.  He has very little happy time at all, especially lately. My first DS was "colicky" (he is 8 now), and I can't stand that term so I am not using it for this one, but he sure is uncomfortable.  The only solace this time around is that we truly know that it does come to an end.  :  )  Still, been a bit of a rough summer, though of course I know this is a small problem compared to so many others so I hold onto that perspective when the days are hard.  I guess he technically has reflux, but his tummy will get stronger and he will even out.  I have been putting him to sleep in a bouncy seat in his crib because he spits up so much and I am afraid to have him on his back when he does one of the major thick ones.  :  (  Hoping he gets some relief soon. Been taking him to a wonderful chiropractor who does pediatric patients. 

[FaithHopeLove29]

Livelovelaugh- sounds alot like mine. We were having great sleep until around 6 or 7 weeks, when the spitting started to get bad, and now I'm lucky if he sleeps two hours together. Poor guy is probably uncomfortable! I am looking into Hylands reflux relief - I have a friend who loves Hylands cough syrup and teething tablets, but I don't really know anything about the reflux relief yet. I believe it's homeopathic, but that's as much as I know. Not sure if yours will sleep on his tummy, but our pediatrician suggested putting him to sleep at a 30 degree incline and try his tummy if his back isn't working -- I know it's a no-no for SIDS, but he explained that the statistics are still really low for SIDS, and that it helps with reflux. you might ask your doc about it? My son won't sleep on his tummy anyways, unless he's leaning on someone, so it doesn't work for us. We just incline him on his back. He won't sit in his bouncy chair yet - that sounds like a good idea though. I'll keep that in mind if this lasts much longer.

[LionessMom]

my now 5 yr old had reflux and would spit up alot. i know she is sensitive to sugars now but then i didnt even know to quit drinking milk to help. but i did give her some chamomile tea. i would brew a cup and let it cool. then i would give her 1 tsp 3 or 4 times a day. i would drink the rest of the cup. it made her feel better. i think it helped bc she would spit up less. i still give it to her if her stomach is upset. you can give it to anyone and even use it as an eye rinse, it is so gentle. we had tried the meds and everything they give you but it didnt work. the tea seemed to help her get over it faster. if it happens this time with this baby i will try the hylands too. i like everything else i have used by them. 

[sraplayas]

fricot--just wanted to also respond to your Q about pads. i tend to leak alot and i really like these and they are so lightweight! i really like working with this wahm, she has custom-made a few things for me and her cloth pads are great, too. :)

[livelovelaugh]

Faithhopelove - that is interesting about the tummy sleep.  Don't know if I could bring myself to do it with all of the hype about it, but I know he loves his tummy better than his back - loves to be held lying on my arm , loves tummy time, etc.  All of my other kids were the same - once they could roll over on their own and sleep on their tummy they slept SO much better and were so much happier!  You ladies know anything about the Bio Gaia?  I have read some of the threads on here but still don't know what to think...especially because it was mentioned that there may be a trace of milk protein in it...don't want to introduce another problem...oops, he is waking now...go to run!

[FaithHopeLove29]

LiveLaughLove, the statistics my pediatrician quoted for SIDS were double for tummy sleep compared to back sleep, but both numbers were really small (I think it was in the ball park of 2 to 3 for several hundred thousand... still too high when you're talking death, but both numbers were quite small). Honestly, most of the day he's sleeping on his side in my arms or on his tummy against my chest. My husband has gotten C to sleep on his tummy for an afternoon nap, but I have trouble doing it - I'm still uncomfortable from the no-tummy hype and he just doesn't seem to like when I put him down like that.

LionessMom - thanks for the tip on chamomile :)

[kjourdan]

my understanding from our previous pedi is that the tummy concern is highest when they are newborn and do not necessarily have the head/neck control to turn their heads if their breathing is compromised.  Once they learn to roll back to belly, she said to just make sure to put baby down on his/her back, and not to worry if baby rolled to the belly.

[Nicole730]

I have heard that tummy sleep is "bad" because the baby will sleep longer and deeper and not wake up as often...and therefore more likely to die of SIDS?  Not sure the whole connection, but it kind of makes sense.  They don't startle awake as often on their bellies.

[FaithHopeLove29]

I think I've heard both head control and deep sleep as tummy-sleep issues. C is doing ok sleeping on his back at a 30 degree incline, so we're going with that for now. Our doc was just offering suggestions to try before trying medicine for the reflux, and it may be important that this was at his 2 month visit and he has good head control. I didn't mean to recommend it for others, I just wanted to share the idea to talk to your own doc, it may change child to child or doctor to doctor. Sorry!