breastfeeding thread

[danaalex]

i thought i'd start a thread for early breastfeeding questions, since we haven't all had our babes yet, nor have we moved over to life with a babe yet.

i had a breeze nursing my first two. they latched on easily every time right from the beginning, even at night. this babe. she's a different story. sometimes she latches on easily and other times it's true chore. at night she still can't get on without me waking up, and finding her mouth with my finger and putting my nipple in her mouth. it's kinda annoying LOL. she's 4 weeks old today and she still has issues. i'm doing fine, in terms of breast status . my nipples were sore for the first 2 weeks, but they always are right at the beginning for me. the babe tends to nurse from one side every 2-3 hours. i've never had a plugged duct or mastitis but my other two always nursed from both sides every 2-3 hours. so, i suppose only time will tell.

last night the baby actually slept from 1245a till 550a. i was so surprised when i woke up. i was pleased to get that much uninterrupted sleep at 4 weeks, but man did my boobs HURT!!!! and my nightgown and sheets were soaked LOL.

as for pacifiers. with our first she started sucking her thumb at like 6 weeks, and before that she used my finger. with our second we were using a pacifier for car rides because she hated the car so much. unfortunately, she got stuck on it and still uses it at night and nap time. with this babe i mostly use my finger, however i have used one a handful of times in the car or when i'm holding her and she was JUST fed. all of my kids have been major non nutrative suckers-- meaning they like to suck just to suck, not because they want to eat.

i'm by no means an expert nurser but i think between all of the veteran moms here we can help the newer moms with some questions or concerns. so feel free to ask away until we move to the the life with a babe, or until you want to post under breastfeeding

[ctdoula]

nak

great thread!

I teach bfing classes & did for years before my dd was born. She didn't take a class & didn't latch for nearly a week, my milk took 7 days to come in, it was a nightmare. So, I've been there!!! The good news is she just figured it out on day 7 & we haven't stopped yet.

Cole, OTOH, was nursing w/in 5 minutes of birth. My milk started coming in when he was 18 hrs old (probably because I'm still nursing dd). He's an awesome nurser, very effecient. He isn't in any sort of pattern, but I don't mind. I don't even think about it. When the pedi asked how often he nursed, I just said "when he's hungry", LOL. He clusters in the evening & then has been waking 2-3 times from 9p-8a. I can't complain. And, he gained a POUND in 1 week, ROFL, so he's not starving.

I'm definatly willing to help out anyone! I know how it is to have a rough start!!!!

[Headymama]

We are doing pretty good. I was in tears on day 4 with dd #1. Things have been much smoother with dd#2. I'm sore of course, but it's getting less so with each session/day.

My biggest issue right now is concern that dd is not getting any hind milk. She nurses great for 5-7 min and then falls asleep. I take her off the breast, pat her back, undress her a bit and when she looks awake try it again. But she's asleep again w/in a few minutes. What do you ladies think? How fast can you go from fore milk (watery) to hind milk (creamy)?

My concern about this is two fold - first for her own weight gain/nutrition. But it has now been over 24 hrs since I've changed a poopy diaper. We've had plenty of wet ones, so I know she's hydrated, but I'm wondering if she's getting any soilds. We have a ped appt tomorrow, but I may call today to ask if there is anything we should try. With dd#1 we had a period of no poopy diapers and we took her temp (rectally) and it all came out! I may give that a try today. DD#2 did have some screams last night that made me think she was trying to push and having problems, but I could be wrong about that...

deanna

[danaalex]

deanna, how old is your dd? usually by the end of the first month of life babes have a pooping pattern LOL. sometimes they'll continue to poop constantly all day long, and sometimes they'll go once or twice in a 24 hr period, sometimes they'll go once every 3 days kind of thing. my first two pooped constantly all day long until like the age of 18 months. it was a pain LOL. this baby pooped with every feed for the first week, and now at the beginning of week 4 is going once in a 24 hour period, but it's a TON!

try the rectal temp thing to see if it stimulates her to go. but also see if she is starting to get into a pattern of maybe once a day or every other day.

our babe was screaming a lot last night too, but i think it was because she was trying to fall asleep and i was messing with her, and all of the lights and the tv were on LOL. so i think she was pissed she couldn't fall asleep. as soon as i got her all dressed for the night and swaddled her and gave her to daddy she fell asleep LOL.

as for the foremilk/ hindmilk. i'm not sure if there is an amount of time that can be placed on when you go from fore to hind, perhaps amy would know that. i would say if you're concerned nurse from one breast at each feeding, and perhaps two feedings in a row kind of pattern?

[KattieFirstTimer]

Supply Issues

danaalex, thanks for starting this thread. I'm a first time mom with lots of breastfeeding issues so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. DS is not a big fan of the boob. It's partly my fault because my nipples are not normal. I have 1 flat and 1 inverted so it's not easy for him to latch on. He's successfully latched on to both a few times, but it usually takes me 10-20 minutes of trying each time so it's physically and emotionally draining for the both of us. Because of this, I've decided to just pump full time. This is fine with me, but I'm having supply issues. I'm currently pumping every 3 hours for 15-20 minutes and my supply has not increased at all. It's been almost 4 weeks and I'm only able to pump 7-8 ounces per day : I've been taking Fenugreek for 3 weeks now but it's not helping at all. I hate spending all this time pumping and getting almost nothing. At this early stage, how many ounces should I be producing a day? DS is eating about 20 ounces a day so I have to supplement him with formula, which I hate! Any suggestions to increase supply is appreciated.

Btw, I don't know if this makes a difference or not, but my breast did not grow at all during pregnancy. And it hasn't grown at all postpartum so I'm still an A cup :

[Stream]

Oh, Kattie. You're talking to the low supply queen! I hope I can help.

I have hypoplastic breasts-- not enough glandular tissue. You may too, but just having no growth during pregnancy doesn't tell me enough (that's one symptom, your supply is another, a wide flat space between the breasts and "tubular" shaped breasts would be another-- if you google image search hypoplasia breasts or hypoplastic breasts you can find pics). Regardless, you do have a supply problem, so I'll give you my advice based on my routine.

You need to pump more often. Pump every 2 hours rather than 3-- emptying your breasts more often is important (side note to anyone else reading: if you're still nursing, nurse first, then pump). Cut down your pumping time for each session though-- probably to about 8-10 minutes, which should be enough for two let-downs (if you're like me, you may not feel them, but you should have two periods where you see milk coming out)-- 15 minutes is just a lot of effort for no benefit. What kind of pump are you using? If it's not hospital-grade, consider renting one for a month, just to get yourself going.

Also, see if you can find a doctor to give you a 10-day 'scrip for Reglan (you're not in Canada, right? If you were, I'd recommend domperidome-- can't get it here). I think it's 10 mg, 4x/day-- it's the standard dose, whatever that is. It may or may not work, but it's worth trying at least. It is passed through the milk, but it's the same stuff they prescribe for reflux, so no big worries.

What else? Make sure you're staying very hydrated and getting as much rest as you can (my supply goes up enormously if I manage to sneak in a nap during the day-- doesn't usually happen, but sometimes).

And here's the good news for you, even if it's not comforting right now. No matter how much of a struggle you have with your first baby, research shows greater supply with each subsequent lactation. So baby #2 should be easier for you (I know, not much help now!)-- that's playing out for us. I'm only supplementing about 4-6 oz./day, which is awesome for us.

20 oz./day is about right, btw, depending on weight. I assume your baby is eating what he needs.

HTH! I really, really know the frustration. There's also a "Low Milk Supply" tribe in FYT. You may find some good support there. Best wishes!!

[KattieFirstTimer]

Stream, thanks for the advice. I will try to increase my pumping sessions to every 2 hours and see how that goes. I didn't do this at the beginning because pumping made my breast so sore, I feel like it was getting ripped off because of sore nipples. I'm used to it now so I can start to increase my pumping sessions. And you are right, it makes more sense to cut it down to 8-10 minutes. When I was pumping 15-20 minutes, I was getting hardly anything toward the end anyways. I will also check with my doctor about Reglan.

Also, I did a search on hypoplastic breasts, and it doesn't look like I have that problem. My breasts were engorged for 1 day (3 days postpartum) and it grew a whole size. But it was only for that one day! Now it's back to it's itty bitty size with hardly any milk.

Btw, I'm using the Medela Pump In Style. Seems to work pretty well.

[JoyAnne]

great thread!!

we are doing okay- he is clearly getting plenty- i still have a lot of soreness at latch.

danaalex- glad to read someone's babe slept like mine- i woke up all freaked out he must be starved if i was leaking and woke him up to nurse!

[speedknitter]

I'm kinda with JoyAnne, we are doing remarkably well for being a newbie at all this. My milk came in on about day 4-5, I also have a lot of pain at latch on (dh calls it "docking") but soreness is improving daily, will be 2 weeks on Thursday. She is nursing about every 3-4 hours, with some cluster feeding in the evenings lately. We had one great night where she slept almost 5.5 hours straight.

The first few days when my milk came in were difficult...couple of sessions where I was in tears but made it through that OK. It has been really hard on dh to watch me being in pain, and he is having a hard time not being able to participate as much as he would like..so...

I want to start pumping soon, have not decided on a breast pump yet but leaning toward the one that you are using, Katie. I am a little concerned about how pumping is going to affect the supply, which right now seems to be pretty well-regulated. How do I pump without increasing the supply too much?

Thanks to all you experinced mamas for helping us newbies

[JoyAnne]

I was planning to wait until 6 weeks to pump- what do you all think? My sil gave us a medela pump.

Speedknitter- my dh also wishes he could do more- he tries so hard and at times gets frustrated even though he knows all is normal and well. I had thought he could bathe him- ds hated getting a bath- last night he got his second, with me in the tub- which went well, one more thing dh can't do!

[danaalex]

joy and susan, are you guys going to be going back to work, or do you plan on being out without the baby soon? if you are going back to work it's not too soon to start pumping. it takes a while to get a freezer full . if you're thinking in the near future you're going to go out without the babe pumping won't hurt, but if you're thinking of pumping INCASE you're going to go out, i'd wait a while.

i went back to work at 9 week pp after dd#1 was born. i started pumping the week she was born. and i continued to pump until she was 9 mo old. i NEVER ever pumped more than a combined 3 oz. not once. i was definitely NOT a milk producing machine LOL. i never pumped after dd#2 was born. she never had a bottle. she just went everywhere with me until she drank from a cup. or i would go out for very short trips right after she had fed. i don't plan on pumping at all with this babe either. even though i have 3 weddings in sept/oct.

i used the medela pumo in style and i really liked it. be careful with the settings, you don't need too much suction at first

[danaalex]

Originally Posted by JoyAnne

Speedknitter- my dh also wishes he could do more- he tries so hard and at times gets frustrated even though he knows all is normal and well. I had thought he could bathe him- ds hated getting a bath- last night he got his second, with me in the tub- which went well, one more thing dh can't do!

would your DH take a bath with your DS? or a shower perhaps? the shower is a little tricky at first because the babe is soooooo slippery LOL.

[JoyAnne]

Originally Posted by danaalex

would your DH take a bath with your DS? or a shower perhaps? the shower is a little tricky at first because the babe is soooooo slippery LOL.

I am certain he would- he was with us and handed me the baby and gave him his towel hug last night- he actually did the washing too- because our kiddo nursed the whole time!

I will be going back to work part time in the fall, teaching two nights a week from 7 to 10 PM out of the home. So I will need to pump then, and I have been reading about giving the bottle now will avoid a lot of trouble later- even if I don't do it very much, which will make it easier on that same DH- I don't want it to be harder on either of them than it has to be!

But the thought of my ds on a bottle makes me feel awful- I want to be the only way he is nourished, I am working on getting over that! My dh would love it if his mom could give ds a bottle in two weeks- NOT going to happen! That is him not her, she breast fed so she gets it!

[speedknitter]

Originally Posted by danaalex

joy and susan, are you guys going to be going back to work, or do you plan on being out without the baby soon? if you are going back to work it's not too soon to start pumping. it takes a while to get a freezer full . if you're thinking in the near future you're going to go out without the babe pumping won't hurt, but if you're thinking of pumping INCASE you're going to go out, i'd wait a while.

i used the medela pumo in style and i really liked it. be careful with the settings, you don't need too much suction at first

Actually, I've already started back to work, and am fortunate enough that I can take Julie with me. My office is set up so that I can close the door and nurse, everyone at work seems OK with it so far, and she pretty much sleeps in my lap between feedings. I got a Boppy (love it!) and have even been able to nurse "hands free" a few times.

The main reason for pumping now is so that DH can participate more and take care of the occassional feeding, I think it will really help him out a lot to be more a part of the process. Right now she is feeding so often that he hardly gets a chance to hold her for very long before she's barking up the wrong tree, if you know what I mean.

Last night was tough...she was awake and hungry from 1 am - 4 am, and I was just about constantly feeding her. At one point I got so hungry myself I had to get up and have a bowl of cereal. After some tears and frustration, I just resigned myself to the fact that she is hungry and I have to feed her, I pulled out a book and started reading while she was nursing and just tried to RELAX and deal with it. It worked!

[JoyAnne]

I went to a meeting today (first outing in the car for just the two of us) and ds slept in the sling the whole time! and he is on the boppy as i nak!

i also want dh to have the opp to do more- but at the same time it feels wierd!

my ds is great at night- he clusters in the morning. my teeth get brushed around 2 pm some days.

[danaalex]

when i went back to work i introduced the bottle around 6 weeks. i was told that anytime after that it will become increasingly more difficult to get the baby to drink from a bottle. i'm not sure if that is true or not, but i wasn't going to risk going back to work and have a child at home that wouldn't take the bottle.

as i said earlier, since i was going back at 9 weeks pp i started pumping right away, when dd was a week old. i wanted to make sure we had a nice supply in our freezer

my dh wanted to do things with the baby too, i let him bathe the baby a lot. he liked that. he changed diapers. he also dances with our girls, from birth. he usually plays something like smashing pumpkins or the strokes (?). and then he holds the babe and dances, for up to 45 min at a time. all of my girls have LOVED this. they love music, and the movement and being held close to daddy's chest. he has never expressed to me that he would like to feed our children as babies. i know he likes not having to get up in the middle of the night too.

one thing that i like about a child that doesn't take a bottle is that people CAN'T feed them, which is also the down side. my mom and MIL can never say, "oh let me have the baby and feed her." this also makes it much harder to ever get a night away until the babe is old enough to drink from a cup. uugh. such a double edged sword!!

i would say, start pumping now and introduce a bottle by 6 weeks hope it all goes smoothly

[julesmiel]

Great thread.

I've been bfing for a week now, and it's definitely gotten easier. The first couple of days before the milk came in were confusing and painful. Now that Dmitri and I understand each other better, the bfing is working out beautifully.

I feel quite a bit of pain on latch, but it goes away after the tissue has stretched and I can see that his latch is very good. When he finishes I can see the creamy stuff dripping out of his mouth. So that's the hindmilk, right?

We've started the yellowish bf poops, and I'm hoping that helps with his jaundice. (Mild, nothing to worry about, but I worry!) Tomorrow is day 7, so it needs to go completely away soon. I think it's almost gone, but it's a little tough to tell since I've gotten used to the yellowish cast to his skin now. Any advice on this? We've been taking him out into the daylight and sunshine every day, but maybe not as much as we should.

Originally Posted by speedknitter

I'm kinda with JoyAnne, we are doing remarkably well for being a newbie at all this. My milk came in on about day 4-5, I also have a lot of pain at latch on (dh calls it "docking") but soreness is improving daily, will be 2 weeks on Thursday.

So glad to hear your soreness is subsiding!

Originally Posted by speedknitter

The first few days when my milk came in were difficult...couple of sessions where I was in tears but made it through that OK. It has been really hard on dh to watch me being in pain, and he is having a hard time not being able to participate as much as he would like..so...

This sounds like me. Did you have any silly rituals to deal with the pain? I make horrendous faces and chant silly things, then try to relax with a big exhale and talk to Dmitri in a low, soothing voice so I don't pass my tension along.

Joe (dh) is feeding me as I feed Dmitri, so I guess he feels involved that way. He'll make bite sized portions of little snacks and feed them to me as I'm nursing. We found that's an efficient way to get me to eat enough and also a way to have nice family time as we watch the baby nurse.

[speedknitter]

Originally Posted by julesmiel

This sounds like me. Did you have any silly rituals to deal with the pain? I make horrendous faces and chant silly things, then try to relax with a big exhale and talk to Dmitri in a low, soothing voice so I don't pass my tension along.

I've been using some of the same breathing techniques that I practiced for labor & delivery...never really knew they would come in handy for nursing! I also have a really neat heating pad that also has a "massage" mode that I put on my back to help me relax. I talk to her too, when she latches on telling her what a good girl she is. I love how she is "milk drunk" when she is done, it is soooo cute!

[Qerratsmom]

only have time to skim through but noticed julesmiel jaundice concern. eileen had that yellow tinge for about 2 weeks or so. i was worried but doc and nurse told me she was fine. i wouldnn't worry.

[julesmiel]

Originally Posted by speedknitter

I talk to her too, when she latches on telling her what a good girl she is. I love how she is "milk drunk" when she is done, it is soooo cute!

I find myself saying, "Milky baby, milky boy" as he's latching to calm us both down. And I love that "milk drunk" look, too! I also love the rush of hormones from nursing. I actually start feeling fidgety if Dmitri hasn't nursed for a while, wondering when my next fix is. :LOL

Originally Posted by Qerratsmom

only have time to skim through but noticed julesmiel jaundice concern. eileen had that yellow tinge for about 2 weeks or so. i was worried but doc and nurse told me she was fine. i wouldnn't worry.

Thanks for the reassurance. It's amazing how quickly things have changed since yesterday. A couple more mustardy poops and some sunshine, and he's looking jaundice-free right now! Big sigh of relief.