New Mamas-How's nursing going?

[grapejuicemama]

If there is anything I've learned, it's that no two babies are the same, especially when it comes to nursing.

Ayla was a pro from the moment she was born, Mason had a bit of a rough start, made worse by extreme and prolonged engorgement and now Calla is having some issues, also.

She's 12 days old today and still doesn't latch on very easily. On average, it takes 40 minutes for me to get her semi-satisfactorily latched. Last night, we were struggling for hours and we never did really get a good breastfeeding session in until probably 3 a.m.

I don't know what's going wrong, but I'm really frustrated. She just gives a few sucks and then quits. Gives a few sucks and then quits. Gives a few sucks and then quits...........Get the picture? And that's if I can keep her awake. She's thriving, I'm not worried about that, but I'm so engorged most of the time and my back hurts like the dickens because the only way she will latch is if I'm sort of leaning over her.

I don't know what to do at this point except keep trying. I'll probably call my mw and a friend in La Leche League today to see if they have any ideas.

How's it going for you guys? Any problems? Any solutions?

[neetling]

I'm sorry you are struggling. Our new little guy (10 days old today) is a nursing champ. He latches most of the time without problems and stays on for a good bit of time. He's done well from the beginning. My milk started coming in 2 days after he was born and engorgement is fairly well gone. He does sleep for up to 4 hours a few times a day and my breasts ache for him. We also have issues with him dozing, but maintaining a suck and having milk come out his nose. Doesn't seem to bother hom, but it weirds me out a bit.

I have to say he is SO much more calm than my girls. I've really only had one bad night with him since coming home. We go to bed between 11 and 12. He wakes up about 2 hours later. I change his diaper and we settle back down and nurse. Then he's been sleeping for 4 hours until around 6-6:30. Then he will typically doze back off, although he stayed awake today. I sent him out with my husband with our older kids and went back to sleep. I hope he keeps this kind of schedule up. I am feeling pretty good.

[neetling]

When our oldest was tiny (born just prior to 36 weeks) we practically had to strip her naked and put cold cloths on her to get her alert enough to nurse. She was healthy, just tiny. She dropped too much weight so I pumped after each nursing session and supplemented her with that and a tiny bit of formula until she got her weight back up (a few weeks). I hope she nurses well for you soon.

[MommytoTwo]

Could you maybe have an overactive letdown? When DD was a newborn I had that and she would be on and off on and off..

[grapejuicemama]

Originally Posted by MommytoTwo

Could you maybe have an overactive letdown? When DD was a newborn I had that and she would be on and off on and off..

Nope, that isn't it.

Thank goodness for the 'Net. I did some research today and discovered the problem is the way I was trying to get her to latch. I followed the advice I found and we've had some great sessions today. She's ready to nurse right now in fact, so I gotta go!

[Muggins&Doody]

Glad you found a solution! Got a link? I don't know if DS has a bad latch, but he does fall asleep at the breast, so I will set him down and he'll realize that he's still hungry, so we'll nurse again, repeat 3289 times a day.

[hanno]

We put clothes on the little guy and me for the first time today and suddenly he just wouldn't latch. I was getting sad and frustrated and thought he didn't like me or something. I took off our shirts and he immediatly went to town. The very first few times didn't go so well either but then I didn't mess with him and he grabbed my nipple and shoved it deep in his mouth and started sucking. I was amazed at his control and co-ordination at just hours old! I hope that he'll be able to nurse clothed soon but I'm not minding the skin-to-skin right now. Also, after he's done nursing, he does NOT want the nipple taken away. He wants to hold it and mouth it and nuzzle it and gum it hard. He looks like a boob-crazed lunatic and the face he makes is ridiculous. The midwife told me to give him something else when he's like that to save my nipples and I've been putting on cocoa butter too. Sorry if I sound like a dork because I'm a clueless first-timer My goodness babies are great!!!

[Fairy4tmama]

Originally Posted by hanno

He looks like a boob-crazed lunatic and the face he makes is ridiculous. The midwife told me to give him something else when he's like that to save my nipples and I've been putting on cocoa butter too. Sorry if I sound like a dork because I'm a clueless first-timer My goodness babies are great!!!

At my house we call that booby wrestling !
Just a thought you may want to try Lansinoh as it does not have to be removed before nursing and is wonderful for conditioning skin (it also has a bazillion other uses ie great for diaper rash chapped lips ect)

[mamacita angelica]

Originally Posted by grapejuicemama

If there is anything I've learned, it's that no two babies are the same, especially when it comes to nursing.

Ayla was a pro from the moment she was born, Mason had a bit of a rough start, made worse by extreme and prolonged engorgement and now Calla is having some issues, also.

She's 12 days old today and still doesn't latch on very easily. On average, it takes 40 minutes for me to get her semi-satisfactorily latched. Last night, we were struggling for hours and we never did really get a good breastfeeding session in until probably 3 a.m.

I don't know what's going wrong, but I'm really frustrated. She just gives a few sucks and then quits. Gives a few sucks and then quits. Gives a few sucks and then quits...........Get the picture? And that's if I can keep her awake. She's thriving, I'm not worried about that, but I'm so engorged most of the time and my back hurts like the dickens because the only way she will latch is if I'm sort of leaning over her.

I don't know what to do at this point except keep trying. I'll probably call my mw and a friend in La Leche League today to see if they have any ideas.

How's it going for you guys? Any problems? Any solutions?

This has been my problem with Bea too. At night, especially. It has gotten tons better. We hired a lactation consultant to come in and evaluate. She gave us some tips. She gave us a syringe, without needle of course, to give her some BM or formula to calm down enough to latch.

Where did you find the solution on the net? Maybe i do this in the middle of the night, when I am too tired to pay closer attention.

[luminesce]

I've had all sorts of issues to work through with breastfeeding (which is mainly why I haven't been on the forums much!) Logan latched on perfectly right after he was born. He nursed for literally 2-3 hours. My poor nipples just weren't ready for instant marathon nursing. They looked like raw meat for a week - there was a solid line of bruised skin right where his little gums latched on. I thought something was wrong especially since the entire nursing session hurt like heck but ultimately, I think it was just my nipples getting over that initial marathon and getting used to the sucking because I kept nursing through the pain and they healed (Lansinoh lanolin is great, BTW!) My nipples are still sore and hurt like heck when he latches (he has a super strong suck!) but they are not cracked and the nursing session itself isn't painful now.

Also, by day 4/5 my milk still hadn't come in and I was terrified he wasn't getting enough. He would want to nurse every hour and appear frantic at the boob. I supplemented him with a little bit of formula and went to see my MW. He had gained a little weight so we decided to exclusively breastfeed and see how he did. I also started taking some fenugreek. Finally my milk came in on day 8/9 and my supply was much better and he continued to gain. But he still wanted to nurse all the time and appeared frantic at the boob. Now, I think, that is just how he is... he is crazy! Sometimes he grunts and squeaks and buries his head in the boob. He'll nurse for a while, then fall into comfort sucking, then fall asleep. If I try to put him down, in about 10 minutes he realizes warm mommy and boobie are gone and the crying begins. This is why at first I thought he wasn't getting enough but I think he is very attached to mommy!

Then, just as I thought things were starting to get better, his habits start to change. He has started wanting to sleep through the night. For two nights, I have been absolutely unable to get him roused enough to eat for more than a few minutes at a time. I've tried stripping him down, cool wash clothes, rubbing his body, talking - everything. Last night my boobs were full and all he wanted to do was sleep. Then today, he wants to marathon nurse - and I feel like I can't produce milk fast enough again. I think not nursing as well in the night is affecting supply again. I was SO tired last night, my eyes were involuntarily closing! My 2 week appointment is on Monday so we'll see how much he is gained. I'm afraid it isn't enough now - these past few days have been hard again!

[wanderinggypsy]

Well, Karina was a VERY lazy latcher and sluggish nurser at first, I think in large part because she was 4 weeks early. Even now she doesn't marathon nurse the way her older brothers did as newborns. And I totally know what you mean about leaning over her!! Karina required that i exercised terrible posture for the first week... if I didn't, she was not interested at all.
Anyways, she was born two weeks ago today, and now she actually latches quickly and efficiently. She still falls asleep within about 6 minutes of latching, but I think she makes up for the short feedings by cluster feeding from about 4 pm until about 10 pm every night.

It's amazing to me how different all the babies are. With my boys all i ever had to do was lift my shirt!

[OnTheFence]

For a preemie I was expecting a baby with nursing problems, sleepy with a poor latch. But she has totally surprised me and has been the best nurser to date. She latched on beautifully after she was off oxygen and continued to nurse well in the hospital. At home, she has done even better and eats every 2-3 hours and has a 4hr stretch most nights. I am amazed each time I nurse at how strong her latch is. I consider myself very lucky.

Kim

[koofie]

Abby was able to latch on within 2 hours r so of birth - she wasn't really interested before. Right now at 14 days, my breasts only really hurt when she does a funny latch, usually at night when it is too dark to make sure what is going on before the deed is done. She nurses a LOT. DH says she is always "on tap". She too does not want to to be moved or removed from the boob when done, and I often have to let her keep the nipple for an extra 10 minutes just so she won't wake up and start all over. At 9 days old she had gained almost half a pound - I'm not sure if she even dropped any weight, because I didn't weigh her

She nurses 2-3 times a night, and has only caused me 3 sleepless nights. Those nights she will nurse and nurse and then fall half asleep and grunt. I'll change her diaper, sit her up in case she has to burp, and nurse her again, and she will continue for a long time, and then eventually fall asleep.

Ari, DD1, actually slept through the night almost from the beginning. She would occasionally nurse once or even twice, but usually I would get at least 6 hours of sleep. I didn't wake her up because she gained weight and never became dehydrated.

[peacelovingmama]

Every baby sure is different! I had lots of problems getting DS to latch and it often took 45 minutes or longer. I got engorged, had sore, bleeding nipples and was generally distraught for the first week or so. But he eventually caught on and nursed into toddlerhood.

DD#1 was a pro from the get-go but I did experience quite a lot of nipple pain for the first week or so. She nursed for 2 years.

Our newest babe sometimes takes a while to latch on and get going, but once she does, she is a little barracuda. And, after 2 children, I think I finally got the latch down. My nipples are tender but not cracked and bleeding as with DD1. Overall, nursing is going well this time and I savor the experience. Who knows when we will stop -- she's my last child and I may go the CLW route this time.

[heathenmom]

OUCH!

She nurses for hours at a time. I know her latch isn't right but I'm having a terrible time getting it fixed. My milk came in today, though! With dd#1 it didn't come in until day 15. Yes, you read that right. So, I'm thrilled to pieces that I have milk this soon. Hopefully we'll be able to work through our issues fairly quickly. :

[marnie]

my daughter nursed every hour for 20 minutes or so. milo nurses every 2 hours for an hour or so. he goes a long stretch overnight (from 10pm-10 am he nurses 2 or 3 times - hooray!) and takes a big nap in the middle of the day. he nurses a ton before the nap and in the evening. in the evening he'll latch on and nurse from 6:30 or 7 until 10 without stopping.

my nipples are very very sore, his latch looks ok to me, though.

[grapejuicemama]

The site where I found some help was http://www.kellymom.com

There are some videos and tons of info to help.

I admit, I was a little weirded out by the male doctor manhandling the lady's breast, but the video still helped.

She doesn't latch on perfectly every time, yet, but it's getting better.

[SweetGoddess]

Nursing is so hard! I try to get the babies to tandem most of the time but during the day they seem to be on different schedules. Natasha is easier to latch so I try to latch Nathan first. Nathan just doesn't open wide. I have to cajole him to open up because I really don't want to stick my nipple in his mouth when it isn't opened wide. Nathan prefers the modified cradle position but I can't get the hang of tandem when he is in that position, he kicks Natasha in the head. I've seen a LC and she said that we were doing fine, I just need to work with Nathan to get his latch sorted out. Both babies are gaining weight, so I just need to hang on and get them latching properly. Hopefully sore nipples will be a thing of the past.

[mommyof2soon2b3]

Well my girls were VERY hard to nurse they didn't have a clue but my little man is a boobie man and knew EXACTLY what he was doing from the time I lifted up my shirt lol...He LOVES his food...Poor man has thrush AND a stuffy nose AND a sinus infection (not sure how that one happened) so he isn't eating very well and has lost some weight but he tries...He is waking up every 2 hours at night for a snack yes a snack he will not eat for more than 5-10 minutes before passing back out lol...Oh I guess there is one thing...He clicks his tongue whaen he eats and I have tried everything I know of to get him to latch better but I can't seem to get him to cooperate...I have sore nipples right when he latches on but that's it...

[~Heyokha~]

Originally Posted by heathenmom

OUCH!

: : : : : : :


OMG!!! ouch. baby nurses like crazy!! I am having a lactation consultant come over tomorrow. She is a big girl so she nurses all the time. My hemoglobin dropped to 6.8 and my milk has been delayed. baby has lost a pound and wasnt having wet dipes: