Breast Feeding 911 - Page 2

[kathteach]

Something useful I came upon in my research is that babies naturally take pauses of about 15 seconds before they resume sucking. Sometimes Desi is such a sleepy baby I was starting all my wake-up tricks before I even needed to. Now I mentally count the seconds he stops and resort to the wake-up methods only if it's necessary. It makes for a more relaxed feeding for both of us.

[GinaRae]

WOW. This is exactly what I needed to know. I feel like I have to stimulate him constantly to finish eating. I'll be more patient and see how it goes.

[maisiedotes]

I have a request: I would like to know how I can get DH to lactate. Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated. : Mairaed seems to keep falling asleep while I am nursing- I am going to strip her nekkid and keep a cold towel handy. Thanks for all the helpful info!

[renaissanceed]

Something useful I came upon in my research is that babies naturally take pauses of about 15 seconds before they resume sucking.

This reminds me of something I read/heard once which is that when we, as adults eat, we don't just eat eat eat eat eat without taking a few moments here or there to pause and digest and consider. Babies are the same. If they've stopped nursing, it's not a bad idea to give them a bit of time before trying to convince them to nurse again, as they may go back to it of their own accord.

[Momma Aimee]

this is AWSOME

also remember

bring the baby to the breast, do NOT lean forward to take the breast to the baby .........i am gulty of this

it SEEMS easier to lean into the baby -- i feel like i can see better --

but

you need to sit UP and stright and be in a confrotable psotion .. then bring the baby to YOU ....... you will get a better latch and you will develope better BF habits

-- has hard ad BF may be now, your gonna be doing it for a long time (years maybe) and you need to start off right -- so much easier to LEARN a good habit than try to break a bad one that is hurting the BF relationship later ................ you think it is hard to get started right, wow, wait till you are forced to change a bad habit (a few moms here are already expereinceing that, it only gets worse) ............... don't risk your relationship do it right fromt he start.

[kathteach]

Very good point Aimee.

[maisiedotes]

I have a problem. We just got home from the lac consultant. We weighed Mairaed naked, then fed her (about 45 min), then weighed her again and she only took in 1 oz of milk. I can pump 2 oz in 20 minutes, which leads both the lac consultant and I to believe that it is a problem with the sucking and not the supply. I am so heartbroken. We are not giving up by any means but it sure is disheartening. I feel bad for Mairaed. Her little mouth is so small, I don't think we are getting enough boob in her mouth to get the milk in. : So it looks like we will continue to have her get on the boob with each feeding, but we will have to continue to supplement. At least we can supplement with BM and not formula.

I am getting some fenugreek and blessed thistle tonight and have been eating a huge bowl of oatmeal each day- maybe if my milk supply is increased even more she will have an easier time.

This is so hard.

[Curlita]

The sucking reflex is one of the last things to develop in utero. Dylan was only a week early and it took him a loooooong time to eat, and we had to keep him awake and sucking. One thing that really helped us was breast compression -- squeezing the boob while feeding to keep the milk moving and keep him interested.

Hang in there! She is only a little over a week old... she'll get the hang of it and it WILL get easier.

[Hezzy]

Great thread! I'd like to add 2 things.

First, I had horrendous engorgement. My breasts were hard like bocce balls - no give at all - and the baby couldn't get on and would scream like a velociraptor. It was awful and painful, and pumping didn't help much. Even rented a hospital-grade pump at some expense, and it did very little and hurt. What helped? Manual expression. It was very painful, so DP actually did a lot of it for me. He would massage a breast, starting from the outside and ending at the nipple, making sure a little milk came out. He used a little mineral oil so as to not hurt my skin, but not stink it up with massage oil. Then, when it had softened a little, and the babe could get a little of it in his mouth, we'd stick him on it while DP worked on the other breast. It was very painful, but it finally got things going, and within 24 hours I was feeling much better. I would also take hot showers and massage and express them in there, and use hot compresses. However, between feedings you're supposed to use ice, not heat.

The other thing is a book I would recommend. Somebody already mentioned the website, but the book is Breastfeeding Made Simple by Nancy Mohrbacher and Kathleen Kendall-Tackett http://www.amazon.com/Breastfeeding-...6120105&sr=8-1

Thanks!

[GinaRae]

The LLL ladies I saw yesterday said the head needs to be back (push baby into breast at the middle of babe's shioulders to help) and mouth needs to be WIDE with no angle at the sides. There shouldn't be much jaw movement or it rubs the nipples too much.

Unfortunately Lach is being stubborn and my nips are sore!