Anyone having breastfeeding problems?

[maisiedotes]

I am. Well, I was. I guess I still am but they are improving. As I mentioned the other day, Mairaed wanted to nurse ALL THE TIME. I called the nurses at the hospital and asked them if I should keep feeding her or what- I didn't know if she would eat till she was sick or stop when she was full. So, yesterday we went to the lactation consultant who spent 3 hours with us, checking out the latch, etc. Turns out Mairaed is not sucking right! She was wanting to nurse because she was not getting nearly enough. I mistook a proper latch for her getting enough to eat. I am now feeding her every 3 hours and pumping as well- basically I feed her from the breast and then supplement with pumped milk. The lactation consultant was awesome- she told me to pump each time so I keep producing milk and that if the baby is getting only 10-20cc (which seemed to be the case) that is all my body would produce and that she needs about 60cc at each feeding right now. So, I am pumping to supplement and I am fine with it since I am also nursing her. I was really losing my mind for a couple of days there- thinking I was a bad mother because my child was hungry and I wasn't picking up on it. I am SO RELIEVED. She had lost half a pound from her birth weight as of yesterday but today at the pediatrician she was up 3 oz from yesterday. It is working! And once my milk supply is adequate and her suck regulates we should be able to not pump on a regular basis.

I hope you all are having an easy time. I am amazed that so many people have difficulties breastfeeding- I thought I was a freak because here is the most natural thing in the world- tribal women with no regular access to health care, no lactation consultants, etc, mammals, people thousands of years ago... it worked for them so I know it can work for us too! It saddens me that I know so many people who breastfed for 2 days, decided it was not working for them, and switch to formula. If I can make it work, ANYONE can.

[Curlita]

I saw your thread title and thought, "Is anyone NOT having BFing problems?"

Aren't lactation consultants a godsend???

I have thought about what you said about traditional cultures, etc. being able to nurse easily and naturally. I think that the difference for us is often NOT growing up watching other women nurse their babies. If seeing women nurse is the norm instead of something unusual, we would learn by osmosis and observation.

So keep nursing, ladies! For the next generation!

Glad that you are feeling relief... feeding and worrying about how much baby is getting can be so stressful.

[sorteep]

Dean is nursing well but does not have the greatest latch so my nipples are getting sore.. he is an easier nurser than Evan who was a nightmare,, I actually ahd to FORCE him to nurse (this is NOT easy) JAy was a piece of cake.. this one is in between.. hang in there, sounds like things are working out well...

[maisiedotes]

I have not had this many hickies since high school! I keed! I keed! My boobs were SO SORE the first 2 nights. My nipples feel like they have callouses on them. aargh! I can't wait till things get to "normal" and they become routine. Right now it is so crazy around here... at least the parents have all gone home. It was so hectic and I am NOT a fan of nursing with my father-in-law in the room...

[Isaac'sMa]

Originally Posted by maisiedotes

I am amazed that so many people have difficulties breastfeeding- I thought I was a freak because here is the most natural thing in the world- tribal women with no regular access to health care, no lactation consultants, etc, mammals, people thousands of years ago... it worked for them so I know it can work for us too! It saddens me that I know so many people who breastfed for 2 days, decided it was not working for them, and switch to formula. If I can make it work, ANYONE can.

Yes, but these tribal women had other women who had breastfed their babies all around them! I think our parents generation was the first formula generation, so many of them did not get breastfed or breastfeed our generation. That is a lot of lost knowledge, a lot of community resources/ communal wisdom GONE!! I think a lot of us struggle because many people have been duped into believing that formula is just as good as BM and give up so easily when we have no support. (I realize that BF vs. formula is a *very* personal choice and that some women here have to supplement or use formula due to health issues etc, Please do not take offense at this post if you are one) having these "lost generations" makes it hard for those of us who do decide to BF because it is a committment now, where as before it was just the way things were done. There was no choice so you made it work and you had support and women all around to help. Of course, many tribal cultures also keep the mother sequestered and the only things she has to do PP is feed her baby and sleep. Everything else is taken care of....that would make things a lot easier, no?


Anyway, back to your original point...I am SOOO glad you got the help you needed to figure out what's going on with Mairead. Maybe your frustration level will ease now that you know how to deal with the problem and there is an end in sight to the *CONSTANT* feeding!

[maisiedotes]

I forgot to post the best part! Her weights!

Birth Weight on Friday: 6 lb 15 oz
weight when leaving hospital on Sunday: 6 lb 10 oz
weight at lactation appt yesterday: 6 lb 4 oz
weight today: 6 lb 7 oz!!!

I am so relieved. I really felt like a piece of crap that my baby was losing weight because I didn't pick up on the fact that she was not nursing well. We do have to supplement with formula to get 60cc of food per feeding but I was only getting 30cc breast milk at the beginning and I got 45 today, so luckily we should be done with the formula completely in anothe day or 2! It is funny- just like our birth, I had this picture in my head of how I wanted things to go with breastfeeding, but in the end whatever gives me a healthy baby is what I do. I felt bad at first because I did NOT want to give her formula at all, but at least this way she is getting the nourishment and it is mostly breast milk, I am getting sleep (yay!), and if I have to exclusively pump if she never learns the right way to suck, I am OK with doing that. I do nurse her now but I know she is not getting very much from the breast. It has not damaged our bond, I don't think... and that is SO important to me.

I am so grateful for our lactation consultant! And they gave me this nursing support thingie that is basically a little tube that I can put against my breast and put both in the baby's mouth so she thinks she is getting all breast milk when she is sucking, but it is actually a combination of both. Funny what we run into. And I think you guys are right- the fact that we are no longer a breastfeeding-only world must play a huge role in the fact that there are so many problems and people who give in! I am writing a thank-you card to my lactation consultant right now.

[Curlita]

I had to supplement both my babies with formula for 48 and 24 hours respectively. It is so hard to feel like baby is not getting enough to eat, and I felt like I had failed in having to supplement. Dylan and I went on to nurse successfully for 13 months. You are on the right track now and it will get easier!

[maisiedotes]

Originally Posted by Curlita

I had to supplement both my babies with formula for 48 and 24 hours respectively. It is so hard to feel like baby is not getting enough to eat, and I felt like I had failed in having to supplement. Dylan and I went on to nurse successfully for 13 months. You are on the right track now and it will get easier!

Thanks Curlita! My mother just sent me a nasty-gram about how I should not be formula feeding my child. In the true form of my mother, she once again has read what she wants to read and not what is true. I have told her 10 times that I am supplementing with formula- by tomorrow I should be at 50cc of breast milk and 10cc of formula. It is not like I am on the Nestle chuckwagon, taking the easy way out when the going gets tough! I know she means well but man oh man. I would not do that and she should know that! Ugh ugh ugh.

ETA: When you mentioned that you felt like you failed when you had to supplement, it reminded me of something DH said: I would have failed if I did what was not in the best interest of the baby. Like, if I insisted that we did not need to supplement and she continued to drop weight... that would not be good. We went and got the guidance we needed and in that we are successful, right?

[melissakc]

I'm so glad things are improving! Last time I had to pump too and I was jumping up and down the day I pumped 100cc in one sitting. Just wait--you'll be so excited when that happens to you!

[maisiedotes]

Originally Posted by melissakc

I'm so glad things are improving! Last time I had to pump too and I was jumping up and down the day I pumped 100cc in one sitting. Just wait--you'll be so excited when that happens to you!

Ha! I know what you are saying. I just got about 45cc 2 hours after pumping 40cc. Woohoo! If I could pump 100 I would be so psyched. For now my nipples are hating me and I am going through nipple cream like nobody's business!

[Isaac'sMa]

Maisie, I am so glad this is going well. Sorry your mom was so snarky about it, though...not really the support you needed huh? It sounds like you are doing great and Mairead is doing great and that's what matters! Your dh was *so* right!

Now, PLEASE tell me how you are getting so much milk while pumping! What is the secret?! I am trying to pump for going back to work and feel like I'm not getting that much (like maybe 3 oz total? I have no idea about cc's).

[welldone]

my nipples are just now feeling a little better--asher's latch was/is painful. we're working on it...

with my first, we fought for every ounce she gained. she was slower to gain at first, and breastfeeding was really difficult.

the 2nd & 3rd time, it was still work, and pain initially, but the babies caught on sooner. ellery gained a pound a week her first 8 weeks, and asher's on the same track:

3 days old: 7 lbs. 3 oz.
10 days old: 9 lbs. 11 oz.!!!

now he's 21 days old, and getting so chunky. he won't be weighed again until his 2 mo. appt, though.

[GinaRae]

I am so glad you got a consultation! Normally pumping might cause problems, but in your case it sounds perfect and everything is working!

I want to say I am having NO problems because honestly this is the easiest and best BF relationship I have had!! I am so stoked!! I do have a few issues like soreness, bruised nipples, uncomfy positions, long nights, etc. But for the most part it's still so good!

[Curlita]

Originally Posted by maisiedotes

ETA: When you mentioned that you felt like you failed when you had to supplement, it reminded me of something DH said: I would have failed if I did what was not in the best interest of the baby. Like, if I insisted that we did not need to supplement and she continued to drop weight... that would not be good. We went and got the guidance we needed and in that we are successful, right?

The ego does get in the way sometimes. It's hard to accept the idea of supplementing when you are determined to BF... and the fact that the adjustment to breastfeeding is simultaneous with all the hormonal craziness makes it that much harder to cope with bumps in the road.

My husband keeps wondering what the evolutionary purpose is of the gap between colostrum and breastmilk. We asked the lactation consultant we saw and she said that studies have shown that as many as 40% of new moms' milk does NOT come in until after the supposed average 72 hour period AND that the only other mammal that doesn't have milk to feed their young right off the bat is....... the guinea pig.

Not helpful, but interesting. And maybe comforting to know that 40% of us (and untold number of guinea pigs) deal with this gap.

[Momma Aimee]

btdt

Theo has such issues nurseing -- he lost weight and lost weight -- and we ended up pumping after each nurseing (90 minutes day time, 2 hours night time) and feeding with a eye dropper to add calories to him

Glad things are getting better

[Curlita]

Originally Posted by Isaac'sMa

Now, PLEASE tell me how you are getting so much milk while pumping! What is the secret?! I am trying to pump for going back to work and feel like I'm not getting that much (like maybe 3 oz total? I have no idea about cc's).

1 ounce = 30 cc

So you are pumping about 90 ccs. Not too shabby!

[myjulybabes]

Yes! We're having almost the exact same problem. Zoe's latch has been good from day 1, so I (and even the hospital LCs) thought everything was fine. But the ped wanted weekly weight checks because she's so tiny, and there was actually a whole week where she didn't gain an oz!

So I'm on the nurse/pump/feed routine too, but we're already weaning down from every feeding to just when she seems hungry after nursing. We've had to use a little formula too. I don't like it, but if the baby is hungry and I don't have any pumped milk, well, she has to eat! (I can't quite get enough milk to get ahead, I'm always pumping for the next feeding, and sometimes I don't have time or can't pump enough)

I finally got in to see an LC today, and the verdict was that we're doing almost everything right, but Zoe is just kinda sleepy still, and not always spending enough time actively sucking before she dozes off. She was over 3 weeks early, so that's not surprising. We've just now passed her due date, so hopefully things will keep getting better!

Oh, and the best news, after a week of not gaining, she's gained 6oz in 6 days! Woot!

[Momma Aimee]

I finally got in to see an LC today, and the verdict was that we're doing almost everything right, but Zoe is just kinda sleepy still, and not always spending enough time actively sucking before she dozes off. She was over 3 weeks early, so that's not surprising. We've just now passed her due date, so hopefully things will keep getting better!

we had that issue with Theo -- for up to 6 or 8 weeks i was carrying an alarm and WAKING his buitt to eat every 90 minutes day time and 2 hours night time, after he'd fall asleep at the breast we'd wake him again -- usally meant making him screeam -- and nurse a 2nd time. then I'd pump while DH or Mom eye dropper fed him ............

it paid off -- desipte how tired and stressed i was .......

Theo nursed 21 monhts, stopped, and has restarted.

It was no fun -- i felt evil -- waking this sweet sleeping baby ... making him cry and scream to get his mouth open ....

also -- Theo has ALWAYS been in the 5th to 12th percintil .. and at 24 months is still wearing 12 month clothing .... some kids are just small do not let anyone freak you out -- you are the mom, you know best, wet diapers? stools? some kids just grow really really slow ... to this day Theo will gain then losse, and loose and loose and then gain agian .......

Godd luck.

Try pumping on one side while baby nurses on the other -- you may need help to get it all in place ..... you will usally get more pumping that way. then pump the baby fed side once the baby is done to ensure production and to make sure the breast is empty ... also pumping both sides at once will get you more milk too

[maisiedotes]

: Guess who just pumped 70cc in one sitting? :

Now to keep it up... I don't know what is going to happen because Mairaed just gobbled that 70cc in about 15 minutes. She wanted more so I had to give her a bit (10cc) of formula because she is not taking to the ol' boob. I mean, she is latching on fine but sucking her little tongue. We are going back to the LC on Monday to work on it. She is doing that fast sucking and never switching to the slow sucking with the pause at the bottom of the breast... gotta work on this.

I hope I can keep up with this pumping. It took me an hour to pump 70cc and I frankly am not sure I will be able to pump the 8 times a day that I am supposed to if it is going to take an hour at a time. That is half my waking hours... will it ever come out in a stream instead of drip-drip-drip?

[Momma Aimee]

make sure you are drinking A LOT of water...... more than you would ever think necessary ...

have you tried, like i suggested before, pumping both sides, or pumping while the baby nurses?

A