We had a scary 48 hours. After nearly 3 weeks of great eating, Bea started being really fussy at the breast on Wednesday night. Thursday morning I woke up with my breasts super engorged, and she was being even fussier & it seemed like hyper-lactation because I was leaking milk all over the place. I started block feeding + pumping 1 oz. before feeding, but things were just getting worse. She stopped having diapers and was falling asleep while feeding.
We went to a lactation consultant, who spent 2 1/2 hours with us. She observed us & listened in to her swallowing, and diagnosed a very mild tongue tie. I wasn't hyper lacatating, Bea was having trouble with my normal supply, which was why I got engorged, making it even harder for her to get a good deep latch. The LC worked on nursing positions with us and kept watching, but after a few rounds of longish feedings that were yielding only 1/10 of an oz each time, she said that we needed to get some food into Bea to perk her back up. She was very lethargic at this point.
So I pumped an enormous amount, which felt AMAZING for my poor engorged boobs. Then the LC showed us how to give her the bottle in a way that supports breastfeeding, and she was able to get some food for the first time in nearly 48 hours. Poor girl!
We are having the tongue tie clipped on Wednesday morning. Until then, the LC gave us this protocol: when she's hungry, offer the breast and pay attention. If she's eating well--suck swallow breathe--great. If not, I pump and we give her the bottle, then offer the breast for dessert for as long as she wants it.
I felt so hopeless this morning after a horribly long night and awful morning. It was so awful to see my baby not being able to take comfort and food from my breast, something she had been doing so well. She was so mad and was crying so loud and nothing we could do would soothe her. After she took the bottle, I put her back on the breast and she got nearly 1/2 an ounce from me! She was alert and happy and was acting like she had been before we had this problem.
Anyway, I'm glad that we took the time to see the LC and have her really look at her problem. If we had kept on with the hyperlactation protocol things could've gotten a lot worse.
Though I did cry when the LC finally said we needed to feed her with the bottle.
We went to a lactation consultant, who spent 2 1/2 hours with us. She observed us & listened in to her swallowing, and diagnosed a very mild tongue tie. I wasn't hyper lacatating, Bea was having trouble with my normal supply, which was why I got engorged, making it even harder for her to get a good deep latch. The LC worked on nursing positions with us and kept watching, but after a few rounds of longish feedings that were yielding only 1/10 of an oz each time, she said that we needed to get some food into Bea to perk her back up. She was very lethargic at this point.
So I pumped an enormous amount, which felt AMAZING for my poor engorged boobs. Then the LC showed us how to give her the bottle in a way that supports breastfeeding, and she was able to get some food for the first time in nearly 48 hours. Poor girl!
We are having the tongue tie clipped on Wednesday morning. Until then, the LC gave us this protocol: when she's hungry, offer the breast and pay attention. If she's eating well--suck swallow breathe--great. If not, I pump and we give her the bottle, then offer the breast for dessert for as long as she wants it.
I felt so hopeless this morning after a horribly long night and awful morning. It was so awful to see my baby not being able to take comfort and food from my breast, something she had been doing so well. She was so mad and was crying so loud and nothing we could do would soothe her. After she took the bottle, I put her back on the breast and she got nearly 1/2 an ounce from me! She was alert and happy and was acting like she had been before we had this problem.
Anyway, I'm glad that we took the time to see the LC and have her really look at her problem. If we had kept on with the hyperlactation protocol things could've gotten a lot worse.
Though I did cry when the LC finally said we needed to feed her with the bottle.
