Breastfeeding check in

spinsoffresonance

So we have the dumb question thread but how about adding a weekly check in thread to see how everyone is doing breastfeeding their babies?

How old is LO ? How long between feedings?

EBF, EP, supplementing?

What challenges have you had this week, what solutions did you find ?

Raves and rants?

kalette

DS is 2 1/2 weeks. I am EPing due to over achieving boobs that think o had triplets. I have been successfully reducing my supply though by stretching out my pumps. I'm at 3x a day and getting 35-40 oz now, down from 60 oz a week ago. I have 500 oz in the freezer and have no idea what I'll ever do with it. I EPed with DD too for 16.5 months because of the same problem and was only able to donate 1200 oz of my stash, another 1000 got tossed.. I'm hoping to find a home for this milk sooner, but then I worry what if I do end up needing it....

ckandi007

How old is LO? How long between feedings? Jenna is 6 days old and we usually go 2-3 hours between feedings, but usually cluster feed just before bed time.

EBF, EP, supplementing? EBF

What challenges have you had this week, what solutions did you find? Thankfully, BFing is going a lot smoother with the second child. The initial latch is still painful, but if I can just get through the first couple of seconds, we're good!

Raves and rants? I'm just glad my milk came in at day 2 and that she's pooping and peeing tons.

spinsoffresonance

How old is LO ? How long between feedings? DD is 3 days old. I currently feed her on schedule every 2-3 hours because otherwise she goes too long between feedings

EBF, EP, supplementing? Currently doing a combination of nursing, pumping and supplementing with BM and formula.

What challenges have you had this week, what solutions did you find ? DD was born Monday. She has a good latch, when she sticks with it. However, she's been too sleepy to stay latched and nurse properly. Day 1 she ate almost nothing. Lactation consultant said it doesn't matter how much she eats the first 24 hours as long as by 48 hours she nurses for at least 10min on each side. Day 2 she was still very sleepy and wouldn't latch on for more than 2min every 3-4 hours. Diaper output started dropping. By evening DD seemed more and more restless. She would give me all the hunger cues but would not stay latched long enough to get a proper feeding. Nurse was concerned that she had lost too much weight and didn't have enough energy to suck. Started supplementing with 10ml of formula in a syringe while DD was at the breast. Also started pumping to stimulate my supply to make up for DD not nursing enough. Met with pedi and LC day 3. Decided i would start every feeding with DD at the breast. Then supplement with 15ml of formula/BM in a feeding tube while DD was at the breast. Pedi recommended no bottles, only supplementing with DD at the breast. And finish with pumping. Goal being for DD to regain enough forces to suck so we can transition back to EBF. This morning she had 15ml of pumped milk. Then an hour later latched on and fed for 15min on each breast. Diaper output is increasing again. Yay, hoping this plan works and we can be EBF soon.

Rant: I'm definitely bummed I had to give her formula. But at the same time I feel a lot better knowing she is getting the nutrition she needs rather than getting upset at the breast because she isn't strong enough to suck. Feels like my milk is starting to come in today!

Rave: hospital gave me a double electric medela pump to take home. They're gonna deal directly with my insurance for reimbursement .

spinsoffresonance

@kalette have you looked into donating to hospitals. NICU babies need the milk. I think there are several non-profits that process milk donation for NICUs.

kalette

lica001 said:

@kalette have you looked into donating to hospitals. NICU babies need the milk. I think there are several non-profits that process milk donation for NICUs.

My friend is a nurse at a nicu near here, I was thinking of asking her about it. I think I would prefer that to a private donation.

boymum2014

It's a lot harder than I had expected. Our son is 11 days now & I've had a bleeding scabby nipple on one side so I could only feed on the other. My pump doesn't fit right so I'm waiting for an extra part in the mail. If anyone else is having this nipple issue, I am now healed after not putting anything on it-LC said i was putting too much cream on it not letting it breathe, so just would let it dry or try rubbing milk on it. LO is cluster feeding during the day about every hour, but during the night he goes longer:)

usernewname

How old is LO ? How long between feedings?
E is 1 one week old! He goes about 2-3 hours between feedings. Depends on the time of day. I've noticed early AM and morning he will do 3 hours.

EBF, EP, supplementing? 
EBF. I'm a little excited to donate all my formula samples after his next check up to see if he's gaining.

What challenges have you had this week, what solutions did you find ? 
Challenges are still a little nipple pain, but its getting better with each feed. I found holding the rest of my nipple (that isn't in his mouth) counteracts some of the suction.

Raves and rants?

Raves is that he's doing well, and we're in a routine. I know its going to change soon, but I will relish in the moment while its here

Rants. We got him circ'd yesterday so that has been special. He peed over like 8 sheets since the vaseline doesn't allow the diaper to absorb. He also peed on like 5 of my shirts when he was sleeping on my chest. But its day 2 and it only gets better now and its not bugging him unless its a diaper change. Its really NBD, but I felt bad because it meant a diaper change.

meli1025

How old is LO ? How long between feedings? 2 weeks, 2 days old. Usually about 2-3 hours between feelings but in the evenings he likes to cluster feed almost every hour. EBF, EP, supplementing? EBF, but we introduced the bottle yesterday so I pumped and let DH feed him. He took it really well and had no nipple confusion when it was time to nurse again. What challenges have you had this week, what solutions did you find ? Last night was a challenge because he wanted the boob in front of him all night long. I did give him a pacifier but he likes my boob as a pacifier better. I'm still letting him call the shots so for now, I just enjoy the cuddle time. Lack of sleep is killing me though. Raves and rants? The sleep deprivation is awful, but I remember this with DS1 and I know it will pass and we will eventually be on a schedule. I'm happy that he's gaining weight and growing over the past two weeks, he was tiny at birth. Was down 6 oz when we left the hospital but has gained all of that plus another 9oz back.

sparklingdiamond

How old is LO ? How long between feedings? 6 days old today.  I usually wake him up during the day and try to do every 3.  Last night, he was waking up about every 4 hours, which I kind of worried was too long in between.  But he has been pooping and peeing a ton.

EBF, EP, supplementing? EBF

What challenges have you had this week, what solutions did you find ? When my milk came in, he was having a harder time latching.  He would latch on and then push off and we would both get frustrated.  I think we are getting the hang of it now though.  I don't enjoy my leaky boobs and getting breastmilk all over everything though!

Raves and rants? I enjoy breastfeeding a lot more than I thought I would! 

Junebug060609

3 weeker.

EBF on demand. 2-4 hrs between feeds when she isn't spurting.

Challenge this week was a NB with a cold. Overall bf is going well, though we do have to ditch the shield still.

Between my two kids (bf ds for almost a year) I have faced a lot of the challenges youguys have mentioned. Best of luck to you all.

deeandsteve

How old is LO ? How long between feedings? 3 days old and 2-3 hours between feedings

EBF, EP, supplementing? EBF

What challenges have you had this week, what solutions did you find ? I didn't think it would be this hard, like others say the sleep deprivation is horrible, but that's also because little one always wants to be held and cries if he's put down. It's both hubby and I who are zombies! We find it is best to put him down even if he cries after 5 minutes, we hope he'll get used to it.

Rants or races? Hubby has been awesome in helping. I honestly don't know how single parents do this! Even while in the hospital I was wondering how people do it alone.

JKTTC1

How old is LO ? LO was 2 weeks yesterday.
How long between feedings? 3-4 hours but has had some times latched every 1.5-2.
EBF, EP, supplementing? EBF no bottles, pumping off oversupply

What challenges have you had this week, what solutions did you find? I've been dealing with this oversupply/forceful letdown, gas in LO, but we started gripe water which seemed to help and I've been pumping 1-2x per day to get relief (results in 5-8oz a day in freezer)

Raves and rants? Definitely has gone better second time around rather than first!

SMM1986

Omg HOW are you ladies getting 2-3 hours between feedings?

DD is 3 weeks, EBF. She eats every 1-2 hours. Last night some magic occurred and she slept for 5 hours.
I have no raves, just rants. I know I should be grateful that I can breastfeed, there are so many women who can't.... but Itotally hate it. The ONLY thing I like about it is that it's free, which I why I haven't switched to formula.

LunaBug924

How old is LO ? How long between feedings? LO is 11 days old. We're feeding on demand, every 2-3 hours during the day (sometimes less, like 1 1/2 hours), and at night she clusters between 8pm-11 and then will go 4-5 hours between her 2 overnight feedings. I was worried that she was going too long overnight, but as of Monday she was already back up to birth weight plus 9ozs! Pediatrician says to let her sleep as long as she will overnight as long as we're still getting 8-12 feedings in 24 hours. I'll count myself lucky while this lasts!

EBF, EP, supplementing? EBF. I was recommended to wait until at least 2 weeks to start pumping. I am counting down the days! It'll be nice if even DH can give her just 1 or 2 bottles a day and give me a break!

What challenges have you had this week, what solutions did you find ? She's been having occasional projectile vomit with some chunks. Everything I've read says vomit like that is not a good thing, but everything that it's associated with says it will happen at every feeding. It's usually just once a day with some smaller spit ups in between. I'm going to try cutting dairy out of my diet to see if that helps. My pediatrician is aware and says "we'll keep an eye on it". I'm actually journal-ling all of her feedings to see if I notice a pattern. Luckily, it doesn't seem to bother her. It bothers Mommy more.  

Raves and rants? Raves: I'm glad she's gaining weight and that BFing has come very naturally to both of us. As a FTM, that was my biggest fear. Rant: This vomiting has me nervous, so I'm just hoping I can figure out what's causing it and correct it.  

busterbeagle

DS is 2w3d old and goes about 1.5 hours during the day (usually with one longer nap) and 3 hours overnight. He's EBF. As far as challenges, this week has been amazingly smooth sailing. One week ago I came down with mastitis, thought I would die, and then the next day everything was so much better and easier. Rants and raves: he's up almost a full pound as of Tuesday! But I haz the tireds. And the hiccups...does anyone else's kid get them constantly? They add half an hour to our nighttime wake ups.

jesstellina

busterbeagle said:

DS is 2w3d old and goes about 1.5 hours during the day (usually with one longer nap) and 3 hours overnight. He's EBF. As far as challenges, this week has been amazingly smooth sailing. One week ago I came down with mastitis, thought I would die, and then the next day everything was so much better and easier. Rants and raves: he's up almost a full pound as of Tuesday! But I haz the tireds. And the hiccups...does anyone else's kid get them constantly? They add half an hour to our nighttime wake ups.

Ugh, we are plagued by hiccups many nights! I don't know how o get them to stop. I just give her to DH and he hangs out with her downstairs while I sleep!

SMM1986

Hiccups here too! So frustrating at night when I lay her down to sleep and they start up.

LunaBug924

Yup add me to the hiccups club! She gets them at least 3 times a day. She did while I was pregnant too. I wish I could make them stop.

bumpuser10194737

How old is LO ? How long between feedings?

2 weeks old today, going 3 hours between feedings most of the time, with some cluster feeding in the evenings, and sometimes one or two four hour stretches at night/morning. 

EBF, EP, supplementing?

EBF

What challenges have you had this week, what solutions did you find ?

Had a clogged duct (two actually)- warm compresses and more frequent nursing, always starting on the affected side, and massaging cleared them up!  Still having a lot of pain with latching on on the right side.  :-(

Raves and rants?

Rant: Forgot how much time nursing takes up.  Feeling like I am not giving my older kids as much attention as I would like.

Rave: Thankful that it's getting better!  He had A LOT of trouble latching on at the beginning and I was in a ton of pain the first week. 

jesstellina

DD2 is 10 days old. She nurses about every 1.5-3 hrs during the day, depending how long she naps. At night we make it 5 hrs between feeds sometimes, and my breasts leak everywhere and feel like they're about to explode.
rant/rave: She's had a pretty shallow, painful latch since about her second day of life. I met with an LC yesterday who gave me some great tips. I nursed while we were there and it was actually painless. But I can't seem to get her to latch the same way at home! We'll keep working at it. My nipples are getting toughened to it a little, but it's still painful and discouraging.
I'm ebf, pumping some for comfort to relieve engorgement. It will be nice to have a head start on stored milk since I have to go back to work June 9th.

Mimaloo

lica001 said:

How old is LO? Baby J is 15 days old

How long between feedings? 3-5 hours depending on the day but serious cluster feeding from about 7pm until bedtime. 

EBF, EP, supplementing? EBF

What challenges have you had this week, what solutions did you find? Honestly, I haven't had any issues since we left the hospital. It was so miserable when we started that I really understood why people give it up. After we got home, I started reading the book Breastfeeding Made Simple and it changed everything (I had seen one of two LCs every day in the hospital and it was still this book that made ALL the difference). 

Raves and rants? My rave is that I absolutely love EBF. DD is a champ when it comes to latching on and I'm producing more than enough. For me, it is the most natural thing - not to mention that I'm also eating healthier since I have the mindset that DD eats whatever I eat so let's keep it healthy! Win-win

spinsoffresonance

@SMM1986‌ your kid sounds like my DD1. She would take 40min-1hour to nurse every 1-1.5 hours. On average I only had 20min in between feedings. Maybe 30min-1hour in between feedigs at night. The lack of sleep was brutal! She did eventually stretch her feedings to every 2-2.5 hours.

SMM1986

Luckily she takes about 20 mins to nurse. But when it's every 1-1.5 hours I feel like I have to rush around in between to get anything done.

Peaceb0ne

How old is LO?
10 days old

How long between feedings?
1-3 hours during the day, up to 5 hours at night (happened once, and I'm hoping it'll happen again!)

EBF, EP, supplementing?
EBF

What challenges have you had this week, what solutions did you find?
My baby wouldn't nurse for the first few days, and I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to breastfeed him. Luckily we were able to get him to nurse on the second day, but because of the delay my milk didn't come in until 5 days after delivery. We are still trying to bring him back up to his birth weigh. Feeding on demand, which is ALL THE TIME and hoping for good news at the pediatrician tomorrow.

Raves and rants?
Rant- nighttime kills me! I'm so tired, and the baby is always fussy and wanting to snack all night long.
Rave- my nipples don't hurt anymore!

mrspopsicle

How old is LO ? How long between feedings? 6 days old. Anywhere from 1.5-3 hours. Usually a little cluster feeding in the evening as well.

EBF, EP, supplementing? EBF

What challenges have you had this week, what solutions did you find ? So far I'm just thrilled with how well BFing is going. I had the opposite experience with my first. I keep waiting for the ball to drop!

Raves and rants? Just raves right now. I never thought breast feeding would work out for me!

KBowen715

kalette said:

DS is 2 1/2 weeks. I am EPing due to over achieving boobs that think o had triplets. I have been successfully reducing my supply though by stretching out my pumps. I'm at 3x a day and getting 35-40 oz now, down from 60 oz a week ago. I have 500 oz in the freezer and have no idea what I'll ever do with it. I EPed with DD too for 16.5 months because of the same problem and was only able to donate 1200 oz of my stash, another 1000 got tossed.. I'm hoping to find a home for this milk sooner, but then I worry what if I do end up needing it....

Lucky!

PattyTC

How old is LO?
5 days old

How long between feedings?
2.5-3 hours

EBF, EP, supplementing?
EBF but plan to start pumping soon

What challenges have you had this week, what solutions did you find?
It hurts!! They said it looks like a good latch so I'm just trying to stick through it. Sometimes are better than others. The EV coconut oil does feel much better than the lanolin

Raves and rants?
DH has been so supportive throughout. It has been wonderful even though he gets a full nights sleep and I'm up every 2 hours. It's all worth it when I look at her sweet face.

Mr. & Mrs. Woodtick

1. LO is 4 days old
2. 2 - 3 hours between feedings
3. EBF, but I am pumping also
4. DS lost a good amount of weight in the hospital so it was suggested by my Pedi that I supplement with formula every other feeding if he lost any more. We don't have our next appt until Monday, so when my milk came in I started pumping so that if I need to supplement I can do so with BM.

Rants: I didn't remember how bad BF hurts initially!! DS1 had a great latch and I never had to really work with a LC. This little man had some trouble latching properly at first, but every day we seem to be getting better

Raves: I am so blessed that my milk came in on day 2

crystalmir91385

How old is LO ? How long between feedings? 3 weeks 1 day. She goes about 2-3 hours between feedings both morning and night.

EBF, EP, supplementing? Mixture. I pump once or twice a day, so that DH has a chance to feed her. He really enjoys it, and I get a chance to get something done.

What challenges have you had this week, what solutions did you find ? Left breast is a bit sore. I think it's because my right one was sore before, so I was putting her on my left more this week. Going to try to even it back out since the right one is feeling better.

Raves and rants? Not really a rant, but I'm patiently (kind of) waiting for DD to sleep longer stretches at night so I can actually get some sleep.

SaraB221

4 days

About every 2-3 hours and every hour at night(go figure)

EBF

My nipples are killing me! Even though I've used earth mama angel baby nipple cream they are so sore even when I use a shield.

I had an emergency Csection and was so worried about him latching. The let my husband do skin to skin and I think this really help him latch as soon as I could hold him. He is doing a great job.

He wants to cluster feed in the middle of the night.

hbird0723

How old is LO ? 6 days

How long between feedings?
2 hours but then she eats from like 9-11 on and off and will give us a good 3-4 hours before the next one.

EBF, EP, supplementing? I do some pumping because I hurt since she's only eating a little at a time. I've just been storing it in the freezer and when we do start going places it will be nice to have. She's used the bottle twice now and seems to do alright with both.

What challenges have you had this week, what solutions did you find ?
It's been hard getting her to latch on he left side so I've been using a shield and the pediatrician says it's a crutch but you know what she does just fine on the right and we try it without the shield at times. If she's eating then I am ok with her using it.

Raves and rants? She's eating only like 5-10 minutes at a time and other people will hold her and she will be just fine but then I pick her up to snuggle and she starts smacking her lips lol. I feel like a milk machine!

SMM1986

@anniemore‌ I'm sorry to hear that baby hasn't gained. Was the ped concerned?
Also, please know that what you pump is NO indication of what your baby gets while on the breast. The baby is much more efficient than the pump.

Sarac2288

How old is LO ? How long between feedings? 15 days old today about 3 hours in between feedings

EBF, EP, supplementing? EBF

What challenges have you had this week, what solutions did you find ?
This week has been good
Raves and rants?
Loving BF and getting used to the night feedings. Feel like we are on a schedule

SMM1986

I think breastfeeding is really hard!

KBowen715

I have a 12 day old and we are exclusively breast feeding. He goes about three hours Inbetween, though he's on a 4 hour stretch right now. He won't, however, go that long at night. I'm determined to see the whole year of breastfeeding- it is just getting past the point of feeling like all I do is breastfeed and nothing more. Alas.

spinsoffresonance

@anniemore don't be upset, breastfeeding is hard, you're doing a great job. If your milk just came in pumping less than an oz is totally normal. In fact, the entire time i was pumping in addition to nursing to build a stash for DD1 I never pumped more than 1 oz. I only started pumping more when I was at work and pumping instead of feeding. Also it takes a few times pumping to get Used to the pump. Most likely your supply is fine. Just let LO nurse as often and as long as he wants, that's the best thing you can do to stimulate your supply. And if you end up supplementing pump for 15-20 min even if you get nothing to tell your boobs to make more. DD hasn't really gained any weight since Friday I was concerned but pedi said the important thing is that she hasn't lossed any more weight and her weight has stabilized. Pedi said he wasn't concerned and that DD will probably start gaining any day now.

Sam0905

I have an almost 3 week old and I feel like BFing is so complicated. He has a few minor issues with his mouth -frenulum tightness, very mild jaw asymmetry (he kept his fist shoved up under his left jaw in utero), etc. - which are causing some weakness with his suck reflex. I want to nurse exclusively while I'm on Mat leave, but based on his weighted feeds with the LC, he only gets less than an ounce each time. Then after nursing attempts, I supplement with pumped breast milk in a bottle, and then I have to pump. So every time I want to nurse, we have to do 3x the work. It's frustrating and tiring so a lot of the time we just do bottle feedings. My raves are that I actually have a pretty good supply and my baby's chunking up nicely on my breast milk - makes me feel like all the hard work is worth it!

momthatlifts

lica001 said:

So we have the dumb question thread but how about adding a weekly check in thread to see how everyone is doing breastfeeding their babies?

How old is LO ? How long between feedings? Dd is 1 week today. We go between 1 to 4 hours between feedings

EBF, EP, supplementing? Ebf. Supplemented for a few days while I waited for my mill to come in.

What challenges have you had this week, what solutions did you find ? Just bad sleeping habits. She wakes up around 4 and won't go back to sleep until 10 a.m. my only solution is to just nap during the day so I can get through the sleepless nights. Measure out a bigger bottle at night before bed time to keep her stomach fuller.

Raves and rants? Really annoyed with her pediatrician's office and the rules for insurance. I can't make any progress with them until I can get a hold of her insurance. Also can't get a hold of wic to save my life. Always on hold!

Nmooney1

knate13 said:

It's a lot harder than I had expected. Our son is 11 days now & I've had a bleeding scabby nipple on one side so I could only feed on the other. My pump doesn't fit right so I'm waiting for an extra part in the mail. If anyone else is having this nipple issue, I am now healed after not putting anything on it-LC said i was putting too much cream on it not letting it breathe, so just would let it dry or try rubbing milk on it. LO is cluster feeding during the day about every hour, but during the night he goes longer:)

With all 3 hooligans, I got scabby nipples. This time around the nurse suggested to put warm tea bags on them. Tried it. Loved it.
When I for home I did a solid day of Saran Wrap (stops the nipples from drying to the bra). I rubbed my milk on each nipple and the pit the Saran Wrap on. It took about 1.5 days (tea bags and wrap) to be healed.

Nmooney1

How old is LO ?
6 days old

How long between feedings?
She's all over the place. Any where from 30 mins to 3 hours. For the most part I would say about 1.5 hours.

EBF, EP, supplementing?
EBF

What challenges have you had this week, what solutions did you find ?
After feeding the first night we came home, I got freezing cold. I felt like my blood was freezing! It was crazy. I started shaking really hard, crying (bawling!) and couldn't stop my teeth from chattering. My husband wrapped me in our comforter but if I moved and air touched my skin it hurt and made me even colder. My temp was over 104. Called the oncall OB and they said it was probably the start of mastitis. They called me in an antibiotic.
It was no fun. I was engorged and miserable. It was after 6am before I got to sleep - and I had already been up since 3:45am.....over 24 hours. Then DD got up at 8am. I was one cranky Momma.

Raves and rants?
Raves - I love the boding of nursing.
Rants - probably the mastitis.

Also, I never kept superfood track of nursing before. I would just throw a hairtie on the wrist I last nursed on. This time I bought an app. I love it! It helps you time the feedings, list the side, and it tells you when your next feeding should be and what side. You can keep track of diapers if you need so too. If anyone is interested, it's called "Baby Feed"