@dancegurl1118 per the spit up. My LO started spitting up more this week (5 weeks old) & I thought it was the coffee I got, but after researching, I discovered I have an overactive letdown & it shoots out & can cause spit up. So now I let her start & when I feel let down I detach her & let it shoot into the burp cloth for about 10 seconds & then relatch. She gets pissed but doesn't spit up as much.
I also only feed on one side & it works well. I do have to pump some in the morning after a long sleep though.
Ditto on all this, but stupid mama here tries to keep it in LO's mouth when it sprays, to prevent soaking the bed, couch, etc. Will try the "remove kid, spray burp cloth, then resume" trick. Thanks! Will probably be easier than launching up a choking kid...
How do we not have a Mother of the Year thread?...
For some reason bfing is painful again? What's up with that?
@mellymar might want to look into the possibility of thrush. I hope that's not the case though! Kellymom.com
I was afraid of that, too. Its mostly toward the end of the day and the overnight, tho, in the morning after the girls have had some rest its better. Well, DH is tired of watching me stretch out this pokey rib or whatever it is, so a drs visit is in the cards for next week. I'll ask about thrush while i'm there.
Which begs a question - for breastfeeding related health issues, do you see your regular Dr (general practitioner), or your OB? Hmm...
What's going on with a pokey rib? I've been kinda MIA in the board...
Its a strange thing I have... When nursing sometimes I get a feeling like the stitch in your side you get from running, but its a boob level and where my side meets my back. It also gets worse as the day progresses, so the overnights are the worst for it and it will hang around even after I'm done nursing and interfere with sleeping. I need to go see a dr just for that, so I'll just cover all of my second base issues while I'm there.
Has your LO increased in amount they eat per feeding and hours they sleep between feeding? I know formula babies do, so I was wondering if it was a bottle thing. I'm ready to try anything to get more than 1.5 hours of sleep at a time.
@Sammy K , we give LO a bottle before bed- usually 4 oz, and I'll nurse him after until he passes out. He is 9 weeks, and we are getting anywhere from 4-6 hour stretches from him.
@JessHeppell Hell yes! Lunch is only an hour away, and I'm starving. I've just had a slice of banana bread and some chocolate and I still want more! Pretty sure most women don't gain weight while breastfeeding but I've gone up a kilo or so in the last few weeks.
@Sammy K , we give LO a bottle before bed- usually 4 oz, and I'll nurse him after until he passes out. He is 9 weeks, and we are getting anywhere from 4-6 hour stretches from him.
I do this too. My LO is 6 weeks in Monday. He just had his bottle of breastmilk, now he's cluster feeding. Hoping he's done soon so we can both get to bed. SO is at a concert and won't be home till later.
Its a strange thing I have... When nursing sometimes I get a feeling like the stitch in your side you get from running, but its a boob level and where my side .... Quoting @mellymar above
My little guy keeps overeating as he wants to comfort nurse and won't take any of the 4 types of pacifiers I've tried to give him. Poor guy. He's learning to turn away and unlatch when he gets more milk but then he's sad he can't suck anymore. Rough life
Has your LO increased in amount they eat per feeding and hours they sleep between feeding? I know formula babies do, so I was wondering if it was a bottle thing. I'm ready to try anything to get more than 1.5 hours of sleep at a time.
I EP. My twins (7 weeks old, 7.5 and 8.5 lbs) eat 3 oz, give or take, pretty consistently every 3 hours. They eat best/quickest/most efficiently overnight. During the day we wake them to eat if it's been much longer than 3 hours. At night we let them sleep. The best we've gotten is fall asleep at 11pm, next wake time 3:30am. Then usually 6:30am, 9:30 am. Typically, though, it's around 2am, 5am, 8am.
Oh, it's usually just one baby that wakes up, but we wake the other at the same time.
As recently as last week, they were only at 2.5 oz per feeding. We've slowly increased it. The feeding schedule hasn't changed with the increase in oz.
My boobs hurt so badly! More specifically, my nips.
DS is 7 weeks now. It took a few weeks and a nipple shield to get going. We're mostly BF'ing during the day, then DH bottle feeds while I pump during the night - otherwise he nurses for 45 minutes at a time. We want to wean from the shield, but I can't get him to open wide enough for a good latch.
Why does he have to bite down so hard on my nipple? It's like he chews on it with his gums. He also does this with bottles. I can't imagine what this is going to be like when he starts getting teeth!
LO is 5 weeks and will easily take 4 oz but won't sleep more than 3 hours. I can pump 5-6 so I know it's not a supply issue. This afternoon DH fed her so I could nap. She took 4 oz at 1 pm and another 4 oz at 3. I don't get it. She should be sleeping better for how much she eats.
Just some helpful advice I learned today and thought maybe someone else could benefit from it. I was having some latch problems with super sore/cracked nipples so I called our state breastfeeding hotline to get some advice. I was super late so my LO is 2 weeks old. She said to put him skin to skin before its time to feed and he would naturally latch properly. It worked!! The last 2 feeds have been great without me wanting to cry. Now I have no idea how to transfer this to another position...I hope he just picks it up bc I can't feed naked everywhere lol.
@GonePhishing has LO been evaluated for a tongue or lip tie? That can cause them to clamp down or have a sustained shallow latch. At this point they should be taking a nice deep latch! Google pictures and try and get a good look at LO's mouth.
TTC: 1/2014
BFP: 9/24
EDD: 6/8/2015
Sorry for the poor man's siggy...ticker won't load regardless of how many tips I read.
I bf (LO usually spends half an hour per breast) and then give 2oz formula before before bed and the longest my LO will go before wanting to eat again is 3 hours, too. He is 4 weeks and I know he gets at least 1oz bfing (he has spit up what looks like close to an ounce before) so I surmise he is getting 3-4oz total between breast milk and formula, but I don't get a longer sleep window regardless (unless it was last night, when LO was in bed with us)
After a bit of a meltdown today, DH took the first nighttime feeding so I could sleep. She ate 4 Oz at midnight and slept until 4! We might have to start doing bottles at night. She's never slept that long at night.
Lo is 4 weeks old. Since day one she falls asleep at the boob. Every time. There's no waking her. I burp her in the middle of a feeding, hold her upright, flick her feet, change her diaper. We've even gone as far as to hold something cold on the bottom of her feet. She does not budge. This results in her sleeping for a little, then waking up to have more. This is usually not a problem during the day, but at night I sit up with her waiting for her to wake again while DH sleeps. Grrrr. Does anyone have any other suggestion on how to keep her awake while feeding? Will she eventually grow out of this?
@cait7425 you can try to: burp her more frequently when she starts to become sleepy, undress her, cold wet cloth on her face or armpits if she likes her arms in. other than that i have no idea.
Anyone formula feeding and not sure about your formula? We've started LO on Gerber gentle and it mAde her super gassy and she'd scream for periods of time. So we switched to Gerber soothe and she doesn't have a lot of gas anymore but she only poops once a day and when she does she grunts and pushes for almost an hour. She even screams sometimes getting it out. She's been so fussy and cries the majority of her wakeful times that I don't know if it's normal or colic or what. Idk if we should try a different formula or If this is how babies are when their digestive systems are still developing. I'd really hate to switch again because I feel like it does more damage then good to keep doing it. We do give a few weeks to see any change but I feel like she still isn't rifht
@katyertl I've also heard that when baby is still developing the muscles needed to poop, they sometimes grunt and strain. Think of LO as a mini weight lifter in the gym. I'd ask your pediatrician before switching. My LO sometimes only poops once a day and were BF and formula supplementing. I'm not too worried.
@katyertl Have you thought about trying probiotics? We did and it made a big difference. Gerber probiotics was what our ped recommended.
Apparently Gerber soothe has them and that's the formula were using. We were putting gas drops in her bottles every feeding and stopped and it actually seems to be making a difference. Wondering if that's a cause too. She just actually pooped while we were outside and didn't even grunt or anything before hand. Which is a first! And to go twice in one day is a first too. I'm thinking maybe the gas drops were making it harder for her to get the gas she did have out or something. Hoping that is a fix. We have her two month appointment in a few weeks so maybe they can give us some reassurance too. So hard. I feel guilty for stopping BF and now to put her in such distress
LO is just over 6 weeks and I've been EP and recently started supplementing with Similac for supplementation formula. Is it a coincidence that LO gets super fussy and angry after her formula feedings? Or do our feedings effect our LOs that quickly?
question for those who are breastfeeding/pumping: how often do you find yourself needing to eat? for me its pretty much at the same time LO does (so every 2-4 hours) and if i dont i start to feel really off with nausea and stomach pain.
@JessHeppell in the first month, I at constantly and all night. At 7 weeks I eat a lot but not constantly and not at night. I also have to be careful not to mistake thirst for hunger. But sometimes at night I chug a half liter of water which makes me realize I didn't drink enough during the day. Eat, mama, as often as you need to! A handful of almonds usually does me good.
Ladies, look how far we've come!! I know it's not perfect and there's a long way to go... But I've noticed how many of us can give advice, say what's worked or not with our LO, etc. Our mama roads are long, but the journey is slowly but surely getting a bit smoother, even when we don't always notice!
@katyertl Don't feel guilty. I'm BF and we're still having gas issues. They do grow out of it.
@JessHeppell I eat every 3-4 hours during the day and if I don't, I get lightheaded and shaky. I don't eat at night but I do drink water and when I get up for the day, I am starving. I remember from DS that it took 2 months to get through the worst growth spurts and have my supply regulate. Until I'm past that point, LO and I will both be eating on demand. )
question for those who are breastfeeding/pumping: how often do you find yourself needing to eat? for me its pretty much at the same time LO does (so every 2-4 hours) and if i dont i start to feel really off with nausea and stomach pain.
I pretty much have to eat as much as my LO too. Sometimes when I BF I'll feel nauseous and sick to my stomach whenever I have a letdown. I thought that was weird until I saw this and now it makes sense! It probably happens when I don't eat or drink enough water before nursing. At first I was thinking it might be nursing aversions.
I'm hungry/ thirsty all the time. I'm starting to feel like I'm not going to loose this baby weight anytime soon.
Ladies who were BFing/EPing and have stopped... I have been EPing for my twins for 5.5 weeks, and I am at the end of my road with it! Between thrush, clogged ducts, huge sore boobs and painful nipples I just don't have it in me to continue. I am unable to hold my girls tonight due to the pain and it's affecting my ability to be the best momma I can be. I have a lot of guilt about stopping with breastmilk, but am ready to wean off the pump.
For those of you who already have experience, how did you do it? I am so nervous and now that I've made my choice I want to be done ASAP without additional pain. Any advice is much appreciated! You ladies are awesome at sharing your experiences and knowledge!
IVF #1 September 2014 - Transferred one 5-day blast : BFN
FET #1 October 2014 - Transferred two 5-day blasts: BFP!!
LO and I ate all of our meals together today. We are on the same schedule. So I pretty much eat every 3 hours (a snack not a full meal). If I don't eat enough during the day I will get really lightheaded during nighttime feeds and almost fall asleep. I've definitely learned not to do that!
LO cluster fed for like 6 hours tonight. I was so frustrated I cried... Then thus thread made me feel better. Thanksssss ladies :x
@JessHeppell so glad you asked about the food! I'm hungry every 3 hours and feel like I need to eat every 4 or I start to feel bad. I've stopped eating most nights but drink a lot of water. We ate dinner at like 4:00 yesterday though. I ate a bowl of cereal at 9:00. I'm feeding at 2:00 right now, and when LO is done, I'm going to get a snack. I'm hungry and water isn't cutting it!
@JessHeppell I eat a lot. So much I can't really keep track of how much, but I keep snacks at hand during the day and usually end up munching when LO nurses every time. I do need a overnight snack, otherwise I am so hungry it makes it uncomfortable to try to go back to sleep. And water. So thirsty during the overnight feeding. Feels like its obvious i havent drank anything for 3 hours. All that food and I'm not even exclusive bfing. @cait7425 my LO also falls asleep at the boob. It makes for some pretty long feeding sessions (20-30 min per boob). OK during the day, rough at night. I also will compress my breast to give LO a little 'shot' when he falls asleep, this usually starts the suction / swallowing again. If I do that and he doesn't wake, time to burp and switch sides, or if I am really tired I may just lay him down, lay myself down, and get back up to do the other side later. Also, have you tried changing your LO diaper in between sides? That will usually wake mine up, and he usually pees while feeding anyway, soooo....
Ladies who were BFing/EPing and have stopped... I have been EPing for my twins for 5.5 weeks, and I am at the end of my road with it! Between thrush, clogged ducts, huge sore boobs and painful nipples I just don't have it in me to continue. I am unable to hold my girls tonight due to the pain and it's affecting my ability to be the best momma I can be. I have a lot of guilt about stopping with breastmilk, but am ready to wean off the pump.
For those of you who already have experience, how did you do it? I am so nervous and now that I've made my choice I want to be done ASAP without additional pain. Any advice is much appreciated! You ladies are awesome at sharing your experiences and knowledge!
With my first kiddo, I did a,combination of reducing the number of times I pumped in a day and the amount of time I would pump. You can probably start by cutting out one pumping session right away. Pump enough to avoid blocked ducts but not empty. Then reduce from there.
Mint tea is supposed to reduce supply and there are OTC meds too. I think Sudafed is one. I think cabbage leaves are supposed to help too. Go slow and listen to your body. It is better to pump and avoid a blocked duct than be in pain.
For reference, I was pumping 5x a day, with 8-10 oz per session and it took me around 3 weeks to stop.
BTW, don't feel guilty. You're doing what is best for your family and no one can make that decision but you. If it is taking a toll on you as you described, you're doing the right thing.
@mellymar the breast compression is the best we can do to get her sucking again. Such a pain! The diaper change will wake her a little, but the boob is hypnotic. She falls right asleep the minute she latches. Oy. I guess i just have to wait and see if she outgrows it. Even though she's only 4 weeks old, DH and I are testing out a schedule. Eat, talk/play for 30 minutes, then down for an hour nap in her crib, repeat. We are hoping this puts her in a better mood and more productive awake/feeding sessions. We've just been leaving her to sleep near us in a swing got on the couch. I think it was too stimulating and she would be up for 2-3 hrs then struggle to nap resulting in a big cry and poor feeding.
@Sammy K thanks for your reply! I have cut my pump time down to 15 mins a session (and will work down slowly from there). I also usually pumped about every 3 hours and today I have gone every 5 without terrible pain (but def engorgement!). I went and got some Mint tea and Altoids as well (hey, I'll try anything!) and started sudafed today!
I have great supply and get 10-15 oz each session so I was really concerned it would take a long time to wean, knowing 3 weeks is a potentially realistic timeframe is helpful. I am having surgery next Friday and was hoping to be spaced out to at least every 6 hours by then and that seems like it should be possible.
I appreciate your thoughtful response and am hoping this will get me off the pump slowly and as pain free as possible!
IVF #1 September 2014 - Transferred one 5-day blast : BFN
FET #1 October 2014 - Transferred two 5-day blasts: BFP!!
@katyertl my LO does the same thing! I've found that while pushing his thighs into his belly in a circular motion helps get lots of toots coming and eventually a BM.
A friend also told me today that you can get thing stimulated down there by gently rubbing his bottom with a q-tip. It sounded a little sceptical to me but I googled it, and apparently it's a thing.
We've also started Bio Gaia, a probiotic that a few moms I know swear by.
Re: Feeding your baby...support and concerns 7/20-7/26
How do we not have a Mother of the Year thread?...
Has your LO increased in amount they eat per feeding and hours they sleep between feeding? I know formula babies do, so I was wondering if it was a bottle thing. I'm ready to try anything to get more than 1.5 hours of sleep at a time.
Quoting @mellymar above
Oy, that doesn't sound fun.
Oh, it's usually just one baby that wakes up, but we wake the other at the same time.
As recently as last week, they were only at 2.5 oz per feeding. We've slowly increased it. The feeding schedule hasn't changed with the increase in oz.
My boobs hurt so badly! More specifically, my nips.
DS is 7 weeks now. It took a few weeks and a nipple shield to get going. We're mostly BF'ing during the day, then DH bottle feeds while I pump during the night - otherwise he nurses for 45 minutes at a time. We want to wean from the shield, but I can't get him to open wide enough for a good latch.
Why does he have to bite down so hard on my nipple? It's like he chews on it with his gums. He also does this with bottles. I can't imagine what this is going to be like when he starts getting teeth!
I feed mine a pumped bottle at night and it doesn't make a difference. I get 2-3 hr stretches regardless. He takes a 4 oz bottle.......
So hard. I feel guilty for stopping BF and now to put her in such distress
how often do you find yourself needing to eat? for me its pretty much at the same time LO does (so every 2-4 hours) and if i dont i start to feel really off with nausea and stomach pain.
Ladies, look how far we've come!! I know it's not perfect and there's a long way to go... But I've noticed how many of us can give advice, say what's worked or not with our LO, etc. Our mama roads are long, but the journey is slowly but surely getting a bit smoother, even when we don't always notice!
@JessHeppell I eat every 3-4 hours during the day and if I don't, I get lightheaded and shaky. I don't eat at night but I do drink water and when I get up for the day, I am starving. I remember from DS that it took 2 months to get through the worst growth spurts and have my supply regulate. Until I'm past that point, LO and I will both be eating on demand.
I'm hungry/ thirsty all the time. I'm starting to feel like I'm not going to loose this baby weight anytime soon.
For those of you who already have experience, how did you do it? I am so nervous and now that I've made my choice I want to be done ASAP without additional pain. Any advice is much appreciated! You ladies are awesome at sharing your experiences and knowledge!
LO cluster fed for like 6 hours tonight. I was so frustrated I cried... Then thus thread made me feel better. Thanksssss ladies :x
@cait7425 my LO also falls asleep at the boob. It makes for some pretty long feeding sessions (20-30 min per boob). OK during the day, rough at night. I also will compress my breast to give LO a little 'shot' when he falls asleep, this usually starts the suction / swallowing again. If I do that and he doesn't wake, time to burp and switch sides, or if I am really tired I may just lay him down, lay myself down, and get back up to do the other side later.
Also, have you tried changing your LO diaper in between sides? That will usually wake mine up, and he usually pees while feeding anyway, soooo....
Mint tea is supposed to reduce supply and there are OTC meds too. I think Sudafed is one. I think cabbage leaves are supposed to help too. Go slow and listen to your body. It is better to pump and avoid a blocked duct than be in pain.
For reference, I was pumping 5x a day, with 8-10 oz per session and it took me around 3 weeks to stop.
BTW, don't feel guilty. You're doing what is best for your family and no one can make that decision but you. If it is taking a toll on you as you described, you're doing the right thing.
I have great supply and get 10-15 oz each session so I was really concerned it would take a long time to wean, knowing 3 weeks is a potentially realistic timeframe is helpful. I am having surgery next Friday and was hoping to be spaced out to at least every 6 hours by then and that seems like it should be possible.
I appreciate your thoughtful response and am hoping this will get me off the pump slowly and as pain free as possible!
A friend also told me today that you can get thing stimulated down there by gently rubbing his bottom with a q-tip. It sounded a little sceptical to me but I googled it, and apparently it's a thing.
We've also started Bio Gaia, a probiotic that a few moms I know swear by.