Breastfeeding Thread

mrsmtothek

As many of us are transitioning into postpartum recovery and the adventures of life with a newborn, I thought it'd be nice to have a place to share trials, tribulations, and ask questions about breastfeeding! 

mrsmtothek

Anyone pumping and breastfeeding yet? I'll be 4 weeks PP Friday and want to start soon, just to have a backup supply for emergencies. I work from home so I hope to breastfeed exclusively as much as possible, but would like to know if my DH needs to give LO a bottle he can. How do you introduce pumping into your schedule and how often? 

mrios26

I haven't had quite enough of a supply to get a good amount out by pumping, so currently trying to up my milk output with fenugreek, blessed thistle, and mother's milk tea and different foods. My sis in law gave me some advice for pumping- while you nurse on one side, collect the letdown with the pump from the other side then switch. She did that with my niece an nephews and says it helped her supply and her storage.

sprocketsngadgets

I started pumping 1 week pp. I pump once a day around 8am. Usually morning is when you'll have the most milk. I'm a super cow so DD2 block feeds and I just pump the other side. 

MegJerKlemz

Any other ladies just have a terrible start with breastfeeding? My son lost so much weight at five days old they readmitted him to the hospital for dehydration. It was seriously the scariest time of my life! 
I found I wasn't producing enough milk, but now I think I am.. His diapers are full of breast milk seedy poop! And I hear him gulp.. But we are still supplementing after feeding because he acts so hungry! I have used mothers milk, pumped, take Brewers yeast.. Nothing seems to make enough to satisfy him. Tell me I'm not alone! 

AmadorRose

MegJerKlemz said:

Any other ladies just have a terrible start with breastfeeding? My son lost so much weight at five days old they readmitted him to the hospital for dehydration. It was seriously the scariest time of my life! 
I found I wasn't producing enough milk, but now I think I am.. His diapers are full of breast milk seedy poop! And I hear him gulp.. But we are still supplementing after feeding because he acts so hungry! I have used mothers milk, pumped, take Brewers yeast.. Nothing seems to make enough to satisfy him. Tell me I'm not alone! 

I would say talk to an LC about transitioning him off of formula and supplementing with expressed breast milk. DD had a rough start to life and was a lazy eater, forcing me to supplement with formula for a couple of days until my milk came in. I was advised to be very careful bout supplementing because babies eat formula differently from the way they take breast milk. If he's eating fast, you could give him a pacifier to satisfy his need to suck. When I transitioned DD off of formula, she cluster fed like no other; even with a good latch my nipples felt like they I was lactating razors. Now, though, she exclusively BFs and she's a hungry little hippo. The most important thing to track is the number of wet and dirty diapers along with the color and consistency of poop. I would definitely seek advice from an LC to safely transition him off of the formula if he's become used to it. 

lreni529

I am 3 weeks pp and started pumping 1 week pp.  I pump both sides for 5-7 min after every time dd eats during the day. It's a royal PITA but I have about 70 oz in the chest freezer already! 

K&Elizabeth

I'm treading a delicate balance right now between forceful letdown/oversupply and a clogged duct lowering supply. I've been trying the "finish the first breath first" advice from the LC I saw in the hospital because we suspected a foremilk/hind milk imbalance, but I think it contributed to my clogged duct situation. I used a manual pump in a super hot shower tonight to hopefully get things moving. I saw those dreadful red streaks of impending mastitis and the panic ensued. 

mrstrax

Meeting with the LC tomorrow to try to figure out why Theo is gaining weight so slowly (10.5 oz in 3 weeks). BF has been really rough again so far, mostly because I got my hopes up after a successful latch in the hospital. 

Has anyone EP'd with a toddler at home? I've had great output with the pump so far, but already feel guilty for never spending time with DD despite being a SAHM and I can't imagine adding bottle feeding to the time I spend BFing (which I assume I would match pumping?) Just trying to look at options. 

brie_and_almonds

@mrstrax
I didn't EP with a toddler, but I did have to pump and supplement for DD1, and we used a supplemental nursing system so that she could nurse and get the extra milk I was pumping at the same time.

MrsZko

K&Elizabeth said:

I'm treading a delicate balance right now between forceful letdown/oversupply and a clogged duct lowering supply. I've been trying the "finish the first breath first" advice from the LC I saw in the hospital because we suspected a foremilk/hind milk imbalance, but I think it contributed to my clogged duct situation. I used a manual pump in a super hot shower tonight to hopefully get things moving. I saw those dreadful red streaks of impending mastitis and the panic ensued. 

We also do finish the first breast before doing the second...which rarely happens. When your supply is adjusting to that it certainly could cause issues like clogged ducts. Also try massaging the breast before you nurse and even during, focusing on the area you think might be affected. Before you know it, you'll have adjusted to this new schedule. I had a day of worry about mastitis also but lots of hand expression helped me. Oh and cabbage compress on the affected area!

mrsmtothek

Love it when my LO has milk mustache lol!

BeatboxBaby

MegJerKlemz said:

Any other ladies just have a terrible start with breastfeeding? My son lost so much weight at five days old they readmitted him to the hospital for dehydration. It was seriously the scariest time of my life! 
I found I wasn't producing enough milk, but now I think I am.. His diapers are full of breast milk seedy poop! And I hear him gulp.. But we are still supplementing after feeding because he acts so hungry! I have used mothers milk, pumped, take Brewers yeast.. Nothing seems to make enough to satisfy him. Tell me I'm not alone! 

I feel ya. I started pumping in the hospitsl cause LO wouldn't latch. We ended up having to supplement with formula bc she was dehydrated and went from 7lb to 6lb4oz. She's only just started getting s good latch probably in the last week, but my nipples are in so much pain.

Not to mention, at her 2 week yesterday, she weighed in at 6lb9oz..so still far from her birth weight. We are trying not to give formula, but at this point, her health is more concerning to me. So I try to suffer through the pain and then DH will feed her my pumped milk (which I'm trying to rebuild my supply since I slacked off and it greatly decreased). DH wants to introduce a bottle to help relieve some pain, but I'm nervous about it (right now he feeds her by cup).

adifrog

LO lost a pound in the hospital (4 days) so they had me start on the pump when I got home.  About a day later milk came in.  She's had two weight checks since then and is gaining, 1 oz the first day and three more ounces two days later!  I'm pumping once in the morning and once in the evening and getting about an ounce from each side each session.  I'm definitely ready for the tenderness to go away but she's only a week old today so we'll get there soon.  

runningwild

mrstrax said:

Meeting with the LC tomorrow to try to figure out why Theo is gaining weight so slowly (10.5 oz in 3 weeks). BF has been really rough again so far, mostly because I got my hopes up after a successful latch in the hospital. 

Has anyone EP'd with a toddler at home? I've had great output with the pump so far, but already feel guilty for never spending time with DD despite being a SAHM and I can't imagine adding bottle feeding to the time I spend BFing (which I assume I would match pumping?) Just trying to look at options. 

I EP'd with DD2 and am again this time with DD3. I currently have a 7 year old and 2 1/2 year old. It can be challenging balancing my pumping schedule with 2 other LOs that need attention, but it's super important to me that DD gets breastmilk. And of course there's the extra chore of bottle washing. 

I'm just taking it a day at a time. If it becomes too much for me or if I see it effecting my other kiddos, I'll reevaluate then. I will also say that the peace of mind I get from seeing exactly how much lo is taking in is wonderful. 

I hope it works out for you in the best way possible. 

Cwyatt2571

My LO is now 2.5 weeks old. Breastfeeding is going great now. We definitely had our sturghles. Sore chapped nipples are the worse! But I have a question.. do any of you ladies give your breast fed baby a pacifier? My LO now pacifies on my breast which is fine except when I'd like to sleep too lol. Any suggestions?

Pmommy0416

Cwyatt2571 said:

My LO is now 2.5 weeks old. Breastfeeding is going great now. We definitely had our sturghles. Sore chapped nipples are the worse! But I have a question.. do any of you ladies give your breast fed baby a pacifier? My LO now pacifies on my breast which is fine except when I'd like to sleep too lol. Any suggestions?

My baby breastfeeds and uses a pacifier. She does fine!

AmadorRose

Pmommy0416 said:

Cwyatt2571 said:

My LO is now 2.5 weeks old. Breastfeeding is going great now. We definitely had our sturghles. Sore chapped nipples are the worse! But I have a question.. do any of you ladies give your breast fed baby a pacifier? My LO now pacifies on my breast which is fine except when I'd like to sleep too lol. Any suggestions?

My baby breastfeeds and uses a pacifier. She does fine!

This. Studies show that true nipple confusion is so rare the point is essentially null. My 2-week-old has used a pacifier since day 3 and it saved BFing for me and my poor, sore nipples. 

AmadorRose

Just want to take a minute to bitch - we can send men to the freaking moon but we have yet to make a breast pump that actually mimicked the way a baby suckles? And whyTAF do I have to lean forward uncomfortably or be on all fours for my milk not to just flow back around my areola, so it actually collects in the little bottles? Am I an idiot or do these machines really still suck this badly?

Cwyatt2571

AmadorRose said:

Pmommy0416 said:

Cwyatt2571 said:

My LO is now 2.5 weeks old. Breastfeeding is going great now. We definitely had our sturghles. Sore chapped nipples are the worse! But I have a question.. do any of you ladies give your breast fed baby a pacifier? My LO now pacifies on my breast which is fine except when I'd like to sleep too lol. Any suggestions?

My baby breastfeeds and uses a pacifier. She does fine!

This. Studies show that true nipple confusion is so rare the point is essentially null. My 2-week-old has used a pacifier since day 3 and it saved BFing for me and my poor, sore nipples. 

I just gave him the pacifier and he seems to be enjoying it may thank you ladies!

amaniupendo

AmadorRose said:

Just want to take a minute to bitch - we can send men to the freaking moon but we have yet to make a breast pump that actually mimicked the way a baby suckles? And whyTAF do I have to lean forward uncomfortably or be on all fours for my milk not to just flow back around my areola, so it actually collects in the little bottles? Am I an idiot or do these machines really still suck this badly?

I guess I lean forward a little, but it's not uncomfortable. Are you able to up your suction? 

brie_and_almonds

AmadorRose said:

Just want to take a minute to bitch - we can send men to the freaking moon but we have yet to make a breast pump that actually mimicked the way a baby suckles? And whyTAF do I have to lean forward uncomfortably or be on all fours for my milk not to just flow back around my areola, so it actually collects in the little bottles? Am I an idiot or do these machines really still suck this badly?

I don't have this problem because my boobs point at the ground   

ohmyjenkies

Technical difficulties over here, I think this was an accidental account! Uhhhh.. this is @cmjenkies!

cmjenkies

Take two.. I've been locked out of this app all week. Nevertheless, I feel you, @brenlo42, I'm pretty sure mine do, too. 

korpatch

Eliot and I are finally getting the hang of nursing, but I have a question. He likes to nurse for 30 or so... Then he sits all content and hiccups and cues for about 30 min or so, then he wants to eat for like 2-10 more minutes and then sleep. Anyone else have a baby that wants meals and snacks?

wildtot

I'm at the verge of calling it quits with BF and switching to only pumping. One of my nipples have bleed from day 1 and now they are both bleeding (4 days old). I have tried a nipple shield and I still bleed and hurt. My breast are so full and sore I can barely hold off to feed every 2 hours. LO loves to fall asleep during each session. I feed, he sleeps, I burp, I changed diaper (dirty every single session), try feeding again (different boob) and often have another dirty diaper. I have a ton of supply but he acts like hes starving because he sleeps and then it hurts way too much. Anyone have suggestions? I've spoken to a consultant yesterday and asked questions during my hospital stay. I feel so emotional and like a failure. I feel like all I do is "try" to feed, suffer with recovering from my section, and exhaust myself to only feel like I fail. I don't feel the same bonding with LO since I got home thanks to these super painful boobs. Everyone keeps saying I should wait for the pump but in the meantime I'm over here crying from the pain. Nothing helps! Any tips? I want to enjoy baby and feel like shit crying all the time.

imrachellea

I'm so frustrated with feeding "on demand". DD2 latched on immediately after birth, nursed for 30 minutes, and has been a champ eater since, eating anywhere from every 1-4 hours (4 only on occasion during the night), with occasional cluster feeding. I haven't had any issues with sore boobs/nipples. So it's going GREAT. But I have a 2 year old. It is so hard to give her the attention she needs when I have a baby on my boob so often. I feel like bottle feeding would be so much more predictable. I'm not quitting BFing, because it really is going well, I just wish there was a little more predictability here. I feel like DD1 is getting cheated She's definitely showing her jealousy, not in a bad way, just super clingy to me which makes nursing and holding the baby even that much more complicated. I fed on demand with DD1, but there was no other kid needing my attention too. This two kid thing is harder than I thought for reasons I didn't think of  And DD2 isn't very good at sitting somewhere not on me between eating...she prefers to fall asleep nursing and if I try to transfer her to the swing or something it either doesn't work at all out barely lasts. At 9 days old that's NBD, but it isn't a habit I want to develop...

thaisac1

1) Does one of your breasts produce more milk than the other? My left breast never gets engorged, like the right does. It does have milk though, but it is always soft.
2) I feel like we've had a breastfeeding setback… It had been going well, but for the past 48h he has been a hungry hungry hippo. He is literally draining me out. To make matters worse, he has had a regression in his feeding efficiency… He efficiently sucks for about 5 mins then spends a lot of time doing ineffective sucking (no swallowing) and falling asleep. Occasionally he picks up a few effective sucks again. Spending a lot of time on the boob doing this, and seems to remain hungry cause I think he is not taking the amount of milk he could have taken in that timeframe… Sigh.

K&Elizabeth

@imrachellea Girl, I feel you. DD never nursed. We couldn't get the hang of it and I ended up pumping and supplementing. DS is a breastfeeding champ and I'm so happy about it. On the other hand, I know it's hard for DD. I think my DD is a little older than your DD1, but she just wants to "help" all of the time. I really want to let her so she doesn't feel any resentment, but it's totally stressing me out. 3 year olds aren't the most gentle beings. I'm working on finding better ways to involve her I taking care of DS. Adjusting to life with 2 kids is so much harder than I thought. It can only get better, right?!?

AmadorRose

amaniupendo said:

AmadorRose said:

Just want to take a minute to bitch - we can send men to the freaking moon but we have yet to make a breast pump that actually mimicked the way a baby suckles? And whyTAF do I have to lean forward uncomfortably or be on all fours for my milk not to just flow back around my areola, so it actually collects in the little bottles? Am I an idiot or do these machines really still suck this badly?

I guess I lean forward a little, but it's not uncomfortable. Are you able to up your suction? 

It's all the way up. I still have itty bitty titties, so I may buy angled sheilds to see if that helps because they just aren't big enough for the included shields to work well. 

thaisac1

Ah and one more question.. We have only given our baby 3 or 4 bottles with breast milk, but he drinks very funny… Takes big noisy gulps, even though we control the pace… Does your LO make sounds when bottle feeding?

AmadorRose

thaisac1 said:

1) Does one of your breasts produce more milk than the other? My left breast never gets engorged, like the right does. It does have milk though, but it is always soft.
2) I feel like we've had a breastfeeding setback… It had been going well, but for the past 48h he has been a hungry hungry hippo. He is literally draining me out. To make matters worse, he has had a regression in his feeding efficiency… He efficiently sucks for about 5 mins then spends a lot of time doing ineffective sucking (no swallowing) and falling asleep. Occasionally he picks up a few effective sucks again. Spending a lot of time on the boob doing this, and seems to remain hungry cause I think he is not taking the amount of milk he could have taken in that timeframe… Sigh.

1) my right side feels like it's always full and it's always sore. I know she's getting plenty from the left as well, but it doesn't hurt like the right. From what I've read it's common to produce more from one side. 
2) Could you pump on the opposite side while he eats? Ellie was very lazy until my milk came in and I could only get her to wake up by giving a bottle to get her excited about eating. She still likes to suck for comfort, and is constantly pulling her mouth back so that she's only sucking the nipple on my left breast. At that point, I remove her and give her a pacifier. L may just be growing, needing more sleep and wanting to eat more often. 

redselig

@Knottie2891384 we have a very similar initial breastfeeding experience. Both my nipples were sore and cracked and the right one was slightly split down the middle. I'm 3 weeks in and I can tell you that it does get much better. Some of the things suggested to 

1) pay attention to the way LO latches. A midwife corrected my latch and it has made a world of a difference. This also meant I had to vary some of my holds for an optimum latch.

2) if one nipple is badly injured, pump from that one and feed with the other. This was a suggestion from the midwife although I never took it. I breathed through the nipple pain and relaxed my shoulders which seemed to help.

myla14

@imrachellea I am also struggling with the nursing with a toddler around thing. DS1 is 2 and very active and demanding. He is used to being taken out a lot, to the playground or wherever, which is harder to time with breastfeeding and nerve wracking anyway because he's a runner and it's hard to corral him with DS2 strapped to me. I've had to work more on discipline with DS1 (3 strikes policy, ex) in order to manage him better with words when I really just feel guilty about short changing him and would rather spoil him. So no real advice, except that for close baby seating between feeds I like to prop him in the boppy on the couch. 

brie_and_almonds

Knottie2891384 said:

I'm at the verge of calling it quits with BF and switching to only pumping. One of my nipples have bleed from day 1 and now they are both bleeding (4 days old). I have tried a nipple shield and I still bleed and hurt. My breast are so full and sore I can barely hold off to feed every 2 hours. LO loves to fall asleep during each session. I feed, he sleeps, I burp, I changed diaper (dirty every single session), try feeding again (different boob) and often have another dirty diaper. I have a ton of supply but he acts like hes starving because he sleeps and then it hurts way too much. Anyone have suggestions? I've spoken to a consultant yesterday and asked questions during my hospital stay. I feel so emotional and like a failure. I feel like all I do is "try" to feed, suffer with recovering from my section, and exhaust myself to only feel like I fail. I don't feel the same bonding with LO since I got home thanks to these super painful boobs. Everyone keeps saying I should wait for the pump but in the meantime I'm over here crying from the pain. Nothing helps! Any tips? I want to enjoy baby and feel like shit crying all the time.

Will he stay awake longer/eat more if you strip him down to his diaper to nurse? I had to do all kinds of things with DD1 to get a full meal in her belly before she would conk out. Another thing that helped was doing breast compressions while she nursed -- if I could keep the milk flowing, she would stay just awake enough to swallow it down. You're doing great, and your milk production will even out eventually. 

brie_and_almonds

thaisac1 said:

1) Does one of your breasts produce more milk than the other? My left breast never gets engorged, like the right does. It does have milk though, but it is always soft.
2) I feel like we've had a breastfeeding setback… It had been going well, but for the past 48h he has been a hungry hungry hippo. He is literally draining me out. To make matters worse, he has had a regression in his feeding efficiency… He efficiently sucks for about 5 mins then spends a lot of time doing ineffective sucking (no swallowing) and falling asleep. Occasionally he picks up a few effective sucks again. Spending a lot of time on the boob doing this, and seems to remain hungry cause I think he is not taking the amount of milk he could have taken in that timeframe… Sigh.

1. Yes, one side has always produced more for me. Witb DD1 it switched back and forth which side it was a few times, but there has always been a noticeable difference.

2. Draining you out could be a growth spurt on its way. The "inefficient sucking" sounds like he's just comfort sucking. I usually detatch DD when I notice her doing this cause it means she's done eating, but if he seems hungry afterward, maybe try breast compressions to keep the milk flowing and see if he will keep nursing that way.

olivemomma

For all moms struggling with the pain of bfing - I definitely feel you. With DD I had sore nipples for months - matastis, blisters, bleeding - it was aweful. But she refused a bottle so I pushed through it and eventually we figured it out and I fed her successfully for 15 months. This go around, I started to notice some of the same issues right away and I thought I cant go through that again so I spoke to the LC before leaving the hospital. My lo had a good latch but once I got him on I readjusted my hold to a more comfortable position causing my boob to change position which affected how he nursed. She recommended I held onto my boob the entire feeding to help keep it properly angled. This was annoying at first but within 2 days it seemingly fixed almost all of my issues. So make sure you are not only paying attention to how lo latches on but also that your breast has the propor support so the weight of it doesn't cause a shift in the babies mouth if you let go after the latch. Once they get bigger this shouldn't be as necessary. 

And also struggling with a toddler who desperately wants her old mommy back while bfing. I haven't figured out how to be a good multi-tasked while feeding the baby and DD just wants to crawl all over me. It breaks my heart when I tell her she needs to be patient with me and I see the sadness in her eyes but I'm going out of my way to make sure she gets some good one on one time with mom each day. I figure all first borns have gone through this and still love their momas down the road!

brie_and_almonds

@AmadorRose



Your pump suction is all the way up? What kind of pump do you have and how are your nipples not being ripped off?

MrsZko

thaisac1 said:

1) Does one of your breasts produce more milk than the other? My left breast never gets engorged, like the right does. It does have milk though, but it is always soft.
2) I feel like we've had a breastfeeding setback… It had been going well, but for the past 48h he has been a hungry hungry hippo. He is literally draining me out. To make matters worse, he has had a regression in his feeding efficiency… He efficiently sucks for about 5 mins then spends a lot of time doing ineffective sucking (no swallowing) and falling asleep. Occasionally he picks up a few effective sucks again. Spending a lot of time on the boob doing this, and seems to remain hungry cause I think he is not taking the amount of milk he could have taken in that timeframe… Sigh.

Is he 3 weeks old? There is a big growth spurt at 3 weeks and I remember DS1 wanting to be on the breast all day. And it totally makes you feel like you aren't producing enough but if you hear him gulping then you are,  even if you aren't engorged. I rarely ever got engorged after my milk came in unless we had a huge length of time without nursing, for example if he slept through the night. He could be comfort nursing too, which does help in increasing your supply. If it's like this all day every day then yes I would detach but if it's the 3 week spurt I'd stick it out to help your supply! 

AmadorRose

brenlo42 said:

@AmadorRose



Your pump suction is all the way up? What kind of pump do you have and how are your nipples not being ripped off?

It's a Medela PISA. I turn it up gradually throughout the session so my last five-ish minutes are full power and I know I don't have super nipples because latching to BF still hurts for a few seconds. I recently read that sometimes production is actually better on a lower setting, so I'm going to try that this evening. I just really, really freaking hate pumping and I can't believe we haven't found something more efficient. If it didn't take so damn long I'd do it manually but ain't nobody got time for that. 

thaisac1

brenlo42 said:

thaisac1 said:

1) Does one of your breasts produce more milk than the other? My left breast never gets engorged, like the right does. It does have milk though, but it is always soft.
2) I feel like we've had a breastfeeding setback… It had been going well, but for the past 48h he has been a hungry hungry hippo. He is literally draining me out. To make matters worse, he has had a regression in his feeding efficiency… He efficiently sucks for about 5 mins then spends a lot of time doing ineffective sucking (no swallowing) and falling asleep. Occasionally he picks up a few effective sucks again. Spending a lot of time on the boob doing this, and seems to remain hungry cause I think he is not taking the amount of milk he could have taken in that timeframe… Sigh.

1. Yes, one side has always produced more for me. Witb DD1 it switched back and forth which side it was a few times, but there has always been a noticeable difference.

2. Draining you out could be a growth spurt on its way. The "inefficient sucking" sounds like he's just comfort sucking. I usually detatch DD when I notice her doing this cause it means she's done eating, but if he seems hungry afterward, maybe try breast compressions to keep the milk flowing and see if he will keep nursing that way.

I do compression all the time... I don't think I ever nurse without compressing...