Okay so I'm still trying to catch righty up to lefty and I'm finding that since lefty is always ready to go I just tend to use it more. Kellymom says I can try pumping the other side every time I only use lefty to increase its supply but here's my question-how long do I do that for? A week? Two? LO is already a month old so I'm feeling like my window to get the supply up is closing (if not closed).
Do it for as long as you need to to see the change, then be sure to use both sides equally throughout the day to maintain the supply. Drastic supply changes are easier before the two month mark, but supply can continue to fluctuate somewhat depending on circumstances (frequency, caloric intake, stress, illness, etc) for as long as you're feeding so it's never too late to change things-- it just takes more time/frequency the longer you wait.
Okay so I'm still trying to catch righty up to lefty and I'm finding that since lefty is always ready to go I just tend to use it more. Kellymom says I can try pumping the other side every time I only use lefty to increase its supply but here's my question-how long do I do that for? A week? Two? LO is already a month old so I'm feeling like my window to get the supply up is closing (if not closed).
Do it for as long as you need to to see the change, then be sure to use both sides equally throughout the day to maintain the supply. Drastic supply changes are easier before the two month mark, but supply can continue to fluctuate somewhat depending on circumstances (frequency, caloric intake, stress, illness, etc) for as long as you're feeding so it's never too late to change things-- it just takes more time/frequency the longer you wait.
Thank you! He's definitely getting everything he needs but the supply difference is drastic (when I pump it's like half an ounce from one side and three and a half from the other) so it's really a cosmetic/convenience issue.
Okay so I'm still trying to catch righty up to lefty and I'm finding that since lefty is always ready to go I just tend to use it more. Kellymom says I can try pumping the other side every time I only use lefty to increase its supply but here's my question-how long do I do that for? A week? Two? LO is already a month old so I'm feeling like my window to get the supply up is closing (if not closed).
Do it for as long as you need to to see the change, then be sure to use both sides equally throughout the day to maintain the supply. Drastic supply changes are easier before the two month mark, but supply can continue to fluctuate somewhat depending on circumstances (frequency, caloric intake, stress, illness, etc) for as long as you're feeding so it's never too late to change things-- it just takes more time/frequency the longer you wait.
Thank you! He's definitely getting everything he needs but the supply difference is drastic (when I pump it's like half an ounce from one side and three and a half from the other) so it's really a cosmetic/convenience issue.
I understand! DS latched much more easily on my right, so over time I ended up feeding from right more often overnight and developed a similar imbalance. I got it evened out pretty closely around 6mo, but around 1yr I got lazy with it again overnight and it imbalanced again. From there, I just used left as my comfort nursing side and right for feeding since it was still producing 4+ oz at a time and wore a push up pad in the left side of my bra so they looked even (rather than a cup measurement apart). So far so good this time though. Good luck!
Oh gosh, this is me! My right boob is the heavy hitter! Nighttime feedings I have him by me and he feeds while we're laying down. I try and favor the left during the day but i need to regulate this! O o <--me these days
Jet has been the easiest baby until this week when she started fussing at my breast. It seems to be when she is tired. She used to just fall asleep at the boob but now will spit it out and then frantically search for it again only to spit it out again. Eventually this results in her crying while she's still frantically trying to shove things into her mouth (hand, arm, boob, anything). She will take a pacifier for a bit, but that doesn't last more than a few minutes. I burp/change/walk/sing to her and again, they all work for fifteen minutes before she starts with feeding cues again. Is this a normal part of being 2 weeks old? She's gaining weight so I'm not worried about supply. Ideas?
Jet has been the easiest baby until this week when she started fussing at my breast. It seems to be when she is tired. She used to just fall asleep at the boob but now will spit it out and then frantically search for it again only to spit it out again. Eventually this results in her crying while she's still frantically trying to shove things into her mouth (hand, arm, boob, anything). She will take a pacifier for a bit, but that doesn't last more than a few minutes. I burp/change/walk/sing to her and again, they all work for fifteen minutes before she starts with feeding cues again. Is this a normal part of being 2 weeks old? She's gaining weight so I'm not worried about supply. Ideas?
I remember Ez being fussy at about that time and he'll still sometimes root but not really latch. My trick is I put his paci right next to my nipple and I don't move him for about ten minutes (what I'm waiting for is his calm relax body). I try and position myself so his paci can't fall out. I think needs the comfort but isn't hungry anymore so he gets frustrated, and I don't wanna move him once he's gotten a latch on his paci because I mean, have you ever been finally cozy and been moved? Ugh!
@bkjade could it be gas? DS does that when he has gas, babies aren't great at farting and sucking at the same time. I usually bicycle his legs and then he will latch
Okay so I'm still trying to catch righty up to lefty and I'm finding that since lefty is always ready to go I just tend to use it more. Kellymom says I can try pumping the other side every time I only use lefty to increase its supply but here's my question-how long do I do that for? A week? Two? LO is already a month old so I'm feeling like my window to get the supply up is closing (if not closed).
Boobs work in mysterious ways. Funny story- I slept on the couch with DS in his rock n play. He woke up at 4am to eat, we went back to bed at 4:45am. A little after 5am DD crawled on the couch and snuggled right up. She has always been a snuggler and she was nuzzled right under my left boob. At 6am I woke up to my shirt completely soaked on the left side, all the way down to my pants. She must have been snuggling too good and stimulated my milk! I woke her up and told her to go back to bed, got down to my tank and promptly fell back asleep.
At my pp appt yesterday my dr found a clogged duct in my right breast that she said is likely prone to clogging and the one giving me so much trouble. It's tender to the touch so I wasn't surprised. She showed me how to tell if it's clogged and told me to email or call her cell anytime it becomes mastitis again so she can call in antibiotics. I appreciate that it's going to be easy if I need antibiotics but I feel a bit discouraged. I don't want to be continually fighting off clogs and infection like I've been for the past week. I don't want to be worried about mastitis anytime LO sleeps longer than 4 hours. Just venting.
At my pp appt yesterday my dr found a clogged duct in my right breast that she said is likely prone to clogging and the one giving me so much trouble. It's tender to the touch so I wasn't surprised. She showed me how to tell if it's clogged and told me to email or call her cell anytime it becomes mastitis again so she can call in antibiotics. I appreciate that it's going to be easy if I need antibiotics but I feel a bit discouraged. I don't want to be continually fighting off clogs and infection like I've been for the past week. I don't want to be worried about mastitis anytime LO sleeps longer than 4 hours. Just venting.
This is my fear as LO is sleeping way longer than 4 hours at night lately and I pumped a bit today for relief and noticed a stringy substance in the bottle which I assume was a clogged duct getting cleared out. How did your doctor describe the clogged duct feel? I sometimes get a tender spot on my breast and it almost feels like a hard vein underneath. Curious if that is what she described it as or if I'm crazy and truly feeling a vein lol. Have you noticed the lecithin working for you at all? Since I use a nipple shield and go a long nightly stretch lately I feel I'm highly prone to a clogged duct and mastitis as well.
We are having our daughter's lip tie fixed tomorrow. We had the consult today, and the dr recommended we have the procedure. They won't even numb her up, and she can nurse immediately after. I'm nervous but I am hoping it will help a couple of the issues we have had. I also have guilt because for some reason the tie hasn't affected my milk supply and she's gaining weight (slowly). For those reasons I'm wondering if we really need to do the procedure. We never had any issues like this with our first and ugh the mom guilt on this one.
At my pp appt yesterday my dr found a clogged duct in my right breast that she said is likely prone to clogging and the one giving me so much trouble. It's tender to the touch so I wasn't surprised. She showed me how to tell if it's clogged and told me to email or call her cell anytime it becomes mastitis again so she can call in antibiotics. I appreciate that it's going to be easy if I need antibiotics but I feel a bit discouraged. I don't want to be continually fighting off clogs and infection like I've been for the past week. I don't want to be worried about mastitis anytime LO sleeps longer than 4 hours. Just venting.
This is my fear as LO is sleeping way longer than 4 hours at night lately and I pumped a bit today for relief and noticed a stringy substance in the bottle which I assume was a clogged duct getting cleared out. How did your doctor describe the clogged duct feel? I sometimes get a tender spot on my breast and it almost feels like a hard vein underneath. Curious if that is what she described it as or if I'm crazy and truly feeling a vein lol. Have you noticed the lecithin working for you at all? Since I use a nipple shield and go a long nightly stretch lately I feel I'm highly prone to a clogged duct and mastitis as well.
I had non-stop clogged ducts with my son for the first 4-5 months, and it usually felt like someone had shoved a triangle shaped block of wood under my skin over like a third of my breast. I think what you're describing might be a smaller clog, and the smaller ones are usually easy to work out by just doing a bit of massage toward the nipple while you nurse. Fortunately, even with all those clogged ducts I never had mastitis the whole early days- got it when I went back to work at 10 months.
I had a clogged duct at about day 5 pp. I actually had DH massage it while I was breastfeeding because I couldn't really get at it and doing it while breastfeeding seemed smart.
At my pp appt yesterday my dr found a clogged duct in my right breast that she said is likely prone to clogging and the one giving me so much trouble. It's tender to the touch so I wasn't surprised. She showed me how to tell if it's clogged and told me to email or call her cell anytime it becomes mastitis again so she can call in antibiotics. I appreciate that it's going to be easy if I need antibiotics but I feel a bit discouraged. I don't want to be continually fighting off clogs and infection like I've been for the past week. I don't want to be worried about mastitis anytime LO sleeps longer than 4 hours. Just venting.
This is my fear as LO is sleeping way longer than 4 hours at night lately and I pumped a bit today for relief and noticed a stringy substance in the bottle which I assume was a clogged duct getting cleared out. How did your doctor describe the clogged duct feel? I sometimes get a tender spot on my breast and it almost feels like a hard vein underneath. Curious if that is what she described it as or if I'm crazy and truly feeling a vein lol. Have you noticed the lecithin working for you at all? Since I use a nipple shield and go a long nightly stretch lately I feel I'm highly prone to a clogged duct and mastitis as well.
She actually showed me how it feels, it's a firm wedge shaped area -bigger than a hard vein would be (I know what you mean by that and I believe that's a normal full duct). The lecithin might be working, the duct doesn't feel clogged today. The doctor told me to always nurse the tricky side first and I've been doing that too. Plus hot compresses. Ughhhh
You girls are making me so paranoid. I started feeling like crap on Tuesday afternoon. Had chills by the time I went to bed, and at 3am we took my temp and it was 102. I had the worst body aches as well. I took some of my amped up Motrin from discharge and Tylenol that helped my fever break. I felt okay yesterday until the evening. Now this morning, I feel dizzy and lightheaded. When my milk came in several weeks ago, I had a 104 fever. We called the doctor, and she told me a fever is pretty normal when your milk comes in. Yesterday, she ate a pretty good bit, and my boobs were a little engorged at most feelings. I am wondering if my supply is increasing?
I also wondered if I had mastitis, but my boobs aren't sore. Not red patches. She has been latching weird to my right boob lately causing pain at first, and last night she drank for 30 minutes and didn't drain it. It still had this semi hard oval under the skin, so I broke out the manual pump to try and get it to go away. I typically have that at night when I'm more engorged before feedings. Now I'm wondering if it's a clogged duct? But nothing is painful. I made her drink out of the right breast just now, and it's much softer, but stil feels a little full. I'd pump, but I want to shower first to see if that helps since I feel weird about saving breastmilk with both Tylenol and Motrin. Plus she gives me a quiet awake 20 minutes after feeding before melting down, so I don't really have time to pump. Going to shower after I put her down for a nap.
I had a minor case of mastitis this week. I don't even think I actually had a clogged duct, but maybe I did, who knows. I think it might have been caused by frequent engorgement, which makes me scared to give him bottles of pumped milk so I can get a break....I'm not even really sure I need antibiotics. My fever was only ever 99 and ibuprofen seemed to help. I went ahead and got antibiotics. I'm taking probiotics already and I'm going to give some to DS, too.
@missnc77 mastitis can be pretty serious, so I would play it safe and call the doctor.
Just had the lip tie clipped (lasered to be accurate). She nursed immediately after and is nursing away right now. Definitely notice a difference in her latch! Only time will tell, but as of right now - no regrets!
My husband brought lunch home, and I told him y'all also said to call the doctor. Waiting for her to call me back right now. This sucks. I really hope I don't have to go in, and she knows exactly what's wrong. I feel so weak right now, the thought of loading up the baby and dealing with a cry fit or whatever else is daunting. I think that's why I waited to call.
You're kidding me. They called me back and said its far enough out from delivery that I should call my family doctor. I haven't even had my 6 week appointment yet. And to make matters worse I have no doctor. We moved here in January, and I always saw my OB. I'm in tears. I feel a little abandoned. How do they know it's not related??
You're kidding me. They called me back and said its far enough out from delivery that I should call my family doctor. I haven't even had my 6 week appointment yet. And to make matters worse I have no doctor. We moved here in January, and I always saw my OB. I'm in tears. I feel a little abandoned. How do they know it's not related??
Is there an urgent care you can go to? That happened to me with my first round of mastitis and my OB's office tried to pass the buck.
I went to an urgent care a few weeks ago because of mastitis after the Ob told me to call the doc. By the time they got back to me my regular doc was about to close and I didn't want to delay any longer. Didn't have any issues with urgent care and felt a lot better in just over a day.
You're kidding me. They called me back and said its far enough out from delivery that I should call my family doctor. I haven't even had my 6 week appointment yet. And to make matters worse I have no doctor. We moved here in January, and I always saw my OB. I'm in tears. I feel a little abandoned. How do they know it's not related??
That is really shitty, I'm so sorry! I can't believe they would do that to a patient. It's lame because your OB can definitely diagnose and treat mastitis. Seriously WTF. I'm mad for you. Can you find an urgent care/walk in place? Keep us posted!
I think eating and Gatorade along with meds has helped me. I felt better yesterday, and thanks to my husband, I spent a total of 12 hours in bed overnight outside of three nursing sessions. I think the lack of food and water is what caused the weakness this morning - I get low blood sugar easily. I'm going to just wait until tomorrow morning to see how I feel and go to urgent care then. They have a 2.5 hour wait right now, and I don't want to have to nurse LO in an urgent care without her shots. My husband is also off tomorrow.
Once I calmed down, I took a good look at my right breast. I think I figured out what's going on. I have a small white blister on my nipple, and when I touch that, it hurts. That's most definitely what's causing the pain when she nurses, and that can lead to blocked ducts. I'm going to use a hot compress on it before breast feeding to see if I can get it to open.
@missnc77 I ordered it through Amazon - just had it delivered today!
Same!!! @missnc77 you're game plan sounds like the best option, I really hope you feel better ASAP! I had a. near miss with mastitis earlier this week but I was able to fend it off with frequent nursing, compresses, hot showers, and lecithin (at least I think it's helping). FX you can do the same!!
@missnc77 that sounds like a milk blister! Try soaking it in warm water (or warm salt water) soften it, massage it open with a clean, wet washcloth and then feed or pump to get the trapped milk out. If you pump it out, you should be able to see a strand of fatty milk release. Definitely follow up with urgent care if the fever persists. How crappy of your OB to brush you off! Fx for you!
It's moments like when you're using a shot glass to soak your nipple, followed by your baby having a massive blowout while breastfeeding, then your dog trying to eat the poop off the pillow that make you feel like you're living the life. At least the shot glass is getting some use.
EBF- do your breast ever start to feel normal?? I feel like I'm always in some kind of pain. I want to breastfeed so bad but also wanna feel some what normal again!! I'm three weeks pp btw.
EBF- do your breast ever start to feel normal?? I feel like I'm always in some kind of pain. I want to breastfeed so bad but also wanna feel some what normal again!! I'm three weeks pp btw.
I know what you mean. I'm also 3 weeks pp. I love that I can EBF but it's so constant! And my boobs! They hurt! I'm so thankful when lo sleeps but I just want to wake him to feed him I figure eventually it'll level out with his growth spurt but for now I guess it's just de a long with it
EBF- do your breast ever start to feel normal?? I feel like I'm always in some kind of pain. I want to breastfeed so bad but also wanna feel some what normal again!! I'm three weeks pp btw.
Yes! Unless DS2 sleeps longer than usual, I have felt pretty normal since 4-5 weeks and stopped excess leaking (again, unless he goes longer than usual) around the same time.
EBF- do your breast ever start to feel normal?? I feel like I'm always in some kind of pain. I want to breastfeed so bad but also wanna feel some what normal again!! I'm three weeks pp btw.
Yes! Unless DS2 sleeps longer than usual, I have felt pretty normal since 4-5 weeks and stopped excess leaking (again, unless he goes longer than usual) around the same time.
@missnc77 your OB is lame. My OB's nurse just said "Yep, sounds like mastitis. We'll call in an antibiotic." I would try calling them back and be more demanding about it. Some doctors just don't take women seriously when it comes to their own health. Mastitis is serious and for them not listen or try to help you is ridiculous.
I would try to take a prescription dose of ibuprofen/motrin for a while (that's 600mg) that can help with any breast inflammation. That's what the nurse told me to do.
We are having our daughter's lip tie fixed tomorrow. We had the consult today, and the dr recommended we have the procedure. They won't even numb her up, and she can nurse immediately after. I'm nervous but I am hoping it will help a couple of the issues we have had. I also have guilt because for some reason the tie hasn't affected my milk supply and she's gaining weight (slowly). For those reasons I'm wondering if we really need to do the procedure. We never had any issues like this with our first and ugh the mom guilt on this one.
I would do it personally. I had two different opinions from pediatric dentists in the area with my first and didn't end up doing it. Anyway the lip tie is still there and it is so significant that if my toddler doesn't bust it on their own (dentist said many in this age group do) that it will still have to be taken care of when LO gets older before adult teeth. Wish I had just taken care of it back then.
Ok can we talk about supply? I know we have some before but I need some specifics. Mine is tanking fast and my girls are eating so much more per feeding. It's stressing me out! I started supplements today to help but anyone else have any ideas?! Is it too late to save it?
Abby and I were doing fine with the only eating off one boob and me pumping the other for the freezer. Then I got mastitis in my pump breast and I made the mistake of telling my ob how I do it. And she said no baby should be eating off both breast. So I started latching on pump side. First off it feels super uncomfortable. Abby hates it. And it doesn't give off as much as the left. I think my real problem was not pumping at night. So my question is- is there any real problem with keep how I was going in the first place (feeding on one, pumping the other) I feel like it's less stressful on me and the baby
So I scratched open the milk blister expecting immediate relief, but nothing came out that I saw with the manual pump. I then fed her before bed, but my entire nipple hurts without touching. I feel like I made it worse. I put some polysporin on it so it wouldn't get infected. Now at 3am, I'm trying to feed on one side with her falling off then wanting on, and I'm trying to pump the other side to keep it from getting engorged.
I'm at my whit's end. This is making me really hate these early weeks, and I'm about to throw in the breastfeeding towel.
Re: A Strong Start to Breastfeeding/BFing Q&A
I also wondered if I had mastitis, but my boobs aren't sore. Not red patches. She has been latching weird to my right boob lately causing pain at first, and last night she drank for 30 minutes and didn't drain it. It still had this semi hard oval under the skin, so I broke out the manual pump to try and get it to go away. I typically have that at night when I'm more engorged before feedings. Now I'm wondering if it's a clogged duct? But nothing is painful. I made her drink out of the right breast just now, and it's much softer, but stil feels a little full. I'd pump, but I want to shower first to see if that helps since I feel weird about saving breastmilk with both Tylenol and Motrin. Plus she gives me a quiet awake 20 minutes after feeding before melting down, so I don't really have time to pump. Going to shower after I put her down for a nap.
@missnc77 mastitis can be pretty serious, so I would play it safe and call the doctor.
Once I calmed down, I took a good look at my right breast. I think I figured out what's going on. I have a small white blister on my nipple, and when I touch that, it hurts. That's most definitely what's causing the pain when she nurses, and that can lead to blocked ducts. I'm going to use a hot compress on it before breast feeding to see if I can get it to open.
What happened to @araecasey ? We need you!
Also - did y'all find sunflower lecithin at a cvs or Walgreens, or did you order it from online?
I would try to take a prescription dose of ibuprofen/motrin for a while (that's 600mg) that can help with any breast inflammation. That's what the nurse told me to do.
I had two different opinions from pediatric dentists in the area with my first and didn't end up doing it.
Anyway the lip tie is still there and it is so significant that if my toddler doesn't bust it on their own (dentist said many in this age group do) that it will still have to be taken care of when LO gets older before adult teeth.
Wish I had just taken care of it back then.
I'm at my whit's end. This is making me really hate these early weeks, and I'm about to throw in the breastfeeding towel.