Big Thread of Feeding Questions

MamaRN13

EBF, EP, FF.... doesn't matter how you feed your little one, it can be so stressful in those early days! Now that we have more outside babies, I thought this might be helpful (hope you all don't mind)! 

MamaRN13

Ok I will start-

LO is EBF (so far) and it has been going pretty well. My issue is that she is a little sleepyhead, and I am having a hell of a time keeping her awake at night long enough to get a full feed. She dozes off after just a couple of mins and I have tried everything I can think of to keep her up. Any tips on getting her to get a full feed? Because of this problem, she's up like every 1.5 hrs looking for a snack! 

Creedon778

@MamaRN13 feeding every 1.5 hours sounds like a normal schedule to me. At least in my experience I fed DS1 and DS2 every 1.5-2 hours and they both ate very differently. DS1 was a slow eater and DS2 was very fast so the amount of time it took to feed them was different, but the amount of time between feedings was about the same. 

abmommy15

@MamaRN13 a couple things that worked for me with my first were diaper change halfway through the feeding, undressing down to diaper, burping and tickling his feet.  

MamaRN13

@Creedon778 I would think that was a pretty normal schedule too, but during the day she goes 3hrs and is wide awake during her feeds (she typically feeds for about 15 mins on each breast at that time). At night, though, she's only on one breast about 8ish mins before falling asleep despite my best efforts to keep her awake. Maybe that is just her 'thing' and I have to get used to it!

Thanks @abmommy15! I do the diaper change but haven't stripped her down completely yet. I'll give that a try!

dancegurl1118

@MamaRN13 definitely undress them! I find that I strip her down and it wakes her up, and then feed until she's sleepy, change her diaper and then put her to the other side. Also a wet washcloth, breast compressions to help squeeze some milk in to wake her, and blowing on her face help too. 

Cynth0104

@MamaRN13 definitely try undressing. It has worked like a charm for mine! 

stokesm21

I have the same problem except I've tried EVERYTHING mentioned here and no dice. I'm contemplating breastfeeding during the day and pumping for the night. 

MamaRN13

@stokesm21 that is what I have ended up doing sort of! Since she will only empty one breast, I just pump the other one and have been able to build up quite a stash! 

Last night I fed her on the first breast with all the lights on, then changed her diaper and stripped her down. She fed off the other one for a few mins so I will call that a win! Thanks for the tips everyone

lanie1000

This is more of a vent than a question, but even after hearing how difficult BF could be, I didn't realize how much guilt I would feel from my own struggle. I'm basically exclusively pumping because I have retracting nipples. And although I still try to BF at least 1-2 times a day with nipple shields, I have to fight my irrational urge to cry when she doesn't get enough milk and I go back to the bottle. Sigh... 

MamaRN13

I'm sorry you are feeling like that @lanie1000. EP is so tough and I give you tons of credit for keeping that up (seriously, pumping is the WORST). You are doing a great job mama, hang in there! 

ljd2010

@lanie1000 I know what you mean. Breastfeeding is so hard! I had to exclusively pump with my first, and I thought I was nursing my second well (also with a nipple shield), but now I'm back to the ol pump and feeling like a bit of a failure. I get it, but you have nothing to feel guilty about! you're feeding your baby and basically doing double work. On the bright side, it's great to be able to have someone else feed her when you need a break. You're doing great, mama!!

lanie1000

@MamaRN13 @ljd2010 Thanks, ladies. It really helped just to talk it through with other moms! 

WeddingNotes13

Sorry but hear of those difficulties @lanie1000. I am not familiar with retracting nipples. Is that something that will limit you to exclusively pumping long term? 

As a side note- I had forgotten how much newborns eat. 

Cynth0104

@WeddingNotes13. Ugh, tell me about it. My son was up every 2 hours last night to eat! Today is going to require a lot of coffee

MamaRN13

WeddingNotes13 said:

Sorry but hear of those difficulties @lanie1000. I am not familiar with retracting nipples. Is that something that will limit you to exclusively pumping long term? 

As a side note- I had forgotten how much newborns eat. 

Right?! I must have blocked that from my memory. Mommy amnesia at its finest 

lanie1000

@WeddingNotes13 I can breastfeed a little using nipple shields, but she definitely doesn't get as much as when she bottle feeds. I hope that in a few weeks or so, she might be able to breastfeed even without the shields. Fingers crossed... 

BusyZee

Confession: I didn't know you had to empty out your breasts when pumping. I was just taking out an extra oz or two and was in excruciating pain. It wasn't until my sister told me to stop treating my boobs like fro- yo ... 
this may have affected my supply:/ 

I find breast feeding very stressful. I can't see how much goes in him. Also, whenever I give my breast milk via bottle he sleeps for longer so must be having more through the bottle? I hate pumping but feeding through the breast hurts and takes ages Aswell. Nipple shields not working:( 
Is there any way I can only pump and feed without effecting my supply ? I am putting him to my breast 2-3 times the rest through pumped milk.

chiquita928

@BuzyZee Lots of moms exclusively pump...the pumping alone shouldn't cause supply issues.  When I pumped for work, and wanted to increase my supply, I would leave the pump on for a few minutes even after no more milk was coming out.  It would signal the breasts to start making more in the future.  A couple of days later, I would get more milk at that time of the day.  Breastfeeding for me has a very painful first few seconds, and then it gets better.  If it's hurting the whole time, you might want to talk to the pediatrician or a lactation consultant.  There may be a latch issue or a tie that needs to be looked at.

AdaByron

@BusyZee like she said above, some types of pain are unfortunately normal with breastfeeding, but will go away over time. Some types of pain can indicate a latch problem. We might be able to help if you describe what you're feeling. 

nktrodden826

Anyone have tips on getting LOs bottom lip to flip out while latched? She makes a horrible sucking sound so I know she's getting air in there but I can't seem to flip it out. She had a tongue tie that they snipped at 3 days old so I think she got used to having to compensate for that. Will it correct itself on its own? 

MamaRN13

@BusyZee I agree with the above. Breast feeding is tough... and painful... and stressful. Not being able to measure or know how much they are taking in is hard. My lactation consultant said that these are things that tell you your baby is drinking enough- seeing an appropriate amount of wet diapers, seedy yellow stools, can hear her swallow, and seeing milk dribbles out of her mouth when she unlatches. 

Pumping shouldn't cause problems with your supply and like stated above, pumping for longer after the milk stops flowing will signal your body to make more. My DS used to nurse for FOREVER and eventually I just accepted that and enjoyed our marathon nursing sessions (once the pain went away)! 

nktrodden826

@BusyZee there are tons of recipes for lactation cookies as well as teas if you feel like your supply is dropping. I used to do pumping "power hours" with DS when the pain went away that has you pumping for 20 mins then off for 10 mins then pump for 10 mins and rest for 10 mins etc and that always made a difference for me!  

nktrodden826

@cait32 I have been trying but it always seem so to break the latch and we have to start over. Maybe I'm pulling down too hard..? 

nktrodden826

@cait32 she had a tongue tie that was snipped 3 days later so not only did it destroy my nipples (I mean destroy- I have prescription nipple cream) but I'm sure that's why she started nursing this way. Just can't figure out how to break the habit. 

AdaByron

@nktrodden826 DS1 had a similar issue and on day 1 they had DH put a gloved finger in his mouth to get him to suck the right way. For us the underlying problem was sucking with his tongue on the roof of his mouth, so DH had to push his tongue down with his finger. After a couple days we could use Soothie pacifiers to do the same thing. 

nktrodden826

I'm going to try that! @AdaByron, thanks! 

SaphireSweetie88

FTM here so I apologize if this seems like a dumb question:

For those who are pumping & freezing breast milk - how much are you freezing? Are you freezing what your LO currently takes each feeding or are you freezing more than they currently take?

I have started freezing some breast milk (as well as keeping some in the fridge) but I don't know what amounts I should be freezing or if I should be doing a variety of amounts. Am I freezing too much or too little or the wrong amounts??

Abraham takes 40 ml each feeding (sometimes 45 / sometimes 35). He usually eats every 3 hours there have been times where he's hungry again after an hour and a half. I am sure this will change as he gets older

As of 5 pm (central time) I have 445 ml of milk in the fridge (in different bottles) and I have the following amounts in the freezer:
   - 30 ml = 4 bags
   - 35 ml = 2 bags
   - 40 ml = 9 bags
   - 50 ml = 1 bag
   - 60 ml = 1 bag
   - 65 ml = 1 bag
   - 70 ml = 1 bag
   - 80 ml = 1 bag

glitterfish-2

@nktrodden826 I asked the LC today why my LO doesn't seem any better with his latch now, 2 days past lip/tongue tie release and she said she wouldn't expect to see improvement until at least a week past revision since LO knows one way plus is in pain. 

BusyZee

@SaphireSweetie88 how much do you pump? What does your schedule look like?  I'm so confused about being on a shedule and I get tired. Would love to freeze aswell but I'm all over the place right now.
 Good luck freezing! 

SaphireSweetie88

@BusyZee

I pump about every 3 - 4 hours and spend 15 minutes on each breast. I average about 70 - 80 ml when I pump although there have been times where I've pumped 100 something ml. 

BusyZee

Oh wow, I hate pumping I wish I could get on a schedule like that... and you feed in between too or just pumping? 

I was pumping three times a day and would get 6 oz and then 2 oz and 2 oz. Today I've decided il only pump once in the morning get my 6oz, give him the previous days 3 oz via bottle while I pump and then the rest of the day breast feed directly. Let's see how that goes. Then I may start freezing the extra 3oz everyday. 

AdaByron

@SaphireSweetie88 I freeze in a variety of amounts. The key is to think about how the frozen milk will be used. Once it's thawed, it has to be used in 24 hours. So if it will be used for just an occasional bottle when you leave him with someone to run an errand, then you'll want to freeze in small amounts so you can make a bottle of any size needed. But if you'll often be leaving him for a whole day, like if you go back to work full time, you can freeze in larger amounts (because freezer bags are not cheap). 

My own plan: I started by freezing 1, 2, and 3 oz bags. I don't really know what size bottles he'll take, so that gives me flexibility. I plan to have H give him some bottles this weekend and we can figure it out. When he starts daycare, he'll be there for 8-10 hours a day so I'll start freezing in 4 or 5oz bags. I will probably be sending four 4oz bottles each day, and typically what I do is send frozen milk on Mondays and then the rest of the week I can send the milk I pumped the day before. Then on Fridays I freeze the milk I pumped that day except for a few ounces to help top off bottles on Monday (like if I have 5oz bags in the freezer but I need to send 16 oz to DC I will just add an extra ounce from Friday's milk)

It's good in the fridge for 5-6 days so I try to always have a bottles worth or more in the fridge, and always be rotating. It's good to have a system, but dont over-think it.

MamaRN13

AdaByron said:

@SaphireSweetie88 I freeze in a variety of amounts. The key is to think about how the frozen milk will be used. Once it's thawed, it has to be used in 24 hours. So if it will be used for just an occasional bottle when you leave him with someone to run an errand, then you'll want to freeze in small amounts so you can make a bottle of any size needed. But if you'll often be leaving him for a whole day, like if you go back to work full time, you can freeze in larger amounts (because freezer bags are not cheap). 

My own plan: I started by freezing 1, 2, and 3 oz bags. I don't really know what size bottles he'll take, so that gives me flexibility. I plan to have H give him some bottles this weekend and we can figure it out. When he starts daycare, he'll be there for 8-10 hours a day so I'll start freezing in 4 or 5oz bags. I will probably be sending four 4oz bottles each day, and typically what I do is send frozen milk on Mondays and then the rest of the week I can send the milk I pumped the day before. Then on Fridays I freeze the milk I pumped that day except for a few ounces to help top off bottles on Monday (like if I have 5oz bags in the freezer but I need to send 16 oz to DC I will just add an extra ounce from Friday's milk)

It's good in the fridge for 5-6 days so I try to always have a bottles worth or more in the fridge, and always be rotating. It's good to have a system, but dont over-think it.

+1 to all of this! It's exactly what I did with DS

chiquita928

+1 to @AdaByron's system.  The biggest thing to watch out for is that you don't let the frozen milk go bad.  It's only good in a regular freezer for like 5 months, and if you keep it on the door, it's less.  Chest freezers will get you more time, but keep in mind (I think someone else may have mentioned this) that the milk you produce is catered to what your baby needs now, and not necessarily what they'll need in a year.

BabyBump2

And another thing to watch out for is high lipase. All of my frozen BM from DS2 he wouldn't drink because of it. So maybe freeze a bit and see what happens. I honestly don't know how to fix the problem, but I swear someone told me how to before. 

MamaRN13

@BabyBump2 this is what happened with DS. All the pumping and freezing and he wouldn't even touch it! To remedy it, you can scald the milk. It was honestly such a PITA that I just tossed all my frozen milk (which wasn't much with DS). It's unfortunate and I'm wondering if this LO will have an issue with my frozen milk! Thanks for reminding me that I ought to test it out

BusyZee

How long after staying in the fridge can the milk be frozen..? Is there any timeline to be safe?

glitterfish-2

Should my BF baby be on vitamins? We already had our 1 month appt and we still haven't gotten them.

greenbean-2

@glitterfish-2 Our pediatrician told us to give her vit D drops. I wouldn't give any vitamins without checking with your pedi first.  

BabyBump2

MamaRN13 said:

@BabyBump2 this is what happened with DS. All the pumping and freezing and he wouldn't even touch it! To remedy it, you can scald the milk. It was honestly such a PITA that I just tossed all my frozen milk (which wasn't much with DS). It's unfortunate and I'm wondering if this LO will have an issue with my frozen milk! Thanks for reminding me that I ought to test it out

@MamaRN13 ah yes that's what it was! I just ended up donating my milk because this woman's baby didn't mind it..it was like 150 oz...so at least it went to help another mini human!

Thankfully Amelia doesn't care, as I've used a couple frozen bags! Phew!