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Pennsylvania Babies
Hi everyone!
Hi all! I'm just checking in to see how everyone is doing. I'm doing pretty good, this is my first day on my own. So far so good...he is napping right now. Right now Keaton has his days and nights mixed up and sleeping a ton during the day which is making it VERY hard to feed. He is not interested most of the time so he is wide awake in the evening through the night and wanting to eat constantly. I was doing well with breastfeeding but now it is not going so well and Keaton is losing weight. Doctor has us supplementing with formula (using a suringe) and he is slowly gaining the weight back. My breast milk isn't coming in too well even when I am trying to feed him every 2 hours. Formula may be the way to go but we'll see. I have to do what is best for Keaton. Breastfeeding is WAY more difficult than I thought it was going to be and I've been VERY emotional about it. We have another dr. appt next Tues so I hope to talk about what to do. He is more content with the formula right now and it helps to make him sleep better.
Anyone have any tips on getting him to sleep better through the night instead of sleeping all day? Or will this just change in a couple weeks? I try everything to keep him awake during the day but having no success. DH and I are getting maybe an hour or two of sleep at night taking shifts.
I hope everyone is doing well. I updated my blog with some pics but accidently deleted my blog link in my siggy (anyone remember how to put it back in?) Here is my blog...
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Re: Hi everyone!
Hi Lesli!!
I've been wondering about how you all are doing. I'm sorry to hear about Keaton having his days and nights mixed up and about his loss of weight. Hang in there and keep the positive attitude that you will do what is best for him. No matter what you decide, it will be what is best for your family & that beautiful baby will thrive!
The best way to increase your milk supply is to get the baby on your breast as much as possible. Ethan nursed every 2 hours, 24 hours a day to establish breastfeeding. Keeping him awake during the day... Ethan fell asleep nursing often and if he hadn't been nursing for very long then we had to strip him down to his diaper, tickle his feet, touch his cheeks to get him to root, move my breast around while he was latched on to wake him & remind him what he was there to do, and change his diaper between sides to keep him awake enough to eat.
Emotions make all of this more difficult. ((HUGS)) to you. Reading your post & blog brought back so many memories of those first few weeks. I remember how long those nights felt but now I can't believe that was almost 6 months ago already!
Good luck today! I'm sure it will go very well. Take care!!
TTC since Jan 07. Dx with PCOS Jan 08
Ahh, those sleepless nights....with Sophia, she was up every hour at that age. It was all a blur to me, so I really don't have any advice for you other than, it will get better the older he gets! By about 8 weeks, Sophia was STTN and has been ever since. It's funny because now that she's a year old, I miss those newborn times. Try to enjoy it and hang in there!
He's really cute BTW!!!!
Hi Lesli,
I had similar issues with breastfeeding, it was so much harder than I had imagined and I was so emotional about it as well. It was hard and those first weeks were such a huge commitment but it got better.
Bryce would fall asleep as well and the lactation consultant at the hospial told me to take off his clothes, tickle his feet, rub his head and if all that didn't work to wake him up to "baby crunches". The baby crunches were basically just making him sit up and back down while he was just in his diaper to wake him up and that usually worked. I was told that I HAD to feed every 2-3 hours for the first weeks and Bryce lost weight so we had weekly weight checks with the dr too.
Don't feel bad switching to formula if that is what is best. Good luck!
The previous posters had great suggestions. My milk didn't come into almost a full week after I delivered. Maybe since you went early, it's just taking a little longer than expected?
You could always try pumping to keep up a two-hour schedule. Easier said than done, though - I could never find time to pump in between feedings.
Hi Lesli!
Breastfeeding is such hard work, and I agree- I never knew how much time, energy, etc goes into it. I also never knew all the issues that occur with it (supply, latch, bottle rejection, weight gain, etc.). It makes me sad how society puts so much pressure on new moms to bf and how some people are quick to judge when things don't work out. If they only knew....
Do whats best for your family. Formula or bf. You're an awesome mom to begin with and even more awesome for trying to work though it.
As for the sleeping- it will get better. I thought I was going to seriously lose my mind those first few weeks.
PS- After you bf Keaton try to pump for a few minutes. Not for milk volume but for stimulation. This will help up your milk supply as well.
Also, Sadie would still fall asleep even if I stripped her down when I'd bf. So I'd moisten a cotton ball and run it over her face to keep her awake.
Hi Lesli!
Sorry to hear you're having a hard time with breastfeeding. My advice is similar to PP. I used to really struggle with keeping Brynne awake. I would strip her down to her diaper, tickle her feet and run a cold cloth over her head to wake her up and keep her awake during feedings. It was a lot of work.
Because Brynne went back to the NICU after we arrived home, I had to pump to get my milk to come in. Once she was home, the LC had me BF every 2-3 hours and pump for 15-20 minutes after each feeding to increase my milk supply. It was very time consuming and draining, but it worked. I also took Fenugreek, drank Mother's Milk tea and ate oatmeal as recommended by the LC.
Have you spoken with a lactation consultant? I worked with them at both Harrisburg and Holy Spirit while Brynne was in the NICU. The service is free and you can even go back in for an outpatient consultation. I liked the additional support.
You might remember that BF didn't work for us because of Brynne's latch. It never corrected itself due to her NICU stay. I tried again several weeks later after EPing and it was still poor. She still tries to tuck in her upper lip when taking a bottle. That being said, I'm pumping 3 times a day. She gets some BM, and the rest formula and she is thriving. She is really advanced. I agree that society puts way too much pressure on women to breastfeed. It was so emotional in the beginning. Whatever you decide to do about feeding, you're still a good mom! This is not your fault. I really hope that breastfeeding works out for you, but if it doesn't, it's okay and certainly nothing to feel guilty about.
One more thing! Do you swaddle Keaton at night? Once I started using the SwaddleMe blankets, Brynne pretty much slept through the night.
Good luck with everything!
ETA: Sorry I spelled your name wrong the first time! I took off the "E"
It's so great to hear from you Lesli!!! Everyone else has thrown out some great suggestions, but I wanted to also suggest the website kellymom.com for you. They have a ton of great suggestions and it saved me more than once in the middle of the night to be able to look something up on there when I was frustrated and couldn't post on here or call someone because everyone in the world without a newborn was fast asleep;)
He is too too cute - love the pictures!
I hope your first day alone is going well, i remember I was so nervous when DH when back to work, but each day I got more comfortable with it.
Breastfeeding is really tough, we had so many problems in the beginning. Connor was also losing weight and refused to latch, my nipples started hurting so bad that I would cry just bringing him to the breast. I was totally ready to give up and swtich to formula but our pedi and DH encouraged me to keep trying. I ended up EP'ing for a couple of weeks just to heal physically and emotionally. Connor took right to the bottle and then after a couple of weeks I started trying once a day to get him to latch and eventually it worked. I made it to a year before weaning him.
With the next baby I plan on nursing during the day and doing formula at night, just to try and get better sleep.
Good Luck!!!
Well, no advice on the BFing or sleeping, but I'm glad to hear you two are doing well!
For your blog link, just remove the *s:
<*a href*="https://jewelsforyou-lesli.blogspot.com">My Blog</*a>
Congrats to you for a beautiful boy first of all! ?As far as breastfeeding, it is definitely best to increase your supply by having him on the breast when you can, every 2-2.5 hours, but that will vary depending on who you talk to. ?One thing that you can do if he only eats for like 5-10 min per side, or just 5-10 min total, is when you can, try to pump whats left for another 5-10 min or as long as the milk will still flow. ?That way you are getting the hind milk out, because if he is not eating long enough, he may not be getting the hind milk which is where the "fatty" part of the milk is. ?You also want to make sure that he is getting a good enough latch, or enough of your nipple in his mouth, if he has a "lazy latch" then that hurts you, and he can't suck as well. ?Make sure you are drinking enough water and stay hydrated because that can affect milk supply. ?If you are supplementing at night, make sure that you are still taking time to try to pump, so that the breast is still getting stimulated. ?Congrats for making it this far into breastfeeding! ?It is so much tougher than we think that it is going to be. ?Hope you don't mind that advice, not sure if you asked for BF advice, haha.
As for keeping him up during the day, we used the Babywise technique, which tells you to feed, keep the baby awake, then have them nap. ?Typically feeding them makes them fall asleep. ?I stressed for the first 4 weeks of Eli's life because he alway slept! ?But, that is what newborns do! ?After I'd feed him, I'd change his diaper, then burp him, then do whatever I could to keep him up, even if it was only for 15-30 min. ?I stuck to a pretty strict 2-2.5 hour feeding schedule so I'd wake him up to feed him to make sure he was not napping too long during the day. ?It was really tough, but by 10 weeks, he was giving me a 6-7 hour night of sleep. ?I do remember when he was maybe 5 weeks old giving me 5 hours and i was so used to waking up with him after 2-3 i kept checking on him, haha. ?Also, you could try a pacifier at night too if it just seems like he wants to suck on something...though you are trying to keep up your milk supply. ?So, thats my advice for now! ?You are doing a great job! ?Its so stressful sometimes, but you'll get the hang of it, and you know whats best!?
Hi, Lesli - congrats again on your beautiful baby boy.
I'm sorry to hear that BF'ing is so hard for you. I delivered at just after 37 weeks, too, and had similiar issues. My milk didn't come in very well, and DD lost so much weight and was jaundiced that we wound up switching to mostly formula so we could get her off the biliblanket. I don't know if it's related to delivering early or not, but I've been there. I went the EP'ing route, because DD would fall asleep, too, during nursing and would be almost impossible to wake, thanks to the jaundice. Of course, we had to supplement, too.
I worked worked with an LC to help boost my pumping output, and I think the most important thing she told me, which really helped with my emotional issues, was don't confuse breastfeeding with mothering. Breastfeeding alone does not make you a good mother. And I still felt guilt, but keeping that in perspective made me realize that what really mattered was doing what was best for my child.
It doesn't seem fair when it's something you want to do and don't necessarily get to make the choice, and you may feel like others will judge you, but you know what's best for you and your son. And please remember that you're not the only one to go through this.
As for the day and nights mixed up, we tried really hard to keep it dark and quiet at night - very low light, no TV, very little talking. That was kinda hard, because that's when she wanted to be awake more, but we suffered through it for a week or two, and she started sleeping more at night. Good luck with this, too!