first timer questions :]

misskarii

our baby is now 3 days old and we're choosing to breastfeed. my milk just came in today, and since it has, LO has thrown up once [it was like a gush of milk out of her mouth], and just a few minutes ago, while i was feeding her, she threw up just a little bit of the milk. my grandma told me that breastmilk is a lot richer than formula and that it can take a couple of days for LO's stomach to get used to it. is this true? we're going to see the peditrician tomorrow and i'm going to ask about this, but it worries me! i guess i'm just a little cautious about everything right now, considering this is our first baby! also, since my milk has come in, my boobs are pretty swollen, but don't hurt yet. is there anything i can do about this, other than massaging them? TIA

punkyb0528

Is LO really throwing up or spitting up because of fast flow? If you are pretty engourged, your milk may be flowing too fast for LO to handle. It may help to pump of hand express some (like 1-2minutes) before feeding LO to slow things down a bit, plus it will help soften your aerola/nipple area so LO can latch on easier--it can be difficult for newborns to latch when you are really engourged due to the breasts' firmness. I would def try expressing some milk, in a few days to a week your supply should start to balance out if you are nursing often. Good luck

misskarii

it's spitting up. but the first time, OMG it was a lot of fluid, but then she was fine. this last time it was just a little bit, but it also came out of her nose. so i don't know if that's throwing up or spitting up.

ncbelle

It's probably just spit up - it always looks like WAY more than it is ;-)  And your grandma is wrong - BM is much easier on a baby's tummy than formula (it's nature's food after all!).

Frequent nursing is the best thing for engorgement.  You can also hand express a bit (don't pump as that will make it worse!) if they become uncomfortable or your LO has trouble latching because of the fullness. 

meg1974

I've never heard of what your grandma said. I would actually think it would be the opposite, since your BM is made specifically for your baby's stomach. 

FYI, our pedi wasn't much help with BFing issues. I don't know if all of them are. So, if yours isn't able to help, you might consider finding a lactation consultant (your hospital might have one) or seeing if there is a La Leche League in your area. 

The only thing I can think of is maybe you have an overactive letdown. I had that for a while. I would just express a little milk unto a towel after letdown, and she DD would be fine. Also, I would feed on only one breast per feeding. But, you might not want to do that until your milk is well established (3 - 4 weeks).  

carrotcake06

DS spit up A LOT in the beginning.  He still does every once in a while.  BF babies don't overeat, so any extra they take in that their tiny (size of a marble or something like that) stomachs can't handle, comes back up.  It'd come out DS's nose too. 

You'll get engorged in the beginning.  Hand express for comfort - PP is right, DON'T pump.  I wouldn't block feed this early on.

And there will be lots of things that grandmas say as your LO gets older that aren't actually true.  BM is waaaaay gentler on a baby's tummy than formula.

murphythiel

I'm a newbie too, by my DS did the same thing starting around 8 days old.  He spits up/vomits (smells like vomit) after occasional feedings.  Our pediatrician didn't seemed concerned, but of course I was (At one point he spit up 2 feedings in a row...   )  I try to lean back when I feed to slow down the flow.  We also started using Mylucon to help him with gas bubbles...and those two things seem to work.  I started pumping to build up a stash around day 9 and that seemed to make my flow more manageable for him during the feeding after.

 This is what I've been working with after I met with a LC around Day 7...I don't know if this helps - but its how I've been trying to help my LO...