November mommies with outside babies-bfing?

AllieCat16 · November 2011

Just curious to know how it is going for everyone so far. I'm still in the hospital recovering from my c/s and after some feedings I feel confident that we are doing well and sometimes I'm just not sure. Only got to speak with the lactation consultant yesterday. Just wondering what hurdles others are having or if there are any great tips that you want to share

Summer20 · November 2011

Keep at it - it gets SO much easier! It may take a month or two to really get fully comfortable and efficient (for you and baby) but it really does get better. If you can get through the first few weeks, you're golden.

and congrats!

BallerinaK · November 2011

I'm BFing, and it's going pretty well. I didn't have any lanolin in the hospital and really needed it. By the time I got home, my nipples were so sore that it made feeding difficult and painful. I toughed it out and used a lot of lanolin, and they're back to normal. I also have occasional engagement issues with one or both breasts, but I either feed Heidi or pump before it gets bad and it's seemed to.help so far. She never had patching issues even through enforcement, so I guess we're lucky. It's really tiring being the only one who can feed her, especially late at night, but I know it's worth it. We're waiting to hit the 4 week mark to introduce a bottle.

smwiggle · November 2011

DS is 1 month today and I still wince at times when he latches. All I can say is stick with it. Also, I am glad we introduced the bottle at 2 1/2 weeks. So, I can pump and then give DS and the bottle to DH and get some me time. Plus, lanolin is your friend.

jjmac · November 2011

I haven't been so lucky. DS wouldn't latch because I have flat nipples so we were using a nipple shield but then I wasn't producing enough so he lost over 10% of his birth weight so I had to start suplimenting with formula. I saw a lactation consultant last week and she had me start fenugreek and I've been pumping everytime he feeds and also trying to feed him a bit on the breast after he has a bit in his stomach. I've been really struggling with this because I so badly want to breast feed him but I'm trying what the LC says and hope that my milk production goes up being on the supliment.

smilelari · November 2011

Not so sure here. We haven't gotten a good latch yet. I have flat nipples and wore nipple shells while pg to get them to protrude more but apparently it hasn't been enough. I should probably be wearing them between feedings now but i really prefer to go topless.... Feedings go kind of like latch, suck, suck, off, repeat. Frustrating for both of us.

Perhaps I should wash off the shells and find a bra

lovinjc4e · November 2011

Our little gal latched on immediately while in the hospital...but when we got home and I got hit with enormous engorgement, she could not latch at all! Kind of like Smileari said, it was latch, suck, suck, off, scream and cry (that's both of us crying!!) So...we had to use what we had and pump to try to feed her breastmilk during this extremely frustrating time. We went to the pediatrician yesterday and the lactation specialist suggested using nipple shield. I had declined in the hospital for one because it was going so well...I wasn't prepared for engorgement! So if you're offered one, take it just in case! I picked ours up yesterday immediately after the appointment and Lila is LOVING MY BOOBIES!! haha.

But last night we had what I believe was cluster feeding. She would feed pause for 15 minutes and fake us out with sleep only to wake up with all of the hunger signs again. After that cycle, she would sleep for about an hour and a half before she was hungry again. I know it's not low milk supply because I see/hear her swallowing.

It's tough, but we're learning! I recommend the shield BEFORE things get hairy.

Zooropa10 · November 2011

I agree with PPs. Things are going pretty well. It does get frustrating being the sole provider of food. Right now it seems like Gabby is going through a growth spurt because I feel like I feed her for half an hour, and then in half an hour she is hungry again. She does pretty good at night though, so I can see where she might be hungrier during the day. It sucks that they didnt have lanolin for you at the hospital, I snagged an extra tube of the hospital stuff because I like it way better than the other two brands. Might have to see how I can get some more via prescription.

We introduced a bottle the other night, and the only problem seemed to be the flow. So I am hoping that my husband will be doing a feeding for her when he gets home.

I am glad to know there are similar frustrations out there! And that it gets easier.

lunatunatoo · November 2011

lovinjc4e:

But last night we had what I believe was cluster feeding. She would feed pause for 15 minutes and fake us out with sleep only to wake up with all of the hunger signs again. After that cycle, she would sleep for about an hour and a half before she was hungry again. I know it's not low milk supply because I see/hear her swallowing.

Wow that completely summed up my day yesterday.

Boedi was a natural right away at bfing considering I couldn't start with him until he was a day old (was in the NICU). He did great for about 1 1/2 weeks, now he's having issues with staying latched on the right side. I got so engorged the first few days that I had to pump to soften things up a bit, then he was able to latch on.

My mom recommended the book The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (pretty cheap on amazon) which has answered a lot of my questions so far.

littlewinnie15 · November 2011

Going on day 2, I think we are doing well. Charlie seemed to get the hang of latching on right away. My nipples hurt a bit, so I am thinking he may not be getting enough of my breast when he latches - so we are working on that. He has a tendency to fall asleep mid-feeding too, which DH has been great with. Our nurse told us to brush a damp cloth against his face to "remind" him that he needs to be sucking and not sleeping.

My milk hasn't come in yet, so we'll see how things go when it does. I think we're going to be able to do it and I am going to really try my hardest to keep at it!

MrsG.060708 · November 2011

It's going well. Sometimes DD2 takes a few tries to latch on, but she's eating and gaining weight well.

A few days after we came home from the hospital, I developed a milk blister on my right nipple and it hurt like HELL (like, I wish they could give me an epi in my boob pain) when she would first latch on and for the first minute or so of nursing. Despite the awful pain, I had to push through it or I knew it would get worse...and FINALLY, it went away a few days ago.

If breastfeeding is something you really want to do, you just have to keep pushing.

sarahjames9 · November 2011

I had my baby same day as you, so like you, my milk hasn't came in yet, but she is latching really well. I have flatter nipples too, so the nipple shields really helped pull them out for her to latch. The lanolin is great too so far. She is jaundiced now because of our RH- blood difference, so I have been supplementing formula through a syringe to help get more food into her to let her body break down the bilirubin faster. I guess we will see how it goes!

Lotte134 · November 2011

It's going well for us, but it's also the second time around for me so at least I feel like I have some clue what I'm doing now. DS latched on right away and we had some soreness for the first week, but now it's gone. He's also gaining tons of weight so I'm pretty happy. We'll be introducing a bottle next week so I'm crossing my fingers that goes well.

HarperK · November 2011

We had a couple rough weeks to start. Gavin was feeding on both sides at first, but then sometime during his 2nd week, he refused the right breast (just screamed at it and punched it!) and I stupidly complied with him and fed him only from the left for a while, and didn't pump the right enough. So of course, my supply dropped on the right, and the left got really, really sore.

I eventually called in a lactation consultant to come to my house, and she helped me get Gavin latching and feeding on the right again. I'm taking fenugreek to help my supply, and I'm pumping on a schedule and storing the milk instead of using a bottle (we introduced bottles sometime during the first or second week, but I'm ditching them for a while... probably until 6 weeks). He's doing MUCH better now. I still get an occasional blast of toe-curling pain when he latches on the left, but it's decreased a lot in the last few days. I actually found myself enjoying his morning feedings today! A big step.

RedCamaro · November 2011

Our baby Max is 3 days old and we've had some hurdles to get over. He was tongue tied and just got it clipped today. I've been just dealing with the pain, but it feels sooooo much better to BF him now. Have a follow up consult with an LC. The nurse at my son's peds office is also an LC, and she gave me some good advice that the hospital LC skipped over.

For us, to help with Max getting more milk while he was tongue tied, she told me to stroke my breast towards the nipple to help bring the milk down.

HollyBerry25 · November 2011

smilelari:
Not so sure here. We haven't gotten a good latch yet. I have flat nipples and wore nipple shells while pg to get them to protrude more but apparently it hasn't been enough. I should probably be wearing them between feedings now but i really prefer to go topless.... Feedings go kind of like latch, suck, suck, off, repeat. Frustrating for both of us.
Perhaps I should wash off the shells and find a bra

Haha, that was us from birth to 4 days old, SUPER frustrating, especially for me being a FTM. Then on day 4 while at the pedi, she asked if she could watch him nurse because he was born 8 lbs and was down to 7.3. So I did and he just seemed to figure it out all of a sudden. Now he is 7 days old and latches pretty well, sometimes he slips down to the tip and it hurts so i take him off and we try again. Hang in there!

jasnem · November 2011

Day 6 of BF over here and overall, it is going well. DD has a great latch, but like others is very sleepy and needs to be reminded that she is supposed to be sucking not sleeping. Milk came in on Day 4 and since then her feedings have been shorter, but I think she has been getting a lot more with each feeding than when she was just getting colostrum. The pain when she first latches on is toe curling, but I think we're over the worst of it, so that's a relief.

MsEmilyAnn · November 2011

Things are going pretty well for us. Right now we are working on weaning from the nipple shield before it becomes an issue. LO has accepted my nipple a few times on the left side without it, which is huge progress. She used to just spit it out. Latch isn't great, but we're working on that also. She hasn't accepted my right nipple yet. I am using the shield for flat and inverted nipples. I start with the shield for a few minutes so she can draw my nipple out, then I take it off and see how it goes. That's our current transition plan.

I'm pumping 1x a day in hopes of having some stocked up in the freezer for date nights, etc. and keeping my supply up. I really like my Medela advanced pump in style in the tote.

Sporkmoostipe · November 2011

We're sucking at it and not the good kind of sucking.

I went to the LC today and feel even more discouraged. My nipples are flat..tried to draw them out with the shells, the pump, and at one point the little guy lost so much weight we had to start supplementing with formula.

I've had to strip my diet down to bare bones (no dairy, acidic foods, tomatoes, fruits, no gassy foods, no cooked veggies, etc.) because everything I ate gave him agonizing gas.

I started pumping about a week ago and been giving him what I pump through a botttle, plus supplementing with formula. Yesterday I was out for a few appointments and had to go into work and my husband was watching him and missed the whole supply of breast milk I had pumped and ended up giving him formula almost the entire day. No gas, he became a super burper, and was so much less fussy.

Plus now being on an anti depressant for the PPD, I'm pretty freaked out that all of them show up in breastmilk and I don't want to expose him to it.

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