June mom's adventures in BF

chouli77 · June 2012

Archer and I had an event last night. I got engorged, but only on the right side. I assume its because he had nursed on the left only an hour before so it hadn't recharged yet. I tried to nurse him on the right to empty it a little (dang, it does hurt) but he couldn't get his mouth latched on such a hard booby. He got mad and I got frusterated. I was lying there with a screaming baby, fretting and asking for help, repositioning Archer every few moments to see if THAT would help. DH leaned over in his calming cop voice and said "You're the momma. Figure out what he wants. Either he gets soothed and fed, or just soothed for now." Then he went to spend the time getting the breast pump set up. I got Archer on my left one since it still fit in his mouth. I just did what I did for him in the hospital -stripped him naked, draped him over my chest with me lying down, and rubbed his back and arms constantly. fit in his mouth. It took DH half an hour to get the pump sterilized and figure out how to set it up, just the same amount of time Archer needed to be soothed and fed. The whole time, my right one was filling up, spilling out, and hurting like crazy. Ultimately, I win because I feel like I have serious momma prowess to diffuse such a tantrum. Archer got happy, right boob got pumped, and DH felt like he could slay my dragon.

jeffreymcginn17 · June 2012

This sounds like me to a tee! Ollie gets so frustrated that he wants to get to the boob that he puts his hands in his mouth and won't let me lay his arm down. He might only be 6 days old but he is strong and subborn. I have to tell myself to relax and try and nurse and not rely on the pump. My main problem right now is that I want my milk to pick up the pace. I can only produce 2 oz every 3 hours and I need 3 oz's!!!!! I am doing everything I can to produce more.

I would love to hear other peoples BF woes... if anything to make me feel like im not alone!

Amanda

kdjudd · June 2012

Breast Feeding has been so much more challenging than I thought it would. My LO doesn't latch on properly so I have been having to use a nipple shield. I've been trying to wean her off of it, but honestly I have to fight with her so hard during feedings that it is just not worth it. On top of that my nipples are cracked and sore and I think my LO might be lactose intolerant. She has gas constantly and is always screaming after she eats...

strawberrytree · June 2012

Ugh, same thing happened to me! When LO was about 4 days old my left side was so engorged the nipple was pulled flat and he couldn't latch on. I was almost in tears it hurt so much. Luckily it happened while my mom was still here and she sterilised and assembled my pump for me...I pumped a couple ounces and problem solved. He is currently going through a phase where he likes to snack for 10 minutes or so every half hour and it is driving me crazy. He does the hands-in-the-mouth thing too- he'll be giving all his hunger cues, but when I try and feed him he stuffs his hands in his mouth and tries to pull his head away.

chouli77 · June 2012

strawberrytree:
He is currently going through a phase where he likes to snack for 10 minutes or so every half hour and it is driving me crazy. He does the hands-in-the-mouth thing too- he'll be giving all his hunger cues, but when I try and feed him he stuffs his hands in his mouth and tries to pull his head away.

This!

superherostocker · June 2012

kdjudd:
Breast Feeding has been so much more challenging than I thought it would. My LO doesn't latch on properly so I have been having to use a nipple shield. I've been trying to wean her off of it, but honestly I have to fight with her so hard during feedings that it is just not worth it. On top of that my nipples are cracked and sore and I think my LO might be lactose intolerant. She has gas constantly and is always screaming after she eats...

I am so sorry you are having such a hard time. Try not to give up. Maybe you should see a nurse or consultant. Maybe she isnt getting all her burps out and she has gas? I had a really hard time with my son not latching and I gave up and I always felt bad a regretted it, so good luck to you.

All you ladies, good luck. I am so nervous about bfing, I hope it goes a lot easier for me this time.

StephenW4 · June 2012

In a way, it's nice to know that I'm not the only one experiencing these same BF woes. Raegan seems to prefer my left side more than my right, so every time the right side is up, we have freakouts. She does the same hand to mouth thing, but she also likes to grab my nipple with her very strong little hands. OMG does it hurt! How can she find the nipple with her hand but not her mouth? Then when she does find it, she's so worked up that she can't focus on actually latching on, so she just shakes her head side to side really fast right over top of my nipple. So frustrating!

DH and I were 30 minutes away from calling the pediatrician yesterday because it had been almost 4 hrs since her last feeding and she was having a major meltdown and wouldn't latch. We tried everything to calm her down. DH took her for a while, helped me wrangle her crazy hands awar from my nipple and her mouth, I did multiple skin-on-skin sessions, let her suck my finger - everything! She did eventually get calm enough to nurse and DH sat there with me the entire time for support and comfort, but the whole ordeal was such an emotional roller coaster. DH had to go outside and burn off some energy with the dog afterwards to clear his mind.

The good news is she's almost back up to her birthweight already and has the right amount of diapers, so I guess things are good, but man are feedings frustrating sometimes. The lactation center at the hospital has free drop-ins on Wednesdays, so we stopped in today. She thinks LO's frustration comes from the fact that I have so much milk, it's too much of a flow for her and that's why she fights. I pumped 2oz in 5 min yesterday, and ever feeding it's like a waterfall of milk. Will be trying nipple shields to help stem the flow at the beginning of feedings for a few days until my body figures out that it doesn't need to produce so much.

We'll get there ladies! Just have to keep reminding ourselves that our LOs are new at this too and eventually things will sort themselves out.

Gismo123 · June 2012

Totally know how you feel! I have HUGE boobs and flat nipples so DS was having a really hard time latching. I got so engorged my boobs felt like rocks. Thankfully the Pediatrician we saw for DS's 1st checkup is also a board certified laction specialist...or whatever you call them. She was a godsend! She showed me the football hold which is better for bigger boobed women and she also gave me a nipple shield to help DS latch on better. My boobs are feeling sooooooooo much better now and DS is nursing like a champ! I would for sure talk to a lactation specialist about your engorgement.

LoveBug0516 · June 2012

chouli77:
strawberrytree:
He is currently going through a phase where he likes to snack for 10 minutes or so every half hour and it is driving me crazy. He does the hands-in-the-mouth thing too- he'll be giving all his hunger cues, but when I try and feed him he stuffs his hands in his mouth and tries to pull his head away.

This!

My LO does this too! It's so frustrating because theynget so workednup but they get in their own way!

LoveBug0516 · June 2012

chouli77:
strawberrytree:
He is currently going through a phase where he likes to snack for 10 minutes or so every half hour and it is driving me crazy. He does the hands-in-the-mouth thing too- he'll be giving all his hunger cues, but when I try and feed him he stuffs his hands in his mouth and tries to pull his head away.

This!

My LO does this too! It's so frustrating because theynget so workednup but they get in their own way!

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