June '14 BFing/Pumping Questions Thread

katekat8721 · July 2014

Amy, thank you! My 6 weeks old twins are eating about 3-4 oz at a time (formula usually I offer an ounce less and then see if they truly need more). I was worried months from now they'd be wanting 8 oz or something and had no idea how I could make that much!

katekat8721 · July 2014

As for the shield... I just find it a PITA. Have to find it, wash it, maneuver it on with newbie baby hands in my way lol...

AbbySeiden · July 2014

You were totally right! I'm full for every feeding now! I only pump in the morning though, for comfort sake and so that there is milk in the house so my husband can feed him and I an go out occasionally and to build a stash for when I return to work. If I pump between feedings won't that increase my supply more than I need?

Abenedict2011 · July 2014

Thanks AmyG* that does answer my question. Also thanks for the education on how milk changes and why bf babies won't need more than a 4-5oz bottle likely ever. I'll be exchanging the 9 oz bottles I just bought today for 5oz so it'll keep things easy at daycare.

TunieBee · July 2014

What's the deal with "twilight" nursing?

jenlynne0624 · July 2014

@AmyG*‌ I had clogged ducts in my right breast the other day and now it seems like that boob isn't producing as much milk. Is this possible? I know one side typically produces more than the other, bit h seems frustrated eating on that side, and it's not as full as the left.

JulieSmiles · July 2014

I need help knowing if DD is going through a growth spurt or if we are just in a weird phase. She has always eaten from both breasts every feed, eating about evey 3 hours. The last few days, she will eat on one side for about 10-12 minutes and be done. There is no getting her to eat on both sides. She is eating every hour and a half or so though. Two or three times a day, she will still nurse from both sides for a long amount of time, like 20 or more minutes on each side. Does this sound like a growth spurt or is she just being a lazy eater and needing to nurse more frequently because of it?

fsumom · July 2014

DS will be 6 weeks tomorrow and I finally decided to take him to an ENT doctor to check for tongue tie. Our appt is Monday. I had an LC check but she barely seemed to look. I figure an ENT doctor would be more thorough. I rarely try to nurse DS now because nothing worked in keeping his latch deep and he was not nursing efficiently. I feel fortunate that my milk supply is sufficient enough that formula isn't needed.

AbbySeiden · July 2014

Is it possible that my LO is an efficient enough nurser that eating for 15-20 mins altogether is enough? After one of these sessions he still sleep and not need to eat again for 2 hours or so. Plenty of dirty diapers, it just seems so insuffient.

jenlynne0624 · July 2014

@AbbySeiden‌ my little one does that a lot too. Except for this whole growth spurt thing, that was the normal n

elsa1688 · July 2014

I tried to pump and freeze milk for the first time. I ended up with breast milk all over my freezer

I'm pretty sure the bag was sealed well. How much air are you supposed to leave in the bag? I thought you were supposed to get it all out but that clearly didn't work.

elsa1688 · July 2014

AbbySeiden said:
Is it possible that my LO is an efficient enough nurser that eating for 15-20 mins altogether is enough? After one of these sessions he still sleep and not need to eat again for 2 hours or so. Plenty of dirty diapers, it just seems so insuffient.

My LO eats 18-23 minutes on one side and then is done

tbmadeamistake · July 2014

Kindly tell me not to give up nursing. I just need to have someone tell me not to tonight. My boobs and I are so very tired of getting screamed at on a nightly basis.

elsa1688 · July 2014

Lilygrace48 said:
Kindly tell me not to give up nursing. I just need to have someone tell me not to tonight. My boobs and I are so very tired of getting screamed at on a nightly basis.

You are doing great mama!! One night at a time.

coffee89 · July 2014

Lilygrace48 said:

Kindly tell me not to give up nursing. I just need to have someone tell me not to tonight. My boobs and I are so very tired of getting screamed at on a nightly basis.

Keep it up, you are doing amazing.

ChristineBaker23 · July 2014

AbbySeiden said:
Is it possible that my LO is an efficient enough nurser that eating for 15-20 mins altogether is enough? After one of these sessions he still sleep and not need to eat again for 2 hours or so. Plenty of dirty diapers, it just seems so insuffient.

Cora rarely spends twenty minutes nursing. She usually gets all she needs in about 10-18 minutes. And that's been the case since my milk came in. I freaked out a little at first because my first daughter would spend about thirty minutes nursing. But, she is very obviously gaining weight, diapers are good, and she is happy so, I guess she is just a good sucker! It's nice to not to have to nurse thirty minutes too!

otter1103 · July 2014

Since her diet is 90% BM, I'll put this here.
LO hasn't pooped since late late Thursday night/early Friday morning. Plenty of wet diapers though. Should I be as concerned about this as I'm getting? Plenty of toots from the bum, just nothing else.

kbellizio3 · July 2014

@AbbySeiden‌ my LO is 10-15 minutes on one side. Sometimes she'll go both sides, but I've rarely had a feeding last longer than 30 minutes total. My sMIL made me feel like this was wrong and wasnt eating enough, but she gained a ton of weight and has the proper number of dirty and wet diapers (if not more) so I'm not worried about it. I try not to look at the clock and just go by LOs cues. Made things so much easier for me.

Brittnic531 · July 2014

otter1103 said:
Since her diet is 90% BM, I'll put this here.
LO hasn't pooped since late late Thursday night/early Friday morning. Plenty of wet diapers though. Should I be as concerned about this as I'm getting? Plenty of toots from the bum, just nothing else.

I'll preface this by saying that I bf but have to supplement about every other feeding now (previously it was every feeding). The IBCLC at my pediatrician's office just told me that as we work to cut supplementing, LO's Bm's can begin to decrease the more breast milk LO gets. She said it can be normal for a bf baby to go w/o a bm for up to 10 days... As long as they are still passing gas, and are not in pain, then all is good. If it gets to day 10 and still nothing, then she said to call. Hope that helps!

elsa1688 · July 2014

I haven't been pumping at all, but I'm trying to be more regular about it. My left side will produce about one ounce and my right will produce 3+ oz. Is there a way to even this out? Does it matter?

Taymiller · July 2014

elsa1688 said:
I haven't been pumping at all, but I'm trying to be more regular about it. My left side will produce about one ounce and my right will produce 3+ oz. Is there a way to even this out? Does it matter?

I am the same, only my right is the bad one and left is the good one. I have tried to pump more to get righty better but it hasn't worked.

elsa1688 · July 2014

wareagle1220 said:

Taymiller said:

elsa1688 said:
I haven't been pumping at all, but I'm trying to be more regular about it. My left side will produce about one ounce and my right will produce 3+ oz. Is there a way to even this out? Does it matter?
I am the same, only my right is the bad one and left is the good one. I have tried to pump more to get righty better but it hasn't worked.
Mine are the same. I don't think it matters though. Is there a reason you want them to produce the same amount? My larger breast pumps twice as much as my smaller one.

Nope, no reason. If it's fine that they are uneven, that's fine with me. It just was weird that there was such a huge difference. It seems like that is normal though.

puttyeast · July 2014

ktcort13 said:
I feel like I'm failing. LO is still a couple ounces shy of birth weight at 4 weeks. She lost almost a pound after birth. She eats as much as she wants and doesn't seem upset but just isn't gaining like she should be. Dr wasn't worried at her 2 week appt but I started working with a LC last week to figure things out. I hope we can make something work.

You are not failing! You are seeking help to help resolve the issue! Just wanted to cheer you on and I hope that you can figure things out and she'll start gaining more.

JulieSmiles · July 2014

ktcort13 said:
I feel like I'm failing. LO is still a couple ounces shy of birth weight at 4 weeks. She lost almost a pound after birth. She eats as much as she wants and doesn't seem upset but just isn't gaining like she should be. Dr wasn't worried at her 2 week appt but I started working with a LC last week to figure things out. I hope we can make something work.

I'm going through something very similar. DD is only up 9 oz. from her birth weight at 5 I/2 weeks. She doesn't act hungry after eating, eats frequently enough, and has plenty of dirty diapers. I hate not knowing why she isn't gaining but I feel like a failure with it too. She has to go back on Wednesday for another weight check and I'm praying she is up. she still doesn't even fit into 0-3 months clothes and she was over 8 pounds at birth. I thought she would never wear newborn.

Taymiller · July 2014

elsa1688 said:

wareagle1220 said:

Taymiller said:

elsa1688 said:
I haven't been pumping at all, but I'm trying to be more regular about it. My left side will produce about one ounce and my right will produce 3+ oz. Is there a way to even this out? Does it matter?
I am the same, only my right is the bad one and left is the good one. I have tried to pump more to get righty better but it hasn't worked.
Mine are the same. I don't think it matters though. Is there a reason you want them to produce the same amount? My larger breast pumps twice as much as my smaller one.
Nope, no reason. If it's fine that they are uneven, that's fine with me. It just was weird that there was such a huge difference. It seems like that is normal though.

I get mad at righty and lecture it on how it is a disappointment in hopes that I can guilt it into producing more. Yup bf has made me into a crazy person.

tbmadeamistake · July 2014

@mrsdbc, I'm not sure how to do it with a two year old, but I can certainly tell you what I did for C. At this age I pumped first thing on waking up, three times during the day, and once right before bed (so 6, 9, 12, 4, 9 ish). I would also pimp after a midnight feed. Eventually, as she slept longer, I ditched the motn pump. Things that help while pumping are to look at pictures or movies of your baby ( or the baby if you are home, I was at work mostly). Massage before you pump and do breast compressions while pumping (be careful, its easy to unlatch the pump if you're not paying attention while compressing), and to help up your supply, keep pumping for five or ten minutes after your milk stops flowing. This worked for me, but I had an over supply so I only needed to pump that often, even if she was eating more often. Hands free bras are amazing things. Also, okay around with the settings on the pump to make sure you are using the setting that works best for your boobs. Some people need more suction and some need less.

BMaidPlanner · July 2014

Just pumped on both sides for 15 minutes after feeding LO on one side. Got an ounce on the side she didn't feed on, .25 of an ounce where she did. I will need to pump again tonight to try and get closer to the 2 or 2.5 ounces I am trying for.

Same question as @mrsdbc‌, will it increase eventually?

ALSO, I need bottles for Wednesday and Thursday nights this week, would you freeze Monday (today) and Tuesday milk or combine chilled pumpings and keep the bottles in the fridge? I only have maybe 2 ounces frozen.

BMaidPlanner · July 2014

@MommyWaldron‌ thanks. Should I use the frozen milk first? It's much older and I read something about milk growing and changing with baby.

lest12 · July 2014

Anyone else using mendela bottles AND freezer storage bags? I pump into the bottle and then move it to the freezer bag when ready... but there's a huge difference in the amount of ounces they say. Like, it's 2 oz in the bottle, then the bag says 4 oz.

How am I screwing this up? lol. I trust the bottle more so I'm just marking the bag but still.

elsa1688 · July 2014

lest12 said:
Anyone else using mendela bottles AND freezer storage bags? I pump into the bottle and then move it to the freezer bag when ready... but there's a huge difference in the amount of ounces they say. Like, it's 2 oz in the bottle, then the bag says 4 oz.

How am I screwing this up? lol. I trust the bottle more so I'm just marking the bag but still.

I noticed that too! No solution but I thought it was weird.

ChristineBaker23 · July 2014

elsa1688 said:

lest12 said:
Anyone else using mendela bottles AND freezer storage bags? I pump into the bottle and then move it to the freezer bag when ready... but there's a huge difference in the amount of ounces they say. Like, it's 2 oz in the bottle, then the bag says 4 oz.

How am I screwing this up? lol. I trust the bottle more so I'm just marking the bag but still.
I noticed that too! No solution but I thought it was weird.

The bags are just unreliable. The bag is not a solid shape so if it's not lined up just perfectly it will probably be wrong. I go with the number on the bottle and write it on the bag.

rachel8078 · July 2014

elsa1688 said:

lest12 said:
Anyone else using mendela bottles AND freezer storage bags? I pump into the bottle and then move it to the freezer bag when ready... but there's a huge difference in the amount of ounces they say. Like, it's 2 oz in the bottle, then the bag says 4 oz.

How am I screwing this up? lol. I trust the bottle more so I'm just marking the bag but still.
I noticed that too! No solution but I thought it was weird.

We use a food scale to get exactly how much milk is in there. I also had the problem of huge discrepancies between the bottle and bag measurements.

lest12 · July 2014

Maybe I'll pull out my food scale, good idea!

I figured the bottles were more reliable but I'm glad to know it's not just me!

AbbySeiden · July 2014

How much of a discrepancy do you think there is with the medela bags/bottles? I already have a small freeze stash going

MrsBHM · July 2014

I don't need to have a stash for any particular reason (I'm going to SAH with LO) but it makes me comfortable to know if I needed it, it would be there (if I needed meds not compatible with breastfeeding, if I got really sick, left the baby for a few days, or let's be honest, just gave up on breastfeeding before I wanted to stop giving LO breastmilk). I know at some point I should start using my stash but when & how?? I've currently got milk that is 5 weeks old in the freezer. If LO eats a pumped bottle, he usually takes 3-4 oz. If I pump for that skipped feeding I usually get 6ish oz. Should I start giving him some from my stash or stick with freshly pumped & save the frozen stuff for later. I just don't want to waste anything!

AbbySeiden · July 2014

AmyG* said:

AbbySeiden said:

How much of a discrepancy do you think there is with the medela bags/bottles? I already have a small freeze stash going

do an experiment.

use a glass measuring cup that you know to be accurate. pour water in to 2 oz (or whatever amt you think you are usually storing) and then compare where it is on the bottle and where it is on the bags. then freeze the bags and compare. the bags are squishy and the bottom often doesn't open up all the way if it's one of those that stands on it's own, so you get wildly different amts in the bags. some of the bottles are marked completely wrong as well

I paid attention this morning when I poured a pumped bottle into a freezer bag. Honestly I didn't see much of a discrepancy. The 5 ounces in the bottle fit into the 5 ounce bag. When the Bag was sealed it looked like it was over 5 ounces, but before I sealed it it lined up correctly. Are you guys making sure that you pop open the bottom of the bag so that you can stand on its own?

lest12 · July 2014

Do you guys let the LO's comfort feed?

He shows legit signs of hunger and eats every 2-2.5 hours, great, but any time I hold him in between he wants the boob. He will be fine with DH then when I get him - instant hunger cues.

I wouldn't mind but he ends up spitting up a bunch and I think it's because he's too full.

Anyone else? This could also fall into the "is my baby normal" thread.

irenewslee · July 2014

@wareagle1220‌ how long do you let her go for, as long as she wants? When i am home by myself during the day, i feel like i would just be comfort feeding the whole time if i do that. Sometimes i give her a paci but she doesnt always take it.

izzetoot · July 2014

Im sure this question has been brought up before, so I apologize if this is repetitive, but once breastmilk is pumped, refrigerated, and partially consumed can you put it back in the fridge and reheat it for later use? I know its ok to leave it out and offer to baby for up to 4 hours, but my question is more about refrigerating a second time and reheating a second time. No go? Or ok?

TunieBee · July 2014

I've heard that the Medela bags can cause milk to go bad (or taste bad so the baby won't drink it). Does anyone have a better suggestion for storage? Bottles seem impractical due to space and expense but I'm concerned all my hard work is going to be for nothing if the milk goes bad. TIA

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June '14 BFing/Pumping Questions Thread

Re: June '14 BFing/Pumping Questions Thread

Married DH 7/30/11

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Married DH 7/30/11

CSC arrived 5/7/12

CHC arrived 6/2/14

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