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October 2014 Moms
Breastfeeding Links & Talk
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Breastfeeding Links & Talk
Thanks!
Are you switching frequently between breasts during feedings? Try to let baby finish the first breast first, and only when LO unlatches, offer the second breast. Baby may or may not need it. You could also consider doing some block feeding.
Are you pumping at all? Maybe back off on pumping until your supply is regulated.
There's some great info in this thread regarding management of engorgement and oversupply. Take a look back through the responses for more tips and ideas. Good luck!
I fed her a normal feeding, nursing from both sides. The past few feedings I havent felt like she has been emptying the affected side where that hasnt been an issue before this started Friday night. So I pumped an hour and a half after I fed her and I only got half 1/2 oz. It still feels full and lumpy tho. I massaged it while pumping and have a warm compress on now. Is the lower supply because of the mastitis? She has been feeding more frequently again (about 1-1.5 hours) which I thought might be a growth spurt since she is almost 3 weeks but now Im worried she might not be getting enough and therefore eating more often.
Supplementing hasnt been an option for us yet as she refuses any bottle we offer her. Help? :-< I felt like BF had been going so well up to this point after not being able to BF DD1. This is discouraging!
.5oz is an average pump yield for an EBF mom. It doesn't indicate a low supply. Pump output is not a good indicator of supply in any case, though, and should not be relied upon to tell you if you make enough milk. Really, just look at diaper output, weight gain, and disposition.
Nursing every hour is also normal.
Yes her diaper output is ok. Last night my fever went way back up and now both breasts are killing me after only two hours since the start of her last feed. They feel engorged on the sides and top and hurt so bad. Im not seeing any redness indicating mastitis but I have all the other symptoms. Im starting the antibiotics the dr prescribed today. I feel like quitting but that will just make the pain worse and DD wont take a bottle anyway. Which also stinks because now that I feel like crap I cant even have someone else help out with a feeding.
Breastfeeding has been such a roller coaster for us. We had a good latch in the hospital, but my milk has been sooooo slow to come in. In the mornings, when I thought I was supposed to have the most milk, I have almost nothing to feed DD. I have been to two LC support group meetings in the 4 days we have been home. At the first, I was still giving DD colostrum but it was less than half an oz. Since DD was getting so frustrated at not getting enough to fill her tummy, she started really tugging at my nipple and now both are bruised, cracked, and bleeding. I started using a nipple shield because it is the only way I can stand the pain.
We started supplementing and i cry every time I give her a bottle. I can tell she is so much happier because she is more alert and way less fussy, but I desperately want to make breastfeeding work.
I went back again and the LC suggested after every feeding, we continue to supplement and then I pump for 20 minutes to help my supply.
I can handle if I need to supplement her with formula...but I am so worried my milk is never going to come in. I rarely get even a few drops when I pump, and there are times when I can tell LO is getting no milk from the breast because the nipple shield has no milk on it.
Is there anything else I can do to help with my supply issues? I want her to be able to get at least some breast milk...even if we have to permanently supplement. But all day long all I do is nurse, supplement, pump, wash everything, and then it is time to nurse again. Right now at least I have my husband to help me supplement and wash everything but he has to go back to work soon and I don't think I can continue this pattern when I am flying solo with a newborn.
I've been starting with the breast we left off on the previous feed because he often will nurse 20+ minutes on the first breast and maybe half the time on the second, so I want to make sure that second breast is getting properly drained. Is this correct? And sometimes he will nurse an equal amount of time on each breast. In this case, should I alternate for the next time?
yes, start on the other side at the next feeding whether baby ate on one side or both.
so it's always alternating--starting a feeding on right, next feeding start on left regardless of where you end up at. unless you have serious oversupply and then you might actually start two feeds in a row on one side.
-------ETA: quote fail-------Ok, whoops! Thanks. What if the second breast in each feed is never is nursed as long as the first? Since 9 times out of 10 he takes both breasts in a session, I worry the second breast will never have an opportunity to be drained as much as the first since he always falls asleep soon after taking breast #2.
I would like to have a bottle so that my husband can feed her occasionally or my mom etc.
Recommendations on how long I should wait before I pump?
Anyway, I decided to get a nipple shield yesterday and have been using it. It is wonderful. I plan on using it until I heal.
I am wondering why the nipple shield is a bad thing. I have googled it and saw there were concerns that the baby wouldn't be able to efficiently express milk, however I don't seem to have that problem. I also have a pretty heavy let down and good supply.
I am in the camp of doing what works to keep us happy and so far this seems to be it. But if there are things I should be considering that I am not aware of, I want to make sure I am informed.
Sometimes they can be given to mothers by LCs instead of looking for the underlying cause of latch trouble. And sometimes they're given to moms who don't really need them, overcomplicating things from the start. That's not a good thing, but it's not a problem with the shields themselves.
Like any other intervention, shields carry certain risks. They are messy and annoying, especially to use in public. They can make it more difficult for baby to completely empty the breast, putting mom at risk for plugged ducts and mastitis. They can be difficult to wean from. None of these challenges can't be overcome, but it's helpful for LCs and doctors to make sure that the mothers they give shields to are aware of the risks and challenges they may create.
I went about 14 hours with just pumps and bottles and my first breast feed after that was painless! The next one, however was a little worse and the third was painful again. I think it was just because the wounds were getting irritated again.
I really hope that once they are healed I can enjoy BF again!
I have some frozen milk that I pumped when I had mastitis but am thinking I should probably pump fresh milk to increase the chances of him taking it. I still have a bit of an oversupply but I don't know if I'd get enough for him just from one pumping.
I know we will need to do paced feeding but how much should I start with? He is already 11 lbs at one month old (he was 7 lb 13 oz at birth) so I think he's probably getting a lot at each feeding. Just not sure how much to try.
Also, is offering a bottle once a week a good idea to make sure he gets used to it, or is that unnecessary at this stage? I'm only concerned since he doesn't seem to like any of the pacifiers we've tried and he will need to take bottles when he goes to daycare.
Breastfed babies pretty consistently take 24-30oz per day (or about an ounce per hour). It doesn't increase much as they grow, rather, the fat and nutrient content of the milk changes to meet baby's growing needs. So whereas a formula fed baby needs more and more formula as he grows because the content remains the same, the breastfed baby's total intake doesn't change too much. All that is to say that he won't need more at a feeding because he's grown bigger...breastmilk doesn't really work that way.
A bottle per week may be enough. If he isn't too interested, a bottle every day or every other day at the start may be helpful, and then once he has the hang of it, once a week or so to make sure he doesn't forget.
Now, there's no real reason to panic if he doesn't like bottles. By March, he can take a sippy at daycare instead of a bottle, if necessary. He'll be old enough that alternatives to bottles are available and reasonable. So don't worry too much!
It can also help to offer the bottle when baby isn't hungry. It's hard to learn something new when you're hungry.
Eta: *Sometimes* nursing makes it a bit worse. Other times it has no effect.
I had my son's done at about a week and a half old and he was nursing well the next day.
ETA: I don't have much comparison pre-revision but he is a very efficient nurser - usually less than 10 minutes.
They want me to coat her tongue, but you can imagine my struggle with trying to apply 1ml of solution to a fiesty 3 week old ...
I've been using a q-tip. Any better methods?
FFWC: I never pay a lot of attention to what breast I start a session with or which one I started with last time. I just nurse on whichever is most convenient or comfortable at the time (left if I need my right hand to eat or something).