Breastfeeding Tips, Questions and Advice!!

heathertoni5 · January 2015

Thank you for your help! ( wrong choice of words - empty-- doesn't seem to soften the hardness!) it looks like I have a clog, you were right! Hopefully I can get this baby unclogged!

rox825 · January 2015

I'm having bottle issues with LO and I'm not sure what to do. I tried dr brown standard first with level 1 nipples and he gulped and choked it down so we switched to preemie nipples. That seemed to work ok for about 2 weeks, but then he started crying through the bottle I think because the flow wasn't fast enough. But he's still gulping and choking on the level 1's as well as avent natural level 1 nipples, just tried that bottle tonight and he drank it but again fussed through it and was choking and spitting up milk the whole time (we do paced sitting up). Do I need to just feed him bottles more often so he gets more used to it, or keep trying different brands? I have 4.5 more weeks before daycare to get this sorted out.

PineApple85 · January 2015

I have a question about what nipples to buy. I have a fast let down and a high supply, but not an oversupply (I can easily pump about 7 ounces - combined from both sides - if it's been around 2 hours since the last feed. By easily, I mean it takes less than 10 minutes, usually closer to 5). @AmyG* you said in a pp that 5 ounces is a lot for a baby this age and the issue may likely be the nipple flow of the bottle.

DS2 has had a bottle a couple of times and the last time he took 6 ounces at once. My MIL said she only gave him a couple of ounces at a time but he kept rooting so she gave him more until he had drank 6 ounces and he seemed sated. Does that sound right since that's what I produce in that amount of time (between feeds)? My breasts feel empty after he eats and I'm really only pumping if he skips a nursing session, so not everyday. Back to the nipple size - keeping the volume he eats in mind, since I have a fast flow naturally, would a preemie or newborn nipple be right or should I use a nipple flow that's faster like my own?

Some history, if it's helpful, though I know every child is different: DS1 also took 6 ounces from a bottle at once at this age and was taking 8 plus when he got a little older. (Now that I'm better at burping DS2) Neither seem(ed) to spit up excessively.

ETA: Sorry that's so long but also it may be relevant that DS2 is a big boy. He was 10 lbs 2 oz at birth and, while I don't know his exact weight now, I can say that he's in 3-6 mo/6 mo clothes and size 3 diapers. And he isn't a chunky baby - no more so than your average newborn/infant.

PineApple85 · January 2015

AmyG* said:

If you can pump 7 oz to replace a feeding regularly you do actually have oversupply. Normal amount if milk for a day is 35 oz on average with a range of 19-30 oz a day. Average is 2.5-3 oz every 2.5-3 hours.

And that amount stays stable for the day with "serving sizes" increasing gradually as baby starts sttn and number of feeds a day decreases. How large baby is it how much they weigh isn't a factor as your milk changes to meet their needs so they don't have to increase oz much but still get plenty of nutrition.

Most if the time oversupply leads to issues for mom like more frequent plugged ducts engorgement that continues long term and higher risk
Of mastitis. For baby tends to have gassy fussy and green stools often with froth or mucous sometimes with lots of spit ups.

Sometimes mom and baby adjusts just fine. This could be the case for you since it sounds like how things went with your last child as well. As long as mom continues to have lots of milk and baby does ok drinking a large amount of oz of milk getting appropriate nutrition without gassy fussy green stools or spit up. Weight gain tends to be on the high side per week. Normal weight gain is 4/7 oz a week or 1/2-1 oz per day.

All of that said as a segue into answering your question. A flow flow bottle nipple discourages baby from eating too fast and eating too many oz. A nipple shouldn't drip milk when you turn it upside down unless you squeeze it. Bottle sizes should be as small as will satisfy baby as we tend to subconsciously encourage baby to drink it all so there is no waste. Bottles should be given slowly to take at least 20 minutes so baby's brain has time to realize they are full. Bottle given with lots of pauses and baby sitting more upright so they have to work to get milk actively.

I would not give a faster foe bottle nipple based on how fast you think your milk flows at the breast. Babies have to hold their tongue in a different place for a bottle than the breast. The milk flows much faster normally with less work by baby to eat from a bottle.

You only move up from a super slow flow bottle nipple if baby is consistently collapsing the nipple while eating and getting frustrated about it.

Thanks, @AmyG*. Neither of us have any of the problems that you mentioned so I figured I just had the supply that DS2 needed. As far as I know, MIL gave the bottle as you described because she didn't expect him to take so much milk. I don't know how long the feeding was though because I wasn't there. I'll try the slower flow nipples and see how he does.

Glbaby1 · January 2015

Can a plugged duct result in a temporary inverted nipple? Can it remain inverted permanent even after the duct clears?

staugustinewedding · January 2015

Hi! I skipped a feeding the other night for because my mom had to watch LO and when I got home from my class I tried to pump but all of my manual pump parts were still wet from the dishwasher (I usually rotate but I skrewed up) and my electric pump doesn't suck hard enough...so I had to manually expressed both breasts. They were very full. It's now been two days and I've had really sore breasts...ESPECIALLY the far lower outside of my right breast. LO is still nursing off of both sides really well and they aren't red or anything, so is it possible that I was manually expressing too hard that they became bruised? I don't see any bruising but I'm really confused. I always wear a nursing bra at night but maybe this is causing the discomfort since I get so full overnight? Any advice is great! Thanks!

I also want to add that LO is 8.5wks old mad EBF. She is now sleeping 6-7hr stretches at night and my breasts are very full by the time she eats.
I now feel like my breasts are rarely "drained" after she eats but when I pump after my morning feeding, I sometimes get .5oz and other times I get 3oz. Not sure if any of this has something to do with the breast tenderness??

Glbaby1 · January 2015

I am so discouraged right now. I developed a plugged duct and for 2 weeks applied heat, massage, hot showers etc. It just got harder under the nipple area and very tender on the right side of my breast. It developed into an infection (fever, aches, chills) and then an abscess which I had drained yesterday. They put me on new antibiotics. The pain was so intense during and after the draining and I still feel awful. And the damn plug so still there and huge and hard around my nipple! I feel like I've tried everything to get rid of it. LO (8 weeks, EBF) won't take it because it's too hard and pumping is so painful.

I'm at the end of my pain tolerance (i would rather go through labour again then another draining of an abscess!). Maybe I'm just not set up to breast feed. I'm wondering if I should wean. Is that the only way to assure this doesn't happen? Will the plug come out now that the abscess is gone? How do I get this damn plug to come out?! I'm feeling really incompetent. Anyone have a similar experience? Tips?

Glbaby1 · January 2015

Thank you for responding. What is 'unreasoning treatment'? Also is there anyway to heal the area long term so it doesn't fill back up again? Does that happen to every mom who gets an abscess? Because that's just depressing...

lamar2014 · January 2015

hi
please can any one help me

my doughter is 11 weeks today ,
i was breast feeding from my breast until 8 weeks
but she was hungry and crying all the time , i tried to add supplement and she was ok
plus
i had hard time when i feed her from my breast especially at evining
so i start pump and give her instead if supplement only when she fussy whuch in the evening

i think i have low supply at evining and one of my breasts is small nipple so she doesnt want it

i feed her from my breast all time except in the evening i pump and give her , i wake to pump at night also ,

so i replace 3 feeding with 3 pumping/day and get 2-3 oz per pump only
she eats 5 oz per time , so i have to give her formula

but now i am trying to build up supply , how can i do that ,

i am takeing fenugreek and drinking lots of water

i hope she take my breast which has small nipple , i hope she feed directly from my breast all time
why she is fussy sometimes ?
also i notice she is sucking only for view minuits the stop , why ?

fyreandblood · February 2015

I posted this in the BFing forum, but I really wanted some familiar advice!! (Sorry I disappeared back in October!)

I had planned to EP because of body issues and past trauma. When my baby was born however, I started warming to the idea of nursing. I tried in the hospital (I was too nervous about being touched/letting a LC look at me topless, etc to ask for help, which is something I regret), but my daughter's tiny mouth/slight upper lip tie (something I didn't discover until LAST WEEK) and my large breast just didn't meld (I did pump every 2 hours in the hospital and gave her everything I produced, and did tons of skin to skin). Trying at home ended in tears for both of us. I'm a full time grad student and my mom is my daughter's other guardian, so I pumped bottles and supplemented with formula for the first six weeks of my daughter's life. WELL. I ended up getting clogged ducts, which led to mastitis, despite stopping use of my PISA and getting a Symphony on loan (my breasts did not respond well to either pump; I found hand expression to be more of a relief than pumping, and I was correctly sized for flanges, etc). My supply DIED. I had a leaky faucet letdown originally, but I ended up only getting drops. I tried everything from flax meal to chugging water, to cluster pumping, but I think the antibiotics and my thyroid issue (Hashimotos) caused a serious blow. I have to admit that I only pumped once at night in the early days, because my daughter slept through the night mostly, with one feeding at 4am. I regret this as well.

I was so depressed about my supply dying that I stopped pumping all together and returned my Symphony. I went to EFF, which is working great for my daughter, who loves her schedule and her bottles. However, I want to at least supplement her with nursing, so I've started using my PISA again, taking fenugreek, and offering the breast before and after every feeding and in between. I'm going to try to get a supplemental nursing system as well.

My issues besides supply: I am 4'11 with large breasts, a non-existent torso, and huge areolas. Because I'm not as engorged anymore (thanks to fenugreek, I'm getting a steady drip, but only about 1/3 of an ounce), they're super soft/droopy and my nipples don't harden, making it difficult for my daughter to latch. So, sometimes she latches, and sometimes she struggles, fights, and screams with a red face (with the slight lip tie -- I try lifting her lip to help her, but sometimes she tolerates that and sometimes she doesn't). I've tried a nursing pillow, but they don't help because I have to lift my entire breast anyway and it's a bit of a struggle, because my daughter doesn't fit on my lap under my breast or at breast height -- she hits mid-breast and I have to lift it to bring her to the nipple (which I have to do in the perfect position or she won't latch). It's a bit stressful. Any tips or advice or suggestions would be really appreciated. I'm so close to giving up

My baby is otherwise super calm, happy, and well adjusted, so I'm afraid all of this might be confusing her and making her upset.

Also: I have never once sprayed (I slowly drip. LCs at my hospital ended up reccing 45 min pumping sessions because if I pump for 20 minutes every 2-3 hours, I get LESS milk and don't let down) and I don't really let down or have a let down feeling

shoemaker140 · February 2015

Is it normal for a baby at this age to only be able to bf my baby when she is asleep or just waking up? Any other time she won't nurse. Is this just a phase or do I have a weirdo on my hands?

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