Breastfeeding advice, questions, ect

Mizuiro007 · February 2016

@preggoandglowing Ideally if you get past the initial let down and the flow slows she shouldn't be upset for it being too fast. With subsequent letdowns maybe try covering your nipple with a nursing pad, burp cloth, towel, or whatever and maybe take the opportunity to burp.

With the slower parts you can try counterpressure to help speedup flow. My concern with switching back and forth is that she wouldn't get enough of the hind milk.

preggoandglowing · February 2016

Mizuiro007 said:

@preggoandglowing Ideally if you get past the initial let down and the flow slows she shouldn't be upset for it being too fast. With subsequent letdowns maybe try covering your nipple with a nursing pad, burp cloth, towel, or whatever and maybe take the opportunity to burp.

With the slower parts you can try counterpressure to help speedup flow. My concern with switching back and forth is that she wouldn't get enough of the hind milk.

Thanks @Mizuiro007! That is a great point. How does counter pressure work?

Court11152325 · February 2016

@preggoandglowing counter pressure can be breast massage or squeezing and holding your breast at different spots to help get milk out. I do it a lot when I'm pumping and I've had a couple let downs and the milk isn't flowing as strongly.

preggoandglowing · February 2016

Got it. I'll give it a try thanks!

chewie5990 · February 2016

The past week or so DS has formed an early morning snacking habit and it's starting to drive me crazy. We put him down between 9-10 after a marathon nursing session and he usually sleeps until 3-4am and I nurse him usually about 20 minutes and he's back to bed until around 6am and then the snacking starts. From about 6am to 9:30am he wakes up about every 30 min wanting to eat (hands in mouth, pick him up and he's stretching for the boob) but he only sucks about 3-4 times and then he's passed out and nothing I do seems to keep him awake enough to eat more. This has been happening every morning for about a week and a half. Anyone else's LO do this or is just morning cluster feeding? After about 9:30 DS nursing for full session and then it's normal feedings the rest of the day/night. He's 9 weeks old if that makes any difference.

taysun · February 2016

chewie5990 said:

The past week or so DS has formed an early morning snacking habit and it's starting to drive me crazy. We put him down between 9-10 after a marathon nursing session and he usually sleeps until 3-4am and I nurse him usually about 20 minutes and he's back to bed until around 6am and then the snacking starts. From about 6am to 9:30am he wakes up about every 30 min wanting to eat (hands in mouth, pick him up and he's stretching for the boob) but he only sucks about 3-4 times and then he's passed out and nothing I do seems to keep him awake enough to eat more. This has been happening every morning for about a week and a half. Anyone else's LO do this or is just morning cluster feeding? After about 9:30 DS nursing for full session and then it's normal feedings the rest of the day/night. He's 9 weeks old if that makes any difference.

Have you tried a pacifier at that time? At night DD does something similar and if I give her a paci she settles.

ATolentino89 · February 2016

chewie5990 said: From about 6am to 9:30am he wakes up about every 30 min wanting to eat (hands in mouth, pick him up and he's stretching for the boob) but he only sucks about 3-4 times and then he's passed out and nothing I do seems to keep him awake enough to eat

it won't let me out of the box!!!

this is what my DS does and I take him to the living room for an early morning play session on his playtime mat thing and in 30 minutes he eats then is back out for a couple of hours.

breezypip · February 2016

Is it ok to combine frozen breast milk from multiple days into one bottle? DD is starting daycare and I have a lot of smaller bags frozen that I would like to thaw and combine for them. I'm not sure if that would taste weird since I hear flavor can change based on what you ate, or if there are any other concerns with doing that?

Court11152325 · February 2016

Yeah, you can do that @breezypip. Just make sure they are the same temp when you combine.

breezypip · February 2016

Awesome, thank you @Court11152325

angelicac06 · February 2016

Hi everyone. I sincerely apologize if this has been answered. I tried going back a couple pages but man our thread has become ver large, lol. I am going to attempt to go back to work in a month and I am barely starting a stash and I have a few questions.

1. How do I know how much my LO is eating? Is it as simple as getting on a scale before and after a feeding? If so how many times for accuracy?

2. How many bottles despite the amount do you recommend I leave the care giver? I'll be away around 9 hours. LO currently nurses every 1.5 hours for around 10 minutes one side only.

3. I read on here its okay to freeze refrigerated milk however can you freeze/re refrigerate milk that was warmed up that LO refused as long as ot wasn't already frozen?

4. Speaking of LO refusing milk, I'm scared of giving him spoiled milk. How long do you leave the milk in warm water? Im finding it takes forever to even get it at room temp and any warmer water spoils the milk.

5. Do you thaw your milk that you will use the following day over night in the fridge? And have the sitter put it immediately in her fridge?

I appreciate all advice to all or some of my questions. I'm worried how this will all work. Lo is 12 weeks, 17 lbs (born 9.15 lbs) and pedi is happy.

pupsicle23 · February 2016

@angelicac06 I've done a baby weigh group and was surprised to see that DD only ate 3 oz. I'd thought it was closer to 4. When I asked, the LC suggested making 2.5-3oz bottles but having some frozen bags in 1 oz quantities on hand. I'd suggest freezing in a variety of 1-3 oz quantities and combining as needed.

DD's reflux was making her a complete disaster when we went, though, so I'm going back this week to see if we get the same results.

pupsicle23 · February 2016

Actually, I'm going to ask on my own question. I know that fresh milk is good at room temp for several hours. If I remove a bottle from the fridge, is it okay for that long just in the diaper bag? Or do I need a cold pack?

Edited for autocorrect.

Court11152325 · February 2016

As far as temperatures go, you can take a bottle out of the fridge and let it go to room temp, but it's good the same length as if you had never put in the fridge (4-6 hours).

@angelicac06 - you can't know how much LO is eating straight from the breast unless you do the weighed feeding. But the general rule of thumb is 1 - 1.5 oz for every hour for babies until 6 months of age. Some babies eat more, but you might want to be hesitant of that given it could stretch their tummies if they aren't eating more than that.

So you'll want to leave probably 1.5 oz x 9 = 13.5 oz (maybe leave 15-16 just in case?).

You cannot refreeze milk that you defrosted or re-refridgerate milk that you left out to get to room temp. You could kind of think about it like meat. The concern is the growth of bacteria. Also, you should toss defrosted milk if you don't use it within 24 hours.

Put your milk in ziploc bags and defrost in the fridge the night before if your sitter will be watching multiple kids. If not, leave it frozen and have the sitter defrost as needed in cool water. Then you won't lose any milk. If you microwave the water for 1 minute 30 seconds you can swirl the bottle with milk in it to warm up. It doesn't have to get back to body temp if your son will take it. DD will drink a bottle that's cooler than body, but warmer than the fridge without a problem.

When in doubt check out kellymom.com

caketimes · February 2016

You can re refrigerate warmed milk, so if you warmed it for one feeding and there was left over milk, you can refrigerate and use at the next feeding. The key is to smell and make sure it's not gone bad.

https://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/milkstorage/reusing-expressedmilk/

LaceyH13 · February 2016

I have heard to treat breastmilk like a sandwich. If you take a bite of a sandwich at noon and don't finish it, you probably wouldn't hesitate to put it in the fridge and eat the rest at 1. You probably would hesitate to eat it a day later. If you would eat a half-eaten sandwich at that time, the breastmilk is probably okay to drink.

angelicac06 · February 2016

Thank you @mhuber223 @Court11152325 @caketimes and @LaceyH13! I appreciate it.

dmendo01 · February 2016

I'm not sure how much DD eats while bf but I kind of go off how much I pump every 2-3 hours. the first week I took thawed milk but after I pumped enough just refrigerated milk I started taking that because it's good for 6 days so if she didn't use it all I could take it back the next day and at the end of the week I froze the extra stuff. I just tell the sitter to start with 4 ounces and pace her and give her what she will eat. Being gone 8 hours she's only gone through about 11 ounces at 8 weeks. So it's working so far. I generally let it sit for 4 hours after heating or freshly pumping and then discard. If it's been out less and she didn't take it all I re-refrigerate. We haven't had any issues.

kksquared · February 2016

I know there was a post a long time ago on bottles but it wasn't BF specific. DS had boycotted the bottle. He used to take it fine but now he gags when given the bottle and cries. We were using avent naturals with a preemie or 1 flow nipple and have tried Dr Browns with a preemie nipple. I bought a munchkin latch bottle today to try since the nipple part looks shorter and maybe less likely to gag him. Any other suggestions?

dmendo01 · February 2016

We use como tomo and haven't had any issues. She does gag on the paci but hasn't on the bottle and I've never had issues with her going between breast and boob.

mperotti220 · February 2016

Como tomo for sure!

Gingermom15 · February 2016

We recently switched to Playtex drop-in's. Their slow flow NaturaLatch nipple is almost the same speed as Dr. Browns preemie flow. Just a tad faster. The nipple is pretty soft and flexible, Henry latches to it to issue. The throw away sleeves are awesome because I only have to wash nipples and pump parts when I get home from my 12 hour shift. A small nurser is pretty cheap and comes with sleeves, might be worth a try.

kksquared · February 2016

My MIL gave him the munchkin bottle with a flow 1 nipple tonight and he took almost 3 ounces without gagging or crying!!! It also took him 20 minutes to drink it so it wasn't too fast which I was worried about. Thanks for the suggestions though. If something changes I think we will try the como tomo bottle.

breezypip · February 2016

Does anyone use a bottle warmer to hear up breast milk that they love? I would like get one for DH when I'm gone make his life easier but worried about it getting too hot and ruining the milk..

Mizuiro007 · February 2016

@breezypip We got the Dr Brown's mostly because my dad uses it when he's heated an automatic shut off and alarm when it was ready. Took a little to get the timer adjusted right but we like it.

With DS we had the Tommy Tippee one and I like the hot water bath warmers and they're ideal for breast milk but because the TommieTippee doesn't shut off automatically it got left on a lot from fatigue and eventually ruined that way.

LMPOY · February 2016

Hi ladies! Pumping question! Do you find you get more milk when pumping both breasts or just one at a time? I am having trouble pumping enough milk for DS during the day!

caketimes · February 2016

We use the Kiinde warmer, it's a hot water bath that turns off. You can also warm bags of milk in this contraption, so it makes wasting frozen milk a thing of the past!

Mizuiro007 · February 2016

@LMPOY I never liked double pumping so I can't answer but I have found the milkies milk saver to be great with single pumping. I can usually get anywhere from half an ounce to 2 oz more per session with it.

preggoandglowing · February 2016

@breezypip We use the Philips Avent bottle warmer. I like it because it holds my three different bottle brands (Avent, Tommee Tippee and Dr Browns). It also has settings for defrosting and baby food. The only downer is it doesn't have a timer but we keep it on the kitchen counter so we just use the timer on the oven and never had a problem with overheating.

taysun · February 2016

LMPOY said:

Hi ladies! Pumping question! Do you find you get more milk when pumping both breasts or just one at a time? I am having trouble pumping enough milk for DS during the day!

I was EP for awhile and was always told by nurses/LCs at my hospital that double pumping produces more/helps with supply. Also it cuts down on time spent pumping. Now I single pump only if DD hasn't eaten from both breasts.

taysun · February 2016

breezypip said:

Does anyone use a bottle warmer to hear up breast milk that they love? I would like get one for DH when I'm gone make his life easier but worried about it getting too hot and ruining the milk..

We don't use one, instead we put hot water from the tap in a bowl to heat it up. I think it's easy enough and the water cools down so I never have to worry about overheating.

breezypip · February 2016

Thanks all for the warmer recommendations! I go back to work tomorrow and DH has to feed her in the morning and is worried about heating up a bottle while she gets upset from hunger. She doesn't really have to wait when I'm here. Either way I've told him she'll be fine if she cries for a few minutes while her bottle warms. I just really don't want him to over warm it and ruin the milk because I don't have a big stash.

Mizuiro007 · February 2016

breezypip said:

Thanks all for the warmer recommendations! I go back to work tomorrow and DH has to feed her in the morning and is worried about heating up a bottle while she gets upset from hunger. She doesn't really have to wait when I'm here. Either way I've told him she'll be fine if she cries for a few minutes while her bottle warms. I just really don't want him to over warm it and ruin the milk because I don't have a big stash.

I used to give DS tours of the kitchen while a bottle was warming. It would entertain him and help him wait just a little longer plus it meant I was right there near the warmer. He was especially fascinated by the refrigerator magnets and I'd try to hang pictures for him to look at. Something like that might help him. I think for me I didn't feel so useless just waiting and letting him cry.

millieb14 · February 2016

As a lot of ladies are posting, heading back to work soon. I have a baby scale at home so I know what LO takes. It ranges from 6oz a session bfing to 1.5oz. She is apparently a very selective eater. As you can guess this is leaving me a little concerned about how much to tell the nanny to give her in a bottle. I am thinking 3oz to start then heating more if she's still hungry.

On another note, LO can easily get 6oz out of me ( both breasts) but I can barely pump out 4 total. Anyone else struggle with getting as much from the pump? Does your body get used to it and therefore respond better? I massage etc when I pump too. TIA!!

taysun · March 2016

millieb14 said:

As a lot of ladies are posting, heading back to work soon. I have a baby scale at home so I know what LO takes. It ranges from 6oz a session bfing to 1.5oz. She is apparently a very selective eater. As you can guess this is leaving me a little concerned about how much to tell the nanny to give her in a bottle. I am thinking 3oz to start then heating more if she's still hungry.

On another note, LO can easily get 6oz out of me ( both breasts) but I can barely pump out 4 total. Anyone else struggle with getting as much from the pump? Does your body get used to it and therefore respond better? I massage etc when I pump too. TIA!!

Sometimes you just don't respond well to the pump. They also are not as effective at extracting milk as a baby is. It also could be that you need to replace the valves to your pump (and membranes if you have a Medela).

pupsicle23 · March 2016

I need to start thinking about supplementing. My supply has been dipping as the day goes on, and DD is clearly frustrated. She gained 3 oz last week, which is really low for her. The LC we saw suggested pumping a big bottle in the morning to feed her at night, then pumping at night and freezing that for my return to work. But last night I only got 1 oz, and this morning I only got 2. Oatmeal and water and all that haven't helped.

So, how do I go about this? Do I get the supplement formula? Do I just call the pediatrician and ask for samples? Do I need to consult the pediatrician?

Thank you, ladies. This is making me very emotional, and you're all always so helpful.

Edited bc autocorrect is the woooorst.

Mizuiro007 · March 2016

@mhuber223 Talking to the pediatrician would be a great place to start. The samples are great. It can get expensive trying different ones otherwise. It doesn't need to be one marked for supplementing either. We use Enfamil Infant for DD when we need to supplement. We tried several before finding this one worked for her.

Obviously you know this but there's nothing wrong with supplementing. You do what works.

Gingermom15 · March 2016

So, I posted in January about my chronically clogged ducts and bout of mastitis. Thought I might update incase it helps anyone.
Henry was diagnosed with an upper lip tie today, I took him to a IBLC at a Children's Hospital for a second Opinion, as I had suspicions that something was overlooked. I still battle clogged ducts everyday and that isn't ok with me.
Turns out even though he is transferring milk and gaining weight, he isn't able to properly stimulate the entire areola when nursing, therefore not emptying me completely. Which is why I get better results with the pump.

I have to give our ped a call and see about getting him in and hopefully getting it clipped.

Mizuiro007 · March 2016

@Gingermom15 One thing you might try, if you haven't already, is changing positions between feeding sessions. Something like cradle or cross cradle with one feeding and football or side lying with the next. It might help get different parts of the areola stimulated besides just pumping.

Gingermom15 · March 2016

This is is as clear of a picture that I could get. He thought it was a hilarious game and kept licking my thumb. Lol.

We do alternate holds but probably not enough to be of much use. She still recommended getting it clipped since his top lip only flares out about half as far as it should. He gets a red ring on the top after feedings, as well.

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