@PinkLady2015 have you tried burping her in the middle of it? I have to sit dd up and burp her then put her back on the boob.
The last time she was only a few minutes in before she pulled off so it wasn't like the long feeding the night before. She was upright for a few minutes and it was when I got up to change her diaper that she spewed everything out. It's not projectile--- it just sorta flows. Shes not upset when it happens and wants to keeping nursing. To be honest, she never actually burps when I attempt to. She also tends to be uninterested in relatching if I pop her off. I've heard some people say that their let down is really forceful but how do I know if mine is?
It sounds normal. Both of my kids did that in the beginning, im sure it has something to do with them being so little and their tummies still getting used to it and not being able to hold it down as well. I dont know for sure, but I do know both my babies did that when they were really little but as their stomachs matured it didnt happen anymore.
As far as forceful flow, mine was and I could tell by the way they sounded when they tried to eat. When I would first put them on the boob it sounded as though they were struggling to keep up and my daughter would pull away. I solved it by expressing a little bit of milk before putting her on so it didnt come shooting out in her mouth so fast.
Does anybody have any advice on getting rid of blocked ducts? I have been trying to massage it out. I try to work it out when she feeds and I always offer that side first. I'm also applying heat to it. So far, no infection but I'm not sure how long it should take to get rid of it. It's been a couple days.
@victoria98 I'm a little late, but I've been doing what others suggested with using a pillow for a bit of pressure when I side sleep. I think sometimes I just need a feeling of everything being "held in" down there, so I've actually used a wide ace wrap around my hips/incision area, not super snug but tight enough to add some pressure, and this has helped tremendously. I'd assume a compression garment of some type would do the same thing, but I already had the ace wrap and they're a lot cheaper anyways. You can also tuck a couple of ice packs into one of the layers of the wrap and it is heavenly!
@shaylalr my midwife said to bf in the direction of the clog. So latch the baby so that their chin is pointing at where you think the clog is, because then the pressure of them sucking will help pull the clog out.
@shaylalr I posted earlier today in the newborn/postpartum thread about massaging while having your breasts submerged in the bathtub. It sounds absolutely crazy but it's the only thing that seemed to work for me after a week of clogged ducts.
Has anyone found bouncing on a birthing ball at home to help? I've had mine for months but pulled it out a little while ago and I'm bouncing on it now but now I'm just getting this throbbing pain at the top of my vagina. Could it just be baby's head causing more pressure?
@LF93 I found it helpful early/middle stages of labor. But eventually it got to a point where it was extremely uncomfortable. It helps when you sit on the ball, to open on you legs/hips as wide as you can. Either bounce or rock back and forth. When your in the hospital they can raise and lower the bed to accommodate you height when sitting on the ball. So you can rock on the ball and rest your arms and head on the bed.
I plan on asking my doctor about this too...but are you ladies continuing to take all your vitamins postpartum? I have been taking a prenatal gummy, DHA 200mg and a Calcium+D. I only have a handful of the DHA left (and need to reorder it) but the bottle says it's for pregnant and nursing mothers. Is that something that doctors recommend if you're breastfeeding?
I do still do the prenatal and DHA for nursing, but mine's a combo. I know prenatal are good to do while nursing, but I don't know if the DHA specifically is necessary.
@sboston06 I'm still taking my prenatals while nursing. I was told at that point it's more for your benefit than baby's but they recommend it. I don't know specifically about the DHA but I would think it would still be beneficial.
@sboston06 mine is a combo, my doc said to make sure I continued with a prenatal with DHA while nursing. It's worth asking your doc her thoughts considering you take them separate.
@sboston06 I have taken my prenatal vitamin since i started trying to get pregnant with my first 6 years ago! My docs said it's an all around great vitamin for women to take and it is important to take it while nursing.
Still taking mine! I stupidly stopped taking the extra iron supplement since I was so backed up anyways and noticed that I felt very anemic and light headed, like I hadn't eaten in awhile. Started taking it again and a couple days later I'm back to normal. I haven't been taking my fish oil pills because I feel like it might make my milk taste gross. I don't like tasting fish burps so I doubt baby would either. I think my regular vitamins have DHA in them already though.
Thank you! The reason I do them separate is because I love the prenatal gummy vitamin I take and it doesn't contain enough DHA to meet my doctor's "requirement". It also doesn't contain calcium. Would probably be easier to just take a vitamin that contains everything!
STMs, did your hips ever go back to normal? I don't really expect to fit back into my pre pregnancy clothes yet, but it just seems like my hips might be here to stay.
STMs, did your hips ever go back to normal? I don't really expect to fit back into my pre pregnancy clothes yet, but it just seems like my hips might be here to stay.
Nothing went back in the same place for me, unfortunately.
Anyone else going for a somewhat intentional over-supply of milk? I am thinking of pumping once or twice extra per day to build a stash and high supply for returning to work. The idea being when I switch to pumping at work that I don't want to have to worry about a small drop off. Any STMs do something similar to be totally sure they'd have enough after returning to work and having to pump more than feed at the breast?
@PootsDragon With my first I struggled with establishing a good supply (DD kept losing weight) but taking fenugreek helped my milk supply, and I was actually able to pump enough to have a little stash of extra milk. Once I started making her baby food I even used some of the extra milk to blend in with the food. I am hoping to do the same thing this time around.
Anyone else going for a somewhat intentional over-supply of milk? I am thinking of pumping once or twice extra per day to build a stash and high supply for returning to work. The idea being when I switch to pumping at work that I don't want to have to worry about a small drop off. Any STMs do something similar to be totally sure they'd have enough after returning to work and having to pump more than feed at the breast?
I did! I unintentionally did this. I think I only pumped once more a day and I started to overproduce big time. I ended up having to really watch it. I soon decided to cut the extra pump and just make sure to pump for the feedings that were missed (which was only one or two while I was at work since I worked part time only on some evenings) I had a freezer full of milk and never had any problems.
I did that with my first because I knew I would be pumping at work. I probably ended up producing enough milk for twins! Every pumping session when I went back to work would result in 10 ozs of pumped milk. My daughter also never took a bottle well, she reversed nursed (which means she only drank about 5-8ozs all day while I was gone at work and then nursed all.night.long) - so I never really needed such a large supply. I think it can't hurt to start pumping now if you know you are going back to work! @PootsDragon
@PootsDragon Just a word of caution. I had an oversupply with DS and I think I'm headed that way with DD. Now mind you, I have WAY more than just a little extra.... so this could be unrelated. But with DS he was getting all my foremilk and no hindmilk with each feeding. This resulted in a ton of gas for him and less nutrients. I also struggled constantly from plugged ducts. I would think, though, that one extra pumping session wouldn't hurt anything... especially if you always pump during that same time cause your body will just think it's your LO.
@Singingmama10 good advice. I also had an oversupply and it took me a minute to figure out why my kids were so gassy until I read about the foremilk/hindmilk situation. There is a solution to it, it just took a while for me to figure it out.
@austinjl I had an oversupply. I could pump 15oz in one sitting. My son was extremely gassy, and his poop was really watery and foamy. Also because the foremilk is less fatty, babies tend to feed more. I'm not sure yet how it will be with DD. My engorgement is just now starting to go down, so I'm really hoping it's not as extreme as it was with DS. I had no idea about all of this until I went to go see my LC and she informed me he had classic symptoms of too much foremilk. So what I started doing was only feeding on one side (not switching boobs half way through) and block feeding(doing 2 feeds on one side). It helped to get me a more regular supply.
When you start having "real" contractions, where do they hurt? I've been having BH for weeks but now they're kind of starting to hurt and feeling more pelvic pressure accompanying them at times. I don't think it's anything time-able but I feel like my body is making a little progress.
@sboston06 induction momma here, but when mine started after the drugs. I first felt them really low, near my pelvis. As they got stronger/more frequent, I felt them all over my belly and sometimes in my back.
Anybody have tips for tummy time with a newborn? E seems to hate it unless it's on either of our chests.
When you start having "real" contractions, where do they hurt? I've been having BH for weeks but now they're kind of starting to hurt and feeling more pelvic pressure accompanying them at times. I don't think it's anything time-able but I feel like my body is making a little progress.
*Stuck in the box!*
My real contractions hurt far and away more than my BH ever did. They also felt like a band that would wrap around to my back and stop before my spine on either side. So that really tight uncomfortable feeling that BH have up front, imagine that multiplied and wrapping around your back as well. At least thats what mine felt like. I am sure it can vary person to person.
@LF93 Mine started off with the period cramps everyone on here had been talking about, with my bloody show starting shortly after the cramps first started. Everything happened relatively quickly for me from that point forward.
@sboston06 for me the contractions were low (front & center, just above my pubic bone) and accompanied by lots of pressure. Some took my breath away. As a FTM I had no clue what to expect, but when I felt these ones, I knew they were the real deal.
@sboston06 My contractions were low and in the front. I never felt them anywhere else and they just kept getting increasingly more intense. I never really felt any BH so I knew when I started feeling pressure and having to breath through them they were the real thing.
Re: Ask a BTDT mom questions about birth/recovery/breastfeeding
As far as forceful flow, mine was and I could tell by the way they sounded when they tried to eat. When I would first put them on the boob it sounded as though they were struggling to keep up and my daughter would pull away. I solved it by expressing a little bit of milk before putting her on so it didnt come shooting out in her mouth so fast.
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DS#1 July 2016
Baby #2 July 2018
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DS#1 July 2016
Baby #2 July 2018
, 💙💙💙💙💙💙
and then nursed all.night.long) - so I never really needed such a large supply. I think it can't hurt to start pumping now if you know you are going back to work! @PootsDragon
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DS#1 July 2016
Baby #2 July 2018
Anybody have tips for tummy time with a newborn? E seems to hate it unless it's on either of our chests.
@sboston06 for me the contractions were low (front & center, just above my pubic bone) and accompanied by lots of pressure. Some took my breath away. As a FTM I had no clue what to expect, but when I felt these ones, I knew they were the real deal.