I second the simple wishes one that @ohstars posted.
I'm thinking of going to exclusively pumping. Kiddo throws up pretty much every time I feed her. The doctor told me to just burp her more, but that doesn't do much. She will also only nurse for 5-10 minutes at a time. If I get more time than that she is definitely throwing up some of it. I think it's becuase I have an insanely fast/strong letdown and she looks like she is drowning. Honestly, the entire time I'm nursing I'm stressed about how much she's getting, is she going to throw up, why won't she nurse longer and I'm starting to dread feeding.
I'm not going to make a final decision until she gets to 40 weeks gestational age, but for now I'm doing 75% ish bottles and 25% breast. I feel like I'm giving up and I should just stick it out, but I also know that a happy, less stressed Mom is better for her than eating off the boob.
@FerForShort Hugs to you! Your feelings on this really resonates with me. I've been in a haze of pumping, nursing, fortifying, and supplementing since DD came home. It feels never ending abs I wish I could just stick baby on boob and be done with it. I've thought of EPing but worry I'll regret it when I go back to work. I agree that fed is best and you should do what works for you! BFing is so damn hard, especially before 40 weeks GA.
@ferforshort - I'm right there with you. I have an LC coming out tonight and she already told me that for preemies her expectation isn't for them to "get it" until 41w gestation. But I didn't know that so we've been trying and struggling and I'm just so beaten down by the BFing failures that I'm ready to be done.
@lemieuxk and @ohstars : creepy internet breast feeding hugs! People told me it would be hard, but it's SO much harder than I ever thought. Im just really worried I am going to regret it if i go to pumping only. I want that warm fuzzy breastfeeding relationship people seem to have and I don't want to throw in the towel and then never get it. I'm starting to wonder if that is really just a myth people tell you (the people who tell you they loved being pregnant...). BEING A MOM IS HARD.
@FerForShort Sending hugs your way! I made the switch to EPing and I couldn't be happier about my decision! We have to do what we think is best for our LOs and for us EPing seems to be best. I wouldn't look at it as giving up either! To me, as long as DD is getting breast milk, it doesn't matter how she gets it.
Another factor that I considered was when I go back to work. She will have to get bottles at day care, so did I really want to stress us both out about BFing when she would only be eating from the breast in the evening/night in a few weeks anyway? Ultimately, it's your decision and you will know what works best for both of you!
I'm not an expert, but if you feel like you might miss the bonding experience, maybe try some skin to skin? When DD and I are snuggling we do skin to skin and I think we are bonding quite well
ETA: @lemieuxk@ohstars I feel you guys as well! It's tough trying to navigate all of this! Hugs to you both as well!
@yogadevil Yikes. I paid $50/hour for an in-home visit (visits usually are more than 1 hour, but I've used this woman and so have a few of my friends, and they've only ever paid $100/session). Though she is technically a "breastfeeding counsellor" which is apparently a step down from an LC, so maybe that's the difference in cost? I looked it up, and the difference between the two is hours spent on certification, but their goals and outcomes are the same.
Oooooh my lord, so much spit up last night. And all the feeding. God, it is so discouraging to spend the whole night feeling guilty that your boobs are barely producing enough to keep up with baby's needs, and then to only have all that milk end up all over the sleeper, the swaddle, the housecoat, the PJs, the sheets...
@FerForShort so congrats on being able to feed a town. It's a weird blessing and a curse.
Here are all my oversupply suggestions:
Only feed on one side at a time.
do all leaned back feedings. I mean you could be leaning back so far that you're almostnlaying down and let gravity help you.
If fhis still isnt enough, hand express into a towel before letting your babe latch on
if this stilllll isn't enough, pump off like an ounce before feeding and just dump it.
Youre at a weird impasse because pumping is probably making it worse because your body isn't regulating to your baby but if you move to EP you want your fast let down to make pumping not be some level of hell.
If your baby is gaining weight, having 6+ wet diapers a day and their poop is still grey poupon like even with the puking, they're getting enough.. and some babies are just pukers and I'm sorry if you got a puker. It's messy but they grow out of it.
My boobs have regulated WAY faster the second time. I still feed with a towel under my boob and change my pads at every feeding, but I haven't needed to sleep on towels or anything. I haven't pumped since my baby left the nicu though and last time I was so paranoid about a freezer supply I did an extra pumping session a day just to freeze something too.
I feel all of you on the newborn preemie nursing, it is hard! My son took 4-6 weeks to figure it all out, and he was almost 37 weeks at birth. My daughter it was 4 months. But with twins, I was always trying, so not really exclusively pumping.
Fed is best, and if pumping works for you, do it! I know sometimes I could sneak a baby or two up with me when I pumped, and that helped with how much I was getting, and also better feelings about not always being shut away alone to pump.
Married - 7/29/06 Ben and Maggie - 4/10/09 Mia - 6/16/11 Surprise! due 2/23/17
@poetryandoceans the $185 is for 2 hours plus 2 weeks of phone/text/email consults. I looked up others in our area and I guess $125ish is the rate for about an hour visit, so maybe it's about average? Idk, just seems steep and makes me really understand the lack of accessible BFing support that nags so many women
@yogadevil - is that with insurance? I was just told that insurance covers 6 visits. Not sure what my OOP cost will be yet, but hopefully less than that. Yikes.
I think my LO might have a preference to one boob over the other. I'm not sure why, but it means that the one she doesn't like as much ends up really hard unless I express it a bit, and so it's hard for her to latch when it's so full.
@sadiec92 At first, one boob was definitely a better producer than the other, which did create a preference on LO's part: he didn't have to work as hard and he got more milk, obviously he'd have a preference!
I kept nursing him off both boobs, and they eventually evened out, though there was some struggle to get him to do so. I found starting him off on the underproducing one worked out better. If I started him on the "good" boob, he wasn't really interested in nursing on the slow one, which made the problem worse. But when I started him on the slow starter, he nursed and got a little out, and stimulated my milk production, and then I switched him to the other one to fill him up.
BF is definitely hard!! I have considered switching to EP as well because I know how much he eats and he sleeps so much better. One reservation I have is feeling so alone and isolated. Having to leave a conversation or activity solely to pump suuuucks. Sometimes Kole does ok with BF and other times like tonight he screams till I try to feed him then falls asleep and refuses to wake up or even open his mouth again. Ugh. Feeding is the most frustrating part of newborn life IMO.
4/15--TTC #1 12/15--IF testing 3/16--Dx Unexplained IF Clomid + Ovidrel + IUI + Progesterone cycle Cancelled due to cysts. Started 3 weeks of BCP. 4/16--Cute Ute! Clomid+Ovidrel+IUI+Progesterone TI. Cancelled-no response 5/16--Hemmorhagic cyst and other cyst discovered. No medicated cycle. MRI scheduled to rule out septate uterus. 6/16--Septum discovered. Consultation for surgery. Surprise BFP 6/8/16--EDD 2/13/17 Kole David--1.7.17--Tiny but Mighty, born at 34+5 after HELLP syndrome Chart Stalk Me
@ohstars my insurance doesn't cover the inhome LC's, so that's OOP. My insurance does cover a few clinic visits- i.e. Seeing the pediatrician solely for BFing help or heading to the hospital itself to meet with their LC. Those options seemed less helpful to me at this point since what I've been needing is less clinical in nature
@ohstars my insurance doesn't cover the inhome LC's, so that's OOP. My insurance does cover a few clinic visits- i.e. Seeing the pediatrician solely for BFing help or heading to the hospital itself to meet with their LC. Those options seemed less helpful to me at this point since what I've been needing is less clinical in nature
I saw my pediatrician for BFing help with DD and honestly, she was amazing. I'm not sure what your specific issues are, but I had trouble with latching and the pedi was soooo helpful to me. So don't rule it out!!
@ohstars my insurance doesn't cover the inhome LC's, so that's OOP. My insurance does cover a few clinic visits- i.e. Seeing the pediatrician solely for BFing help or heading to the hospital itself to meet with their LC. Those options seemed less helpful to me at this point since what I've been needing is less clinical in nature
I saw my pediatrician for BFing help with DD and honestly, she was amazing. I'm not sure what your specific issues are, but I had trouble with latching and the pedi was soooo helpful to me. So don't rule it out!!
It's definitely not ruled out, but I'd rather keep DD at home right now. Norovirus and the flu are making a killing in my area right now so the fewer visits to a germy pedi's office the better lol
Breastfeeding is kicking our ass. DD has such a poor latch. She's a zone 1 jaundice and sleeps alllll the time. It's hard to stimulate her to BF and so it usually ends up with me having to pump and we were also told by the pedi to supplement with formula because she had lost almost a pound from her birth weight
Feeling overwhelmed here.
************* First BFP: 12/16/13 EDD: 08/23/14 Baby BOY born: 08/29/14
Awww man @concreteangell I'm sorry. Have you tried a nipple shield? I know they're a PITA but maybe could help short term? Also, nobody gets an award for never letting formula pass their baby's lips. You're doing what you need to do to keep her healthy and that's the important part. Hang in there!
Breastfeeding is kicking our ass. DD has such a poor latch. She's a zone 1 jaundice and sleeps alllll the time. It's hard to stimulate her to BF and so it usually ends up with me having to pump and we were also told by the pedi to supplement with formula because she had lost almost a pound from her birth weight
Feeling overwhelmed here.
Oh this was me with DD. It's so tough. I agree with trying the nipple shield if you can!
Breastfeeding is kicking our ass. DD has such a poor latch. She's a zone 1 jaundice and sleeps alllll the time. It's hard to stimulate her to BF and so it usually ends up with me having to pump and we were also told by the pedi to supplement with formula because she had lost almost a pound from her birth weight
Feeling overwhelmed here.
Oh this was me with DD. It's so tough. I agree with trying the nipple shield if you can!
Thirding the nipple shield. We wouldn't have been able to be successful BFing without it. I already have one just in case.
Breast feeding is really, really hard. It was tempting to give up right away. I am having much better luck at home than I did in the hospital. While the LCs were amazing and helpful, most of the nurses just jerked the baby around, mashed her face into my boob, and stressed us both out so much that she was screaming and I was in tears half the time. There was exactly one nurse who had any sort of gentle touch. I had a 50% success rate by the time I left, but at home I only have a bad feed once or twice out of eight daily feeds. It helps immensely to be in my own space and away from all the nurses and their thousand different techniques. Otherwise, the nurses were amazing and I do not knock what they do. But it would help if they were all on the same page with style. Just when I'd master one nurse's suggestions, another would come on and tell me I was doing it wrong. Now I do it my way and it works wonderfully. LO is happy, poops, wets and sleeps.
Married: 2011 TTC #1: 3/2016 Me 39 - DH 44 BFP 5/27/16 EDD 1/30/17 DD born 2/3/17
+1 to the nipple shield! We used one briefly and I think it definitely made a difference. Try not to feel too overwhelmed and stressed.. you've got this and remember fed is best so don't be too hard on yourself! Did DS have any issues with latching @concreteangell ?
I'm sending H out to get me a nipple shield later today. BF is somewhat getting better since my last post though. We seem to be getting the hang of things but I always feel like she isn't emptying out my boobs. I supplement with formula and she downs at least an ounce so it worries me that she wouldn't get enough if I EBF. Either way, going to see a LC tomorrow!
@kirstynikole Yes! DS had an amazing latch. It felt so natural with him and we had great success.
************* First BFP: 12/16/13 EDD: 08/23/14 Baby BOY born: 08/29/14
Breastfeeding is kicking our ass. DD has such a poor latch. She's a zone 1 jaundice and sleeps alllll the time. It's hard to stimulate her to BF and so it usually ends up with me having to pump and we were also told by the pedi to supplement with formula because she had lost almost a pound from her birth weight
Feeling overwhelmed here.
My little guy has jaundice (on home bili blanket phototherapy now) and isn't doing the best at getting a good strong latch either. My strategy has been to offer breast first so he doesn't forget how to do it, but he quickly snuggles in and goes to sleep. So then I feed him formula and go pump while he naps. Then hopefully wash pump parts before he wakes up. It's exhausting at times, isn't it?! Hopefully as the jaundice improves, baby's strength improves and breastfeeding will get easier.
@concreteangell , hoping you get some good advice at the LC today. They should be able to do a weighed feeding to see how much she is transferring. Obviously nothing wrong with formula, but can you pump and supplement with pumped milk? This helps stimulate your supply.
@concreteangell , hoping you get some good advice at the LC today. They should be able to do a weighed feeding to see how much she is transferring. Obviously nothing wrong with formula, but can you pump and supplement with pumped milk? This helps stimulate your supply.
Yes I do pump when we haven't had a good BF session. Either way, she gets about 80% breast milk and I supplement with formula as a filler.
@FreshBakedBrownies I'm in the exact same boat as you! I hope your little guy gets past his jaundice soon and the BF improves ❤
************* First BFP: 12/16/13 EDD: 08/23/14 Baby BOY born: 08/29/14
Breastfeeding is kicking our ass. DD has such a poor latch. She's a zone 1 jaundice and sleeps alllll the time. It's hard to stimulate her to BF and so it usually ends up with me having to pump and we were also told by the pedi to supplement with formula because she had lost almost a pound from her birth weight
Feeling overwhelmed here.
My little guy has jaundice (on home bili blanket phototherapy now) and isn't doing the best at getting a good strong latch either. My strategy has been to offer breast first so he doesn't forget how to do it, but he quickly snuggles in and goes to sleep. So then I feed him formula and go pump while he naps. Then hopefully wash pump parts before he wakes up. It's exhausting at times, isn't it?! Hopefully as the jaundice improves, baby's strength improves and breastfeeding will get easier.
Oh don't wash the pump parts!! Put them all in the fridge in between and just wash once at night! You will lose your sanity with all that washing
Re: The Boob Thread
BFP May 16th 2016
DD born January 30 2017
Surprise BFP/MC April 2017
you neve have to wash it and look like you're into bdsm
Ben and Maggie - 4/10/09
Mia - 6/16/11
Surprise! due 2/23/17
I'm thinking of going to exclusively pumping. Kiddo throws up pretty much every time I feed her. The doctor told me to just burp her more, but that doesn't do much. She will also only nurse for 5-10 minutes at a time. If I get more time than that she is definitely throwing up some of it. I think it's becuase I have an insanely fast/strong letdown and she looks like she is drowning. Honestly, the entire time I'm nursing I'm stressed about how much she's getting, is she going to throw up, why won't she nurse longer and I'm starting to dread feeding.
I'm not going to make a final decision until she gets to 40 weeks gestational age, but for now I'm doing 75% ish bottles and 25% breast. I feel like I'm giving up and I should just stick it out, but I also know that a happy, less stressed Mom is better for her than eating off the boob.
Another factor that I considered was when I go back to work. She will have to get bottles at day care, so did I really want to stress us both out about BFing when she would only be eating from the breast in the evening/night in a few weeks anyway? Ultimately, it's your decision and you will know what works best for both of you!
I'm not an expert, but if you feel like you might miss the bonding experience, maybe try some skin to skin? When DD and I are snuggling we do skin to skin and I think we are bonding quite well
ETA: @lemieuxk @ohstars I feel you guys as well! It's tough trying to navigate all of this! Hugs to you both as well!
Here are all my oversupply suggestions:
Only feed on one side at a time.
do all leaned back feedings. I mean you could be leaning back so far that you're almostnlaying down and let gravity help you.
If fhis still isnt enough, hand express into a towel before letting your babe latch on
if this stilllll isn't enough, pump off like an ounce before feeding and just dump it.
Youre at a weird impasse because pumping is probably making it worse because your body isn't regulating to your baby but if you move to EP you want your fast let down to make pumping not be some level of hell.
If your baby is gaining weight, having 6+ wet diapers a day and their poop is still grey poupon like even with the puking, they're getting enough.. and some babies are just pukers and I'm sorry if you got a puker. It's messy but they grow out of it.
My boobs have regulated WAY faster the second time. I still feed with a towel under my boob and change my pads at every feeding, but I haven't needed to sleep on towels or anything. I haven't pumped since my baby left the nicu though and last time I was so paranoid about a freezer supply I did an extra pumping session a day just to freeze something too.
Fed is best, and if pumping works for you, do it! I know sometimes I could sneak a baby or two up with me when I pumped, and that helped with how much I was getting, and also better feelings about not always being shut away alone to pump.
Ben and Maggie - 4/10/09
Mia - 6/16/11
Surprise! due 2/23/17
Any similar experiences?
I kept nursing him off both boobs, and they eventually evened out, though there was some struggle to get him to do so. I found starting him off on the underproducing one worked out better. If I started him on the "good" boob, he wasn't really interested in nursing on the slow one, which made the problem worse. But when I started him on the slow starter, he nursed and got a little out, and stimulated my milk production, and then I switched him to the other one to fill him up.
Married 6.22.13
Hoping for a Herd Linky
12/15--IF testing
3/16--Dx Unexplained IF
Clomid + Ovidrel + IUI + Progesterone cycle
Cancelled due to cysts. Started 3 weeks of BCP.
4/16--Cute Ute! Clomid+Ovidrel+IUI+Progesterone TI.
Cancelled-no response
5/16--Hemmorhagic cyst and other cyst discovered.
No medicated cycle. MRI scheduled to rule out
septate uterus.
6/16--Septum discovered. Consultation for surgery.
Surprise BFP 6/8/16--EDD 2/13/17
Kole David--1.7.17--Tiny but Mighty, born at 34+5 after HELLP syndrome
Chart Stalk Me
Feeling overwhelmed here.
First BFP: 12/16/13
EDD: 08/23/14
Baby BOY born: 08/29/14
We wouldn't have been able to be successful BFing without it.
I already have one just in case.
also, have you tried rousing LO with a damp washcloth or wet wipe to feed? That's worked with my kiddo when more gentle methods haven't.
I am having much better luck at home than I did in the hospital. While the LCs were amazing and helpful, most of the nurses just jerked the baby around, mashed her face into my boob, and stressed us both out so much that she was screaming and I was in tears half the time. There was exactly one nurse who had any sort of gentle touch. I had a 50% success rate by the time I left, but at home I only have a bad feed once or twice out of eight daily feeds. It helps immensely to be in my own space and away from all the nurses and their thousand different techniques. Otherwise, the nurses were amazing and I do not knock what they do. But it would help if they were all on the same page with style. Just when I'd master one nurse's suggestions, another would come on and tell me I was doing it wrong. Now I do it my way and it works wonderfully. LO is happy, poops, wets and sleeps.
TTC #1: 3/2016
Me 39 - DH 44
BFP 5/27/16 EDD 1/30/17
DD born 2/3/17
I'm sending H out to get me a nipple shield later today. BF is somewhat getting better since my last post though. We seem to be getting the hang of things but I always feel like she isn't emptying out my boobs. I supplement with formula and she downs at least an ounce so it worries me that she wouldn't get enough if I EBF. Either way, going to see a LC tomorrow!
@kirstynikole Yes! DS had an amazing latch. It felt so natural with him and we had great success.
First BFP: 12/16/13
EDD: 08/23/14
Baby BOY born: 08/29/14
Hopefully as the jaundice improves, baby's strength improves and breastfeeding will get easier.
@FreshBakedBrownies I'm in the exact same boat as you! I hope your little guy gets past his jaundice soon and the BF improves ❤
First BFP: 12/16/13
EDD: 08/23/14
Baby BOY born: 08/29/14