March 2017 Moms

Breastfeeding rants raves and support

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Re: Breastfeeding rants raves and support

  • MyDG620 said:
    Emersyn was nursing great her first 24hours. Last night she had to be put under photo therapy lights so they had me pump and they gave her what I pumped in a syringe to make sure she was getting enough food for her jaundice to go down. 
    Since then she hasn't nursed at all and was just discharged from the hospital and home. She's not latching on and just getting mad. I can tell she's hungry but she's not ever latching. 
    I don't know what to do at this point other than pump and give her a bottle. 
    It is frustrating because I know how good she was latching and eating before she got syringe fed.
    Any advice on what I can do? We are both in tears...

    Hugs mama.  
    Hmmmm.  I'm not sure why she'd want a bottle over boob if they gave her syringe not a bottle. Are you engorged so she's having trouble latching because of that? ((You could express a bit and try again)). Do you have a syringe at home you could try and feed her to calm her down enough to start latching?
    Maybe try getting you both undressed for some warm skin to skin too?? Bath? 

    No magic answer :( but I hope you can get her happy <3 
  • @MyDG620 I second what @kjd291 said. Also, you can try hand expression into her mouth 
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  • MyDG620 said:
    Emersyn was nursing great her first 24hours. Last night she had to be put under photo therapy lights so they had me pump and they gave her what I pumped in a syringe to make sure she was getting enough food for her jaundice to go down. 
    Since then she hasn't nursed at all and was just discharged from the hospital and home. She's not latching on and just getting mad. I can tell she's hungry but she's not ever latching. 
    I don't know what to do at this point other than pump and give her a bottle. 
    It is frustrating because I know how good she was latching and eating before she got syringe fed.
    Any advice on what I can do? We are both in tears...

    Feed her with a syringe to take the edge off her hunger and try again when she's not so mad and hungry. 
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • Yes, agree, feed her with a syringe & try again When she's not as frustrated.  I'd then try to meet with a LC to address issues.  Breastfeeding is difficult.  I'm sorry you are going through this.  I pumped before feeding yesterday as my Bridget was unhappy latching from my engorged breasts, and quite frankly I was also miserably uncomfortable.  I only had to do that once, next go around she was more patient, my breasts a bit calmer.  Lots of trial & error.
  • @MyDG620 How is it going?
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • Great news!  
  • I am convinced the time change affected my baby, twice last night he fed with only an hour and a half of sleep in between, both of those after the time switch.
  • Nothing seemed to help my sudden low supply. Going back to the lactation consultant today. Baby refuses to take formula and my frozen stash from when I had over supply will be gone this week if nothing changes. This sucks! 
  • wintersongwintersong member
    edited March 2017
    Nothing seemed to help my sudden low supply. Going back to the lactation consultant today. Baby refuses to take formula and my frozen stash from when I had over supply will be gone this week if nothing changes. This sucks! 
    Good luck today!!!

    Eta if your stash is getting low, try mixing bm and formula while you sort out the prob. Like 3 parts bm to one part prepared formula, and gradually increase the formula. That way one stress...the worry abou gettig baby calories...can be ameliorated while youbfocua on addressing the supply issue.
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • Picked up a nipple shield today.  As a FTM - this thing is amazing.  My nipples on day 7 are now a  bloody mess.  BF is like a marathon, finally over the engorment phase only to have bloody ravaged nipples.  This thing has eased the pain tremendously. I'm not sure if a LC would recommend it but at this point it's working for me.

    Anyone else using one?  If so, why?
  • LCs totally recommend nipple shields for times when baby can't latch correctly or when nipples need to heal. They just recommend weaning off the shield when you've healed :)
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • @Goodmorning12 I've been using nipple shields since I was in the hospital, the LC suggested it to help LO latch because we were having difficulties. She will be 2 weeks old on Wednesday and I'm still working on weaning her off it but for now I'm happy she is able to nurse with it than not nurse without! She is gaining weight and doing great but considering having a LC come to my house soon if still unable to wean her on my own.
  • Learning so much from you guys, thanks! Things have gotten much better for me, though initial latching still hurts. She sucks so hard at first, even when I hand express to stimulate a let down first.

    Isabelle has been nursing almost constantly for the past four hours. She hasn't been gaining enough weight, so I'm willing to feed her any time she shows interest. I'm hoping this marathon session buys me a few hours of sleep tonight! Do your babies cluster nurse like that?
  • Learning so much from you guys, thanks! Things have gotten much better for me, though initial latching still hurts. She sucks so hard at first, even when I hand express to stimulate a let down first.

    Isabelle has been nursing almost constantly for the past four hours. She hasn't been gaining enough weight, so I'm willing to feed her any time she shows interest. I'm hoping this marathon session buys me a few hours of sleep tonight! Do your babies cluster nurse like that?
    Both my babies clusterfed/clusterfeed for a couple hours in theveveninh between 6 and 10pm. It's totally normal. 

    If you're nursing, you should pretty much always feed on demand, letting them eat whenever they want even if they are gaining fine. :) It's also normal for initial latch to hurt...does the pain go away after 30 seconds or so? 

    Do you mind if I ask what her weight gain has been? (I just want to be sure I'm not giving bad advice.)
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • Ugh, guys. I am so engorged still and wondering if I'm developing mastitis. I have a 102.4 temp, achy all over, chills with shakes and then I woke up drenched in sweat. Off to call the midwife..
    For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him.
    1 Samuel 1:27
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    BabyFetus Ticker

  • @shines721 With that temp, it's definitely possible! You could also have another infection. Definitely call your midwife!!
  • lactation consultant coming Wednesday and couldn't be happier 
  • I have been BFing for exactly one week today and today had been the hardest; my nipples were achey and on fire, I had to breathe through baby latching on like it was a contraction! The pain dissipated after a few seconds but I was dreading the next feeding and feeling defeated. I had an ice pack on my nipples for 20 minutes with no real relief when I decided to call my midwife's office to ask about a nipple cream they had mentioned at my last appointment. Now I am Canadian so maybe there's some similar American product. The secretary called it "the Jack Newman cream". They faxed over a script to my pharmacy, it cost me $18CAD, and it has anti-fungal properties and maybe tea tree oil in it? The container says it contains Mupirocin/Betamethasone and Miconazole so maybe with some Googling you could figure out the specifics, but let me just say...it's like magic! I felt relief within 20 minutes, and I barely used a pea-sized amount. I'm glad I finally gave in, I was even trying to avoid using the lanolin cream for the first few days and be 'brave' but uh....nah, I don't have the stamina to push through feedings with fiery nipples!
  • Good for you @MrsFlemingo -- there's no sense being in pain if you don't have have be.
    BabyFruit Ticker
  • For those who have given a bottle, how much pumped milk? My second didn't take a bottle and I desperately want this one to. I made a bottle of 2oz EBM for a 2 week old. Seem about right? You'd think I'd remember after a year of EPing my first, but nope.
  • @NurseMama my LO is almost 2 weeks old and I usually put 2 oz in a bottle. She sometimes eats a little more or less than that, just depends on her mood!! :)
  • I'm on the breastfeeding struggle bus. I seem to have the world's biggest, flattest nipples and my 3 week old baby will not latch without a shield. I had great supply up until yesterday, and now I feel like my breasts are super soft and baby takes forever on the left breast. Usually I can see leftover milk in the shield when he's done, but now I can't. 

    I paid $170 for an in-home ILBC consultant who told me basically nothing, that his suck was good but he wasn't opening wide enough and he needs to go to a chiropractor or a cranial sacral therapist (might be butchering that) or he might have a tongue or lip tie and he needs to go see a pediatric dentist. It was so disheartening. Just 'go see other people'. The lactation consultants at the hospital said nothing about a lip/tongue tie, so I'm skeptical. 

    I want to breastfeed so badly, but it feels like my body won't let me, and he's not latching and he gets so frustrated when I try to latch him without the shield. I've tried pumping, but I've gone from 5+ oz in a session to barely making 3 on both sides. I have a nipple everter too, but it doesn't make them stay everted, they just go back to flat once I try to latch him. I just don't know what to do. 

    Im watching his diapers. Up until today, he's been having good output. Today he's only had 6 diapers, all mixed. 

    I'm so discouraged. Don't know what to do. Anyone else using the shield? Any experiences with weaning? 
  • @jomarma I was having a low supply issue. Baby latches great but after the engorgement phase I went from producing 6-10 oz per pumping session all the way down to like 2-3 oz per pumping session. I went back to the LC and she suggested pumping 6-8 times a day. If I breastfeed then pump about an hour after having her at the breast. I've been doing that for 2 days now and seen an increase in supply. I also bought some lactation cookies to increase supply. So baby takes both bottle with pumped milk and the breast. I would suggest the pumping more or doing power pumping and seeing if baby will take the pumped milk via bottle. 
  • Just want to point out that pumping 3oz is really good at this stage. If I pump in place of a feed I get 3oz. My supply is good and baby is gaining tons of weight. I just don't want people to get discouraged if they aren't getting a ton with pumping. 
  • Ugh I had such high hopes for breastfeeding and feeling like a total failure. I'm on Day 4 of no milk (or colostrum) in my stubborn attempts to breastfeed. It's been highly emotional. I had a serious breakdown when I finally had to give into formula at the hospital because my poor baby was literally starving on my dry breasts and nothing any of the LCs did with me had any effect. I had tumors removed from my breasts years ago so they think this has possibly affected my body's ability to produce breast milk. I'm still pumping (all with zero results) in hopes it will still stimulate something, but in the meantime we are relying on similac formula. I'm still attempting to give baby the breast in hopes it will trigger something but she's becoming increasingly less interested and pushing me away so I pump instead. I'm desperately searching for some hope here that it might still come in... every empty pump session has been heart wrenchingly depressing and I am struggling to keep my spirits high about breastfeeding.... 
  • @JustAnotherUsername16 with my first child I went through something similar to where I couldn't breastfeed. Baby was formula fed and she's a happy healthy 9 yr old now. Don't feel guilty about it. Fed is best. 
  • kjd291kjd291 member
    edited March 2017
    @jomarma 6 diapers is enough for a day. And how old is your babe?? If you're a March mama--3oz a side is plenty to feed baby. 

    Normal happy thing for breasts to get softer after a couple weeks as supply levels out to baby's needs! 

    DOnt be discouraged-youre doing greatN  
  • @JustAnotherUsername16 I'm sorry you're having such a struggle. You are NOT a failure. You are amazing. You have a beautiful baby that you brought into this world and you are obviously doing everything possible to fight to make it work the way you dreamed. Try not to be so hard on yourself!  Huge creepy internet hugs. 
  • @JustAnotherUsername16 you are not a failure!! You are a great mom and doing the best you can for your baby girl. I had to supplement with formula in the beginning because LO had jaundice and was having latching issues....2 weeks old tomorrow and she is just starting to be able to latch sometimes without a nipple shield. I hope that things work out for you but in the end like others said fed is best and she'll be happy and healthy no matter what!
  • kjd291 Thanks. He's 3 weeks today... was supposed to be a March 1st baby, but came a week early. 
  • Breastfeeding day 1: I had a tiny bit of latching problems but we managed to get it for the most part, but this left my nipples in rough shape. I could see a cut and just painful.

    Breastfeeding night 2: Painful but getting the swing of latching, she fed every 2 hours or so, seemed content and slept a little. 

    Breastfeeding night 3: Her latch is even better now but she would not get off the breast. If she did she would scream and root like there's no tomorrow.  I pulled an all nighter and still she needs to be latched or she's screaming. She seems unsatisfied. I can't tell if my milk is fully in or not but I hear her belly growling... I was told my milk should come in quick with baby #2 and I'm getting frustrated because OUCH and I want a happy baby. 
  • @Burrberrymum mine didn't come in fully till night 4. I'm pretty sure LC said day 4-5 is the norm! 
  • kjd291 said:
    @Burrberrymum mine didn't come in fully till night 4. I'm pretty sure LC said day 4-5 is the norm! 
    Was LO at the breast like every 30 mins? I'm in so much pain! Did you find a difference when your milk did come in? 
  • kjd291 said:
    @Burrberrymum mine didn't come in fully till night 4. I'm pretty sure LC said day 4-5 is the norm! 
    Was LO at the breast like every 30 mins? I'm in so much pain! Did you find a difference when your milk did come in? 
    I honestly hadnt been timing it. It felt pretty constant the first days.i just kept feeding her every time she cried. I only gave her one side at a time to give the other side a break.  
    Once it came in it was pretty obvious-she didn't feed for very long and my breasts got quite dull between feeds 
  • exhausted.  Was up midnight-7am for a BF marathon.  Shes now played catch up on her sleep & has slept too much today by normal standards but mom & dad need to catch up on their sleep as well.  I woke myself up sleep talking about ordering a pizza  :|  I don't like that I can't keep our daily routine after an all nighter but we also can't be delirious.  Hopefully day 11 will be easier. 
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