I have high lipase too, but this baby is just going to have to take it. It sucks
You can scald the milk before freezing and high lipase won’t be an issue. It shouldn’t be an issue with freshly expressed milk
I did that a few times when my kiddos were a bit older and it didn't work out well. They already had the association. I usually donated frozen milk, but this time I need it. I am going to have to be more aggressive about this baby taking a bottle bc all of mine eventually struggle with it. I will definitely be working outside of the home more this round and I can't deal with the stress of my baby not drinking all day like I have in the past.
I EBF my son until he was 6 months old (when we introduced solids). We just weaned him completely at 16 months. We had a rough start, but our nursing relationship ended up being great. His latch was painful and pinchy at first. Our LC recommended seeing a chiropractor. It helped us so much. He had a high palate and his jaw was set back a bit far. I think we went in for 4 or 5 adjustments and it worked wonders for us!
Babies sleep a lot and get sleepy on the breast. We had to work really hard to keep our little guy awake for a couple weeks. Some things that worked for us: - diaper changes right before nursing (have DH do it and use this time to go pee yourself. It sucks to finally get a great latch, only to realize you're about to piss yourself) - undress baby (good opportunity for skin to skin) - rub earlobes - blow on baby's face Basically, do what you gotta do to keep that baby nursing. Our guy eventually learned to dream feed, but at first, he would pass out completely and not nurse, only to wake up as soon as we got resettled in bed.
Have a basket for yourself near where you nurse most frequently. Stock it with snacks, an extra bottle of water, chapstick, whatever you need to be comfortable. I also kept a Kindle or book, a burp cloth and some breast pads in mine. This was especially helpful after DH went back to work.
To add to @mamaloba816’s advice, if you have a low birth weight or jaundiced baby they may be especially hard to nurse at first. Our son was IUGR and impossible to keep awake while nursing and bottle feeding. He didn’t start waking on his own for feeds until he was 4-5 weeks old. Up to that point we had to do all the tricks and even used cold wipes on his chest and feet because he was so hard to keep awake. Just know that this stage doesn’t last forever. It will pass and nursing gets better
OH! One thing I wish I knew - for any c-section mamas, be aware it's a possibility that baby will lose quite a bit of weight after birth. They pump you so full of fluids before surgery that it can inflate babe's birth weight. If they lose 10% of their birth weight, that's when dr's want to start pushing formula and weight checks, etc etc etc. My son lost 10% and I panicked thinking I was a terrible mother and not able to provide him enough milk, when in reality, his birth weight was just a little inflated and the c-section made my milk come in a little later than it normally would have. We did the weight checks at the pediatrician's office until he came back up to where he should be (which only took a few days), but I refused the formula at the advice of one of the lactation consultants I was working with. Don't be afraid to be your own advocate and refuse (or ask for) any interventions they suggest.
@ashleyf911, I'm so glad you mentioned this! That was my experience as well. It was frustrating that doctors were not educated about the research showing being on those IV fluids for awhile can inflate birth weight a bit, and because of that research some professionals advocate to make the new 'rule' to get back to what babyweighed on the day after birth.
Now that we're in March, I'm bringing this thread back from the dead.
I'm getting my nursing nook together and putting together a basket to keep next to my chair. I currently have burp cloths, nipple pads, nipple cream, chapstick, baby lotion, and a water bottle. Any other suggestions or must haves?
I’ve been breastfeeding Alice for two weeks now and I want to slowly introduce a bottle since that’s how she’ll be fed when at daycare. I tried last night and she just wouldn’t have it. Screamed and kept spitting it out. Am I trying too early? Any suggestions to help? I don’t want to wait too long because she needs to eat. Help!
@crossfitbabybump I had more success with my first kiddo when I had my husband introduce the bottle. I went into another room for awhile (good excuse for a long bubble bath) and let him give it to him. If I was close by and babe smelled me, he wanted nothing to do with the bottle. If you're using a paci, you could try giving her the paci and then swapping it out quick for the bottle.
What bottles are you using? She might just be picky about the bottle, too.
@ashleyf911 that’s exactly what my lactation specialist told me. She literally called me not long after I posted this to check on me and Alice. I’m going to try that with DH then! We have the Avent bottles.
@crossfitbabybump you may have to try other bottles too... some babies are particular about what bottles they like. With this baby we got comotomo ones because friends from my first BMB recommended them for breastfed babies and so far so good! It's kind of shaped like a boob lol.
@crossfitbabybump we are using the como tomo bottles also. Try the slow flow nipples first. The ones I have are the medium flow and I feel like they may give a little bit too fast to Trey. I've ordered one set of the slow flow, hopefully he won't refuse them!
@cford08 now I wonder which ones are on mine... how can you tell the slow vs medium? I know the 8oz bottles have a faster flow because they have two holes but is the slow flow whats on the 4oz?
Curious, is anyone else tandem nursing their newborn and toddler?? I never necessarily planned on it but here we are! So far it's going well but would love to hear if others are doing it too. My toddler was only nursing at nap and bedtime but now he's been nursing more than that because he sees baby nursing. I am very blessed in that breastfeeding comes easy to me but wondering about needing to scale him back? I may see about meeting with an LC just to have a better plan in place.
@scoogy19 I tandem nursed Lee and Jack. Then 20 months and newborn. My toddler went from morning, nap, and night to wanting to nurse more than the baby when my supply came in. It wasn't exactly the beautiful experience I thought it was going to be. I nursed like that until Lee turned two and subsequently weaned Jack prior to Samantha's birth because I did not want to tandem again. Your experience can be so much better than mine if you can handle the demands of a toddler wanting to nurse very frequently. I did find great support in the tandem nursing FB groups if you are interested. You go through a lot of physical and emotional things tandem nursing and it was nice knowing other mother's experienced similar things. Good luck. It's amazing what you are doing.
@DDRRT1982 I thought you had tandem nursed with Jack. Any facebook groups you recommend in particular?! It would be nice to have others doing the same! I am enjoying it so far actually but want to keep that up and not end up resenting it. I try to distract him so he's not nursing around the clock! Did Lee ever scale back on his own or just when you weaned him? I'm wondering if the novelty will wear off before too long.
@scoogy19 I don't remember the names of the group, but I think I just typed in tandem nursing into group search and there were only two main groups that were super active. They were good support at times I struggled emotionally with my toddler nursing all the time.
Lee never scaled back, but to be honest he is very high needs when it comes to his demands and my attention. He would try to nurse more than Jack and I rarely had the opportunity to nurse Jack alone those first few weeks. I would end up hiding from him to nurse Jack and that caused a lot of guilt on my part. I do think his response has a lot to do with his personality and possibly jealousy. A less demanding and independent child might tolerate being told no better than him. Even now Lee doesn't care if I am caring for his other siblings, he is still #1, lol. However, I did wean him the day after his second birthday cold turkey without too much drama. It was far enough from Jack's birth that he wouldn't associate the change with Jack. It was an agreement between me and him that he was a big boy and didn't need to nurse.
Your son sounds way more relaxed than Lee and it might be a really fulfilling experience. Check out those groups. They might be a good resource.
@DDRRT1982 Thanks for the helpful advice!! That would make sense that personality plays a role. DS1 is a pretty laid back kid so I am hopeful we can make it until he's ready to wean (hopefully before baby 3 comes along ) I will check out those groups!!
Real talk...is it possible to initially start nursing without having cracked, painful nipples? I am not talking about forever, but in the beginning? I have now nursed four newborns and each time my nipples crack and bleed. Even when I had been nursing throughout my pregnancy with Jack did they still crack and bleed (not as bad though). Is it just me or do my babies have terrible latches initially?
@DDRRT1982 - I’m hoping someone answers your question. DD never got the hang of nursing, DS KILLED me for 2-3 months before it started getting tolerable and I’m desperate to have minimal torture this time. I know I’m less likely to have a smooth road since I have an inverted nipple and the other is a little lazy (i wouldn’t say officially flat). And apparently my breasts are firm so it’s hard to sort of “sandwich” that part into their mouths. Ha. Ohhh these descriptions. Sorry if it’s TMI.
Any STMs have tips for using a shield? I tried one today with a lactation consultant and kind of meh on it. We tried to use milk to get it to stick and it kept falling out. She said I could try coconut oil but I don’t know... there doesn’t seem to be a way to express anything into it without bending the shield so it falls off. Also TBH I hate it. It feels weird and annoying. Are there any on the market that are better than the medela ones I was given? Is there a brand anyone recommends?
@DDRRT1982 I have not had cracked/bleeding nipples either time now. I'm pretty sure I have nipples of steel lol. I used a nipple shield both times though so maybe that helped? @vflux33 as I just said, I've used one both times. Are you sure you have the right size? I didn't realize but found out there are different sizes. It's not the greatest thing to use... kinda annoying because it's hard for it to stick like you mentioned and then milk goes everywhere when they unlatch but it was really helpful for both my boys to get the hang of nursing. As far as getting it to stay on me I honestly just used spit lol. I kind of had to hold onto the shield and my boob at the same time and use the other hand on baby's head. Can you hand express a little before putting it on and then the milk should be easily accessed to your boys when they start nursing with it. I don't know if there are any other brands... I've only used medela. I used it about a month for my first and just a week for this baby. Also what position are you using for breastfeeding? I found the football hold to be easiest in the beginning which I wouldn't have known until a lactation consultant showed me that one. Good luck!! Breastfeeding can be so challenging and stressful, I'm sure especially with twins! Keep trying and if you want to switch to formula there's no shame in that either!!
@vflux33 I used a shield with my kiddos and they are a pain. I agree with @scoogy19 I would try different sizes to find the right fit. But be aware that the longer you use one the higher your chance of thrush and engorement are. So you may have to replace it multiple times if you can't get babe to latch without one.
@vflux33 I know it seems tedious to use a shield, but over the years have seen many women start out with a shield and go on to have a great nursing relationship than not. Maybe I should have been using one all along. I've always thought my babies had a good latch and I knew what I was doing, but all this pain might be indicating a bad latch.
@DDRRT1982, I'm sure you used nipple butter for each nursing session right? For however much that can help with. Besides that, if you haven't before, I'd say check out a lactation consultant to check the latch. Hopefully you have better luck this time around. Breast feeding can be difficult enough without that pain.
@enigmaticjj it's so interesting bc I see a lactation consultant every time I deliver due to having a history of augmentation and they always say the latch is good. Something has to be wrong if I have cracked nipples every time. I think seeing one again might be a good idea, especially since Samantha isn't gaining as well. My kids all have small mouths, and subsequently dental issues, so maybe that has something to do with it.
@DDRRT1982, yeah, I'm no expert but I feel it must be some sort of latch issue. Otherwise everything I've heard/read say it shouldn't hurt. The small mouth thing seems like it could be the reason or at least a factor since I was thinking cracked nipples sounds like the baby is sucking too hard just on the nipple instead of all around the nipple.
Those with good latches - check for tongue and lip tie issues. If you google them - pictures will pop up to see. Some docs and lactation consultatnts day they shouldn’t interfer but they do. My first son had a great latch but it got extremely painful really quick. Lactation consultant said great latch. A friend suggested to check for ties and sure enough he had them. An ENT snipped the tongue one at 14 days old and immediately improved our nursing relationship.
When do you start pumping in addition to BF? I’m putting it off as it’s a pain but can’t remember when I started last time.
@mmom3, unless you're trying to build up a huge stash, theoretically you could start pumping maybe a week ahead of time to get started (I'd say after you already tested everything out and worked out kinks of pumping). For me I didn't want to build a big stash because I didn't want my older baby still drinking milk that was produced with they were much smaller (from what I read your milk adjusts with baby as time goes on). So ongoing I pumped for the next day but had a bit of a back up in the freezer just in case.
Completely agree too, pumping is a pain. For me it was the worst part of breast feeding. We only used bottles when I was at work or had to be away just to minimize me needing to pump.
I’m a SAHM and don’t really need a huge stash - just more of a precaution and to help build supply. He most likely won’t be away from me for the first year.
I start pumping immediately. One to increase my supply and two to relieve engorgement. I end up having supply issues as time goes on due to hormones and my cycle returning early, so I stimulate an oversuppply. I don't necessarily recommend my way bc it tedious, but it helps with maintaining my supply for the full year + and allows for a stash/donation. It just works for me. I am currently pumping four to five times a day, but that number will dwindle slowly as my baby eats more and my hormones reduce my supply after ovulation.
First day home and she will not go down in the bassinet after she falls asleep on the boob. Driving me crazy. Forgot how trying the first days at home are.
@scoogy19 That was a lot of tips, I appreciate it! Some of the stuff you said the lactation consultant also said yesterday. I’m on a small and extra small. She also showed me how to put breastmilk in a tube to stick in the shield, which seems impossible to do without 3-5 hands, but seemed to help a little with one of the babies (and not so much with the other). The one who did better with the shield is the one who they brought to me for skin to skin after my surgery. The one who initially had more severe problems at birth I couldn't do that with for days and he is definitely not taking to it in the same way.
@sassypants2010 Oh wow I didn’t know that about the thrush and engorgement—thank you for the heads up.
@DDRRT1982 Yeah the shield is super tedious. It seemed kind of frustrating to the babies too... 4-5 times a day is a lot of pumping for most people? Oh wow, I am doing 8-9! The NICU told me that would be best. But I haven't directly BF successfully yet, hence the shield... also twins, I guess.
I’m hoping to stop supplementing with formula soon (down to 1 formula feeding per baby per day), which has been intense. I am currently pumping pretty much constantly, but I have to fortify breastmilk with preemie Similac because of doctor’s orders in order to make it 24 cal/ml instead of 22 cal and help these guys catch up to other babies their age. So I think part of my issue is that I want to BF directly but I can only do that for one or 2 feedings per day max to keep these kids on track weight wise. So the time/learning curve is probably going to be steep for us --if possible at all-- given that I can’t go for it at every feeding, and my milk took forever to come in after my c section. Plus I’m only supposed to try for a short time when I do try before giving them a bottle because we don’t want them to burn a bunch of calories trying and failing to BF.
Re: Breastfeeding Megathread
I EBF my son until he was 6 months old (when we introduced solids). We just weaned him completely at 16 months. We had a rough start, but our nursing relationship ended up being great. His latch was painful and pinchy at first. Our LC recommended seeing a chiropractor. It helped us so much. He had a high palate and his jaw was set back a bit far. I think we went in for 4 or 5 adjustments and it worked wonders for us!
Babies sleep a lot and get sleepy on the breast. We had to work really hard to keep our little guy awake for a couple weeks. Some things that worked for us:
- diaper changes right before nursing (have DH do it and use this time to go pee yourself. It sucks to finally get a great latch, only to realize you're about to piss yourself)
- undress baby (good opportunity for skin to skin)
- rub earlobes
- blow on baby's face
Basically, do what you gotta do to keep that baby nursing. Our guy eventually learned to dream feed, but at first, he would pass out completely and not nurse, only to wake up as soon as we got resettled in bed.
Have a basket for yourself near where you nurse most frequently. Stock it with snacks, an extra bottle of water, chapstick, whatever you need to be comfortable. I also kept a Kindle or book, a burp cloth and some breast pads in mine. This was especially helpful after DH went back to work.
Just know that this stage doesn’t last forever. It will pass and nursing gets better
I'm getting my nursing nook together and putting together a basket to keep next to my chair. I currently have burp cloths, nipple pads, nipple cream, chapstick, baby lotion, and a water bottle. Any other suggestions or must haves?
Is your nursing nook close to diapers? In the beginning we'd change diaper between sides to help wake baby up.
Dx: PCOS
Married: June 2013
TTC#1: January 2015
BFP #1 8/24/15 | MC 9/3/15 at 6w2d
BFP #2: 12/12/15 | DD born 8/29/16
TTC#2: June 2017
BFP #3: 7/15/17 | DS born 3/20/18
What bottles are you using? She might just be picky about the bottle, too.
I was thinking getting two of each size as well just to start! Thank you!
Curious, is anyone else tandem nursing their newborn and toddler?? I never necessarily planned on it but here we are! So far it's going well but would love to hear if others are doing it too. My toddler was only nursing at nap and bedtime but now he's been nursing more than that because he sees baby nursing. I am very blessed in that breastfeeding comes easy to me but wondering about needing to scale him back? I may see about meeting with an LC just to have a better plan in place.
tandem nursing sounds totally overwhelming to me (FTM). You ladies are amazing!
Lee never scaled back, but to be honest he is very high needs when it comes to his demands and my attention. He would try to nurse more than Jack and I rarely had the opportunity to nurse Jack alone those first few weeks. I would end up hiding from him to nurse Jack and that caused a lot of guilt on my part. I do think his response has a lot to do with his personality and possibly jealousy. A less demanding and independent child might tolerate being told no better than him. Even now Lee doesn't care if I am caring for his other siblings, he is still #1, lol. However, I did wean him the day after his second birthday cold turkey without too much drama. It was far enough from Jack's birth that he wouldn't associate the change with Jack. It was an agreement between me and him that he was a big boy and didn't need to nurse.
Your son sounds way more relaxed than Lee and it might be a really fulfilling experience. Check out those groups. They might be a good resource.
@vflux33 as I just said, I've used one both times. Are you sure you have the right size? I didn't realize but found out there are different sizes. It's not the greatest thing to use... kinda annoying because it's hard for it to stick like you mentioned and then milk goes everywhere when they unlatch but it was really helpful for both my boys to get the hang of nursing. As far as getting it to stay on me I honestly just used spit lol. I kind of had to hold onto the shield and my boob at the same time and use the other hand on baby's head. Can you hand express a little before putting it on and then the milk should be easily accessed to your boys when they start nursing with it. I don't know if there are any other brands... I've only used medela. I used it about a month for my first and just a week for this baby. Also what position are you using for breastfeeding? I found the football hold to be easiest in the beginning which I wouldn't have known until a lactation consultant showed me that one. Good luck!! Breastfeeding can be so challenging and stressful, I'm sure especially with twins! Keep trying
When do you start pumping in addition to BF? I’m putting it off as it’s a pain but can’t remember when I started last time.
Completely agree too, pumping is a pain. For me it was the worst part of breast feeding. We only used bottles when I was at work or had to be away just to minimize me needing to pump.
@scoogy19 That was a lot of tips, I appreciate it! Some of the stuff you said the lactation consultant also said yesterday. I’m on a small and extra small. She also showed me how to put breastmilk in a tube to stick in the shield, which seems impossible to do without 3-5 hands, but seemed to help a little with one of the babies (and not so much with the other). The one who did better with the shield is the one who they brought to me for skin to skin after my surgery. The one who initially had more severe problems at birth I couldn't do that with for days and he is definitely not taking to it in the same way.
@sassypants2010 Oh wow I didn’t know that about the thrush and engorgement—thank you for the heads up.
@DDRRT1982 Yeah the shield is super tedious. It seemed kind of frustrating to the babies too... 4-5 times a day is a lot of pumping for most people? Oh wow, I am doing 8-9! The NICU told me that would be best. But I haven't directly BF successfully yet, hence the shield... also twins, I guess.
I’m hoping to stop supplementing with formula soon (down to 1 formula feeding per baby per day), which has been intense. I am currently pumping pretty much constantly, but I have to fortify breastmilk with preemie Similac because of doctor’s orders in order to make it 24 cal/ml instead of 22 cal and help these guys catch up to other babies their age. So I think part of my issue is that I want to BF directly but I can only do that for one or 2 feedings per day max to keep these kids on track weight wise. So the time/learning curve is probably going to be steep for us --if possible at all-- given that I can’t go for it at every feeding, and my milk took forever to come in after my c section. Plus I’m only supposed to try for a short time when I do try before giving them a bottle because we don’t want them to burn a bunch of calories trying and failing to BF.