@zande2016 not just you with the mini pill. I took it 8ish weeks with my first one and then 8 months with my second one. I didn't like how I felt either time. I only lasted the 8 months the second time bc I really didn't want to get pregnant (went off and immediately got pregnant =\ but she's pretty amazing so I guess no complaints). I don't feel like I was ever depressed or anxious, but I just didn't feel like my normal self.
LO literally spent 30 minutes today after a nursing session just sitting with my breast in her mouth, not latched, no suckling, not fussy. Perfectly content, just looking around, just didnt want it out of her mouth. Tried replacing it with the paci but she wanted no part of that, so we sat and relaxed and I just talked and looked at her before she fell asleep lol
Went to see a hospital LC for reassurance and to weigh baby. So glad the one who saw me is the lady who gave the breastfeeding class. She was really nice and knowledgeable, she is a little bit older and I feel like she is more experienced than others I have seen before at the hospital. She said the latch was great and baby was feeding just fine she does not think that he has a lip tie at all. She had some suggestions about the milk bleb and how to get rid of it. Baby now weighs 7 lb in 1 oz so he is definitely growing. The only issue is that my left side is only transferring 18 ml to him whereas the other side was transferring 56 ml. That is quite a difference. So she told me two pump five minutes more on the left and see what happens. Really glad I took this chance to go and see her before little one turns 4 weeks because they won't see babies pass 3 and a half weeks. Feeling more confident about what I am doing and I am hoping that things will continue to improve.
@MrsMiller8588...I EP so it's probably different for some mommas who BF also..but I always pump until I'm empty + maybe 5mins. So if it's been 3hrs its usually a 15-20 min pump session. If I go longer like 6hrs its usually 30mins of pumping.
+1 for boobie pillow after a feed. She loves her boobie pillows!
I didnt get a LC consult in the hospital because I'm ff and bf as a supplement. How does one deal with random letdowns? Do you pump when this happens? Also, one boob produces more than the other. Can I get the supply up to meet the other side or is it just one of those one boob is perkier than the other type deal?
@zombiehoohaa one of my boobs produces more than the other one too. I was told it is normal and that we are not machines so it will always be that way. This is what the LC told me yesterday. However, since I am producing roughly half on the right than I produce on the left she said I should start pumping on the right side 5 minutes longer to see if I can even things out a bit.
@kbernal2021 my baby does that occasionally too, she'll be super calm and look around but when I try to totally take the boob back she won't let me haha.
I am struggling with BFing again. Sorry if this gets long, I'm actually still kind of emotional of how this went down.
The hospital I delivered at is a "Baby Friendly" designated hospital, meaning rooming in, golden hour and breastfeeding. Their stance is no formula unless medically necessary. And, while the care received there is awesome I will say that they 100% PUSH and SHAME new moms in to breastfeeding.
Our second night in the hospital DD was on my breast 24/7 but was rooting and crying a ton and seemed like she was starving. The nurses were nice but kept telling me she was just cluster feeding and that this was normal day 2 behavior. She didn't have a wet diaper for a long time and I felt like she was getting nothing from me.
At 24 hours old she lost 12oz.
Then they listened to me, gave me formula, their "feeding plan", the whole thing.
What really hurt is that they put their bottom line/their philosophy above my baby's well being. They push EBFing so much they dismissed me and let my poor baby starve all damn day.
To make things worse the last nurse I had was a complete piece of shit. She forced me to pump despite me telling her I had nothing and was in a ton of pain from baby being on 24/7 with no results. She told me I needed a hospital feeding plan and that they might keep us there longer. She was passive aggressive and acted like this was my fault.
The whole thing really hurt me and I still feel emotional thinking abut it.
Anyways, we have been home for a week, I am breastfeeding, pumping and formula feeding. Same as with my older daughter. I feel good about it and it worked really well for us previously. I'm still working on building my supply up. Baby often needs a bottle after nursing and I only get a total of 2oz after pumping for 30 minutes.
I have moments where I'm super angry and feel like it's not worth all the drama I went through but I'm not ready to quit yet.
I read on Kelly's Mom that gripe water isn't great for breastfeed babies, that mylicon drops are better. Since LO wasn't 2 weeks, that's what I had been using anyway. But I also read there that a pacifier can make gas worse because they swallow air when they suck, so now I can't decide if we're going to introduce the pacifier next week or not!
Other than the fact that I can rarely get him to burp and then we're dealing with super fussy/colicky baby, the rest of the nursing is going fine. I've got some random pain on my right side, but there's no obvious crack or blister so I'm not sure what's going on.
@zombiehoohaa i produce more on my right and it was exactly the same story with DS. It doesn’t matter how much i BF or pump it’s always one more over the other. I get letdowns in between feedings and usually I’m not in a position to pump so nursing pads are a must. While nursing i have to cover up when it’s coming down strong or else we both get a milk shower.
@runsomewhere I'm so sorry about the experience you had at the hospital. Mine was similar and caused a lot of unnecessary stress and frustration. Solidarity!
Day 1 sucked because he couldn't latch and I was being made to feel like it was my fault completely, so he wasn't getting much from me at the breast and I ended up having to express into a spoon and syringe feed, but I was already so sore because I gave birth to a piranha. On day 2 they put us on an s&s gravity feed formula/breast milk system that the LC and midwife were angry about when they heard about it because it wasn't medically necessary for the baby and actually made everything worse. I was in pain and in tears most of the time but they wouldn't let me pump or just go straight to formula earlier. I couldn't BF because he has latch issues and because I was still suffering shock from the way my labor went. BF in my area has something like a 97% buy in and while I'd like to do that because it's just more convenient, it's not an option for me if I don't want my kid to starve. Passive aggressive shaming of a new mom who has literally just given birth is a particular kind of cruel.
@runsomewhere when they send you the hospital survey be sure to lay it all out on the table. It might not help you now but hopefully they won’t do that to another momma?
@MichelleAG05 we switched to mylicon drops and they work 100xs better than gripe water. We’ve been giving them at every feeding to prevent gas and he’s in significantly less pain throughout the day.
@noideawhatshesdoing we also ended up syringe feeding and using a nipple shield in the hospital bc LO wouldnt latch. I kinda feel like they went straight to those things instead of trying to fix the latch and now I’m stuck using a nipple shield bc he won’t eat without it.
+1 to using mylicone drops and then making a huge difference! DD has had a gurgly tummy the past two days and the drops made it go away completely. These drops work WAY better than the gripe water did!
@moguippy with DS I had to use a shield for 8 weeks because he was having nipple confusion and refused to latch without the plastic. Eventually I was able to wean off of it but it was a pain in the butt in the meantime. I hope your LO figures it out soon! Latch issues are seriously terrible.
@noideawhatshesdoing I’m livid on your behalf. All the shaming around BFing is one of my biggest pet peeves. There are people talk as though formula is poison. It’s food. For babies. Period. Makes me so ragey.
So we introduced a bottle for the first time this morning. My husband fed LO the 4oz from one bottle and said he was still hungry, so we got a second and he ate 3oz from that one! I got all concerned — I mean, 7oz for a 3-week-old??!? I know you theoretically can’t overfeed breastmilk, but that feels like an awful lot.
@moguippy We're still stuck with the nipple shield too, when we've tried without it he just gets mad because he can't find my nipple. Its sort of funny because the darn thing is in his mouth but he doesn't know it.
Until we get his tie fixed we're really doing EP and he's just at the breast for some skin to skin because he won't sleep without some time there using me as a pacifier. Really looking forward to our appointment on Tuesday for his tie because he really really wants to nurse and gets angry when he can't so we do a bottle first and then when he's actually fed put him on the breast so he gets that time. Tried putting him to the breast first and then bottle feeding, but with the latch and tongue issue he just gets frustrating and knocks the shield off which makes a mess and wastes the little bit of milk I'm producing which then makes me tense.
@lindsayleigh1989 and @perhapsitalian thanks. Sounds like I'm not the only mom here made to feel badly that my kid and I aren't "naturals" at feeding. I think @runsomewhere 's experience sounds even more painful than mine was. There was a lot of pressure on us to use donor milk instead of formula and I didn't want to start that because donor milk is $4 an oz here and wasn't going to be sustainable for us so we wanted to use formula if I couldn't BF. My H also didn't BF and guess what, he's a completely normal functioning member of society. In fact his parents were so poor when he was a baby that his parents couldn't afford formula and his mom had to basically make formula from scratch, I can't remember all she put in it, but I know there was something to do with tofu water, and he's no worse for the wear because he was fed. DH sent my mom after the nurses to deal with them. She works in the same hospital and used to be a L&D nurse there for a long time so she knows all the right people and did finally get me the support I needed but we went through a lot to get there.
@perhapsitalian were y’all pace feeding? My DS would eat that much when we bottle fed BM until my mom told me about pace feeding. It basically makes baby slow down their drinking so they can realise when they are full. Here’s an article about it. I found YouTube videos to be super helpful. I’ll definitely do this when we introduce a bottle to DD as well.
@moguippy I definitely will. I am not usually one to fuss over things or think I know better than professionals but this really hurt me and I do not want to see other new moms treated like this.
I am super confused and have no idea what I am doing feeding wise right now.
So we introduced formula late in to our hospital stay, baby took to it really well, started gaining weight. When we got home she was taking quite a bit of formula, her pediatrician said she might be "catching up." We fed her slowly as to not overfeed. She was doing great, no spit up no fussiness. I was also putting her on the breast and pumping as well and my milk was starting to come in.
Suddenly she started spitting up A LOT. Sometimes an hour after eating. Even though we take our time with the feeding, burp her, everything we are told to do. I think we might be overfeeding her? But we don't feed her unless she seems hungry, she roots a ton and will chew your neck, ear, her blanket, anything she can get her mouth on.
I got so worried I took her back to the pediatrician this past Friday afternoon. Pedi said it's normal and she looks great and healthy.
Last night she refused a bottle of pumped milk (wtf) but ate 4oz of formula over like 90 minutes. An hour later she spit up a ton, it looked like all of it. It wasn't projectile, she didn't seem upset or uncomfortable.
Today I'm just putting her on the boob. No spit up yet but idk how much she's getting. She ate from one side for about 20 minutes and fell asleep for 2.5 hours, then I fed her from the other side and she fell asleep again.
What am I doing wrong?!?! Are we overfeeding? I do not suspect a milk allergy, it's been the same formula, slowest flow nipple...
@kmac103 That sounds exactly like what I suspected we should have been doing. MH was doing the feeding and was feeling a bit defensive about it and wasn’t taking kindly to my suggestions that he should be doing it differently (this, despite the fact that he’s been a huge backseat driver about nursing all along). I’m passive-aggressively sending him this.
@runsomewhere I have no experience with formula but could it be reflux what you are experiencing? We have seen some spit up too in the past week and it's not really vomit and not a lot and DS seems ok and not uncomfortable. I know you can overfeed with formula but technically not while BFIng. But I'm a FTM so I also don't know what I'm doing lol. In my head, it's DS growing and his digestive system adjusting and probably some form of normal reflux that hopefully doesn't require meds.
@perhapsitalian 7oz seems like a lot to me. +1 to Pace feeding but also how much does your LO weighs? My lactation consultant ran some math and told me that my baby should get between 2.5 and 3oz and 4oz is ok as a Max if he'll take it (which a lot of the times he does especially in the am). But he is 7 pounds 1oz now.
@noideawhatshesdoing@runsomewhere that's unfortunate about the experience in your hospitals, it makes me really angry. While BFing is going well right now I will say I'm not enjoying it and I'm borderline going to say I'd avoid it if I could. Like @runsomewhere mentioned in the past it is also a matter of personality and while I would move mountains for my baby at times it's very very hard to keep up. I'm staying positive as weven already reached 4 weeks and things should be looking up as he gains more weight.
Any shaming is unacceptable and while of course we all look out for the health of these babies, the emotional and mental health of the moms are equally important. Made me think of that episode of Call the Midwife where Sister Evangelina was pushing BF so much and then the mom started losing it.
@kissableviv, my LO is about 10lbs at 3 weeks (born 8.6, and gaining really well more or less from the get go). I know he’s bigger than average which made me think maybe 7oz was at the high end of normal (plus it was the first feed of the morning and he’d gone 5 hours since the last one). Separately, the milk was stored in bags that I’m beginning to think may have slightly off ounce markings.
Even so, the pace feeding just seems like a straight up good idea and I’ll be pushing MH to practice it when he bottle feeds.
@perhapsitalian wow, ok that makes a little more sense. Maybe still ask the pediatrician though, and try pace feeding. We also fed him all at once in the beginning, so as you can see it's all trial and error!
@perhapsitalian def try paced feeding and make sure your nipples are the slowest flow. You could even use preemie nipples and it won’t be too slow. 7 oz is a lot, even for a 10 lb baby. I’d expect 4 oz per feeding max.
@runsomewhere I’m so sorry you had that experience with the hospital, that’s seriously not cool. I delivered at a baby friendly hospital too but it’s my understanding they would’ve given me formula if I’d asked for it, from what I was told on my tour. Re spit up, it sounds like it’s not happening when you breastfeed, but is happening with formula? If that’s the case maybe talk to your pedi about trying a new kind of formula? My baby spits up after every feed at this point, but he doesn’t seem uncomfortable when it happens so I am just watching and seeing how things go. Reflux is a possibility with frequent spit up and there’s also silent reflux which is harder to recognize. Are you using slow flow nipples? Maybe baby is just eating too fast? Sorry you’re struggling with feeding, it is a tough job feeding these babies.
@perhapsitalian I would tend to agree that is quite a bit just for his age. I would see what his ped would reccomend for each feeding based on his stats. But highly reccomend slow flow nipples and pace feeding as well.
unrelated: I am having major feeding issues lately. she is fighting me so much at feedings. flailing around my nipple but not latching while crying.
@kissableviv@zande2016 We’re already using a slow flow nipple, and he spent 45 minutes getting it all down, and I was sure he’d spit up right after but aside from a few extra burps, he seemed fine. But I agree, 7oz is suspiciously high regardless of circumstances. Definitely planning on talking MH into trying to keep it to 4oz next time.
It’s weird, I was pumping while MH bottle fed him in a different room and I felt unexpectedly sad to have missed it. Nursing has been so painful that I expected MH giving him a bottle to feel freeing but I was surprised that it made me feel left out instead.
@kissableviv I probably should have posted this in the formula thread, oops.
I was thinking reflux but I thought that would make baby fussy and uncomfortable. I'm a STM and I have no idea what I'm doing lol.
@zande2016 thank you for the support. It was an unfortunate end to my hospital stay especially since the care there is wonderful otherwise.
That's what I'm trying to determine, is it the formula or overfeeding. I was tempted to switch formulas but baby isn't gassy or showing other signs or tummy issues.
I'm doing a little baby trouble shootiing today while DH and DD are out. I've mostly been putting baby on the boob and giving a tiny amount of formula if she's definitely still hungry. Then lots of time upright on my chest. So far no spit up.
@runsomewhere My ped did say that even if LO spit up after every feed that would still be completely normal if he wasnt showing signs of being in pain. So spit up by itself doesnt indicate a problem, at least for my ped.
Me: 31 DH: 34 Married: April 2016 TTC December 2016 BFP 2/28/17 // CP 3/1/17 MFI Diagnosis: Aug 2017 BFP 11/1/17 // DS born 6/18 TTC January 2019 BFP 3/21/19 // D&C (MMC) 5/8/19
@runsomewhere I'm also ff as main and then supplementing with bf. I've noticed that if dd has boob before formula, she spits up more. If she has formula, burps, then has boob, she still spits up, however it is very little and almost as soon as I try to burp her. I'm using the sensitive version of formula, as recommended by the ped, because the one given at the hospital made her horribly gassy and fussy. I use the slowest nipple on Dr. Brown's options bottles. I've also been using the comotomo bottles as well. I get better results with Dr. Brown's.
@kmac103 ....that link on paced bottle feeding was so helpful ! I feel like I've maybe been letting my LO over eat now and then. Paced feeding was not something I had even heard of until this thread and now I feel like I should have been researching and educating myself a little more. And +1 on the fiance not seeming to get what I'm saying about feeding. LO has some gas troubles and I've figured out that having him in a more upright position is definitely more comfortable for him. My fiance can't for the life of him understand why I keep nagging him every time I walk in and see him trying to feed LO while he is lying flat on his back...lol he's sloooooowly learning.
@lindsayleigh1989 LO has also be battling one side even if i literally put it in his mouth. He’ll do just keep bobbing around and begin to get frustrated. Super frustrating at night.
To the mamas dealing with reflux, hang in there! It’s so hard to see our little ones in pain and discomfort. Hope it passes soon!
I just read a good article on KellyMom.com about bottles and feeding. Just thought of that when i saw the comments above about bottle nipples.
AFM...I’ve been a human milk bar all afternoon. Once i think LO is good and settled in for a nap, she gets fussy and it’s back on the boob. She’s on it and sucking but not as eagerly as a meal. Very frustrating.
@lem5344 I didn’t know about it either! My mom saw me feeding my son a bottle of BM back in 2015 and was like “girl, that’s not right” lol I’m so glad she said something because no one ever mentioned it to me before!
Y’all...i made those lactation oatmeal bites, 3 flavors off of Pinterest recipes. So easy, tasty and even H enjoys them (i only let him sample 1 of each flavor). I really hope they do as they say to help boost production.
Like mebtioned by someone earlier...if only H could eat them and BF, ha!
Re: Breastfeeding/pumping support 7/6
TTC December 2016
BFP 2/28/17 // CP 3/1/17
MFI Diagnosis: Aug 2017
BFP 11/1/17 // DS born 6/18
TTC January 2019
BFP 3/21/19 // D&C (MMC) 5/8/19
@MrsMiller8588 I’m just starting pumping and I was told 20-30 mins
I didnt get a LC consult in the hospital because I'm ff and bf as a supplement. How does one deal with random letdowns? Do you pump when this happens?
Also, one boob produces more than the other. Can I get the supply up to meet the other side or is it just one of those one boob is perkier than the other type deal?
Other than the fact that I can rarely get him to burp and then we're dealing with super fussy/colicky baby, the rest of the nursing is going fine. I've got some random pain on my right side, but there's no obvious crack or blister so I'm not sure what's going on.
Day 1 sucked because he couldn't latch and I was being made to feel like it was my fault completely, so he wasn't getting much from me at the breast and I ended up having to express into a spoon and syringe feed, but I was already so sore because I gave birth to a piranha. On day 2 they put us on an s&s gravity feed formula/breast milk system that the LC and midwife were angry about when they heard about it because it wasn't medically necessary for the baby and actually made everything worse. I was in pain and in tears most of the time but they wouldn't let me pump or just go straight to formula earlier. I couldn't BF because he has latch issues and because I was still suffering shock from the way my labor went. BF in my area has something like a 97% buy in and while I'd like to do that because it's just more convenient, it's not an option for me if I don't want my kid to starve. Passive aggressive shaming of a new mom who has literally just given birth is a particular kind of cruel.
@MichelleAG05 we switched to mylicon drops and they work 100xs better than gripe water. We’ve been giving them at every feeding to prevent gas and he’s in significantly less pain throughout the day.
@noideawhatshesdoing we also ended up syringe feeding and using a nipple shield in the hospital bc LO wouldnt latch. I kinda feel like they went straight to those things instead of trying to fix the latch and now I’m stuck using a nipple shield bc he won’t eat without it.
@moguippy with DS I had to use a shield for 8 weeks because he was having nipple confusion and refused to latch without the plastic. Eventually I was able to wean off of it but it was a pain in the butt in the meantime. I hope your LO figures it out soon! Latch issues are seriously terrible.
Kylie M.
Baby #1 Born 12.16.2015
Baby #2 Due 7.13.2018
So we introduced a bottle for the first time this morning. My husband fed LO the 4oz from one bottle and said he was still hungry, so we got a second and he ate 3oz from that one! I got all concerned — I mean, 7oz for a 3-week-old??!? I know you theoretically can’t overfeed breastmilk, but that feels like an awful lot.
https://kellymom.com/bf/pumpingmoms/feeding-tools/bottle-feeding/
Kylie M.
Baby #1 Born 12.16.2015
Baby #2 Due 7.13.2018
https://m.bedbathandbeyond.com/m/product/lansinoh-reg-latch-assist/1016938408?skuId=16938408&mcid=PS_googlepla_nonbrand_baby_online&product_id=16938408&adtype=pla&product_channel=online&adpos=1o1&creative=224301862041&device=m&matchtype=&network=g&mrkgadid=3140839782&mrkgcl=609&rkg_id=0&gclid=CjwKCAjwy_XaBRAWEiwApfjKHo6n9JkxxKg8gwbTqrtfwBS2h3ns6ohZOYVGPEfEk0tbyw2wVRP7FhoC7oYQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
@perhapsitalian 7oz seems like a lot to me. +1 to Pace feeding but also how much does your LO weighs? My lactation consultant ran some math and told me that my baby should get between 2.5 and 3oz and 4oz is ok as a Max if he'll take it (which a lot of the times he does especially in the am). But he is 7 pounds 1oz now.
@noideawhatshesdoing @runsomewhere that's unfortunate about the experience in your hospitals, it makes me really angry. While BFing is going well right now I will say I'm not enjoying it and I'm borderline going to say I'd avoid it if I could. Like @runsomewhere mentioned in the past it is also a matter of personality and while I would move mountains for my baby at times it's very very hard to keep up. I'm staying positive as weven already reached 4 weeks and things should be looking up as he gains more weight.
Any shaming is unacceptable and while of course we all look out for the health of these babies, the emotional and mental health of the moms are equally important. Made me think of that episode of Call the Midwife where Sister Evangelina was pushing BF so much and then the mom started losing it.
Even so, the pace feeding just seems like a straight up good idea and I’ll be pushing MH to practice it when he bottle feeds.
Kylie M.
Baby #1 Born 12.16.2015
Baby #2 Due 7.13.2018
@runsomewhere I’m so sorry you had that experience with the hospital, that’s seriously not cool. I delivered at a baby friendly hospital too but it’s my understanding they would’ve given me formula if I’d asked for it, from what I was told on my tour. Re spit up, it sounds like it’s not happening when you breastfeed, but is happening with formula? If that’s the case maybe talk to your pedi about trying a new kind of formula? My baby spits up after every feed at this point, but he doesn’t seem uncomfortable when it happens so I am just watching and seeing how things go. Reflux is a possibility with frequent spit up and there’s also silent reflux which is harder to recognize. Are you using slow flow nipples? Maybe baby is just eating too fast? Sorry you’re struggling with feeding, it is a tough job feeding these babies.
unrelated: I am having major feeding issues lately. she is fighting me so much at feedings. flailing around my nipple but not latching while crying.
It’s weird, I was pumping while MH bottle fed him in a different room and I felt unexpectedly sad to have missed it. Nursing has been so painful that I expected MH giving him a bottle to feel freeing but I was surprised that it made me feel left out instead.
TTC December 2016
BFP 2/28/17 // CP 3/1/17
MFI Diagnosis: Aug 2017
BFP 11/1/17 // DS born 6/18
TTC January 2019
BFP 3/21/19 // D&C (MMC) 5/8/19
To the mamas dealing with reflux, hang in there! It’s so hard to see our little ones in pain and discomfort. Hope it passes soon!
AFM...I’ve been a human milk bar all afternoon. Once i think LO is good and settled in for a nap, she gets fussy and it’s back on the boob. She’s on it and sucking but not as eagerly as a meal. Very frustrating.
Kylie M.
Baby #1 Born 12.16.2015
Baby #2 Due 7.13.2018
Like mebtioned by someone earlier...if only H could eat them and BF, ha!