Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

The Breast Feeding Support Thread

  • 25-03-2010 1:45pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 812 ✭✭✭hacked


    I'm not sure if this should be in parenting or if it's ok to put it here! I'm exclusively breast feeding, and wondering if anyone else is trying it too? It can be so tough! I understand why some people decide to give up. Thought it might be a nice idea to have a thread to encourage each other through the tough parts!


«134567224

Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 1,196 ✭✭✭crazy cat lady


    I'm not exclusively breastfeeding, although I did for 3 and a half weeks! It was tough! Especially being the only one who could feed the baby.

    Megan is now nearly 12 weeks old and the breastfeeding is going better than ever, but its nice to have the freedom to give her to daddy or nanny for the odd feed.

    I'm in awe of anyone who exclusively breastfeeds for the whole recommended 6 months!


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,128 ✭✭✭cynder


    I did it for 2 and a half years, little madam wouldnt give it up!


  • Registered Users Posts: 812 ✭✭✭hacked


    Glad to hear it's going so well for you Ccl.

    I cheated in hospital a tiny bit. I had a really long labour, and was exhausted, so I let the midwives take Isobel for the night and give her a bottle so I could sleep.

    I had no trouble with breastfeeding. She has a really strong sucking reflex, and latches great. The first few days went fantastically, but the milk came in yesterday, and this morning I was having a really tough time with it. One of the breats was very engorged, and she wasn't able to latch as a result...quite painful!
    I'm trying to feed her frequently and one breast each feed to get them down a bit. If I can get past this i think i'll be ok!


  • Registered Users Posts: 145 ✭✭emmiou


    Sit in a nice deep hot bath, take in a new nappy and dip it in the hot water - the gel stuff inside pamp3rs takes in all the hot water - stick it on the engorged breast for a few minutes and then try massaging a little. This helped me to clear a blocked duct. I fed my first child until he was 2, he stopped just when when my second child was born - have been feeding him exclusively for 5 months but have just started him with solids - he is huge! Never thought I'd be feeding either of them for so long but it just happened and was easy enough... after the initial few weeks and growth spurts!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 43,045 ✭✭✭✭Nevyn


    I am going to see if we can get another subforum for newborn to aged 2.
    We have had a got of new borns come along over the last year and I think it will be helpful to have all the threads in the same place.


  • Advertisement
  • Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 17,231 Mod ✭✭✭✭Das Kitty


    Fair play hacked, glad it's going well.

    I don't know why but my nipples get damaged really easily, maybe it's a fair skin thing. I put him on and after a few minutes he wants to readjust, sometimes he does it without me noticing until the end when it hurts! The lactation consultant told me to hold him in place but he's mad strong, it's impossible, so I keep taking him off and putting him back on. Team that with thrush and it can be pretty owee!

    It's not so bad that I'd give up and have to be washing bottles and mixing formula all the time, he had some formula in the hospital and all he did was puke so I'm not too keen on cleaning that up either. He's gaining weight really well too.

    My next shortterm goal is 3 months (2 and 6 weeks were the previous ones). Hopefully when the thrush is totally gone he'll feed a bit better and it won't sting as much either.


  • Registered Users Posts: 812 ✭✭✭hacked


    hey Das Kitty. I'm half italian and half Irish...and fortunately more take after the italian side, so my skin isn't too bad. My mother had a really really hard time breast feeding though.
    She is also a red head with fair skin, like yourself! Unfortunately your skin type can make it harder, but if your little man has an interest, stick it out! My mom did great once she got over the hard parts.

    Isobel does that too...the repositioning. If at all possible try not to relatch. I find relatching hurts the worst, and makes the feed a lot more painful. One of the things I learned in the last few days is to check the baby's mouth positioning. If it's not great, pull on the middle of the babies bottom lip and drag it back a bit. It doesn't hurt baby, and can correct the positioning rather well. It doesn't really hurt either...so it saves all the pain and chaffing of relatching!


  • Registered Users Posts: 145 ✭✭emmiou


    You could try using the nipple shields for a couple of days just to let the cracks and thrush heal up - I've never used them but got a set of Medela ones for my friends and she found them good. I just got them in the local chemist. Lucky with my second child I didn't have to go through all the sore stages again, but I remember how bad it was so you have my sympathy.
    It is worth sticking it out though - its so easy now to just grab a couple of nappies and head out for the day without worrying about bottles and feeds or having big changing bags. My first child was smaller so all I needed was a sling, it made it so easy to just hop on a bus and get out!


  • Registered Users Posts: 145 ✭✭emmiou


    Wow I jinxed myself with my first reply - blocked duct started up this afternoon - can't figure out why but I think I didn't reposition myself back into my bra too well after a feed out and about today- baby has been feeding great, but it just refusing to feed on that side now - have had to hand express (painfully aggh!) just to get him to latch on.
    Poor mite is asleep now - guess its time to break out the breast pump and hit the bath!! Forgot what an effect it has on your whole body - makes me feel flu-ey and my arm on that side is sore to move. But I'm sure it will be gone by tomorrow and back to normal then!
    I have a Medela Swing electric pump, it is great. I used a Lactina and a Symphony when my DS was in hospital for a bout of bronchiolitis over the New Year- Temple Street had both available and they were fantastic to use, he was being tube fed over 10 days so I needed to pump every few hours.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 631 ✭✭✭ebmma


    i think this thread is a great idea!

    i'm exclusively breastfeeding Robin for 4 weeks now....
    it's getting easier in some ways, but my god it takes ages. he takes both breasts at each feed now so it's at least 20 min, usually more. no pattern either...

    glad things are going well, hacked! i actually called the hospital in the middle of the night when my milk came in - boobs were so sore and hard and I didn't know what to do! midwife was really helpful and a hot shower fixed the problem :)
    hardest thing so far - growth spurt at 3 weeks :eek: he fed literally all the time. He'll come off - scream - back on - feed - come off - scream and so on.
    I was trying to recover from the wound infection at the time and felt awful as well...I thought I'd die. Called hospital in the middle of the night (you see the pattern :D) and was assured that it's normal...So glad it's over (for now)


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 145 ✭✭emmiou


    I don't think anything can prepare you for the first growth spurts - everyone is miserable! Much easier on second child though, because we knew what they were and when to expect them...kind of! I had an independent midwife for this pregnancy - she visited every day afterwards for 2 weeks, it was lovely to be looked after like that, checking baby and my tear, and there to give a helping hand (or two, eek felt like a dairy cow) when I started to get a blocked duct when my milk came in. She had a cure for everything and it was really a great experience.
    OH is mooing at me as I type this - the Swing pump makes a very bovine sound when going at full throttle!


  • Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 17,231 Mod ✭✭✭✭Das Kitty


    Ebmma, if it helps James used to take over an hour to feed and take both sides, in the past two weeks he's down to 15 minutes and usually only needs one side. He's also in a bit of a pattern now too of 3 and a half hours between feeds. I express 160 mils a day for his night feed and he has started sleeping from midnight to 5.30am. I feel so lucky.

    That said he had his first jabs this morning and is a little grump at the moment so hopefully we'll get some sleep tonight!


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,214 ✭✭✭cbyrd


    My little man has more or less weaned himself , he had no patience with it.. i tried everything to keep him interested but yesterday he would just scream if i tried to latch him on..:( poor me i miss it. He's growing so quickly, he has 4 6oz bottles and i used to give hin his first feed in the morning. Now i have to get up and warm a bottle. He's 12 weeks tomorrow.. poor poor me:(


  • Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 17,231 Mod ✭✭✭✭Das Kitty


    Sorry to hear that cbyrd. :(


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,214 ✭✭✭cbyrd


    thanks kitty, i think it's the man in him..:D the girls were much easier to breastfeed, but he's thriving on apitmil and very settled still sleeping all night so my complaint list is very short ;)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 631 ✭✭✭ebmma


    Das Kitty wrote: »
    Ebmma, if it helps James used to take over an hour to feed and take both sides, in the past two weeks he's down to 15 minutes and usually only needs one side. He's also in a bit of a pattern now too of 3 and a half hours between feeds. I express 160 mils a day for his night feed and he has started sleeping from midnight to 5.30am. I feel so lucky.

    That said he had his first jabs this morning and is a little grump at the moment so hopefully we'll get some sleep tonight!

    that's good to know, hope he settles nto something similar...or just settles into something.
    little man didn't let us have any sleep last night at all. he's usually sleepy after feeds but that's gone now


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 631 ✭✭✭ebmma


    cbyrd wrote: »
    thanks kitty, i think it's the man in him..:D the girls were much easier to breastfeed, but he's thriving on apitmil and very settled still sleeping all night so my complaint list is very short ;)

    interesting! my sisters in law say that their boy were way more into the boob than girls :D

    would you consider expressing?

    i really need to find out how to do it once magic 6 week mark happens and I can start bottles


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,214 ✭✭✭cbyrd


    ebmma wrote: »
    interesting! my sisters in law say that their boy were way more into the boob than girls :D

    would you consider expressing?

    i really need to find out how to do it once magic 6 week mark happens and I can start bottles

    it's the one thing i could never do, and i've tried 4 different pumps..:( I remember trying for about and hour and a half one night when my eldest was about 4 weeks (11now) and all i got was a dribble in the bottom of the bottle!

    He's been gradually feeding less and less so i'm not producing enough now.. i tried the quickswitch for a few days last week to increase the supply but he just will not latch. he pulls away and cries.. :eek:

    the only difference i notice is he's not pooing as often, suppose his system is getting used to no mammy juice..although the faces he pulls when i give him some water are hilarious...at least he'll drink it which helps him go :D

    you should try a bottle before 6 weeks though just in case baba won't take to it..the younger they get used to a teat the less hassle it is trying to share the feeding. even if it's just a half ounce expressed..;)


  • Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 17,231 Mod ✭✭✭✭Das Kitty


    It might not be fast enough for him due to a growth spurt maybe (apparently there is a mother of one at 3 months)?

    I use the Medela Swing pump and find it great, worth the money, although I did get it second hand.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,214 ✭✭✭cbyrd


    more than likely,the 6 week spurt was 36 hours of nonstop feeding.. he grew a half inch in length since the 22nd too.. i'm struggling to find babygros to fit his length...i know there was one day last week he was having a 6oz bottle and then he feed for half an hour, both sides, then this week he doesn't want to know..:( hes to the bottom of the 3-6 month babygros but they're so baggy they look stupid:D


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users Posts: 145 ✭✭emmiou


    I finally managed to get the duct unblocked and back to normal - a lot of feeding on that side, good bit of pumping with the Swing, massage in the bath,and then I remembered my midwife had given me Nelson's Homeopathic Belladonna tablets - one every hour for 3 hours then every 2 hours after - feels great, just a little residual tenderness now.
    If you are going to try starting expressing for the first time I recommend trying it in the morning after baby has gone back for a nap - drink plenty of water, eat some porridge and make sure you are comfortable and relaxed. Even take a nice hot shower before hand if you think you'll get the time! I got a cheap sports bra and cut holes in it to hold the breastshield in place so I could have my hands free - had to use a double pump for 10 days while DS was in hospital. I found it much harder to get a couple of ounces in the evening or late at night compared to plenty in the early morning or afternoon. I think the Swing is great though for normal use.


  • Registered Users Posts: 812 ✭✭✭hacked


    There seems to be no rhyme or reason to my boobs!! They weren't really all that full for a day or two, but baby seemed to get enough food anyway (she's putting on a ton of weight, growing like a weed!) and then this morning, the one side was back to being a bit engorged again, and I was having to express a little before I fed her. Is that normal?

    Also, when should you start introducing a bottle? I've exclusively breast fed her so far, but am planning on expressing so I can go out and leave her with people in the future. Some people say don't do it too soon or they get confised, others say don't wait too long or they won't take the bottle....opinions??


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,196 ✭✭✭crazy cat lady


    Megan got a bottle after 3 and a half weeks and was fine. She'll happily take the boob or the bottle now.

    I did give her 3 top ups in hospital cos I had lost so much blood and needed to sleep as you know youself! She probably had less than 20mls alltogether from the bottle in hospital tho.

    My boobs were useless to start with, never got that engorged feeling! My right boob just didn't seem to work at all but thats probably cos I got shingles in my right side straight after having her. Its still not as good as the left but at least it works!

    I've tried expressing but I think my breast pump must be useless as I get very little from either boob!


  • Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 17,231 Mod ✭✭✭✭Das Kitty


    Yep that's normal hacked. It'll even out when she gets into a routine, but it will happen again when she's going through growth spurts or just wants to increase your supply for any reason. I'm upping my supply at the moment to have enough frozen milk for a day away in June so I'm almost engorged at different times during the day.

    I think the recommendation for starting to express has gotten earlier now. 3 weeks is what our PHN told me but I started at 2 and have been expressing a bottle a day for the wee fella since then. He has no trouble with changing over and back.

    I used the hands-free tip from emmiou on this thread just now whilst feeding James on the other breast and I got way more milk than when I do it afterward, as well as that my breast has the full amount of time to fill up again. Brilliant tip, thanks for that.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 631 ✭✭✭ebmma


    I was told to leave bottles and expressing till 6-8 weeks unless I absolutely have to start earlier to let the supply get established and baby used to breastfeeding.
    The way I got it is that some babies have no trouble switching back and forth between breast and bottle but some can get confused or too lazy and refuse the breast (because getting milk out of the bottle is easier).

    I wonder if Robing will be like me - I never took a bottle :D:( My poor granny had to feed me from the spoon since I was tiny :D:D

    i might start expressing in a few weeks, I'm really not in a mood to start figuring it out now...


  • Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 17,231 Mod ✭✭✭✭Das Kitty


    Well, since Monday James started to go 5 hours between feeds and was sleeping 7 hours at night.

    I had a suspicion that this wasn't because he was satisfied but that I have been delaying feeding him. Even now at nearly 3 months he still hurts me from repositioning and unlatching and relatching himself. I tried everything to retrain him (and sometimes restrain him!) but nothing was working so I gave up even trying a couple of weeks ago.

    So anyway he went ballistic on Tuesday night about an hour after a feed and would only be satisfied with more milk, luckily I had a bottle expressed in the fridge for him.

    The next morning I rang the PHN to get him weighed. So Wednesday morning his weight showed that he had dropped from 75th to 25th percentile :( So it transpires that I am avoiding feeding him and have been pushing out his feeds, meaning I'm not making enough milk for him either.

    I have been thinking for the past two weeks is it really worth it to me to continue on hating feeding him, hating the sound of his cries and really only enjoying time with him just after a feed? I didn't want to make a rash decision so I thought long and hard about it.

    I'm going to make a pros and cons list today and am going to introduce one bottle of formula a day whilst still expressing at the same time so I can go back to exclusively breastfeeding if it doesn't go well.

    I'm not going to start him on it until Monday as I'm moving him into his cot this weekend and only want to make one change at a time.

    I'm wondering if those of you who supplement with formula use a particular one that would have a similar consistency to breast milk?


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,196 ✭✭✭crazy cat lady


    Das Kitty wrote: »
    Well, since Monday James started to go 5 hours between feeds and was sleeping 7 hours at night.

    I had a suspicion that this wasn't because he was satisfied but that I have been delaying feeding him. Even now at nearly 3 months he still hurts me from repositioning and unlatching and relatching himself. I tried everything to retrain him (and sometimes restrain him!) but nothing was working so I gave up even trying a couple of weeks ago.

    So anyway he went ballistic on Tuesday night about an hour after a feed and would only be satisfied with more milk, luckily I had a bottle expressed in the fridge for him.

    The next morning I rang the PHN to get him weighed. So Wednesday morning his weight showed that he had dropped from 75th to 25th percentile :( So it transpires that I am avoiding feeding him and have been pushing out his feeds, meaning I'm not making enough milk for him either.

    I have been thinking for the past two weeks is it really worth it to me to continue on hating feeding him, hating the sound of his cries and really only enjoying time with him just after a feed? I didn't want to make a rash decision so I thought long and hard about it.

    I'm going to make a pros and cons list today and am going to introduce one bottle of formula a day whilst still expressing at the same time so I can go back to exclusively breastfeeding if it doesn't go well.

    I'm not going to start him on it until Monday as I'm moving him into his cot this weekend and only want to make one change at a time.

    I'm wondering if those of you who supplement with formula use a particular one that would have a similar consistency to breast milk?

    If you are hating feeding him and dread the sound of his cries, I would definatley be formula feeding! I use Aptamil, its supposed to be the closest to breastmilk but I believe that they are all pretty much the same.

    I've been saying for weeks that I'm going to give up breastfeeding, but so far I haven't. Theres something addictive about it for me I think. Megan only gets a boobie feed in the morning and again in the evening, the rest of the time she gets bottles. She's a very happy and content baby, which she wasn't when I was exclusively breastfeeding, and I wasn't happy and content either. I think if I had continued to try and exclusively breastfeed, I'd probably be postnatally depressed!

    At the end of the day, you have to do what is best for both you and the baby, and as long as the baby is being fed by whatever method, you'll be doing a great job :)

    As for moving the little fella into the cot, I shouldn't fret too much! I was convinced that Megan would be upset by being moved into the cot. First night in and she slept better than she had in her crib!


  • Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 17,231 Mod ✭✭✭✭Das Kitty


    Thanks CCL. I was sure that when the thrush cleared up it would all be better but alas no. It's only sore sometimes and uncomfortable all the time. My plan would be to gently ease over to formula so I don't get engorged and keep a little freezer stash of expressed milk to use if he gets a cold.

    I think he will sleep better in his cot too. He's jammed in his Moses basket!


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,214 ✭✭✭cbyrd


    Well Ben is mostly off the breast now :( he sometimes looks for a feed in the morning until he realises he's awake and then looks for the bottle. 1 breastfeed in the last 2 mornings, i miss it so much

    He has a snotty nose the last 3 nights which has been great fun, with cotton buds and saline drops and suckers karvol and tissues...the poor child is looking at me as if to day 'step away from the tissues and leave my face ALONE' :D it's funny though cos he still didn't wake up at night, just me, listening to him snotter and snort his way through the night...:rolleyes: but it had the effect of making me feel soooo guilty because i didn't perservere with breastfeeding and i go all irish mammy thinking it's my fault he has a cold...:(
    when he sneezes he thinks its so funny...until i come at him with a cotton bud!!!:D


  • Advertisement
  • Closed Accounts Posts: 43,045 ✭✭✭✭Nevyn


    I used sma gold when doing the change over with mine and for feeds when I was not there and other then being a bit stunned at how much was regurgitated with wind, it went pretty well.


Advertisement