The Breast Feeding Support Thread

Sligo1 · 09-01-2015 9:21pm

Bella Most Rubble wrote: »

The Symphony is the one they use in the maternities for mothers of preemies etc. They are made for constant use and apparently can empty both breasts simultaneously within 20 minutes :eek: The downside is that they cost over €1000 to buy You can rent them for around €100 per month which is probably what I will end up doing for 1 month just to see how it goes. The reason I was asking about the Pump In Style is because I have read that they are almost as good as the Symphony but only cost a few hundred to buy so it would make way more sense to do this if the reviews are true Pumping is tough but I reckon that even if I only do it for a few weeks, it'll be worth it.

I've heard that about the pump in style aswell. I would think that's the one people go for when exclusively pumping. But maybe rent the symphony for a Month and see. You may be exhausted after a month of expressing. My hat come off to those who do it for any length of time. €100 per month is very expensive tho when you can buy a good one for €300-400.

Sligo1 · 09-01-2015 9:31pm

Is this the one you're thinking of? https://m.boots.ie/h5/cat_hub?path=%2Fen%2FMedela-Freestyle-Electrical-Breast-Pump_858680%2F&unCountry=roi

I used the symphony when I was in hospital with mastitis. It was definitely pretty efficient. Took me around 30ish minutes to empty both.

shortstuff! · 10-01-2015 6:29pm

I've been using a second hand medela mini electric to express, I get 3oz on one side in the morning while feeding my 4month old on the other side. Doesn't take long about 5-10mins. Just wondering if I had a better pump would I get more oz?

tinkerbell · 10-01-2015 8:00pm

shortstuff! wrote: »

I've been using a second hand medela mini electric to express, I get 3oz on one side in the morning while feeding my 4month old on the other side. Doesn't take long about 5-10mins. Just wondering if I had a better pump would I get more oz?

Not really the answer to your question but I thought you weren't supposed to use second hand pumps? The only one that should be shared is the Symphony as it's a closed system?

You could try pumping for maybe an extra 5 mins and see if you get much more?

How Strange · 11-01-2015 11:01am

You're not supposed to share the standard electric pumps as they're an open system so milk Eric can get into them causing bacteria that can be transferred. However when my swing died I got a second hand one and it had only been used a couple of times. I just used the pump and used my own tubes and bits and pieces. A new one cost nearly €200! Also I've loaned both my pumps to friends and they bought all the tubes etc new.

The more expensive ones and the hospital grade are closed systems so they can be rented and shared.

bovril · 12-01-2015 10:34am

So I pumped for the first time yesterday using a single medela swing. I got 2oz which I was delighted with for my first time. This morning though I can barely cover the bottom of the bottle. Is there anything I can do? I'm sitting looking at my baby trying to trigger let down.

kandr10 · 12-01-2015 11:50am

bovril wrote: »

So I pumped for the first time yesterday using a single medela swing. I got 2oz which I was delighted with for my first time. This morning though I can barely cover the bottom of the bottle. Is there anything I can do? I'm sitting looking at my baby trying to trigger let down.

You could try pumping while feeding. Some people find that works better. Did you pump at the same time both days?

lazygal · 12-01-2015 12:18pm

Can I post a total boast? I'm marking 16 months of feeding my second child. I never thought I'd get this far as he did my head in by refusing any and all attempts at bottle feeding, but now I'm happy to keep going as long as we're both happy with it.
Don't quit on a bad day is my number one tip.

bovril · 12-01-2015 12:47pm

kandr10 wrote:

You could try pumping while feeding. Some people find that works better. Did you pump at the same time both days?

I was an hour and a half earlier today. I'll try pumping and feeding tomorrow if I can juggle it!

cyning · 12-01-2015 1:31pm

Congrats lazygal

big achievement!

madeinamerica · 12-01-2015 1:55pm

bovril wrote: »

I was an hour and a half earlier today. I'll try pumping and feeding tomorrow if I can juggle it!

It is hard to pump and hold the bloody thing and try to hold baby too. You can buy pumping bras, but if you have an old sports bras or something, just cut a cross where your nipples are and you can put the pump flanges (?) through. Hands free pumping!

It might take your boobs a few days to catch up to the new demand of pumping, so just keep doing it around the s same time and give it a chance

kandr10 · 12-01-2015 2:37pm

bovril wrote: »

I was an hour and a half earlier today. I'll try pumping and feeding tomorrow if I can juggle it!

It's a tricky one. I could never manage tbh. Did you pump at the same time of day both times? Maybe a different time might yield more. Could be worth experimenting through the day

fall · 12-01-2015 8:17pm

Day 6 here and can I just say Thanks to anyone who has ever posted here. This has been an amazing help that I really could have done with 8 years ago when I had my first. I felt confident enough to co sleep last night and we had a much better night resulting in a very calm settled baby today. Really enjoying feeding.

Sligo1 · 12-01-2015 8:30pm

Congratulations Fall. It's exhausting, but so so lovely at the same time

.

Sleepymissymoo · 14-01-2015 2:53pm

Hi, first time posting here but have been reading this thread from time to time and it's been a great help! My baby is almost 11 weeks and have been exclusively bf. She's been a great feeder from the start, usually every 3 hours and was putting on lots of weight.
However, she got sick at 8 weeks and was in hospital for 6 nights, being tube fed for 4 nights. She fed well as soon as I tried bf again but the next day she wouldn't feed at all. She had thrush and it seemed to be making her mouth too sore to feed. Improved the next day but she's home 10 days now and feeding still isn't great. She doesn't seem to be taking that much and difficult getting her to sleep/not sleeping for long. I'm exhausted at this stage! Feels like she's waking regularly as she's hungry but only doing small feeds. Anyone any experience of getting back on track after baby been sick and if it affected your supply etc?

lazygal · 14-01-2015 2:59pm

Sometimes stripping baby down to bare skin and feeding lying down in bed can help if baby is unsettled. I'd keep offering the breast and let baby suckle as much as possible even for comfort rather than food.

Sligo1 · 14-01-2015 3:06pm

Sleepymissymoo wrote: »

Hi, first time posting here but have been reading this thread from time to time and it's been a great help! My baby is almost 11 weeks and have been exclusively bf. She's been a great feeder from the start, usually every 3 hours and was putting on lots of weight.
However, she got sick at 8 weeks and was in hospital for 6 nights, being tube fed for 4 nights. She fed well as soon as I tried bf again but the next day she wouldn't feed at all. She had thrush and it seemed to be making her mouth too sore to feed. Improved the next day but she's home 10 days now and feeding still isn't great. She doesn't seem to be taking that much and difficult getting her to sleep/not sleeping for long. I'm exhausted at this stage! Feels like she's waking regularly as she's hungry but only doing small feeds. Anyone any experience of getting back on track after baby been sick and if it affected your supply etc?

Perhaps her little tummy has shrunk a little bit from when she wasn't taking much and being tube fed? So for her, little and often is the way until she's back taking full feeds? Could take a few weeks?

What about your supply? Did you pump while she was sick in order to maintain your supply? Or could perhaps that have decreased a bit as she wasn't feeding off you when she was sick? Perhaps your not producing as much as you were before she got sick?

cyning · 14-01-2015 3:34pm

My little one has been in hospital numerous times and every time after her feeding is all over the place. She feeds less than normal and won't stay latched on for long. If you can a lactation consultant can help... Or if not maybe hook up with your local breastfeeding group? Plenty of boob access for however long she looks for it and try breast compressions too. Fenugreek and oats are good to build supply if that's an issue, and pumping after feeds might help too. It must have been so hard to see her being tube fed we've avoided that thankfully: although she's had plenty of drips and complete boob refusal. Supply always dips after she's been sick too. Hope she's ok now x it

FurBabyMomma · 14-01-2015 3:54pm

madeinamerica wrote: »

It is hard to pump and hold the bloody thing and try to hold baby too. You can buy pumping bras, but if you have an old sports bras or something, just cut a cross where your nipples are and you can put the pump flanges (?) through. Hands free pumping!

That is a great idea!!!!

And well done Fall, hope it all goes well for you

Sleepymissymoo · 14-01-2015 3:59pm

Thanks for the replies. She's completely recovered now, all happy and full of smiles again! I was pumping when she was in hospital so didn't think my supply had decreased too much but the last few days have been thinking it has. Will keep feeding her little and often and hopefully it will improve. She's mostly fine during the day, it's night that she seems to be really fussy and unsettled. Would pumping in the morning after a feed and topping her up with bottle at night be worth trying? Will also try get to a local bf class as had never got round to doing that.

shortstuff! · 15-01-2015 8:47pm

tinkerbell wrote: »

Not really the answer to your question but I thought you weren't supposed to use second hand pumps? The only one that should be shared is the Symphony as it's a closed system?

You could try pumping for maybe an extra 5 mins and see if you get much more?

Oh I wasn't aware... Baby hasn't had any adverse reaction to pumped milk so I hopefully havnt caused any harm. Have ordered a medela swing now anyway, hoping I get a little more from that than the mini electric.

emer_b · 15-01-2015 9:12pm

Just wondering what kind of experiences others have had with blocked ducts. I stopped co-sleeping last week and got a little engorged and a few blocked ducts, particularly on the left. So I used heat, massage and lots of feeding to clear. Blockages free after about 3 days. Can't feel any lumps at all now. However a week later my left breast is still very sore after feeding. Like needles sticking into it for half hour after I feed. Nipple is very sore when feeding too. Thought it might be thrush but it's been like this for a week now, hasn't got any better or worse. Baby (4 months) is getting more distracted now too and pulling on and off a bit more.
Just wondering if anyone had any pain after clearing blocked ducts?

cbyrd · 16-01-2015 5:40pm

Right, I admit defeat
here's the story.
my little girl is 8 weeks old, breastfeeding since she came home from hospital at 9 days old and at her birth weight. 8,8.
She was on a drip til day 7 wysoy topups and me feeding her too.
She dropped off to 8,4 back to 8,6 down to 8,1 in the first 3 weeks home. She then started gaining, 8, 4 then 8,6 then 8,9 last week. This week she gained 20 whole grams.
thing is, she feeds, she sleeps, feeds wees, interacts, goes 4 hours most nights and wakes again after 2 and 2 again and then sleeps for up to 3 hours in the morning say, 4,30 am, 6,30, 8,30, and sleepd til midday.
there is nothing I can pinpoint as to why there is insufficient gain?
does anyone have any insight, experience or knowledge? bottle topups either push out her feed time or she spits it up. breastmilk never comes back up. I'm getting her weighed every week with the gp and he's happy enough up to this week.
we have a paediatric appointment on Monday, and he reckons they'll do a battery of tests, she has bloods and urinalysis done before Christmas and everything was clear.
my head is wrecked!

bovril · 16-01-2015 6:09pm

cbyrd - with all the feeds you would expect more of a weight gain alright. is it the same scales being used to weigh your baby each time? Are you in pain at all from feeding? Could it be that your baby had a shallow latch and that they are only getting the fore milk even though they are feeding for a while each time? I think you can tell if they are only getting foremilk by the colour of the poo. I think it might be green if it's foremilk only. maybe more of an expert on here can confirm.

can you get to a support group with an experienced leader or lactation consultant who could check your latch and you could ask questions?

bovril · 16-01-2015 6:13pm

look up how to do compressions from videos on jack Newman's website. by doing compressions at each feed it can make a difference too.

cbyrd · 16-01-2015 6:20pm

yep, same scales, her poos are runny yellowish ( ha tmi) I've emailed a lactation consultant today to see if I can get an appointment. the hospital are gung ho to get her on bottles! it's ridiculous.
I've got a good supply, and I'm sure her latch is okay cos if she slips forward it hurts. She's growing out of the newborn stuff but is so slight the 0-3 month clothes are flapping on her.

but she's a happy content baby, that's what's confusing me.
hopefully it's just the latch and nothing more sinister.. my mind is in overdrive.

bovril · 16-01-2015 6:35pm

the paediatricians in the hospital are not the best at promoting bfing I found. my Phn advised bottles too due to poor weight gain in the first few weeks. I said no and had one of the friends of breastfeeding buddies down to my house. I also go to a support group each week with lactation consultants there. my baby was slow gaining for 3 weeks and now she gains around 9lb a week. hopefully you'll get to the bottom of it with the help of a lc.

mustardy yellow poos are normal!!

FurBabyMomma · 16-01-2015 6:56pm

Cbyrd try not too stress too much, it's still early days and there cam be bumps in the road. One mistake I made was at first I was feeding from both sides and starting the next feed from the breast she had finished on, but then I stopped and just fed from one breast at a time. Her growth slowed and her poos turned green! When I went back to the original technique she was fine again. Maybe that's no help but just in case x

Marz66 · 16-01-2015 7:18pm

Hi there

Just re the compressions, do ye do them per the video ie only compress when baby is 'sucking but not drinking' and then stop compressing when they are drinking?

Or do ye just compress continuously for a few mins at the end of the feed when boob is nearly empty?

bovril · 16-01-2015 7:22pm

Marz66 wrote: »

Hi there

Just re the compressions, do ye do them per the video ie only compress when baby is 'sucking but not drinking' and then stop compressing when they are drinking?

Or do ye just compress continuously for a few mins at the end of the feed when boob is nearly empty?

I do them per the video.

The Breast Feeding Support Thread

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