The Breast Feeding Support Thread

shesty · 11-10-2018 9:05am

Furbabymomma, you can give the baby prune juice (make sure it's as pure as you can find) mixed with cooled boiled water.I had it with mine a few months ago, he was 7 weeks i think.Small anyway.Pharmacist told me she had the same problem.with one of hers at 4 weeks and the hospital advised the prune juice.I think I did about 2 ounces cooled boiled water mixed with two ounce prune juice.Not all of it went in but it was enough!!Suggest trying a syringe if you are not keen on a bottle.

bovril · 11-10-2018 4:01pm

Digs wrote: »

Bovril I’m with Holles Street and actually asked about an LC when I was in for an appointment on Monday. The midwife said I’d be left waiting for a one on one they’re so busy but they have a post natal drop in clinic running every Thursday and to try get into one of them. I’ll have to make the effort. Are you having a similar issue?

No there is a good chance my baby will have low blood sugars due to meds I am on so would like to have some expressed beforehand so I can use instead of a formula topup. I've a session booked with the LC in the Coombe in a few weeks near my c section date.

Digs · 12-10-2018 9:26am

bovril wrote: »

No there is a good chance my baby will have low blood sugars due to meds I am on so would like to have some expressed beforehand so I can use instead of a formula topup. I've a session booked with the LC in the Coombe in a few weeks near my c section date.

Best of luck with your little one Bovril and thanks for the advice! I might just get myself into one of the sessions this month and see if they can advise me on what to do.

lazygal · 12-10-2018 12:13pm

Feeding my two week old. He's back to birth weight. Easiest baby I've had! Just needed to celebrate a bit!

annoyedgal · 12-10-2018 8:54pm

Congrats lazygal! Those newborn feeds are lovely !

FurBabyMomma · 12-10-2018 8:56pm

I've been doing a bit of massage but think I should probably do a proper little routine, thanks Cakerbaker.

I may try the prune juice too shesty, although it's a struggle to get her to take the bm/Gaviscon mix so goodness knows what she'll make of it

Purple Lemons · 13-10-2018 3:04pm

Little man is 4 weeks and still screaming blue murder unless he's on my breast or asleep. I'm not talking whinging here but full on roaring crying getting a tuc in his heart. I've visited my HN and doctor and both have just given me the "he's only a baby, babies cry" excuse but this is my second time around I know something isn't quite right. I'm kind of at breaking point here surviving on maybe 2h sleep a night and my toddler isn't getting great sleep either because of the roaring. Tried to express to my partner how overwhelmed I'm feeling and instead of any support or encouragement I'm told to just switch to formula which I don't want to unless baby needs me to but he's gaining weight, plenty of dirty nappies. Any suggestions or advice as to what's going on or how to settle him when he is awake. I've tried different shaped dummies, swaddling, shhhh'ing, rocking him, putting him in carseat for a drive or buggy for a walk but nothing will make him stop crying except boob. Sorry for the long badly written post, I'm not functioning very well today.

catrionanic · 13-10-2018 3:12pm

Purple Lemons wrote: »

Little man is 4 weeks and still screaming blue murder unless he's on my breast or asleep. I'm not talking whinging here but full on roaring crying getting a tuc in his heart. I've visited my HN and doctor and both have just given me the "he's only a baby, babies cry" excuse but this is my second time around I know something isn't quite right. I'm kind of at breaking point here surviving on maybe 2h sleep a night and my toddler isn't getting great sleep either because of the roaring. Tried to express to my partner how overwhelmed I'm feeling and instead of any support or encouragement I'm told to just switch to formula which I don't want to unless baby needs me to but he's gaining weight, plenty of dirty nappies. Any suggestions or advice as to what's going on or how to settle him when he is awake. I've tried different shaped dummies, swaddling, shhhh'ing, rocking him, putting him in carseat for a drive or buggy for a walk but nothing will make him stop crying except boob. Sorry for the long badly written post, I'm not functioning very well today.

Oh you poor pet, that sounds like it must be really hard to deal with. Is it mainly at night that he's upset, or is it all day too? I always think that mothers instinct is a really strong thing, especially given he is your second, so if you feel there's something not right then you should trust your instincts and pursue this. I know it's not easy to fight your corner when you are exhausted and emotional, but you should do what you think is right.

Ignore the formula pushing. I can't see how that would solve anything? It's just the typical Irish response to any issue faced by any baby who is breastfed, usually without reason or justification.

All I can really think to suggest is perhaps co-sleeping for now. Baby will feed to sleep, and you can get a little more sleep yourself too. So long as baby was full-term and is healthy, and you follow the cosleeping guidelines, it is very safe. What can also help is trying laid-back feeding and side-lying feeding so that you are at least getting a little more rest than you would be if you were sat up.

Sometimes you do just need to get away though. If it's getting too much (and it sounds really tough), it's perfectly fine to hand baby to dad and get out of the house for a few minutes. Sometimes this is critical for our mental health. You could try expressing too, if you want to get away for a little longer. Either way, it's okay not to always be there and it's okay to take some You Time. Your husband gets it every day, I am sure. You need some too.

Best of luck.

lazygal · 13-10-2018 3:25pm

Purple Lemons wrote: »

Little man is 4 weeks and still screaming blue murder unless he's on my breast or asleep. I'm not talking whinging here but full on roaring crying getting a tuc in his heart. I've visited my HN and doctor and both have just given me the "he's only a baby, babies cry" excuse but this is my second time around I know something isn't quite right. I'm kind of at breaking point here surviving on maybe 2h sleep a night and my toddler isn't getting great sleep either because of the roaring. Tried to express to my partner how overwhelmed I'm feeling and instead of any support or encouragement I'm told to just switch to formula which I don't want to unless baby needs me to but he's gaining weight, plenty of dirty nappies. Any suggestions or advice as to what's going on or how to settle him when he is awake. I've tried different shaped dummies, swaddling, shhhh'ing, rocking him, putting him in carseat for a drive or buggy for a walk but nothing will make him stop crying except boob. Sorry for the long badly written post, I'm not functioning very well today.

You could be describing my second child. He was velcroed to me for the first couple of months. He refused all attempts at bottle feeding, be it expressed milk or formula. Would not go in a sling. I Co slept so I could doze and surrendered to hours on the couch. It was really hard. But he did turn a corner. I read a lot about the fourth trimester which helped me understand him better even as I was frustrated by him.

Purple Lemons · 13-10-2018 3:41pm

I've been expressing every day and he has no issue with the bottle but even after being on the boob for 40/45 minutes I'll offer him a 3 or 4oz bottle which he'll guzzle but then roar until he's back on my chest. Dad isn't great help tbh, gives the odd bottle and changes the odd nappy but will happily sleep 11pm to 11am while I'm up trying to clean, entertain and teach a 2yo and feed and change baby constantly. I can deal with him being a lazy fart and I can deal with the exhaustion but I can't deal with the crying it's breaking my heart. I was thinking maybe he has reflux and is in pain but surely he wouldn't feed so long and often if this was the case. BF daughter for 5.5 months and yes she was up every hour or two for feeds, fussy at times but she didn't ever scream like this. Feeling bloody rotten and I can't even have a cry because the tears just won't come :pac:

lazygal · 13-10-2018 3:44pm

Your partner can't be staying in bed till 11am. That's just crazy with a newborn and busy toddler. Get his arse out of bed and stay there yourself.

Anne_cordelia · 13-10-2018 7:02pm

lazygal wrote: »

Your partner can't be staying in bed till 11am. That's just crazy with a newborn and busy toddler. Get his arse out of bed and stay there yourself.

+1000000 that’s disgraceful. At the very least he should be on toddler duty.

Babies with reflux can either refuse to feed or feed constantly as feeding helps numb the pain for them. It sounds like something is up be it reflux or a dairy intolerance or something. Are nappies ok? Any mucous/blood/foam in poop?
This is helpful: https://kellymom.com/health/baby-health/food-sensitivity/#fussy

Toots · 13-10-2018 8:55pm

Purple Lemons that's awful! I can't believe he thinks it's ok to have a 12 hour sleep while you're trying to deal with a fussy baby and a toddler. My niece had reflux and it was really similar to what you described. Her PHN was useless and basically just said it's normal. She was back at the doctor a couple of times and same thing - basically once she was feeding and having wet/dirty nappies all was well. My SIL ended up driving to A&E with her one night because she just wouldn't stop screaming and my SIL was at breaking point, she was roaring crying herself when she arrived. Few hours later she left with a reflux diagnosis and got some baby gaviscon and things improved.

Have you any family nearby that you could go and stay with until things settle down? Honestly, if it was an option, I'd have no qualms about packing up the kids and heading somewhere supportive if your husband is that useless. And I'd tell him exactly why you're going.

Toots · 13-10-2018 9:06pm

catrionanic wrote: »

Toots, when you say hold off for another hour or two between feeds, isn't that actually going to make supply worse? The more she tries to feed (even if she doesn't get much), the more you'll produce. The longer the gaps between feeds, the less you'll have.

I get what you mean about wanting to make sure your boobs have time to refill, but it might actually make things harder for you.

The more sucking she does, even if there's nothing there, the better.

I probably could have explained better

I meant she usually has her last feed at 11 but the very odd time she'll take a feed at about 9.30/10, which usually isn't a problem, but with the dip in supply I'd be worried she'd get frustrated and not settle at the last feed.

I think a lot of it is anxiety about being bitten. She bit me a couple of times before she got teeth, and while it was sore, it wasn't a big deal. I'd just take her off and tell her "ah ah" and then boobs go away for a good 10 mins. However she now has 2 VERY sharp teeth, and has gone from what was pretty much a nip, to clamping down hard and it's excruciating. Twice today she's bitten me hard enough to draw blood, and when I take her off she's hysterical, but I couldn't keep going to try and get the let down because I was bleeding all over the place. I've started having nightmares about the biting now, just to make things even more fun.

I went out and bought a tub of formula yesterday and the weirdest thing was I was able to do all the feeds yesterday. There was a point at about 5pm where she had a meltdown because I think she was over tired and just needed a tiny feed to get over to sleep but it wouldn't come fast enough. My husband reckons I was more relaxed because there was a backup if I couldn't feed her as opposed to it being boobs or nothing, so the pressure was off a bit.

annoyedgal · 13-10-2018 9:28pm

Purple lemons that sounds like could be reflux. As was mentioned in an earlier post sometimes babies feed constantly to try and soothe the burn. You could talk to you phn or doc about trying some remedies that might help.
Definitely echo the recommendation to cosleep. Hope things ease up for you, the crying is very stressful.

fits · 14-10-2018 8:39am

One of my twins cried constantly like that. It was really really tough. We tried treating for reflux. He did vomit a bit. But in the end he just grew out of it. I’m still not certain it was reflux or just windiness. At least he settled in the car. I used to pack them into the car and head to the drive thru for a coffee. He also was happy in the nappers rocker thing we had my sympathies though it’s really hard

Toots · 14-10-2018 10:35am

She bit me again this morning, there was plenty of milk so I don't know what prompted it, no warning and it caught be completely by surprise because she's never done it in the morning before.

She bit over the part she bit yesterday, so what was already tender is now very painful. I've put one of those multi man compresses on, so hoping that eases it a bit. Has anyone any tips to try and stop the biting?

catrionanic · 14-10-2018 10:49am

Toots wrote: »

She bit me again this morning, there was plenty of milk so I don't know what prompted it, no warning and it caught be completely by surprise because she's never done it in the morning before.

She bit over the part she bit yesterday, so what was already tender is now very painful. I've put one of those multi man compresses on, so hoping that eases it a bit. Has anyone any tips to try and stop the biting?

Oh god, you poor thing. I can totally understand why you are anxious feeding her. I was lucky only to have a few instances of biting, but was nervous even at that. I'm sure someone else will be along soon with better advice than me, but do you watch her when she's feeding? I used to generally be able to anticipate from changes in the position of his mouth and pattern of sucking, when a bite was about to happen and I would take him straight off. It's also important to get a really good, deep latch, with her tongue right over her bottom teeth.

It didn't stop me being nervous during feeds, and meant constantly watching him. Not pleasant. From memory, the biting seemed to mainly happen in our last few weeks of feeding when my supply was dropping because I was pregnant again. So it's a bit of a vicious cycle of him not getting milk so biting in frustration, making me nervous about feeding, which in turn wasn't helping supply.

Hope you get some good advice on this. Sorry I can't offer more.

Toots · 14-10-2018 12:52pm

Yeah, it's absolutely a vicious cycle

I've been watching her like a hawk when feeding and I used to be able to catch her before she did it - at the end of a feed she'd start babbling with my nipple in her mouth and that was a sure sign a bit was imminent. Now, though it's harder to catch her because she comes off and latches back on a few times while she's waiting for the milk to let down, so when she's fully latched it's good and deep but it's the coming on and off that's the risky bit.

The worst part is she seems to think it's funny.

bee06 · 14-10-2018 5:04pm

I have a bitter as well. He’s been biting since he got his first teeth at 5 months (9.5 months now). I’ve done the whole taking him off, telling him no biting, be gentle etc but it doesn’t really work. He goes through phases when he’s teething or like last week he had a blocked nose so was constantly delatching because he couldn’t breathe. He bites when he latched as well so the constant delatching is the worst. I found giving him something to play when while waiting for the letdown means he stays latched better.

I actually stick my finger in his mouth when he’s latching when it’s really bad because he sometimes just doesn’t gave the patience to wait for me to check his tongue is out etc. He’ll just launch himself at me whether I’m ready or not.

He’s only broken the skin twice and the pain then was horrific. I did loads of lanolin before a feed, saline wash (1 tsp of salt to 1 cup of water) after, then multi-man compress and then I use the silver cups. It’s a pain in the arse though. If possible I use a different feeding position as well.

Toots · 14-10-2018 7:46pm

bee06 wrote: »

I actually stick my finger in his mouth when he’s latching when it’s really bad because he sometimes just doesn’t gave the patience to wait for me to check his tongue is out etc. He’ll just launch himself at me whether I’m ready or not.

That's exactly what my little one is like, she just goes for it and because she's big enough now she's latched on and all before I even get her into position, she's already sucking away. She's so fast she's bitten me before I can even check the latch. Yesterday one of the times she bit me she didn't even attempt to feed, she just bit me straight away. I thought for sure she was hungry because usually when she is, she just sticks her face in my cleavage, so it's a fairly good way of letting me know. She did that and as soon as I got a boob out she just bit me, gave me a big smile and then wanted to get down on the floor.

I don't know what to do. Since I posted earlier she's bitten twice more, and my left nipple is in bits. I'm in two minds about starting weaning - on the one hand I really wanted to get to at least the year mark, and when she does feed, I love the bonding and the cuddles. I'm not ready to give that up. I'm worried she won't need me any more, daft as that sounds, but feeding is the special thing we do together and I don't want to lose that.

On the other hand, the way things are at the minute, the thing that's usually an enjoyable bonding activity is now really stressful and upsetting. I've suffered badly with anxiety and depression in the past and so far I had been fine post-birth but this is really starting to get me down. I'm worried that if things continue as they are I'll end up in an awful state.

It's so annoying, because we both took to breastfeeding so easily, and in 8 months, I've never had any problems bar one or two blocked ducts, but it's been so easy. I thought I was home and dry, but obviously not.

bee06 · 14-10-2018 8:11pm

I was actually in the exact same head space last week. The pain was so bad I felt sick at the thought of feeding him and the thought of spending the next few months like that was just horrible. Thankfully he got over the cold and has stopped biting for now.

I don’t have any advice but I just want you to know that you’re not alone in how you’re feeling.

waterfaerie · 14-10-2018 8:25pm

That sounds awful Toots, you poor thing. I'm sorry I can't help because I have no experience of biting, thankfully. I do know that it's come up at breastfeeding groups before and lots of people will have experienced it so may be able to help more.

Can you get to a breastfeeding meeting? Or would you consider ringing a Cuidiú counsellor? They are free and they give advice over the phone.

In the meantime, try not to be so hard on yourself. You're doing an amazing job to get to 8 months and for persevering through this. There should definitely be ways to solve it without needing to stop feeding. You just need to get the right help.

Toots · 14-10-2018 9:47pm

Thanks guys, I'd be lost without this thread.

What way do Cuidiu counsellors work? Do you just find one in your area and ring?

catrionanic · 14-10-2018 10:14pm

Toots wrote: »

Thanks guys, I'd be lost without this thread.

What way do Cuidiu counsellors work? Do you just find one in your area and ring?

They don't even have to be in your area. You just get the list and make a start on it and ring each number until somebody answers. They are all volunteers so happy to be contacted at any hour. I remember ringing one in the early days and just crying down the phone!

That's for the over the phone advice. For the meetups, just find your local group on Facebook. They'll have a weekly schedule of support meetings so you just turn up to one. There's usually a nominal fee for non-members to cover costs.

Toots · 15-10-2018 8:14am

That's deadly! I'll definitely give that a shot. I've also booked an appointment with my lactation consultant that I used in the beginning. It's tomorrow morning, so I'm hoping that will help.

I spent the night with the multi mam compresses on and they've certainly helped, although the left side is still very tender. She took a feed this morning at about 5.30 and that went great, she fed for ages and no attempts at biting, however she was still half asleep so I'd say that was why.

fits · 15-10-2018 1:06pm

That sounds really stressful toots. Hope ye get over it. I’ve had bitey phases but never bad enough to draw blood. One boys latch is terrible when he is teething though and I got badly chapped as a result. But it improved again. Good luck.

Toots · 15-10-2018 6:40pm

I think I must have done something to seriously anger the boob gods. I was making my porridge this morning, and as I was taking it out of the microwave, it tipped over and scalding hot porridge poured all over my chest - I was wearing a string top after feeding the baba, so there wasn't even any clothes to protect me.

Result? 2nd degree burns covering about half of my right boob. The breast pad saved my nipple from the porridgey deluge. It's blistering up and weeping all over the place. God knows what the lactation consultant will make of it when I arrive for my appointment tomorrow.

catrionanic · 15-10-2018 6:43pm

Toots wrote: »

I think I must have done something to seriously anger the boob gods. I was making my porridge this morning, and as I was taking it out of the microwave, it tipped over and scalding hot porridge poured all over my chest - I was wearing a string top after feeding the baba, so there wasn't even any clothes to protect me.

Result? 2nd degree burns covering about half of my right boob. The breast pad saved my nipple from the porridgey deluge. It's blistering up and weeping all over the place. God knows what the lactation consultant will make of it when I arrive for my appointment tomorrow.

Omg Toots you poor wee thing. You must be in so much pain. This is all you needed.

I hope it heals up for you soon and that the LC is a good help for you. Keep us updated!

Millem · 15-10-2018 7:32pm

Toots
My guy went through a biting stage. I changed positions to avoid redamaging myself! I used the purple cream can’t remember the name but it’s the one everyone buys.
When he bit I yelped in pain and put him in his cot (I only fed in the bedroom).
I wouldn’t feed again for a few minutes and when I did I helped him latch like the early days where you hold your boob in a c shape.
I heard great things about silver cups never used them myself.
Hope it sorts itself out soon for you.

On a positive note for me my supply has finally adjusted after 7 weeks back to work!! I no longer feel I am about to pass out by lunch

The Breast Feeding Support Thread

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