The Breast Feeding Support Thread

shortstuff!

How often is baby feeding during the day? It sounds like baby has night & day mixed up, a breast feeding app I have suggests at night to keep low lighting, keep it quiet, only change dirty nappies, wet nappies can wait til morning...keep daytime stimulating with bright lighting, normal noise like TV/radio, and change nappy during long naps to help move longer sleep times to night. It also recommends learning to feed lieing down at night to get more rest. I haven't tried introducing formula so can't advise either way but the app says it doesn't help & apparently solely breastfeeding mothers get 45min more sleep than combined feeding, no idea if that's true though. Do you think you could sleep through if your partner gave a formula feed at night? My thought on it were that I'd be awake anyway & would end up having to sterilize & make up bottles so more hassle than it was worth.

Jerrica

73trix wrote: »

Thanks but we had another awful nite last nite. He will not sleep at nite time. Seriously consider ing combined feeding now at nite time out of desperation
Amy advice on this? Will a formula bottle at nite help him sleep. I hope it doesn't mes s with the Bfing. Baby is 10 days old now

Unfortunately there's no guarantee a formula feed before bed will stretch things out, and there's the risk that baby will find the ease of drinking a bottle much more preferable than the boob. Some babies will happily switch between the two, some won't, you can't predict it.

The cluster feeding can be truly horrible, you're a slave to your baby for what feels like an endless amount of time, but I promise you it gets easier. I've come very close to packing it all in but just kept telling myself I'd decide at the next feed, and 11 weeks in were still exclusively breast feeding and now it's - dare I even say it - really easy!! We both have a routine going and even though she feeds at night at least twice, I'm much more used to it.

If you want to keep breastfeeding then I promise you it gets easier

73trix

shortstuff! wrote: »

How often is baby feeding during the day? It sounds like baby has night & day mixed up, a breast feeding app I have suggests at night to keep low lighting, keep it quiet, only change dirty nappies, wet nappies can wait til morning...keep daytime stimulating with bright lighting, normal noise like TV/radio, and change nappy during long naps to help move longer sleep times to night. It also recommends learning to feed lieing down at night to get more rest. I haven't tried introducing formula so can't advise either way but the app says it doesn't help & apparently solely breastfeeding mothers get 45min more sleep than combined feeding, no idea if that's true though. Do you think you could sleep through if your partner gave a formula feed at night? My thought on it were that I'd be awake anyway & would end up having to sterilize & make up bottles so more hassle than it was worth.

Baby feeds on the hour on average 24/7 unless sleeping. Sleeps better during the day but still only about 6 hrs tops. No sleep at nite time. We had tried to keep some noise and activity at nite as it had been suggested that be may not like the quiet and/or dark. Our problems Is baby won't sleep nor the Bfing as such unless he is not getting enough from bf and not sleeping as? Hungry?

Lots of people suggest lying down feeding but ate there not risks? We have done it but I find it v difficult to stay awake so we ate both terrified of falling asleep with baby in bed and SIDS. Nobody mentions this.

cyning

73trix wrote: »

Baby feeds on the hour on average 24/7 unless sleeping. Sleeps better during the day but still only about 6 hrs tops. No sleep at nite time. We had tried to keep some noise and activity at nite as it had been suggested that be may not like the quiet and/or dark. Our problems Is baby won't sleep nor the Bfing as such unless he is not getting enough from bf and not sleeping as? Hungry?

Lots of people suggest lying down feeding but ate there not risks? We have done it but I find it v difficult to stay awake so we ate both terrified of falling asleep with baby in bed and SIDS. Nobody mentions this.

On the bed sharing: I have since day one with both mine. There are safe co sleeping guide lines: http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/health-concerns/sleep-problems/sleep-safety/cosleeping-safely

It is something I have discussed at length with phn/lc/GP (I was a very nervous first time mum!). Lie face to face with your baby. No pillows. Keep blankets down or wear fleecy pjs. Don't put baby beside dad; they aren't as tuned into babies presence. Alternatively have you a cot or cot bed you can take one side off of and put up against your bed to make a co sleeper? Pull them over for feeds and back in after but they are still very close to you.

6 hours during the day is massive! Formula or breastfed they won't go any longer than that: baby just has night and day mixed up. I dressed baby during the day, then babygro at night. Lights dark at night, bright during the day.

Is baby having wet and dirty nappies? If they are they are getting enough. Can you get to a support group or see an ibclc?

Honestly it does get easier. Formula won't solve the sleeping unfortunately.

Your baby sounds so similar to my first: fed non stop, wouldn't sleep at night etc. it passed: but I thought I'd throttle anyone who said that to me at the time!

happywithlife

cyning wrote: »

On the bed sharing: I have since day one with both mine. There are safe co sleeping guide lines: http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/health-concerns/sleep-problems/sleep-safety/cosleeping-safely

It is something I have discussed at length with phn/lc/GP (I was a very nervous first time mum!). Lie face to face with your baby. No pillows. Keep blankets down or wear fleecy pjs. Don't put baby beside dad; they aren't as tuned into babies presence. Alternatively have you a cot or cot bed you can take one side off of and put up against your bed to make a co sleeper? Pull them over for feeds and back in after but they are still very close to you.

6 hours during the day is massive! Formula or breastfed they won't go any longer than that: baby just has night and day mixed up. I dressed baby during the day, then babygro at night. Lights dark at night, bright during the day.

Is baby having wet and dirty nappies? If they are they are getting enough. Can you get to a support group or see an ibclc?

Honestly it does get easier. Formula won't solve the sleeping unfortunately.

Your baby sounds so similar to my first: fed non stop, wouldn't sleep at night etc. it passed: but I thought I'd throttle anyone who said that to me at the time!

All of this by 1000!!!
I'm bf my third - this is the first I've managed laid back feeding with in bed at night --- it's fantastic

Really promise it's worth it if you get over this hurdle ❤️

73trix

cyning wrote: »

6 hours during the day is massive! Formula or breastfed they won't go any longer than that: baby just has night and day mixed up. I dressed baby during the day, then babygro at night. Lights dark at night, bright during the day.

Is baby having wet and dirty nappies? If they are they are getting enough. Can you get to a support group or see

Hi. 6 hrs total from about 5am til 9 pm in separate spells is what I was talking about. Doesn't seem like much when people day babies sleep for 2-3hrs at a time. However we seem to have turned a corner yest. Baby slept quite well during the day. Took him out in buggy yest which may have helped. Then last nite was a dream.

I slept from 8.30 - 5 am!! Babs asleep after my last feed at 8 til 11pm and I went to bed. OH gave him formula when he woke at 11pm. Baby slept til 2.30am. He gave jim some expressed milk then. I fed him at 5! No milk confusion. Feeling great today. Would have taken a couple hrs but never imagined a full 8 hrs. :-)

madeinamerica

Delighted to hear that! Bet you feel like a new woman you can be ready for anything after a good sleep

Edit because of damn autocorrect.

cyning

Sorry 73trix I misunderstood

Delighted you got some sleep! It makes everything seem bettef

livinsane

73trix wrote: »

Tortured. Please tell me it's worth persevering. Last nite was ready to throw on the Bfing towel after yet another sleepless nite but the worst so far as my 9 day old was literally feeding for 5+ hours solid. My friend gave me a lifeline by suggesting a hand pump. Duely bought one today but I barely get the time to express as babs feeds so regularly. Had to abandon this eve as baby wanted to feed. So far have managed 30ml. But I had to stop so that means washing and sterilising the pump yet again til next effort...whenever I get a chance. Dreading tonite now. Cried in desperation about 4 am but still could not bring myself to buy formula today. Think I'll be regretting it later.

If you are not getting a break from the feeding, I would forget about the pumping right now. It's just more work and stress. Wait a few days at least.

I think the only way to cope with the early continuous feeding is to accept it, instead of trying to fight it or change it. Try to look on it as I way to keep you sitting down, relaxing and recovering from the birth. At least when breastfeeding, you potentially have two hands free so you can read a book, [carefully] eat food, control the telly, use your phone/tablet. Don't do any housework or any of that lark!

My major regret from the early days is that I did not nap during the day with the baby. By 4 months I was burnt out and had insomnia at that stage but finally got into the habit of getting in to bed with the baby during the day. 8 months later, I'll still take a nap with him if I'm not working.

Saying that, 9 days is tiny and you are probably totally on edge and terrified to even close an eye. I was the same. Keep trying to feed lying down because that is the way you will get some sleep during the night feeds.

Best of luck, I think we've all been there. The tears, the anxiety, the hopelessness. You will laugh about it in a few months. I keep a diary, just to help me clear my head and sometimes I read old entries out loud to my partner and we just have to laugh...even though I was crying back then!


**just saw your last post - delighted for you. Good baby!**

73trix

So far so good. I went to bed at 10.30pm last nite. OH gave formula at 11pm and he slept til 1.30 am when he took expressed bottle and slept til 4.30 then back to me for rest of morning and OH to bed. I could cope with this. Fingers crossed.

73trix

So far so good. I went to bed at 10.30pm last nite. OH gave formula at 11pm and he slept til 1.30 am when he took expressed bottle and slept til 4.30 then back to me for rest of morning and OH to bed. I could cope with this. Fingers crossed.

Marz66

I'm bf my baby and topping up with express breast milk by bottle.

Has anyone any tips for how to get Gaviscon into him (doc recommended for reflux). The Gaviscon is blocking the medium teat in the bottle, but changing to large teat could cause nipple confusion? Using a spoon is a bit messy?

The reflux just showed up at 3 weeks. Have to say I hate seeing my expressed bm coming back up :P

monflat

Marz66 wrote: »

I'm bf my baby and topping up with express breast milk by bottle.

Has anyone any tips for how to get Gaviscon into him (doc recommended for reflux). The Gaviscon is blocking the medium teat in the bottle, but changing to large teat could cause nipple confusion? Using a spoon is a bit messy?

The reflux just showed up at 3 weeks. Have to say I hate seeing my expressed bm coming back up :P

A 2.5 ml syringe you could get one in the chemist.

swim

Have you tried infacol.
my baby is 8 weeks old, has reflux. Am breastfeeding but haven't used expressed milk in bottles yet. Infacol does work but not all the time. Was told to use infant gaviscon by one nurse, another told me not to as I am breastfeeding.
I also find feeding her upright helps

madeinamerica

monflat wrote: »

A 2.5 ml syringe you could get one in the chemist.

I second the syringe. Let your baby suck on your little finger and when she is sucking away, put the syringe (no needle!) into the corner of her mouth. Just push in a little at a time and let her swallow it down. I give my baby my little finger with my nail down on his tongue as I'm afraid it'll scrape the roof of his mouth. He takes his vit D this way (when I remember to give it!)

cyning

I have a reflux baby too: two in fact! No matter what I did with the youngest I could never ever get the gaviscon into her. We used carobel for awhile. With the older one I got a medicine dody and fed it to her that way: after a while we managed with a syringe. Try get the narrowest syringe : you can syringe in the side of her mouth while she's latched on if your having problems too.

73trix

Had another wobble yest. At in laws for wend for first time. Still v self conscious about bf in public. First he puked up after a feed which h he had never done. I tried to move from TV room to kitchen for a bit of space but everyone followed us. Then he wouldn't latch on and I'm not able to easily manage the covering things up with muslin sheet etc. I got so frazzled I had a cry and felt even worse. In laws super excited to see baby so little scope for space. Was so relieved to get to bed and have privacy and me and baby will delay in bed as long as poss this a.m.

Going to a family do later so more of the same. Wish I could was niftier at feeding in public. It can be v stressful.

How Strange

Aw 73trix, I've been there and all I can say is brave it out for the weekend because the novelty will wear off (although they'll still be crazy in love with him!) in a few weeks. Perhaps try and say 'I'm taking him off for a feed, we'll be back in a few minutes' today at the do.

ncmc

I'm still not great at feeding in public 4 months on! Can't manage to cover up and can only feed while exposing the whole boob Now I just don't care and expose away, but in the early days, I either timed visits when she wouldn't be likely to need a feed or as How Strange said, just say you're going to feed the baby and will be back in a few minutes. You can go to a bedroom then for done privacy. Most people feel a bit awkward round BF mothers so I'm sure no one will follow you! I found in the early days, it was very hard to latch on if I was stressed, so try and get that privacy and relax as much as you can.

Hang in there 73trix, you're doing great and it does get easier.

Jerrica

73trix you're playing a blinder Our little girl is 12 weeks today and I still have difficulty feeding in front of people (unless I'm with other breastfeeding mums and then it's boobs out all over the place ). Youll figure out ways to feed in comfortable spots when you're out and about (there are a variety of feeding rooms in shopping centres) and I'm perfectly happy feeding in the car if needs be. If I want to feed when there's family around I just say "please excuse me for a minute, I'm just going to take a quiet moment to feed the baby" - as she gets older and more aware of her surroundings it's actually easier to so it quiet so she's less distracted!!

Well done and keep it up

Marz66

Thanks for the advice re Gaviscon, will get a small size syringe at the chemists.

swim wrote: »

Have you tried infacol.
my baby is 8 weeks old, has reflux. Am breastfeeding but haven't used expressed milk in bottles yet. Infacol does work but not all the time. Was told to use infant gaviscon by one nurse, another told me not to as I am breastfeeding.
I also find feeding her upright helps

Sorry if this is a stupid question but does infacol treat both wind and reflux? My baby has wind but also when he burps, you can hear lots of liquid gurgling in his stomach/throat so wind isn't the only problem.

swim

Not a silly question at all. The infacol does seem to help bring up wind and with reflux. Its handy as its drops straight into her mouth before each feed. As she is a little older now I hope the reflux will pass.
I was also advised to go off dairy products myself to see if that helped. I will do anything to stop the discomfort she was in after feeding trying to burp or vomiting if I put her down too early. Tilting one end of her crib helped too.
the one downside is she seems constipated mostly at night, I am not sure if thats from the infacol or something I am eating.... I try give her a bath every night to help her bowels

cyning

Infacol doesn't treat reflux. It's supposed to treat wind. Marz66 we've been through the mill here with reflux.

You might have all of this already but: Practically speaking: a sling will help. Keeping upright for half an hour after a feed will help. Prop either the mattress or cot so babs doesn't need to lie flat.

Changing my diet never helped: but dairy is the one that can cause the most problems.

Tongue ties can cause reflux symptoms. So can an overactive let down. Can you try laid back feeding to see if that helps??

missdeise

Hi. Its my first time to post here, just looking for a little advice.
My little man is 2mths old.
When im feeding him he never comes off on his own. He is a sleepy feeder & the only way I know he's possibly full is when he doesnt scream when I put him down, and even that only lasts 10-20mins. He refuses to sleep during the day.
We've just started giving him 1 bottle of formula in the evenings. Im self employed & have to work outside the home 1 night a wk. I would much prefer to give him ebm but Im just having no luck im that dept. We've been trying to settle him without the boob the last 2 nights (after his bottle) & he goes nuts cos he wants to suck, he will not take a dummy. Only doing this cos MIL has to babysit this wk. she is driving me nuts cos "she doesnt know how to deal with a breastfed baby" .
He eventually fell asleep tonight (after crying it out) but i touched the pram & he woke. We're in bed & he's only sucking for comfort, very natural & Im happier. Its where he should be.
Not sure if there is any advice to give but just needed to rant in a safe place.

cyning

After a suggestion from nurses in hosp when we were in with our little one we used glycerine and aniseed dip to get her to take dody to settle. You can get it in the chemist. Might be worth a shot? Especially when you need to be away from him? Also the only ones I could get my little ones to take were the Avent flat dodies. They are smaller and a different shape so worked better here.

Other than that sympathies on the mil! If she wasn't giving out about bf it would be something else

missdeise

cyning wrote: »

After a suggestion from nurses in hosp when we were in with our little one we used glycerine and aniseed dip to get her to take dody to settle. You can get it in the chemist. Might be worth a shot? Especially when you need to be away from him? Also the only ones I could get my little ones to take were the Avent flat dodies. They are smaller and a different shape so worked better here.

Other than that sympathies on the mil! If she wasn't giving out about bf it would be something else

Oh cyning, we've gone through so many pots of glycerine & aniseed. He sucks it off & spits the dummy out. Have tried every dummy too. Maybe its time to try them again though....

missdeise

cyning wrote: »

After a suggestion from nurses in hosp when we were in with our little one we used glycerine and aniseed dip to get her to take dody to settle. You can get it in the chemist. Might be worth a shot? Especially when you need to be away from him? Also the only ones I could get my little ones to take were the Avent flat dodies. They are smaller and a different shape so worked better here.

Other than that sympathies on the mil! If she wasn't giving out about bf it would be something else

Oh cyning, we've gone through so many pots of glycerine & aniseed. He sucks it off & spits the dummy out. Have tried every dummy too. Maybe its time to try them again though....

missdeise

cyning wrote: »

After a suggestion from nurses in hosp when we were in with our little one we used glycerine and aniseed dip to get her to take dody to settle. You can get it in the chemist. Might be worth a shot? Especially when you need to be away from him? Also the only ones I could get my little ones to take were the Avent flat dodies. They are smaller and a different shape so worked better here.

Other than that sympathies on the mil! If she wasn't giving out about bf it would be something else

Oh cyning, we've gone through so many pots of glycerine & aniseed. He sucks it off & spits the dummy out. Have tried every dummy too. Maybe its time to try them again though....

kandr10

He's very young missdeise to be trying to settle him without the boob. You have to trust that he will find different ways of settling with other people. Leave a bottle and a top up with mil and he might go asleep on that. Doesn't matter if it's formula. He's getting all the goodness when you breastfeed.

In terms of when you're breastfeeding, does he keep sucking for a long time after hes stopped swallowing or is he sucking and swallowing the whole time? You could try stripping him down a bit so he's more alert when feeding?

emer_b

Hi ladies, haven't been on here in a year and half, but I'm back, feeding my second baby, 7 week old girl. Always got the best advice and support here.
Anyway, all was going well until yesterday. Developed a really intense, toe-curling pain in my left nipple and into the breast. Can't see any latch issues or damage to the nipple so I'm almost certain its thrush. Does a dose of thrush require a doctors visit and prescription or is it something that can be tackled myself?
Not looking for medical advice/diagnosis. Just wondering should I be ringing the gp first thing in the morning