The Breast Feeding Support Thread

How Strange

Me too Ivy and my son is fine on milk but I understand why some people are reluctant to give it. I started giving it at 11 months as I thought it was better and cheaper than formula.

lounakin

Hobbitfeet wrote: »

There was a thread awhile ago about follow on/growing up milk I posted this link and will post it here too http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/health/2012/1120/1224326834302.html
If you want your child to have the best possible nutrients then make sure they have a good diet of fresh organic foods and breastfeed. Seems like in Ireland we are a little obsessed with milk and that if we don't drink some kind of milk then we are going to be lacking in nutrients but its not true we can get everything cows milk has from other sources and in most causes these nutrients and more easily absorbed than from cows milk.

The nurse at my daughter's 9 months check up really insisted that she should have one (or was it 2?) pint of milk a day! I didn't want to discuss the fact that calcium is found in other sources as well. I grew up hating milk and never had it, however, I had tons of cheese. Never had calcium related issues.

Hobbitfeet

Wow a pint if milk at 9 months seems like a lot. Personally I don't trust a word that comes from my phn she has given me such incorrect advice it's shocking I'm glad I know better but sad for other women who take **** advice from their hcps.

lounakin

Hobbitfeet wrote: »

Wow a pint if milk at 9 months seems like a lot. Personally I don't trust a word that comes from my phn she has given me such incorrect advice it's shocking I'm glad I know better but sad for other women who take **** advice from their hcps.

Same here, really rotten advice from her...

implausible

lounakin wrote: »

On the one hand growing up milk seems way to processed, expensive etc... but cow's milk is also messed with to the point where it no longer resembles fresh milk.

There is a massive difference between how processed growing up milk is and the food safety requirements for cow's milk. Irish cow's milk is the best in the world - our cows are mostly fed on grass and the milk is homogenised and pasteurised before getting to the customer. The high purity and quality of our cow's milk is the reason we are one of the biggest producers of formula in the world.

That said, we are as a nation obsessed with giving cow's milk to toddlers and it's a good idea to provide other sources of calcium.

lounakin

implausible wrote: »

There is a massive difference between how processed growing up milk is and the food safety requirements for cow's milk. Irish cow's milk is the best in the world - our cows are mostly fed on grass and the milk is homogenised and pasteurised before getting to the customer. The high purity and quality of our cow's milk is the reason we are one of the biggest producers of formula in the world.

That said, we are as a nation obsessed with giving cow's milk to toddlers and it's a good idea to provide other sources of calcium.

On a side note: french milk is also honogenised and pasteurised but I assumed milk here was more processed (that's my completely uneducated opinion) because of all the added vitamins and stuff written all over the cartons. What struck me the most was that Irish milk has barely any taste, it's like water. I have never liked french milk as it's much stronger.

liliq

Follow on milk is a total gimmick, as how strange has said. Loaded with sugar.
We don't need to drink cows milk either.
We're Breastfeeding but even when we stop I won't be replacing breast milk with cows milk, will just keep giving him water and whatever else to drink.
Total obsession with giving toddlers milk in this country- not surprising with our agricultural background.
Too much milk can also suppress appetite, or maybe more accurate to say- can satisfy appetite. It should really be treated more like a food than drink for little ones.

lynski

I have 3 children: oldest stopped drinking milk regularly at 18 mths, next at 12 and the last has not managed to drink milk regularly ever. Oldest 2 dont take any regular milky drink, youngest is bf and drinks rice milk. there is no yogurt or cheese used in our house, with the youngest being completely dairy free, middle one mostly and oldest i dont restrict.
Symptoms from dairy use range from asthma like wheezing, runny noses, runny poos, stomach pains, night waking and behavior issues. all 3 have excellent appetites, eat a variety of food and are above average height and developing normally. The irish dairy obsession is crazy.

IvyTheTerrible

Well I went to the pediatrician and as I suspected, she say NO to cows milk even at a year old. She says it does not have enough iron etc etc etc and that it will effect his brain development if he does not drink follow-on milk. To be honest, I was a bit gobsmacked. Does anyone any reliable references saying it's ok not to have follow on milk at 1 year old?

missis aggie

Wow I'm speechless :O pediatritian recommending a ''follow on milk" for iron is mad. My daughter is 18 months and she doesn't drink milk but have other calcium rich and easier to digest dairy like yoghurts or kefir. Also there is so many food products rich in iron I don't think there is any need for milk ..
Follow on milk is apparently a gimmick to go around advertising formula.
http://www.analyticalarmadillo.co.uk/2010/08/breastfeeding-q-ask-armadillo.html?m=1
Good read.

lounakin

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Well I went to the pediatrician and as I suspected, she say NO to cows milk even at a year old. She says it does not have enough iron etc etc etc and that it will effect his brain development if he does not drink follow-on milk. To be honest, I was a bit gobsmacked. Does anyone any reliable references saying it's ok not to have follow on milk at 1 year old?

That sounds outrageous! That doctor is either sponsored or ignorant. There's a third possibility: I know some doctors who are convinced that parents are too stupid to feed their baby correctly (and when looking at rates of obesity etc, some obviously are) and probably think: "well at least they get nutrients from the follow on milk if nothing else'.

IvyTheTerrible

lounakin wrote: »

That sounds outrageous! That doctor is either sponsored or ignorant. There's a third possibility: I know some doctors who are convinced that parents are too stupid to feed their baby correctly (and when looking at rates of obesity etc, some obviously are) and probably think: "well at least they get nutrients from the follow on milk if nothing else'.

Well she can't think I'm not feeding him right, seeing as I brought in a timetable of what he eats daily (with amounts). Now she did say she didn't give a damn what brand I picked (perhaps she was afraid to name a brand because I did say I thought that follow-on was just a tool of the marketers).

Hobbitfeet

Ivy do you think your lo has a well balanced diet? If they are then there's no need for follow. Any nutrients will be absorbed much easier from real food rather than follow on. You could end up filling your child up on formula and suppressing their appetite for real food which in the long run will have a negative effect.

How Strange

This is an article which was published late last year in the Irish times

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/health/2012/1120/1224326834302.html

Neyite

I have a return-to-work question.

Baby will be 11 months when I return to work. He has a decent 7.30 feed, and usually I try him between meals at around 11am, and 3pm but he only feeds for those a couple of minutes. He is quite good at drinking water now, which I offer with his 3 meals a day. He gets a 200ml aptimal carton going to bed (which I dont want to change as its Dad's time with him) which he rarely finishes. He usually wakes around 4am and I feed him to sleep, but I suspect this is habit/comfort rather than hunger as he has a great daytime appetite.

Should I express (or even can I) for that month then put him on cows milk? If you dont express for a while, can you gradually increase the amounts expressed even if the feeds have dropped off and you are not producing as much? Or just transfer him to cows milk a month early? I dont get engorged or leak at all now, and only had to pump and dump a small amount when I overnighted away from my baby, so I dont know if I want to be all engorged again especially in work (tho the larger boobage was rather nice)

Any advice?

lounakin

Hey all, I also have a question... sorry for obstructing the board with my question just after Neyite so give her priority
I'm back at work 3 nights a week (mon, tues, thur) from about 6 to 10 pm. So baby gets expressed milk those 3 times at 7 pm. I have been pumping at 10pm when I return home. But now I realise that I have to do it every night at 10 in order to keep the supply going. She also needs a feed around 1 am and 4 am. The thing is she doesn't need a bottle on friday, sat and sunday, which means I have 4 feeds sitting in the fridge I don't know what to do with! 10 pm is annoying if I want to go out or to bed early . Am I doomed to this schedule I created or can I stop pumping for a couple of days without incident?

IvyTheTerrible

lounakin wrote: »

Hey all, I also have a question... sorry for obstructing the board with my question just after Neyite so give her priority
I'm back at work 3 nights a week (mon, tues, thur) from about 6 to 10 pm. So baby gets expressed milk those 3 times at 7 pm. I have been pumping at 10pm when I return home. But now I realise that I have to do it every night at 10 in order to keep the supply going. She also needs a feed around 1 am and 4 am. The thing is she doesn't need a bottle on friday, sat and sunday, which means I have 4 feeds sitting in the fridge I don't know what to do with! 10 pm is annoying if I want to go out or to bed early . Am I doomed to this schedule I created or can I stop pumping for a couple of days without incident?

Could you pump before you go to work? If you're feeding at 1 and 4am anyway, your supply should be ok for that. Also, extra feeds can be stored in the freezer for nights out or whatever. (I got some special bags which are easier to store, also they defrost quicker). You can keep them in the freezer for a month.

lounakin

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Could you pump before you go to work? If you're feeding at 1 and 4am anyway, your supply should be ok for that. Also, extra feeds can be stored in the freezer for nights out or whatever. (I got some special bags which are easier to store, also they defrost quicker). You can keep them in the freezer for a month.

I couldn't because I'm alone and she needs too much supervision, I feed her before nap time and then we just wait for her dad to come home so there's no way. I could freeze but I doubt I'd ever use it in time. Looks like milk will go to waste

But if I miss one pumping session, will it affect my supply?

Hobbitfeet

You could donate it to the milk bank or other mums who need it? Such a shame for it to be wasted

lounakin

Hobbitfeet wrote: »

You could donate it to the milk bank or other mums who need it? Such a shame for it to be wasted

I'll look into that definitely!

NextSteps

Neyite wrote: »

I have a return-to-work question.

Baby will be 11 months when I return to work. He has a decent 7.30 feed, and usually I try him between meals at around 11am, and 3pm but he only feeds for those a couple of minutes. He is quite good at drinking water now, which I offer with his 3 meals a day. He gets a 200ml aptimal carton going to bed (which I dont want to change as its Dad's time with him) which he rarely finishes. He usually wakes around 4am and I feed him to sleep, but I suspect this is habit/comfort rather than hunger as he has a great daytime appetite.

Should I express (or even can I) for that month then put him on cows milk? If you dont express for a while, can you gradually increase the amounts expressed even if the feeds have dropped off and you are not producing as much? Or just transfer him to cows milk a month early? I dont get engorged or leak at all now, and only had to pump and dump a small amount when I overnighted away from my baby, so I dont know if I want to be all engorged again especially in work (tho the larger boobage was rather nice)

Any advice?

I went back to work at 10 months and baby didn't have milk during the day, just food and water. He was fine. He just had a big feed when we got home in the evening.

NextSteps

Lounakin, milk keeps for quite a while in the freezer. You might be glad of it for a night out (or away!) some time?

lounakin

NextSteps wrote: »

Lounakin, milk keeps for quite a while in the freezer. You might be glad of it for a night out (or away!) some time?

I don't really go out for long, can't stand pubs, I go for meals or cinema and usually don't need to leave a bottle but what I'd really like to know is if missing one pumping session will mess up my supply? Say if I drop one fay a week but a different one every week?

mary1978

Hi Lounakin,

I would say it varies from person to person so you would have to just try and see but what I have found is as long as I pump say 4 of 7 days then my breasts keep making enough. I do it just a few days a week for when my lo goes to creche.
I freeze any extra milk in in icecube trays and then can just defrost as many cubes as i need...

lounakin

mary1978 wrote: »

Hi Lounakin,

I would say it varies from person to person so you would have to just try and see but what I have found is as long as I pump say 4 of 7 days then my breasts keep making enough. I do it just a few days a week for when my lo goes to creche.
I freeze any extra milk in in icecube trays and then can just defrost as many cubes as i need...

That's roughly what I have to do as well. I'll give it a go and see what happens.
I heard that frozen milk loses some of the nutrients, is there any truth to that?

How Strange

lounakin is just pump the days you're working and not the other days if you don't want to. Your supply will adjust.

Neyite express if you want otherwise just introduce cows milk. I really don't think they magically start tolerating cows milk at 12 months. 11 months is fine to start. I starting giving my son one cows milk feed a day at 11 months.

I think the 4am waking is what most babies do. I read somewhere that it's a time when they go into a lighter sleep so are more likely to wake. My son always woke around this time and would mooch for a feed. Around 11 months or so he'd often sleep 7pm to 4am and then want a feed. He's 2 now and still tends to wake up at 4am ish but thankfully goes back to sleep (most times) after having a little chat to himself or singing a song!

0ctober

Hi I just want to say thanks for the advice re reverse cycling a few pages back, I haven't had a chance to get on here in weeks to reply. H is more settled at night time now only waking twice, it took maybe a month for her to settle down. Thanks again, really appreciate it!

cyning

Has anyone any ideas on how to stop my 8 month old biting all the time? I pull her off and say no and i dont let her back on straight away. Thank god she has no teeth yet but my left nipple is mind numbingly first two weeks of breastfeeding kind of sore! I know she is probably teething but its driving me to the point of tears

How Strange

cyning it's very annoying alright. I tried saying no very firmly but he used to burst into tears so I had to stop. Then I'd press his nose into me in the hope that he'd release his vice like grip. That had minimal success.

In the end I tried to watch for signs that he was finished feeding and was just hanging there because that's when he'd chomp down. At that point I'd take him off and put him on the ground to play. The feeds were probably a couple of minutes long at that stage.

cyning

The way feeding is going is she latches on feeds for a minute, pulls off has a chat to my nipple, try's to grab and play with it latches on feeds and then starts to bite. Feeding in public is impossible and I'm so frustrated with it all the biting in particular... Hoping its a phase! I have dody on stand by to break her latch