The Breast Feeding Support Thread

dublinlady

Thinking of u bluesky - can't imagine how horrible that is for u all

Holding - it really is amazing what ur doing - imagine a little preterm or sick baba benefiting because of ur effort - it's remarkable.

Aknitter - glad u got a poop! S goes about once every 6-7 days... Always disgusting and explosive then.. But we do notice she doesn't sleep well for a night or two before and can be a little out if sorts while feeding etc. I gave her a bath today and had to give her 2 after ... It was a poo day.. Haha

She's trying her own room tonight for first time - she's been having naps in it all week, but I really can't squeeze her into Moses any longer! I'm a touch emotional about it but hopefully she'll sleep well! She's been down in there since 7 and just doing dream feed now so on target!

Nead21

Hugs Bluesky hope your little baba is ok

Blueskye

Nead21 wrote: »

Hugs Bluesky hope your little baba is ok

He's grand. Hooked up to IV and asleep on mammy. More concerned about his twin brother at home. J is a boob monster and has no mammy tonight. I don't know if he'll settle without me.

How Strange

Ah blueskye I hope he recovers quickly. Breastfeeding will help his immune system. It's not just a source of food.

A is wide awake again

Nead21

I just got my period back :-( At least that explains all the tears last week. I really thought it wouldnt come back until i had stopped feeding É.

How Strange

On O mine came back at 6.5 months so I presume moving him onto solids was the cause. I'm expecting the same thing to happen this time as there's no sign of it yet and A is 5 months.

My friend exclusively breastfed her 2 babies to 6 months and got hers after a few weeks of giving birth. I'd be well p1ssed off with that. It's definitely a big bonus of breastfeeding.

Nead21

Yeah id be raging too. Thought it might happen when going onto solids but we havent done that yet so it was a surprise.

dublinlady

Yeah I never got mine between the two pregnancies but must have ovulated at about 5 months cos that's when we conceived so would have had it back couple of weeks after that - but I only fed A for 13 weeks so no idea when it'll come this time! I'm expecting it to be bad tho its been since may 2011 since I had one ! Not looking forward to the pain
Looking forward to it in one way tho to get my hormones back to normal - although if I'm feeding that's unlikely!

lazygal

Need a place to post my happiness at three weeks of exclusive breastfeeding and counting. Had terrible problems getting started last time, which we sorted out with supplements of formula, but everything seems to be going smoothly this time. Still find the Marathon cluster feeds a challenge though.

liliq

lazygal wrote: »

Need a place to post my happiness at three weeks of exclusive breastfeeding and counting. Had terrible problems getting started last time, which we sorted out with supplements of formula, but everything seems to be going smoothly this time. Still find the Marathon cluster feeds a challenge though.

Well done! That's a great achievement!
The cluster feeds are tough, and there's a growth spurts sound now but sounds like you're on the ball!

wolfpawnat

Well done Lazygal

I have a manual tommee tippee and damn it the thing is useless. Everyone was raving on about the Medela Swing, but I nearly died at the price so I went shopping around online. Why the hell does anyone pay full price for anything??? A swing, delivered and all (second hand) for 60e!

Excited for the post now

dublinlady

wolfpawnat wrote: »

Well done Lazygal

I have a manual tommee tippee and damn it the thing is useless. Everyone was raving on about the Medela Swing, but I nearly died at the price so I went shopping around online. Why the hell does anyone pay full price for anything??? A swing, delivered and all (second hand) for 60e!

Excited for the post now

That is a great deal - the only concern I'd have is how much use they've had before in that I've read on kellymom or in the womanly art of breastfeeding (can't remember which) they with time thru can become less efficient? But presumably that's with a lot if use? My swing getting loads of use at the mo out and about and usually a fresh set of batteries sorts it if it loses pressure at all. It's a great great pump. Wish they made a quiet one tho

wolfpawnat

dublinlady wrote: »

That is a great deal - the only concern I'd have is how much use they've had before in that I've read on kellymom or in the womanly art of breastfeeding (can't remember which) they with time thru can become less efficient? But presumably that's with a lot if use? My swing getting loads of use at the mo out and about and usually a fresh set of batteries sorts it if it loses pressure at all. It's a great great pump. Wish they made a quiet one tho

The mom bought it planning to bf, but went on formula after a month. So it can't be too used in one month surely? The one I have I only get 3 ounces out of 2 breasts. And with two kids I can't spend all day hand expressing.

icescreamqueen

My baby had another weigh in with the PHN this morning. She has only put on 3ozs in 3 weeks from BFing exclusively. I'm so disheartened. It's time to wean her on to the bottle I think. I just don't have enough milk for her I think and she also has bad reflux. Although the nurse wants her to have a more comprehensive check up with the doctor to rule out anything more serious

liliq

icescreamqueen wrote: »

My baby had another weigh in with the PHN this morning. She has only put on 3ozs in 3 weeks from BFing exclusively. I'm so disheartened. It's time to wean her on to the bottle I think. I just don't have enough milk for her I think and she also has bad reflux. Although the nurse wants her to have a more comprehensive check up with the doctor to rule out anything more serious

Is that in three weeks she was born? It can take breastfed babies 3 weeks to gain back birth weight so that's not bad at all if its the case
Don't be disheartened, weight isn't the only measure of a baby thriving. Wet and dirty nappies are a bigger indicator that they are feeding well.

icescreamqueen

liliq wrote: »

Is that in three weeks she was born? It can take breastfed babies 3 weeks to gain back birth weight so that's not bad at all if its the case
Don't be disheartened, weight isn't the only measure of a baby thriving. Wet and dirty nappies are a bigger indicator that they are feeding well.

No she's 8 weeks old tomorrow. Her weight gain has been at a snails pace the last 3 weeks. She only weighs 8'7 now which is low for her age. She has plenty of wet nappies and maybe a dirty nappy every 2-3 days. She has lots of energy, is always moving her feet and arms but can get unsettled as the day goes on which leads me to think that I don't have enough milk to give her. I love BFing, more than I thought but bottle feeding seems to be the next step for her.

SnoozySuzie

icescreamqueen wrote: »

No she's 8 weeks old tomorrow. Her weight gain has been at a snails pace the last 3 weeks. She only weighs 8'7 now which is low for her age. She has plenty of wet nappies and maybe a dirty nappy every 2-3 days. She has lots of energy, is always moving her feet and arms but can get unsettled as the day goes on which leads me to think that I don't have enough milk to give her. I love BFing, more than I thought but bottle feeding seems to be the next step for her.

Can you do combination feeding icescreamqueen. My baby is the same she gets cranky in the afternoon so I top her up with formula and she's like a new baby I do the same before bed and bf the rest of the time. She's 10 weeks tomo and just over 15lb so she's definitely getting enough :-D

icescreamqueen

SnoozySuzie wrote: »

Can you do combination feeding icescreamqueen. My baby is the same she gets cranky in the afternoon so I top her up with formula and she's like a new baby I do the same before bed and bf the rest of the time. She's 10 weeks tomo and just over 15lb so she's definitely getting enough :-D

She's a great size, she must be thriving. Your way of feeding is exactly what I would like to do now. Do you have any tips about weaning her onto the bottle? I don't have a clue about bottle feeding at all.

wolfpawnat

I agree with SS icecreamqueen, if you are not happy with weight gain, just supplement with formula as oppose to just giving up. Top up feeds with it or dedicate one meal to it.

If I am not able to get more milk out with the new breast pump I will be doing that. I just want to give it the try with a better pump first and top her up with the expressed first, if that doesn't work I will combi. Best of both then

I know your pain though. I didn't turn up for S's weighing today. I didn't like their attitude and I feel she is okay, cheerful, bright and loads of wet nappies.

As for weaning onto bottles, the closer to nature I find are best. That is just my personal experience though. S won't touch the avents, but loves the tommee tippee CTN.

aknitter

If anyone is shopping around try this site

https://www.flubit.com/

You find what you want on amazon and it will look for a better deal for you. Sometimes the reductions are great, sometimes only a euro or two but anything that can save us a few bob can't be bad.

SnoozySuzie

icescreamqueen wrote: »

She's a great size, she must be thriving. Your way of feeding is exactly what I would like to do now. Do you have any tips about weaning her onto the bottle? I don't have a clue about bottle feeding at all.

I'm probably lucky she's not fussy she took the bottle straight away. I use Tommy tippee. The only thing is cos she's used to sucking so hard the milk flies out of the bottle so it's very messy. We go through at least 2 muslins cloths a day.

dublinlady

Wolfpawnat - that sounds a great deal on the pump - I think it's more after 6-12 months use they can get unreliable!!
I find it great anyway!

How Strange

icecreamqueen are you breastfeeding on demand ie when your little one shows signs of mooching and without watching the clock or trying to create a schedule?

Would you consider getting into bed together for a few days, snuggle and feed on demand?

Would you contact ciudiu or la Leche and speak to someone?

Supplementing with formula is an option but if there's a milk transfer issue then it's be good to get it resolved. You've come this far now and you're almost at the stage where breastfeeding gets easier.

Getting unsettled in the late afternoon/evening is totally normal and isn't a sign that you don't have enough milk. That fussiness usually stops between 11-16 weeks.

How Strange

I got a swing pump secondhand recently as mine died through over use. I loaned it to a friend who pumped a lot as she was away from her baby for work quite often.

I got it for €80 (not quite as good as wolfpawnat!) but it was obviously only used a few times.

Those pumps have gone up €50 since I bought mine new in 2011! I couldn't justify spending €160 on a new one for ocassional use.

wolfpawnat

160e for long term use even is too much. No one is made of money these days!

cyning

When I got my Nuk electric pump I got it new for €33 on sale I found it brilliant. Have a Nuk manual (the one that looks like a tube) and an Avent manual too. The Avent sucked, the Nuk manual was really good too (that's what you get for forgetting part of your pump when away over night!).

I spent 7 months utterly doubting my supply. If I had enough if it was good enough if she was satisfied because she fed so often. Really and truly I obviously did but it's so hard when all you hear is ounces and schedules. Definitely feed on demand and my LC showed me how to do breast compressions at the start when I was really worried about supply: you could hear her start to glug more. Might be worth a try? I used pump one side and feed on the other side in the morning for trying to get a freezer stash. I hated pumping though so unless I had something on I didn't bother too much.

wolfpawnat

I have the Tommee Tippee Manual now and it is useless. The Avent manual was so much better for me with no1. I just don't have much time to juggle everything. S will not feed from the breast at her 8/9 feed in the evening, it has to be bottle so I need a good sized bottle. I know I have way more than 3oz in my breasts because if I have a bit of time and I hand express I get a load more out, but with two to chase round, I seem never to have 5 min free!

cyning

I could never get more than a drop or two hand expressing. I think it was the thoughts of it. I don't know how I'm going to manage when no 2 arrives: it's so time consuming at the start. Definitely going to need to master feeding in a sling I think.

wolfpawnat

cyning wrote: »

I could never get more than a drop or two hand expressing. I think it was the thoughts of it. I don't know how I'm going to manage when no 2 arrives: it's so time consuming at the start. Definitely going to need to master feeding in a sling I think.

I found my lo didn't like the sling, walking around boob out and feeding while doing jobs is hard!

iguana

cyning wrote: »

I could never get more than a drop or two hand expressing. I think it was the thoughts of it. I don't know how I'm going to manage when no 2 arrives: it's so time consuming at the start. Definitely going to need to master feeding in a sling I think.

You're pregnant? Congratulations!!!!!:D Hope you have an easier 9 months this time around.