The Breast Feeding Support Thread

hollymartins · 14-06-2018 12:00PM

kastasia wrote: »

I'm confused about how I should be using my haakaa. Bought it a while back but only tried it first time a few nights ago, with little success. The morning before last I tried to use on one side when he was feeding on other but he happened to vomit everything up so I abandoned. I tried it again yesterday evening while he was sleeping and only had 1 oz. I've stored it in fridge anyway and will try feed to him tomorrow to see how he takes bottle. He's 5 weeks btw.
Am I just getting so little because I'm starting out? Or do you just get more by using multiple times in the day? Do you use new freezer bags for each time you collect and which do you recommend? Do I need to sterilise before each use or that was just first time and as long as I wash after using I'm ok? Sorry for all the questions. I just feel when I Google that I just find articles / videos about how easy it is to use.

I use the Hakaa aswell and I think it's great. I have a medela pump which I used first time around but I think I'll only use that now if I have to pump when I'm not feeding my daughter. Washing the hakaa is so easy compared to the individual parts of an electric pump.

One thing I noticed that affected the amount I expressed was how much water I was drinking. Every morning I could express 2-3 oz in one sitting but if I don't manage to drink water the previous night I could struggle to express a drop so my advice is to make sure you're well hydrated.

I'm using medela breastmilk storage bags at the moment.

Pocos · 14-06-2018 02:15PM

Hi ladies,

I have a 23 week baby and I had planned on waiting till 26 weeks to introduce solids, starting with baby rice! She’s was sleeping through the night but has started waking anc I feed her and she seems genuinely hungry!

She’s EBF I’m just wondering should I start solids sooner? Maybe she needs more than milk? Has anyone here started before 26 weeks? And if so why?

Thanks ladies

jlm29 · 14-06-2018 03:26PM

Pocos wrote: »

Hi ladies,

I have a 23 week baby and I had planned on waiting till 26 weeks to introduce solids, starting with baby rice! She’s was sleeping through the night but has started waking anc I feed her and she seems genuinely hungry!

She’s EBF I’m just wondering should I start solids sooner? Maybe she needs more than milk? Has anyone here started before 26 weeks? And if so why?

Thanks ladies

I’ve always held off with my guys, I just feel it’s so much easier when they’re a bit older, and it’s easier to get food into them! I also hate starting solids, because it’s the end of the “grab a nappy and go phase”, which is SO much easier than thinking about solids!
PS I wouldn’t bother with baby rice either, it doesn’t offer much by way of nutrition!

scarepanda · 14-06-2018 04:15PM

We started solids around 22 weeks with puree. We started early coz I buckled under pressure from the PHN who had her knickers in a twist over baby's weight gain - turned out not to be and issue- and it never made and difference to her weight.

Are there any other things going on that may cause baby to wake? Teething? A developmental leap? Have a look at wonder weeks if you don't have the app all already. Could the heat over the last few weeks be an issue? Or the sudden colder temps? Could they be having a growth spurt which will make them hungrier?

For what it's worth, like jlm29, I wouldn't bother with baby rice. It doesn't have any nutritional value. Your baby should be well able to handle puree food, the texture won't be much different to rice and will offer some nutrition.

Pocos · 14-06-2018 04:53PM

Thanks ladies! Let’s me honest it could be any of those things! She does have the hand in the mouth a lot and it is very warm at night! I suppose I got used to the full nights sleep and now am wrecked after going back to the broken sleep! Just want a quick fix I suppose

bee06 · 14-06-2018 05:19PM

I read Sarah Ockwell-Smiths book on sleep when we were going through the 4 month sleep regression and one of the things she goes through is that introducing solids won’t help babies sleep. It’s explained more in this:

https://sarahockwell-smith.com/2014/09/16/ten-common-baby-parenting-myths-you-might-believe-and-why-you-shouldnt/amp/

lazygal · 14-06-2018 05:34PM

Pocos wrote: »

Hi ladies,

I have a 23 week baby and I had planned on waiting till 26 weeks to introduce solids, starting with baby rice! She’s was sleeping through the night but has started waking anc I feed her and she seems genuinely hungry!

She’s EBF I’m just wondering should I start solids sooner? Maybe she needs more than milk? Has anyone here started before 26 weeks? And if so why?

Thanks ladies

Baby rice is awful stuff, skip it and go straight to finger foods which are recommended at six months. Solids made no difference to either of mine sleepwise, sleep is a developmental thing rather than a problem to be solved. I would not start solids before the WHO recommended age of 26 weeks, there's no benefit to it unless there's a specific medical need.

waterfaerie · 14-06-2018 07:39PM

kastasia wrote: »

Thanks for the reply waterfaerie. The pumping is working fine, though not rushing to do much more until I've sorted out how to store it.
I'm just wondering re the not needing to sterilise. This sounds great and I've seen it mentioned on some websites, but the hse and NHS still recommend ongoing sterilisation for expressed milk equipment. Are they just being overly cautious? My mam just mentioned having to sterilise everything today and I said I only needed to wash, but then afterwards I started thinking about it some more.
Also what freezer storage bags do you use?

I hadn't heard what the HSE and NHS say about sterilising but I've heard from plenty of sources I trust that you don't need to, including the Kellymom website, my local Cuidiú breastfeeding counsellor and the IBCLC (lactation consultant) that I dealt with for my baby's tongue tie. Sometimes you have to take contrasting information from different reputable sources and go with what feels right to you. I rarely sterlilsed anything and I never had any problems.

I used the Lansinoh storage bags and I found Amazon by far the cheapest place for them.

Millem · 14-06-2018 08:11PM

Girls are many of you pumping in work? How do you manage?

I did it this week and it sooo much hassle and time consuming. I would much prefer to go home to feed baby.

I finished work for the summer now thank goodness.....looking forward to spending summer with my kids and feeding baby whenever he wants.

waterfaerie · 14-06-2018 08:14PM

lazygal wrote: »

Baby rice is awful stuff, skip it and go straight to finger foods which are recommended at six months. Solids made no difference to either of mine sleepwise, sleep is a developmental thing rather than a problem to be solved. I would not start solids before the WHO recommended age of 26 weeks, there's no benefit to it unless there's a specific medical need.

I agree absolutely with all of this. Wait until the recommended 26 weeks when the baby's system is fully ready. As Scarepanda said as well, there is likely a reason other than hunger for the change in sleep.

I also agree that going straight to finger foods is the best advice. Baby rice is not only nutritionally useless but it's actually very unhealthy. With purees, your choices are to feed your baby stuff that's full of sugar, salt and other additives, spend ridiculous amounts of money on gourmet brands that have no additives (if you believe them) or spend ridiculous amounts of time making your own.

If you're exclusively breastfeeding, baby led weaning is very much a natural progression from that. I can't tell you enough how stress and hassle free it is. Someone else mentioned the end of the “grab a nappy and go phase” once you start solids but that's really not the case if you do BLW. I keep a packet of corn cakes in my bag for emergencies but otherwise I'm still very much just grabbing a nappy and going as my baby just eats whatever I'm eating. There are lots of other benefits, too, mostly related to the baby's well being. I'd recommend reading the baby led weaning book if you're not convinced.

As for guidelines, the WHO have good reasons for their recommendations and I would trust them. On the other hand, Irish HSE workers, PHNs and formula and baby food manufacturers have different agendas and those are more to do with profits, tax, box ticking and getting mothers back into the workplace as early as possible than they are to do with what's best for your baby.

shesty · 14-06-2018 08:54PM

I started both mine round 22 weeks.No outside influence, they just both were ready, holding their heads up well, and seriously interested.I think I gave my first baby rice a couple of times, but didn't bother on my second, she started on pureed carrot.The baby rice ism't meant to be nutritious, it's just to get them used to the feel of something thats not liquid in their mouths.And " food before 1, is just for fun" anyway, so it's up to yourself if you want to use it or not.
I agree solids aren't a solution to sleep issues though.Babies wake at night for months and go through phases of weeks where they wake more often.Unfortunately solids won't have much impact on that.If only it was that easy :-(

Pocos · 14-06-2018 09:37PM

Thanks everyone for the advice! It’s so hard to know!

My LO won’t take a bottle so I kinda felt the baby rice would be a good idea to get milk into her when I’m not around! I’d prefer to finish up the breast feeding in the next few weeks before I go back to work but the bottle is a total no go at the moment with her!

Also felt the baby rice would get her useful to the spoon.

Relating to baby led weaning I think I’d be too nervous about choking! I’m not cool or relaxed enough for it! I need something more structure. But def if I far a second baby I would consider it as I would be more confident

In relation to the waking up we had been trying to replace a feed at 6pm with a bottle but she won’t take it or takes very little! So that feed was being missed so I’m hoping that’s what was causing the night time hunger. Fingers crossed anyway

Thanks ladies for all your advice

lazygal · 14-06-2018 09:53PM

You don't need to stop breastfeeding on return to work. My second child never took bottles and I weaned him at 4.5 years because I'm pregnant again.
Choking is very rare, babies have a built in gag reflex. Purees are so much hassle and at six months finger foods are recommended anyway.

scarepanda · 14-06-2018 10:05PM

I'd just like to add, when I said puree, I meant texture of the food rather than bought puree! We started on pureed carrot etc. From my experience babies will eat so little that you can make enough to freeze for a number of days at a time. Personally, I wouldn't bother with the bought stuff, what you make yourself will be so much healthier and you know exactly what's gone into the food.

We started finger food around 7 months and very quickly my little girl was feeding herself every meal and snack with the exception of breakfast which was usually porridge . We always also have her a breaker of water/milk and spoons as well and let her play with them.

Pocos, finger food is a leap of faith, but it's so handy!!! I'll definitely start it even earlier if we ever have a no.2. You'll know very quickly what texture your baby is ready for.
Also I wouldn't worry about a bottle at this stage, just put all liquids into a beaker. My breastfed baby never really took a bottle very handy, but she took to the 360 beakers the best out of all we have tried.

shesty · 15-06-2018 03:29AM

I wasn't brave enough to do BLW straight away with mine either but I introduced finger food early (earlier on the second) and ended up kind of doing a cross between the two, purees and finger food.Worked fine.Both mine demanded the spoon round 12/13 mths, so I let them have it it's messy but amazing how quick they work it out.
Definitely make your own purees, the shop bought ones aren't worth it.I use shopbought bany food as kind of a back up for the odd days I hd nothing left in the freezer.They actually taste really bland compared to.your own cooked stuff.

bee06 · 15-06-2018 06:00AM

I did a baby weaning course with a dietician a couple of months ago just to prepare myself and one of the things she explained was one of the important things about food before 1 is introducing them to flavours and the thing about the bought stuff is that it doesn’t particularly taste like anything. For example the deliciously Ella pouches all include apple so all the baby gets to taste is sweet apple. She said they’re grand the odd time but better not to rely on them.

shesty · 15-06-2018 11:21AM

I've had a taste of some of those Ella pouches and they basically all taste the same!!!Very bland, mainly a bit oniony.The bolognese one was the only one my kids seemed to have any interest in, the rest they pushed away.Once you start cooking for them, most kids like the variety in taste I think.It's very time consuming for the first while but it's worth it.

rainbow kirby · 15-06-2018 12:25PM

With my 2 year old he had a mixture of purees and finger food - he was always a very hungry baby so giving him some food to mess with himself but also spoonfeeding him some seemed to work well. Out of the storebought ones, we particularly liked the For Aisha ones - his favourites were the tomato and lentil dhal and the chicken and sweet potato curry.

donkey10 · 15-06-2018 09:16PM

lazygal wrote: »

Pocos wrote: »

Hi ladies,

I have a 23 week baby and I had planned on waiting till 26 weeks to introduce solids, starting with baby rice! She’s was sleeping through the night but has started waking anc I feed her and she seems genuinely hungry!

She’s EBF I’m just wondering should I start solids sooner? Maybe she needs more than milk? Has anyone here started before 26 weeks? And if so why?

Thanks ladies

Baby rice is awful stuff, skip it and go straight to finger foods which are recommended at six months. Solids made no difference to either of mine sleepwise, sleep is a developmental thing rather than a problem to be solved. I would not start solids before the WHO recommended age of 26 weeks, there's no benefit to it unless there's a specific medical need.

What type of finger food do you recommend?

scarepanda · 15-06-2018 10:32PM

Whatever your having yourself. If I remember correctly we started with banana (coz I was very nervous at first), then we moved to other stuff like toast, carrot sticks (they make a great teether!, I think we started with slightly softened sticks at first), a little bit of pealed apple, orange segments, tomato etc. Make sure if you give grapes and cherry tomatoes that you cut them in half.

I always gave a piece slightly bigger than what she could fit in her mouth because she had a habit of trying to stuff it all in at once. But giving her a bigger piece meant that she had to take a bite and she learned very quickly.

catrionanic · 16-06-2018 07:40AM

Millem wrote: »

Girls are many of you pumping in work? How do you manage?

I did it this week and it sooo much hassle and time consuming. I would much prefer to go home to feed baby.

I finished work for the summer now thank goodness.....looking forward to spending summer with my kids and feeding baby whenever he wants.

I pumped in work for around six months (although I only work 2-3 days a week), as I returned when baby was 5.5 months old. I was away from him for 9.5 hours per day. To be honest, it was stressful. I only get one break all day, which is 30 mins long, and did my pumping then. It meant that I often had to choose between pumping and eating - and usually chose pumping.

Once wasn’t enough. Two 20-30 min breaks, one mid-morning and one mid-afternoon, would’ve been much better. I often wasn’t getting enough milk during one session to feed my baby for the full day when I was away, and so I also had to pump on my days off and use that to supplement.

You also need a good pump. I bought the spectra double electric pump and it was a lot easier than my single.

Millem · 16-06-2018 09:43AM

catrionanic wrote: »

I pumped in work for around six months (although I only work 2-3 days a week), as I returned when baby was 5.5 months old. I was away from him for 9.5 hours per day. To be honest, it was stressful. I only get one break all day, which is 30 mins long, and did my pumping then. It meant that I often had to choose between pumping and eating - and usually chose pumping.

Once wasn’t enough. Two 20-30 min breaks, one mid-morning and one mid-afternoon, would’ve been much better. I often wasn’t getting enough milk during one session to feed my baby for the full day when I was away, and so I also had to pump on my days off and use that to supplement.

You also need a good pump. I bought the spectra double electric pump and it was a lot easier than my single.

Jeekers I don’t know how you managed it! Between washing, finding somewhere, pumping etc it took far too long!
Baby was almost 10 months and tbh I felt I was pushing it only pumping once. I hated it...felt a bit embarrassed trying to hide the milk in the fridge.

Was there any provision in your job for breastfeeding breaks?

catrionanic · 16-06-2018 10:42AM

Millem wrote: »

Jeekers I don’t know how you managed it! Between washing, finding somewhere, pumping etc it took far too long!
Baby was almost 10 months and tbh I felt I was pushing it only pumping once. I hated it...felt a bit embarrassed trying to hide the milk in the fridge.

Was there any provision in your job for breastfeeding breaks?

No provision, no. I work in the private sector and in an industry where they generally give very little to employees.

If baby is 10 months, and will be over a year when you return after the summer, surely there’s not much need to pump? Once my wee man turned one, he was happy on solids and water during the day, and had a feed before I left and as soon as I got home.

Millem · 16-06-2018 10:52AM

catrionanic wrote: »

No provision, no. I work in the private sector and in an industry where they generally give very little to employees.

If baby is 10 months, and will be over a year when you return after the summer, surely there’s not much need to pump? Once my wee man turned one, he was happy on solids and water during the day, and had a feed before I left and as soon as I got home.

Yeah I hope I won’t need to pump but tbh he still feeds so much.....including during the night!

I was doing contract work for a week so not in my usual place of work! I just felt so rushed.....

Fingers crossed all will be grand in September. My problem is there could be days where I actually dont get any break in work

I have no control over my timetable.

lazygal · 16-06-2018 11:24AM

donkey10 wrote: »

What type of finger food do you recommend?

We started with roasted veg and soft fruits. Strips of chicken or fish when we were eating it. Well cooked porridge cut into strips. Whatever we had, minus salt basically!

shesty · 16-06-2018 02:11PM

How do you cut porridge into strips???
I think the bigger the piece you give them the better, it minimises the likelihood of them cramming a piece in that's too big, they have to bite.
Probably would hold off grapes and cherries for a month or so, just be sure you cut them lengthwise, and not widthwise (although that can be hard to identify with cherry tomatoes :-) ) I spend so much time cutting fruit, I do it for my fruit too without thinking!!!

bee06 · 16-06-2018 02:17PM

Hopefully my attachment shows up ... my first time doing it.

Anyway, this shows the foods that should be avoided as they are choking hazards and what should be halved or quartered like Shesty explains. There is a really good Facebook group called baby led weaning - meal ideas and beginners help. It’s mainly a us group and strictly BLW (no combi feeding) but have tons of pictures and info like the attached on how to cut things etc.

waterfaerie · 16-06-2018 02:38PM

bee06 wrote: »

Hopefully my attachment shows up ... my first time doing it.

Anyway, this shows the foods that should be avoided as they are choking hazards and what should be halved or quartered like Shesty explains. There is a really good Facebook group called baby led weaning - meal ideas and beginners help. It’s mainly a us group and strictly BLW (no combi feeding) but have tons of pictures and info like the attached on how to cut things etc.

There's an Irish BLW facebook group as well. It's called Baby Led Weaning (Starting Solids) in Ireland. It's very active and has great info, too.

bee06 · 16-06-2018 02:45PM

waterfaerie wrote: »

There's an Irish BLW facebook group as well. It's called Baby Led Weaning (Starting Solids) in Ireland. It's very active and has great info, too.

Yeah, I’m on that one as well and it’s great for specific advice but I love the visual aids they have in the US one.

Pocos · 16-06-2018 07:20PM

Wow ladies thanks so much for all the info! I might look more into the BLW! She is 24 weeks this week so have two weeks before introducing solids! Exciting stuff but also nervous also

The Breast Feeding Support Thread

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