35+ TTC 1st Graduates!!! Come on Over!

[Mommy's Angel]

Steph I'm curious, how much are you able to pump a session? I can only seem to pump 2oz which isn'tenough so I'd need two pumping sessiond to replace a fedding. Then the prob is once i pump Zi have to feed Sophie within the hiur (or sooner) and she ends up having to nurse for ove an hr to get enough milk.
I can see pumping once everyday to store for a rainy day but to replace a feeding? I just can't see it unless I am doing somethingwrong

I think my breastfeeding days are over. The pain is turning me into a crazy bitch. I'm argumentative, I never seem to be happy anymore because everyday is a struggle. I just don't see how this is best for my daughter now. Surely two minths is better than nothing? Are there any formula moms on this thread?
I feel like such a bad mom.

Here's a bit of encouragement. I'm not there yet and I'm concerned about the pain since I have some kind of added issue that's causing my boobies to hurt.

The girls in the Bf'ing forum have said to give it 3 months. Most have said it took them 3 months before they felt comfortable bf'ing. Some would scream and want to quit they said but the others said they made a 3 month milestone date and if it didn't stop by then, they'd quit. MOST were able to go on while some exclusively pumped and there were some who gave up altogether because they couldn't take anymore.

I'm at the thought that I'll give it until Christmas. If it doesn't work, I'll see if it helps to just exclusively pump and bottle feed the breastmilk. If that still is a pain, then I'll let it go.

Here is a link to exclusively pumping that can give you ideas to pump more milk.

It's in the same forum that may be able to help you over this horrific bump in the road of pain. Post your concerns and see what help you can get from them.

 

[Mommy's Angel]

Good morning! Forgive me for the quick post, but I'm going on hour 30 with no sleep...

I'm so thrilled to announce the birth of our daughter Hannah Elizabeth, born 9/28/11 at 4:20 am (coincidentally, 4/20 is our wedding anniversary). She's 21" long, and our chunky little monkey weighed in at 8 lbs, 8.6 oz.

I'm so in love, I can't even put it in words...

I'll try to do a proper post with pictures in the near future.

MA - best of luck to you tomorrow! You, Doug & Amelia are in my prayers!

Holy Cats! I KNEW IT! I was praying you wouldn't go another day...that would be LONG for laboring. YAY little Hannah. Praise God!! WTG little momma. I'm SO excited Chris! Now try and get some sleep dear friend.

 

[animalcracker]

Congratulations Sunshine! I LOVE the name Hannah - that's always been a favorite name of mine. Great choice!
I can't wait to see pictures!

MA - tomorrow is your day! I am so excited for you - you must be nervous I am sure? I wonder if you will get any sleep tonight LOL. I will be thinking about you!

 

[codegirl]

It took me well into 8 weeks to get all my bfing issues straightened out with Edward. No joke, it was BAD and I was ready to quit a few times, then at 6 weeks I finally found a counsultant that diagnosed my problem and once I was on the right meds for a few weeks things got better. But that was the longest 6 - 8 weeks EVER. I totally get why people switch to formula, no judgement here, that's for sure!

I'm glad I pushed through those, for me it was worth it in the end because I'm just tooooo lazy to wash bottles everyday

BUT one of my close friends had an issue that couldn't be solved by meds, she would have had to just live with the pain and that was craziness and once she finally got diagnosed and knew the prognoses it made sense to switch to formula.

This time it was easy peasy for Eric and I, but my body and I knew what we were doing.

 

[MissMuffet08]

Chris #2 – CONGRATS on little Hannah! Glad you and baby are doing well. Can’t wait to see photos!

Chris #1 – I normally will get about 2-3 oz from each breast so 4-6 oz total. Sometimes a bit more. Supposedly, you pump out the amount that baby eats – but Terri is correct, you won’t get as much pumping as when bfing. I also take Fenugreek to add to my milk production. I have friends who produce a TON of milk – me not so much.
By the way - YOU ARE NOT A BAD MOM if you stop Bfing. I pump because I had to when Katelyn was in the NICU. Since she wasn’t eating very much because of her size, I was able to store some from the beginning. If it weren’t for my freezer back-up, Katelyn would be on formula. Also, I was really bad about nursing when she did get home from the hospital. Because she was still so little, I found it easier and less stressful to just keep pumping rather than nurse. Now that she is almost 6 months, nursing her is hit or miss. She just isn’t that interested any more. In fact probably next month I will exclusively pump as she will start solids.

There is NOTHING wrong with formula…I was a formula baby and I am quite brilliant and developmentally advanced – My Mom didn’t even TRY to bf. Not something she wanted to do. I understand your frustration. You can always do a combo, formula and then pump so that you can store it up. However, pumping can be a pain in the ass. Honestly, if Katelyn wasn’t in the NICU, I probably wouldn’t have nursed/pumped for this long. Don’t let it get you down. Sophie will be FINE. However, if you do have questions about pumping, I am here

Charmaine – Good to hear from you. I give you kudos for even TRYING to bf/pump with triplets.

Lucy – It sounds like she is going through a growth spurt. Katelyn did that at around 4months. There would be times when she would not nap during the day and I would literally have to hold her all day long, even after she fell asleep because she would wake right up the minute I put her down (she still does that sometimes – thank GOD for our swing). Of course those would be the days when my Hubby would have errands to run and would be gone 3-4 hours at a time

Lava – let us know how your appointment goes

NMG – yes, please post photos of your pumpkins and cross stitch. Being a non-crafty person, I love to see the craftiness of others.

Rebekah – So looking forward to hearing about Amelia’s delivery tomorrow. Praying for all three of you for peace of mind and joy!

AFM – Katelyn is starting to hold her own bottle. It is very cute to watch. The problem is when she pulls the bottle out of her mouth..she can’t find it to put the bottle back LOL. Not much else going on. Still trying to get into a good rhythm with work. I can’t seem to get in before 10am. Oh well.

Angela, Skye, Rowan, June (Are you still on your trip?), Animal, Viv, Anna, and anyone else I left out I hope you are all well.

Best,
Steph

 

[svetayasofiya]

Wow everyone, can I just say how humbled I am by all the love and support from this group? YOu all are amazing. I really appreciate your input. It means so much! Last night was awful. I suffered in such pain, so this morning I decided to bite the bullet and start supplementing with formula. Went out already and bought some. Bottles ready for her next feed! I will try to alternate breast and formula. While nursing I am using a nipple shield and it really helps with the pain. I am hoping after a few days of no direct contact to my nipples I will start to heal and then can decide if I want to continue BF, BF + F, or just go FF. I like the idea of BF with formula. I am also going to try pumping after the FF so as to keep up my milk production until I can make a full decision. Hopefully after a few more pumping tries I'll express more than 2 oz! I am pretty sure Sophie eats around 4oz or more.... we'll soon see!

Love you guys so much. This board has given me so much knowledge and support it's unreal. xoxoxoxoxo

 

[pablo797]

Sunshine,

Congrads!!!! so excited for you and Hannah, love the name!! So happy for you and hope you and little girl are healthy and happy. Get some sleep!! Take advantage of being in the hospital and if the nurses offer to take her so you can get a nap, take advantage!! May be the best rest you get for a while.

Lava, good luck on appt today!!

NMG, your so talented!! Baking, cross stitch. Go girl

I've said it once and I'll say it again, thank god for this thread. svet and vivienne feel your pain. Svet i pump about 2-3 oz a time for both boobs. not nearly enough to feed my hungry monkey. at times she will eat 8oz of formula. so i can't just pump either. not enough milk. i wonder all the time why i try so hard to BF. i am hoping my milk will increase with time. i will stick with it as long as i can. mostly for monetary reasons as formula is so expensive. svet, i too can feed for an hour at a time so she gets enough, but I can't do it anymore. I too am of the mind set of 15-20 min max per side. As for the colic, we have discovered Gripe water and that's making a difference. The drops for little tummies didn't work, but gripe water is doing the trick. Cross your fingers it keeps helping. Nothing like feeling so helpless when your baby screams from gas pain. Poor little girl.

Ok enough about me, but i just wanted to say you're not alone. Frustration abounds. For the new moms, I hope you have better success and an easier time. After all it's the most natural thing in the world so it shouldn't be so hard by my calculations or else our species would not exist.

MA, best of luck!!!!! Can't believe your journey is almost over. It's been a long time coming. Best of luck you'll do great!!!

Have a good one! anna

 

[Mommy's Angel]

It took me well into 8 weeks to get all my bfing issues straightened out with Edward. No joke, it was BAD and I was ready to quit a few times, then at 6 weeks I finally found a counsultant that diagnosed my problem and once I was on the right meds for a few weeks things got better. But that was the longest 6 - 8 weeks EVER. I totally get why people switch to formula, no judgement here, that's for sure!

I'm glad I pushed through those, for me it was worth it in the end because I'm just tooooo lazy to wash bottles everyday

BUT one of my close friends had an issue that couldn't be solved by meds, she would have had to just live with the pain and that was craziness and once she finally got diagnosed and knew the prognoses it made sense to switch to formula.

This time it was easy peasy for Eric and I, but my body and I knew what we were doing.

I hope I'm not being too nosey but I'm wondering what the consultant diagnosed you with and what meds you used? I have an issue what everyone keeps saying is Raynauds syndrome. boobies burn and my nipples turn purple. it DOES seem like it happens when it's cold, however last week it was burning quite a bit and this week I've had hardly any. So I'm wondering if it's just the milk coming in?? Hoping to find a bf'ing consultant that knows their stuff.

 

[codegirl]

Mine was just a yeast infection, but since no one caught it, it became very severe. The consultant that finally diagnosed me correctly said that it was the worst case she had seen in her 20 years of consulting.

She had me on a cream, but I don't remember now what exactly it was. The pills really didn't do anything as they have to go all the way through your body and then out to the nipple, where the cream went right on the problem spot.


Note to everyone, if you get antibiotics during labour your chances of a yeast infection are HUGE. I now recommend to everyone that has been given antibiotics not to leave the hosptial without a prescription for a yeast infection, just in case.

 

[Mommy's Angel]

Mine was just a yeast infection, but since no one caught it, it became very severe. The consultant that finally diagnosed me correctly said that it was the worst case she had seen in her 20 years of consulting.

She had me on a cream, but I don't remember now what exactly it was. The pills really didn't do anything as they have to go all the way through your body and then out to the nipple, where the cream went right on the problem spot.


Note to everyone, if you get antibiotics during labour your chances of a yeast infection are HUGE. I now recommend to everyone that has been given antibiotics not to leave the hosptial without a prescription for a yeast infection, just in case.

Wow! Thanks for the heads up. I have chronic yeast..or at least through the pregnancy. I'll make sure if they give me antibiotics of anykind that they prescribe me what I need. So the med you were given was applied directly to the nipple then? Was it safe for the baby to bf during that time?


Thanks so much for sharing with us!

 

[codegirl]

yes, the cream I had didn't have to be wiped off before bfing so it was super easy to use. And I got two bottles of it... one for my nipples and one for.... down there...

 

[svetayasofiya]

Wow codegirl, I can't believe you lasted 8 weeks with this! Mind by the time it clears up for me if it does it will 8 weeks also. The cream I was prescribed was Jack Newman's all purpose nipple ointment. It worked the first time round but not this time. It helps with the burning., but that's about it.
So my little monkey took the formula like a champ. I also fed her breastmilk that i pumped. Today I was able to pump 4oz in 15 min. That is awesome because Sophie eats just under 4oz, I've been using the nipple shield so she hasn't directly fed off my nipples all dy. Let's hope a couple days like this and maybe i'll be healed. One can only hope!
I'm exhausted. I was going to try her in her own room tonight, but in case it doesn't go well I'll wait until tomorrow. I can't afford to have a rough night sleep tonight.

MA I hope you don't suffer from this!

 

[Mommy's Angel]

Wow codegirl, I can't believe you lasted 8 weeks with this! Mind by the time it clears up for me if it does it will 8 weeks also. The cream I was prescribed was Jack Newman's all purpose nipple ointment. It worked the first time round but not this time. It helps with the burning., but that's about it.
So my little monkey took the formula like a champ. I also fed her breastmilk that i pumped. Today I was able to pump 4oz in 15 min. That is awesome because Sophie eats just under 4oz, I've been using the nipple shield so she hasn't directly fed off my nipples all dy. Let's hope a couple days like this and maybe i'll be healed. One can only hope!
I'm exhausted. I was going to try her in her own room tonight, but in case it doesn't go well I'll wait until tomorrow. I can't afford to have a rough night sleep tonight.

MA I hope you don't suffer from this!

Sorry darlin that your going through this. You'll get through it if you can stick it out....it hurts like a son of a gun I'm told.....If you can get through the hardest parts with the nipple shield, maybe it will get you through a bit. If not...as the others said, it's OKAY. I'm going in with a level head.

I'm sure I'm going to go through some of it. I'm not sure what this nipple issue is that burns the heck out of the nipple and turns it purple but I haven't even started feeding her yet. I'd imagine it was just a taste. I've asked Doug to remind me kindly to just keep trying through Christmas. I'm almost positive I'll need encouragement to keep going. If by Christmas I can't do it....I'll formula feed. I'm not going to put anymore pressure on me....the baby's will be just fine whichever way we choose.

Try our best and whatever happens is up to God in my opinion.

 

[codegirl]

In regards to making it as long as I did... I got my nickers in a knot because nothing about Edward's birth went the way that I wanted so I got really really stubborn about bfing and I had promised myself that I would bf'd for 6 weeks.

I got the diagnoses at 5 weeks and 6 days, so I said that I would see if the meds helped before I quit... and they did help.

but I remember crying everytime that Edward latched, and having one feeding a day that was formula because by night I just couldn't do it anymore. Every night I quit and every morning I thought that I could do it just one more day. I used a nipple shield which helped and then it just came down to being really really stubborn.

Not a recommended path for most

That's why I totally understand and don't judge anyone in regards to formula or breastfeeding. I get it, both sides

 

[Mommy's Angel]

I spoke too soon. just got out of the shower before bed and just got a purple nipple burn (as I call them) I was surprised though. It was excruciating as it's been. I'm wondering if this has something to do with milk coming in...BUT I do wonder about the pain when it comes to bf'ing. I'm also praying the milk comes in. You just never know. I'm honestly glad to see both sides of the spectrum in here. It's good to have support either way.

Well, goodnight everyone! I hope I can sleep. I took a couple benedryl to help me sleep a bit. 5 hours till wakey time. I'm going to joke with the Dr. that it's 2 for 1 day and not only will she be doing a c-section but a tummy tuck. Size 6 please!!

 

[skye2010]

OMG MA GOOOD LUUUCK!!! The time has arrived to meet Amelia finally )) I am sooo exciited for youu ) I know you are a bit nervous but I bet the csection will be very easy too. In Turkey the csection births are more preferred because of the convenience. Most of my firends had it and they all said it was easy peasy.

Sunshine Woohhooo. Hannah os here ) Hannah is here! Hannah is here!
I bet she is gorgeous. Take care sweetie and update whenever possible.

Svet and Viv sorry to know you girls are having a difficulty with bfeeding. Good luck girls. Haven't had time to backread but I'll catch up soon.

Anna Ohhh nooo you are in the bfeeding difficulty wagon too. This book I was reading suggested a few things. Dunno how it is in real life but I'll share in case it helps
-to drink lot's of liquids: juice, water, milkshakes etc
-not to eat very spicy food
-to breast feed the baby every 2,5 to 3 hour loose schedule. The baby needs to have a full feeding , 45 mins or so. So if she falls a asleep while feeding you wake her and make sure she feeds untill she gets all the nutritious hind milk. Than the 2,5 hour gap gives your body to produce more. And you wake her up to feed if she is sleeping. So she gets into a routine to feed. Say if you start 7 am you do 7-8 feedings all day. Only night sleeps you let it go longer. And you can do one extra middle of the night if she needs.
-try to sleep as much as possible which gives your body strength. So maybe pump milk and get DH to do some of the feedings.
-to make sure she latches properly so she feeds well. helps colic as well apparently.
Perhaps all this is a bit theoretical. I haven't done it myself yet but maybe give u some ideas. xxxx

 

[svetayasofiya]

Codegirl you sound like me. I always said six weeks... if it was't better. But I'm halfway through treatment so I won't stop now. The nipple shield is helping. Pumping too. I already feel a difference. Maybe a couple days like this is all I need. I like the idea though of supplementing with formula once or twicec a day.
My lil monkey wouldn't wake up!!! We fed her breast milk through a bottle last night at 8:45pm. Then she got real fussy so I used Harvey Karps' technique and swaddled her real tight. She eventually calmed down and fell asleep. It was 9:39pm. I figured as per normal she'd be up and hungry by 10:45-11pm. So I stayed up. Well there was no waking her so to bed we went expecting a midnight wake up call fromm a hungry baby. Nope I woke up at 3-4am with hard rock bowling ball boobs. Babe still fast asleep so I expressed some in the sink. Then at 5am I couldn't take it anymore so I woker up and here we are. Nipple shield on
You're prob thinking great! She slept from 9:30-5am! 7.5hrs!! Not great when you're still bf. I had pumped at 10:30pm but that was a long stretch. Plus as a mom you worry so it's not like I enjoyed the sleep and had I known I would have gone to bedat 9:30pm too not 11:30pm!!
Here's to hoping she'll go back to sleep after this feed.

MA hooe you managed to sleep!!! Very ecited for you and can't wait hear of Amelia's arrival.

 

[lavalux]

Good luck today, MA. You will be in His hands.

 

[skye2010]

Woow girls so much info in Bfeeding. Thanks for sharing all that.
Codegirl thanks for the yeast infection info too. I get it often after antibiotics so I will watch out for that if I ever get antibiotics.
Svet i'm thinking of doing the Karp technique as well. the other book I got is "Babywise" which talks about scheduling the bfeeding loosely towards your baby which helps both the baby and the body to get into a routine of having enough milk.

Animalcracker so sweet to expect a daughter no???? )) I bet you had a massive smile like I did when u found out. Hahahahhaha!!!!

I'm gonna add some bump photos and a phto of DH immitating me. V funny but I think he might kill me if he sees it so it's gonna go on a spoiler xxxx.

Angela, Lucy, NMG, Laura, Miss Muffet, Austen love to you all xxx.

Spoiler

 

[rottpaw]

Sorry girls I've been MIA a couple days! So much going on! sunshine, congrats! Beautiful name and we can't wait to see pics when you can!

Bek,so excited for you and Doug and Amelia today! Don't worry about a thing and you will all be just fine!