Breastfeeding Support - 6 months and beyond!

[Eve]

You ladies all seem to be doing a fine job with your little ones I get it too... I'm spoiling Kayleigh, she will end up a brat etc... because we've been co-sleeping most nights, breastfeeding "still" like it's a bad thing, snuggle, don't CIO etc... and I want to kick them all in the face I don't have playdates as I don't know anyone in this crap town but I think I'm going to look into starting a play group with a few mommies... the internet is a great way to meet people

 

[Dragonfly]

all my friends had kids years ago I am the oldest one to go at 28 to have kids. I have no other mates with young kids or family and as you seen how they where going on so i give up. Thankfully william isnt like that so he wont get upset by their behaviour just get a bit puzzled and hopefully carry on being nice.

 

[cleckner04]

You ladies all seem to be doing a fine job with your little ones I get it too... I'm spoiling Kayleigh, she will end up a brat etc... because we've been co-sleeping most nights, breastfeeding "still" like it's a bad thing, snuggle, don't CIO etc... and I want to kick them all in the face I don't have playdates as I don't know anyone in this crap town but I think I'm going to look into starting a play group with a few mommies... the internet is a great way to meet people

That's how I've been meeting people. I met a few on facebook and ended up blocking and deleting them because they were super judgemental. I think I posted on here about that whole fiasco. BUT, since than I've met one decent girl on facebook and I met an amazing girl on BnB too. She's from the UK and I completely love her. The trick is to find someone with similar parenting styles. Otherwise you'll just butt heads with everyone.

Edit to add: I am having a playdate today actually! With the girls I mentioned and also a neighbor across the street I randomly invited yesterday. I don't know my neighbors yet(just moved here in April) so I guess I need to suck it up and start socializing! Moving around so much with the military makes it incredibly hard to find friends.

 

[teal]

Hello everyone
Delighted that tomorrow I can officially join you all here xx

 

[candyfloss]

Had a visit from hv today as we moved to a different area in Plymouth in May and they like to 'welcome' you to the area(!)....she was 30 mins late with no call to say she'd be late....one of the questions was if William was still on bottles or was he taking milk from a beaker now...I said he's never had bottles, he has water from a beaker in the day and if we're out, a doidy cup at meal times, and I'm still bfing.

Her response was "so I expect you'll be stopping that soon now he's one then?", I replied, no, not got any plans on stopping yet, we're all happy with bfing so no reason to stop is there?! No reply to that! I mentioned all the problems I had at the start and that I'm very proud of getting through it all and to still be bfing him now, when I mentioned the thrush I had for 7 weeks she said that its not recommended to bf if you get thrush and should stop! I told her I disagree and have done alot of research and so many people are given mis-information leading to them stopping which is why I'm looking into training with the NCT to be a bf counsellor to help give people the right information they need!

Don't think I'll be calling her for advice any time soon!

On a positive note, she gave me a leaflet about childrens activities in the area and theres a primary school about 5 mins from here I'd noticed that looks really nice and they do a playgroup every Wed, so hoping to start that! And another group on a Monday in a childrens centre nearby, hopefully meet some like minded local friends!

 

[Dragonfly]

My Hv is the same, from when WIlliam turned 6 months she was damning my breastmilk and sating there was no need to go on. Even when he was 16 months old she still repeats the same thing but I do not listen anyway. I asked her advice when my nipples where bleeding for months and she didnt know what it was so I dont think she has a dam clue. treats my son like he is malnourished. Dosnt even have a breastfeeding weight chart.

 

[Kaybee]

Candyfloss/Dragonfly - sorry to hear of your negative experiences with your HV.

We had LO at our HV today for jags. First time we've been in months. She was asking how we were getting on etc. I was waiting on the feeding question coming up and she was actually really casual about it all. I said that LO was still waking several times during the night for a feed and she asked how I felt about that. I said well obviously I would love for him to sleep through but I was happy to continue bf'ing as long as he wanted to & she replied that so long as I was happy with that & he is doing well then all is good. She did mention that he is allowed cows milk now as a drink but she was not suggesting he should be getting that instead. I was so pleased that it wasn't made into a big deal.

Cleckner - how did your playdate go? I have 1 friend with a baby who is 4 months old so not really at the playdate stage yet but we meet up often. I do know another couple of ladies with babies the same age as LO but we all live in different towns & because I'm back at work its difficult to meet up. How do you meet people on FB - is it just through groups? Sorry if thats a stupid question - I've only been on FB a few months.

 

[cleckner04]

Kaybee- The playdate went really well! We all decided that we'd make it a weekly thing now. Our group is varied ages. 6,3,2,and two 1 year olds. And the ones I met on facebook is easier for me because there are lots of navy wife support groups on facebook since DH is in the navy. I also found a group that is for san diego moms specifically. But I haven't met anyone through that yet. Perhaps you can search for your town specifically and see if there is something. I was so nervous the first time I met someone from online but it really has worked out. I did have tons of trouble with the first group of girls that I met but now I've finally found a group that is accepting and nonjudgemental. I also met one girl from baby and bump as well. She's from scotland too!! She's really sweet and has the cutest accent. There is also a site here meetup.com It is a website specifically for groups that meet up. So I just searched san diego mommies and a ton popped up. I'm not sure if the Scotland has a meetup.com though. I truly wonder how people found friends before the internet.

 

[florabean1981]

i tried meetup.com for here, but the nearest I could find was London, so I was a bit disappointed. It seems me & harry are destined to be a 2-some (while hubby works away) for some time to come yet...

Well, as of this coming sunday, it'll have been 11 months of BFing for me & harry, which is pretty cool. I can't believe we're nearing that 'magic' 1 year mark. And he has 3 teeth now I really should take him to get weighed again soon; it's been awhile & he's eating like a horse (well, a small pony) these days from both me & his solids, so I'm pretty sure he's gonna be edging up those centiles now

How's everyone else doing?

 

[cleckner04]

flora- You'll find someone when you least expect it probably. Sorry your hubby is away. Mine just gets back today finally. Which is a load off my shoulders every time he walks in that door. It'll be nice to not be the one responsible for everything.

Congrats on 11 months coming up!! I found once I had hit the 6 month milestone, it all went pretty quickly. I can't believe I"m coming up onto 13 months soon. Where does the time go?! I saw you posted new piccies on FB but didn't have a chance to nose through them yet. I think I'll go look now to see how Harry is doing.

 

[AnnaBanana9]

I can't believe how ignorant and judgemental some HVs are. Unbelievable. Thankfully our HV is very pro-BF and is LLL trained; she was a help in the early days with hand expressing and checking Alyssa's latch. Haven't seen hide nor hair of her though since Alyssa was 9 months old, and I can't remember when they next bother again.

 

[Eve]

You ladies all seem to be doing a fine job with your little ones I get it too... I'm spoiling Kayleigh, she will end up a brat etc... because we've been co-sleeping most nights, breastfeeding "still" like it's a bad thing, snuggle, don't CIO etc... and I want to kick them all in the face I don't have playdates as I don't know anyone in this crap town but I think I'm going to look into starting a play group with a few mommies... the internet is a great way to meet people

That's how I've been meeting people. I met a few on facebook and ended up blocking and deleting them because they were super judgemental. I think I posted on here about that whole fiasco. BUT, since than I've met one decent girl on facebook and I met an amazing girl on BnB too. She's from the UK and I completely love her. The trick is to find someone with similar parenting styles. Otherwise you'll just butt heads with everyone.

Edit to add: I am having a playdate today actually! With the girls I mentioned and also a neighbor across the street I randomly invited yesterday. I don't know my neighbors yet(just moved here in April) so I guess I need to suck it up and start socializing! Moving around so much with the military makes it incredibly hard to find friends.

Well so far 1 mom joined my group... I guess it's better than none...

Yeah the other ones you met up with seemed like a bunch of B*****S lol

Glad your playdate went well, and a weekly thing sounds so nice!! Yay for hubby being home too!!

Hello everyone
Delighted that tomorrow I can officially join you all here xx

6 months now!! Congrats!!

Had a visit from hv today as we moved to a different area in Plymouth in May and they like to 'welcome' you to the area(!)....she was 30 mins late with no call to say she'd be late....one of the questions was if William was still on bottles or was he taking milk from a beaker now...I said he's never had bottles, he has water from a beaker in the day and if we're out, a doidy cup at meal times, and I'm still bfing.

Her response was "so I expect you'll be stopping that soon now he's one then?", I replied, no, not got any plans on stopping yet, we're all happy with bfing so no reason to stop is there?! No reply to that! I mentioned all the problems I had at the start and that I'm very proud of getting through it all and to still be bfing him now, when I mentioned the thrush I had for 7 weeks she said that its not recommended to bf if you get thrush and should stop! I told her I disagree and have done alot of research and so many people are given mis-information leading to them stopping which is why I'm looking into training with the NCT to be a bf counsellor to help give people the right information they need!

Don't think I'll be calling her for advice any time soon!

On a positive note, she gave me a leaflet about childrens activities in the area and theres a primary school about 5 mins from here I'd noticed that looks really nice and they do a playgroup every Wed, so hoping to start that! And another group on a Monday in a childrens centre nearby, hopefully meet some like minded local friends!

Sounds like a total moron to me! Nice about the handouts but wow... some people really are stupid... how did she even get that job?

I can't believe how ignorant and judgemental some HVs are. Unbelievable. Thankfully our HV is very pro-BF and is LLL trained; she was a help in the early days with hand expressing and checking Alyssa's latch. Haven't seen hide nor hair of her though since Alyssa was 9 months old, and I can't remember when they next bother again.

Sounds like you got a good one! I hear so many people complain about their HV with breastfeeding, which is a shame!


I keep seeing people on my facebook going on about how big and chubby their babies are and oh so healthy and every time Kayleigh's weight is mentioned they are all going on about how small she is etc... They seem to think the fatter the healthier and yes, their lo's are probably healthy and doing well ( I would hope ) the fatter isn't better... but their doctors put so much pressure for weight gain. When I comment they get upset, even though I'm trying to help. I was trying to be supportive and get a friend who was trying to BF to join BNB and she took it as pushing it on her Her nurse told her that her son wasn't gaining fast enough and to supplement, even though he was gaining a few ozs that week and wasnt ill or anything... so she went straight to formula. Another mom not bfing because of lack of knowledge from a nurse or HV, doctor etc...




Kayleigh had juice for the first time today and eventually drank an ounce lol. It was prune and apple because of not pooping for a week (she did soon after lol ) And she had some 12 month raveoli stuff broken up into small bits, some toast too She is starting to like eating, just not the icky purees that smell gross I was so proud! She took some water for the first time, to help with her poo and it all worked She is awake now in my bed, I hear her chatting away, so I must go. Hope all you ladies have a nice day!!

 

[Eve]

It seems like I have low supply at night... Kayleigh fusses on the boob after supper... doesn't seem settled at all and if I give her a bottle of like 4oz of EBM she settles down to sleep and seems content. During the day it seems okay. I pumped (I know, I know, it isn't a way to tell your supply) and I got a few drops and feel empty, and I could always get 1-2oz at random times. I also know some mums have a harder time pumping as time goes on, but this does feel different. I'm hoping it's just a few days kind of thing... The thoughts of having to give her formula have ran through my head and I sure don't like them. I'm going to look into that Fenugreek and start pumping in between feeds come late afternoon to see if that helps some... I feel sick...

 

[spidey]

Mum2J- I bet she's on a growth spurt. I remember many times where Kira would nurse ALL night and ALL day and I could feel that my boobs were completely empty. Then I would get to work and pump, and hardly get anything, but yet she was taking loads of EBM while being watched by my mom. It would last about 3 days and then suddenly my supply seemed to catch up to her demand. I would just let her nurse as much as she needed to and that would tell my body to start making more milk... also on those days I would increase my water intake and eat more fatty foods just incase I needed the energy for milk making. Keep pumping and letting her nurse on demand and you will catch up to her needs!

Yay for good playdates!!

My pediatrician (I guess that is sort of like our HV??) is very supportive of prolonged bf. At Kira's 12 month checkup I even nursed Kira while the doctor was asking us questions. It was the only way I could stop her from crying! It's nice not having to lie to the doctor... the only thing I haven't told the doctor is that I co-sleep But... I did say that Kira sleeps close to me

Chubby babies- Yeah, what's up with the overall feeling that the fatter the baby the healthier it is??

 

[Dragonfly]

My pediatrician (I guess that is sort of like our HV??) i

Defo not They are just people who weigh children and tell you they are under weight or over weight alone with a side order of wrong information and worry.

 

[AnnaBanana9]

My pediatrician (I guess that is sort of like our HV??) i

Defo not They are just people who weigh children and tell you they are under weight or over weight alone with a side order of wrong information and worry.

Dragonfly's right. Health visitors are nothing like pediatricians. HVs aren't trained doctors. Give me a pediatrician any day over a health visitor

 

[Eve]

Mum2J- I bet she's on a growth spurt. I remember many times where Kira would nurse ALL night and ALL day and I could feel that my boobs were completely empty. Then I would get to work and pump, and hardly get anything, but yet she was taking loads of EBM while being watched by my mom. It would last about 3 days and then suddenly my supply seemed to catch up to her demand. I would just let her nurse as much as she needed to and that would tell my body to start making more milk... also on those days I would increase my water intake and eat more fatty foods just incase I needed the energy for milk making. Keep pumping and letting her nurse on demand and you will catch up to her needs!

Yay for good playdates!!

My pediatrician (I guess that is sort of like our HV??) is very supportive of prolonged bf. At Kira's 12 month checkup I even nursed Kira while the doctor was asking us questions. It was the only way I could stop her from crying! It's nice not having to lie to the doctor... the only thing I haven't told the doctor is that I co-sleep But... I did say that Kira sleeps close to me

Chubby babies- Yeah, what's up with the overall feeling that the fatter the baby the healthier it is??

Thanks I hope so... even this morning I felt empty before she even fed, then she cried on one boob, so I offered the other and after a min or two she seemed content... Maybe I will start putting her to the breast more. She feeds every 3 hours usually, so maybe I will try every two or whenever she will snuggle for a feed. Again, thanks

hehehe my nurse at my doctor's office is very pro-bfing and extended bfing. She bf hers until 12+ months and she co-slept too so she is very happy with how we are doing, and soooooo supportive I love her!

I don't know with the chubby babies... it bothers me. Then again I know when it comes to the older generation they see eating a lot as a good thing, but not the fat that comes with it lol. My grandparents are constantly trying to feed us when we are out there and I sure don't need the extra I think a lot of it has to do with growing up faster, the bigger the better. I find I tend to hear a lot how they want their LO to sleep through the night, feed themself their own bottles, eat real food... so much pressure for them to grow up... sad. I love watching Kayleigh grow and learn as she is supposed to but I'm in no hurry at all for her to grow up.

 

[Dragonfly]

Mum2J- I bet she's on a growth spurt. I remember many times where Kira would nurse ALL night and ALL day and I could feel that my boobs were completely empty. Then I would get to work and pump, and hardly get anything, but yet she was taking loads of EBM while being watched by my mom. It would last about 3 days and then suddenly my supply seemed to catch up to her demand. I would just let her nurse as much as she needed to and that would tell my body to start making more milk... also on those days I would increase my water intake and eat more fatty foods just incase I needed the energy for milk making. Keep pumping and letting her nurse on demand and you will catch up to her needs!

Yay for good playdates!!

My pediatrician (I guess that is sort of like our HV??) is very supportive of prolonged bf. At Kira's 12 month checkup I even nursed Kira while the doctor was asking us questions. It was the only way I could stop her from crying! It's nice not having to lie to the doctor... the only thing I haven't told the doctor is that I co-sleep But... I did say that Kira sleeps close to me

Chubby babies- Yeah, what's up with the overall feeling that the fatter the baby the healthier it is??

yeah I get this a lot, my son is to thin and dosnt fit into his cloths especiaully jeans so he is unhealthy. Even though he is fine by a breastfed baby chart butr underweight with a formula chart,. Everyone thinks around here your baby needs to look like a sumo wrestler to be healthy,its not thats over weight. Chubby babies get cooed over more in pics I noticed why health pros ask me why I wont give my son formula. he has never been ill and eats loads so clearly there aint nothing wrong with him. I dont think some people need to wonder where obesity starts.

has anyone seen that maury show on mums feeding their babies crap? pizza for breaskfast and saying child wants it and all where severely over weight some couldnt breath right and needed oxyagen.

 

[florabean1981]

there was that case recently somewhere in the US about a couple who've had their kids taken away from them because of over feeding (these kids were severely overweight, still in nappies & neglected health & cleaniliness-wise too though). It made me sad.

I know what you mean about people wanting babies to gorw up so quickly. I used to get a lot of comments about how little Harry was, but I finally found a really nice HV (she's an ex midwife too) who is very supportive of BFing, BLW, co-sleeping etc, and has always maintained that harry's perfect & following a 'very nice curve' on the chart. She said so long as he doesn't lose weight, that's fine & if he suddenly gained a whole ton of weight, they'd probably be even more concerned, lol. That made me feel a lot better.

My sister's youngest was a big baby at 9lbs 12oz at birth & has continued to be a big kid- he's also very tall & has followed the 90th odd centile throughout. He's 2 now. Harry's constantly getting compared to him & I keep reminding them that Harry was 3lbs lighter than him at birth, so he's never gonna be like Caleb, ya know?! BUT, I've seen people be very cruel about how big he was, especially when he was undrer 12mths old, so I can kinda see how depressing comments can be on either side of spectrum so to speak.

anyways... so 11 months tomorrow. Still on at least 6 feeds a day, and his 4th tooth is starting to show through the gum. Scary stuff this teething business, lol.

 

[Eve]

Again... she was fussing on the breast... didn't sound like she was eating well and wouldn't calm until I gave her a bottle of EBM... I want to cry... the thought of using formula, even for 1 feed a day makes me ill. I feel like I would be doing her harm in giving it to her, and I know I wouldn't be... but I can't help it I'm going to get my OH to look for that fenugreek when in town next, since I doubt they have it here in our crap village and drink more water ( I do drink a lot though) and trust me... I get enough calories LOL. The only other thing I can think of is she would get the odd bottle here and there and I didn't pump off, but within 1-2 hours she was back on the breast, and she didn't get bottles at night, it was only every few days to keep her used to them where she is still so dependant on the milk. She has had more solids lately, but still not enough to call it a meal or anything to fill her up more, hence lowering my supply. Do some people just start loosing their milk at some point? I don't think it would be self weaning as she is under 12 months. I can't help but worry!

Yeah I always seem to get Kayleighs size shoved in my face. 15.3lbs and 25.5inches at 7 months old... yes smaller but healthy! I know I'm a bigger girl but I sure ain't healthy!