Breastfeeding Support - 6 months and beyond!

[jj-rabbit]

hun Ej seems to be getting less interested in his lunchtime feed atm as he is taking more solids chase is the same age so should be getting ready to drop a feed anyway, just a thought, when i put Nate onto FF i used Hipp Organic formula partly as it was cheapest a the time and also most natural you could try offereing a sippy cup if he wont take a bottle

I'd been told by the hv and b/f support worker a while ago that by the time i returned to work he would probably on be on morning and night feeds anyway, but its creeping up so close now and he's still having 3 afternoon feeds so that's why i'm panicking. Actually sometimes Chase will miss out his lunch time or late afternoon feed, but not on a regular basis, mind you i've still got 4 full weeks before i return. I just want my supply to adapt gradually rather than just stopping once i return.

Thanks for the tip on the formula hun i didn't have a clue what one to get, also don't have a clue how to make a bottle of formula up? He takes water from a bottle or a cup so fingers crossed he will take milk x

 

[spidey]

jj- you should still pump at work to avoid being too engorged. A few times I was in a long meeting and wasn't able to pump when I needed to, and the pain is not good. It even radiates down your arms and thru your back. So even if you don't get alot, I would still pump. And even if you don't pump alot, it will help to keep up your supply so you can feed him on weekends from the breast. There are videos on kellymom that show you how to do certain massages to increase your productivity with the pump. If I just allow the pump to work, I barely get anything, but if I squeeze and massage my boobs while its pumping, I get lots more. Does Chase take expressed milk from a bottle? Kira was never into drinking from a bottle, so she drinks very little milk while I'm at work. So if I pump 6 ounces for her to drink, she might only take 3 for the whole day. Now I pump about 4 ounces and she drinks none of it (she's gotten even more stubborn!). Do you have a double electric pump? I heard they are the best and the fastest to use. I also keep pictures of Kira in my pump bag, so I flip thru them as I express- I think it helps my letdown come faster. If you have any specific questions I might beable to help since I've been pumping since she was 2 1/2 months.

 

[jj-rabbit]

Spidey thanks for the advice. I've got the TT maual pump, tried it several times but just find hand expressing gives me double and in half time, but even thats only 4oz and thats if i express first thing before Chase has had a feed.

The last two times we tried to give him ebm he wouldn't take it and to be honest we've not tried since as i've not left him.

 

[spidey]

jj- I bet a double electric pump would work better than the hand pump. I can pump both breasts in about 12 minutes. I think you can rent them too. When Kira was 8 or 9 months I was pumping about 4 ounces total at each session. I pumped twice during a work day back then. She never liked taking bottles and many times would go the whole day without drinking any ebm. It was a problem when she was 2 1/2 months since breast milk is all she drank, but by 9 or 10 months I didn't worry about it since she ate solids too. Perhaps you could express whatever you can, and Chase can have some ebm (if he'll even take a bottle!) but mostly eat solids when you're gone. I still pump once a day but Kira doesn't drink any bottles, so I only pump now to stop engorgement. Having a baby that refuses to drink from a bottle is hard- they get so stubborn about it too.

 

[polaris]

I went back to work when Thomas was 11 months. About a month beforehand he was still having two feeds during the time that I would be in work. I encouraged him to drop the mid-morning feed through 'don't offer don't refuse' and he dropped that feed with no problem so I figured he could just have a bottle for his mid-afternoon feed which was usually at about 3.30ish. Anyway he completely refused to take a bottle/cup while I'm in work so he hasn't been having any milk during the day on the days that I'm in work (four days a week) but he often wants a quick feed when I get in at about 5.15 before his dinner. For the other three days of the week he still has his mid-afternoon feed. I was really keen not to have to pump in work as I have a busy and stressful job and just didn't think it would work out - but I was a bit worried about engorgement which was why I encouraged him to drop the mid-morning feed (think he was ready to drop it anyway). Anyway I haven't needed to pump at work and it is all working out fine so far.

 

[Eve]

Hi everyone just found this thread and hoping someone can give me some advice, i posted in the b/f section but got no answers back.

I'm going back to work in 5weeks. Chase will be 8 1/2 months. I still want to b/f as much as i can which realistically will be a morning and night feed so i'm unsure as what to do with the afternoon feeds which i won't be there for. Currenlty Chase will feed at 10ish, lunchtime and 4pm so i'm presuming i need to switch him to formula for these. How do i do this do i just drop one feed, then another etc? i suffered with blocked ducts in my right boob and have had mastitus twice so i want to know the best way of adjusting my supply to avoid this.

? Also he wakes at different times every morning but once i'm at work i'll have to give him his morning feed at the same time every day, how do i do this? Thinking of just feeding him now at the time i'll need to which will be about 6.30 but the problem is if he's woken at say 5 he won't want a feed at 6.30?

Help, has anyone been through this?

Thanks x

My advice would be also to express at work. Pumping if not done at regular intervals usually won't give you much but where you would be expressing when LO would usually feed, you might be surprised after a week or so I would give it a go! Then you won't have to use formula, or less of it at least which is better for the wallet

as well!

mum2J&K- Awww LOVE the new siggie. It's such an amazing picture! I wish I had more professional pictures of Emma breastfeeding. It's always just me snapping them while feeding her. Your boob looks massive next to her tiny little head there.

I'm so glad I got them done I'm thinking about getting them done again after Christmas and getting a few feeding ones if I can and YES my boobs are huge LOL She was 3 months old in these pictures, my hands look monsterous (sp?) too! lol

 

[florabean1981]

all, I finally got a chance to get onto BnB!

jj; from my experience, I found the TT manual pretty useless as the 'sucking' action is so minimal... the TT electric one was even worse I was lucky if I could get 1-2oz out... Hand expressing I coulod get 2-3oz... I eventually bought a medela swing, which was much better & faster & could get 3-4oz at a time.... then i got 'clever' & would use my medela on one boob, then use my sister's avent isis manual pump on the other boob & I could get loads out! But I was lucky in the fact that Harry never took more than 4-5oz at a time & he only ever had one bottle a day... then the little git started refusing bottles completely at about 9-10mths & hasn't had any ebm or anything since...


Ladies.... for those of you who are starting to introduce cow's milk- how do you do it???

Harry's been having cow's milk on his cereal for brteakfast for a couple of months now (he used to have ebm, but I stopped pumping a while back because it seemed pointless) & that's fine, but I'm really sruggling to get him to drink cow's milk... I've tried various cups/beakers/bottles, but each time, he takes a sip, then throws the cup across the room & wrinkles up his nose. He drinks water fine, but not milk, in any form...

He still has a lot of BFs per day, even though he's now sleeping through 10-12hrs at a time. at one point he was back up to 10-12 feed in 24hrs! I've managed to get him back down to 6-8 feeds per day, but he would have more if I let him.... I dont mind as such, since it's not like I'm working (chosen to be a SAHM for at least the next 6months) or anything, but still, I kinda assumed that by almost 13 months old, he'd only be on a couple of feeds a day? He eats pretty well (BLW), and drinks 2 beakers (about 8-10oz) of water a day, but I would idealy like him to start drinking cow's milk a bit more & having a bit less BFs per day.... But it seems like he';s having none of it... Do you reckon it's just him being stubborn, or is it just that he feels he's not ready to start moving on from BFing just yet? (I dont wanna stop BFing at all, just would be nice if he did it a bit less, lol)

 

[cleckner04]

Flora- Emma still feeds that frequently as well. If we are out and busy during the day, she doesn't want it nearly as much and will just feed about 4 times all day. But when we are at home, she feeds at LEAST 10x a day. I don't actually keep count so it's hard to really say. But she loves climbing in my lap and cuddling and her version of cuddling includes some booby. I'm not bothered by it because I figure she'll drop the feeds when she's ready.

 

[florabean1981]

glad it's not just Harry then. He's the same, when we're out n about, he's happy with his water & things like fruit & stuff, but when we're hoe & just the 2 of us, he spends more time on me than off me, lol.
He's a bit poorly today- snotty nose & a squiffy tummy; not too worried as he's still noisy as ever & smiling.
He learned how to say 'more' in true Oliver Twist style today- now everything is 'moooorrrreeee!' It's so cute!

Congrats on the 10 months milestone for Kayleigh today

 

[Shiv]

Flora - we had to introduce cups of cows milk for Sophia - she refused it completely at first. But we just offered in her normal cup (that she has water in) first thing in the morning and before bath time every day and after about 2 weeks she finally started drinking some. she now has between 200 and 500 ml a day.

I have also read on here that you could try adding some yoghurt to the cows milk to sweeten it a bit (a couple of teaspoons, so not enough to really thicken the milk) then if Lo takes it you can gradually reduce the amount of yoghurt until it is just cows milk - worth a try I haev heard a few success stories doing it this way.

 

[spidey]

Flora- Kira still gets many bf's each day. Like Harry and Emma, she doesn't have many if we're having a busy day away from home, but at home she'll have lots and lots of snacks. I really don't mind and I know that one day she'll slowly lose interest. At times if I start to worry about her frequent requests for "boo" I just remind myself that one day I will miss having my snugly little baby!

Kira gets some cows milk if she wants to share cereal with me, and she gets yogurts and cheeses too. I still need to pump once while I'm at work, and the EBM gets thrown out since she refuses to drink it from a cup or bottle. Sometimes my mom can sneak some in if she has cereal soaked in my milk... but most of the time Kira doesn't get any EBM.

My problem is that Kira drinks very few liquids besides breast milk. I offer her water and juices, but she might take a tiny sip just to entertain me. So I think thats why we're still struggling with constipation even though she's getting tons of prunes each day. On a good day she'll have 1 ounce of juice or water.

 

[Eve]

Thank you Flora!! xx

10 months today!! I love it!!

I have given Kayleigh formula here and there, and her first time ( a few weeks ago ) she didn't even make a face! Loved it... :S and the other day I gave her a little bit of cows milk and the same, took it no problem! She will drink anything I swear LOL but still loves booby. She loves cheese and yogurt too though without problems.

She has only gained 4oz in 2.5 month though, which I know she has grown in length... just weird. She feeds 6-7 times a day and snacks on cheerios and mum mums too! We shall see when we get her measured, how much she has grown in length though.

Again, Yay for 10 months for us!!

 

[florabean1981]

Well, Harry's still a bit under the weather with a cold & a bit of a funny tummy (nothing too major) & today he cut his 6th tooth. He was extremely hyper last night with all the trick or treaters coming to the door that it took forever to settle him, then he woke at 4am, having done a massive super poo. Ick! Went back down fine again till just before 10am. He's struggling to nurse today with his blocked nose, so he's a bit grumpy.

How's everyone else doing?

I've tried a few things now with getting Harry to drink cow's milk- so far nothing much has worked. I got him a new cup with a squidgy see-through lid thing & I put an ounce of milk in there & he sipped on it a bit over the course of the morning, but then I got a bit worried coz I have no idea how long you can leave it out at room temp before it goes off? I'm sure it's fine, but still.

Are any of your babies really into things like fromage frais? I swear Harry would eat 10 a day if I let him. Oooh, and I let him have a sweetie for the first time last night- it was just one of those teeny dolly mixture sweets- he seemed to like it

 

[Dragonfly]

still boobing with one boob here. heres some pics of william

https://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk238/anneke1982/088-1.jpg
https://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk238/anneke1982/116.jpg
https://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk238/anneke1982/021-1.jpg
Look at his fringe I am raging his dad cut it! no one is allowed to ever touch his hair again i know his gran was at it to.

 

[florabean1981]

aww, bless him with his fringe. Harry's hair needs cutting again already. Williams really suits his longer hair, but Harry looks messy & silly with his long Kid's gonna cost me a fortune in haircuts in his lifetime.

 

[Dragonfly]

I would keep the fringe up out of the eyes but just not as short as it is now. And some of his curls are gone. I realy did lay into anyone that threatened scissors on him again.

He blowing more and mroe fart noises in my boob while feeding, thinks its a game. lol

 

[Eve]

Awe hehe William Boobies- not just for the milk... but for the entertainment too! xx

Hope Harry feels better soon! Yay for the 6th tooth too!

I don't have a clue what fromage frais is... I know fromage is cheese lol

 

[Dragonfly]

yoghert made from cheese like petit felous or munch bunch. Tis nice even I eat them.

 

[Eve]

Mmmm sounds good!!

Okay, question ladies... I didn't know where else to post this as I didn't want to offend anyone. I just read a post from a girl who is pregnant and was asking what to do when her milk comes in, like binding her boobs etc... as she obviously chose to formula feed. Reading and commenting on it I was honest, like I told her with my first two I did nothing and with Jake I got mastitis I think (doc put me on meds) and with Kaleb it was fine. I felt so sad writing though... like it was so sad and such a shame to waste her milk. Part of me feels like that when someone doesn't breastfeed. It seriously saddens me. I keep thinking why wouldn't they pump, or at least try to breastfeed and give their baby the liquid gold they were meant to have... like the baby isn't given a chance. I don't want to judge anyone as I know it's their choice and it's honestly none of my business but I can't help but feel so saddened by it all... please tell me I'm not alone here, that I'm not totally insane!

 

[Dragonfly]

Mmmm sounds good!!

Okay, question ladies... I didn't know where else to post this as I didn't want to offend anyone. I just read a post from a girl who is pregnant and was asking what to do when her milk comes in, like binding her boobs etc... as she obviously chose to formula feed. Reading and commenting on it I was honest, like I told her with my first two I did nothing and with Jake I got mastitis I think (doc put me on meds) and with Kaleb it was fine. I felt so sad writing though... like it was so sad and such a shame to waste her milk. Part of me feels like that when someone doesn't breastfeed. It seriously saddens me. I keep thinking why wouldn't they pump, or at least try to breastfeed and give their baby the liquid gold they were meant to have... like the baby isn't given a chance. I don't want to judge anyone as I know it's their choice and it's honestly none of my business but I can't help but feel so saddened by it all... please tell me I'm not alone here, that I'm not totally insane!

No I feel the same. I look around some threads in here with woman who just dont want to breastfeed because they are rebelling with no thought towards their baby and it makes me sad when I see breastfeeding put down, ie breastfeeding dosnt really do this and that and formula is just as good if not better. That makes me sad. I tend not to get into them threads any more as mums get defensive and theres no point on telling them as they apparently know whats best for their baby and know someone's child who was sick while breastfed. I tend to see them as lost causes, cant help them, cant educated them they do not want to know and are full of myths that no one can tell ant different. It kinda drags me down as well. I spent so long here breastfeeding and see the difference its made on my son and someone comes a long and says its all a pile of crap. Certainly wouldn't be ok if I said formula was a pile of crap now. Its not its just a substitute and even that offends people that its called second best.

I do not get into them threads any more apparently some things breast feeders say are offensive and its ok for some to call formula names but not us, just creates a bigger divide all this and there really shouldn't be one all mums should be by each others side not one side of a company that makes money and other trying to convince the free stuff is the best.