February Valentines 2012

[mumanddad]

Any ones baby pooing about 12 times a day??

I change corbyn before feeds to wake him then 20 mins after he needs changed this is around every feed and sometimes i have to change him between too.. They also really smell could this be my diet??

He has ebm or boobie when he can be bothered to feed - he is a typical lazy boy x

 

[swanxxsong]

I don't count how often but
Aria poos every time I change her (before she eats) as of late. She used to around every other change and has recently upped it. Not sure if it's diet related or not. Maybe? Sorry I am not of much help but your not alone in the lots of poop spectrum lol.

 

[Guppy051708]

Not many poops here Ugh...

Today we took Elliot to the ped to get his weight checked and get him established as a patient and all. He is now 6lb & 12oz (he was 7lb & 4oz at birth). The weight loss, so far, is in the normal range, so its not very fortelling on my supply. But it will be in the coming days. I believe my milk is in...but like my milk supply with isaiah, its hardly any at all...i think there is more there this time, so i think everything i did prenatally helped and stuff, but its not much...a "normal BFing" mom would never consider this engorgement...i was expecting this to happen, so im not surprised, but still...was nice to hope for. Who knows maybe it will increase....

Elliot is jaundiced So that complicates things even more...and it gives me less time to accomodate the IGT and see what supply i'll have, as its clear that he needs to be getting that milk to help rid the jaundice. We have been keeping him in the window all day...dont know how much good it will do since its the winter and its new england so its dark and grey out all day, not to mention its pitch black by 4pm...but i'll do whatever needs to be done...we went to the hospital and they checked his bilirubin levels. They did the heel prick and needed to fill 2 tubes worth Elliot did great and never even flinched! I was supposed to get the results back, but of course they never called

Then we dropped in to see the LC. The ped wanted me too meet with her, and since she's in the hospital i just dropped by. She was the one who helped with everything with Z....she told me to pump and all, but she didn't have time to do a eat&weigh in and all that jazz....which ended up being a good thing...well sort of...turns out that because i didn't deliver there, its hospital policy that i have to pay $300 per visit and it would NOT be billed to insurance ...so now she is way out of the picture, which sucks majoriliy! Im not too upset in the sense, that i know exactly what she'll tell me and i know the steps she'll want me to take...but what does bother me is i have no idea if 1.) i need to be supplementing yet or not and 2.) if i do, then how much. I dont want to ruin what potential supply i could have by supplementing too early, but at the same time he is jaundiced, and dehydrated ...he has had 3 diapers with the brick dust So...yep....not only jaundiced but also dehydrated....i took it amongst myself and begun giving him some mLs of the pumped colostrum. Im really glad i did that prenatally! Ive been nursing him as much as possible (not an easy task because he is so sleepy due to jaundice). Then i pump as well. And then i give him the extra colostrum. Its only about 10-20mLs per feed...i just dont know how much to give...hopefully i will figure more out in the coming days though....my precripstion hospital grade pump should be in tomorrow, so that should help, bc my cheapo one just isnt cutting it

 

[swanxxsong]

sorry to hear of your struggles Guppy. Jaundice babies are no fun. but sounds like you're doing a great job! Is there any LLL leader local to you who could maybe help? I know the LCs around here can be a bit $$$ which was why I called LLL. so glad I did!!

Keeping my FX that things improve soon!

 

[Guppy051708]

yeah. im going to get in contact w/ one...although last time they couldnt help much bc IGT is out of their scope...so im not sure how that will work. It goes beyond the normal BFing issues, so i was referred to th LC (last time)...so....not sure how much help it will be but im still going to contact them bc they can be an excellent resource.

 

[swanxxsong]

Aw, that's frustrating. I hope they're able to do something!

 

[Jokerette]

Guppy I hope your supply ends up coming in nice and strong

 

[Jokerette]

Girls thank you do much for your words of advice and encouragement. The sleeping has gotten slightly better. I'm at least able to dose off for an hour or do between feedings.

As for breast feeding, I'm gonna stick with it... It's just so much harder than I knew. My milk is starting ti come in and the engorgment is painful on top of the latching damage we're dealing with. I'm trying ti figure out how to deal with the engorgment. I have heard mixed reviews in pumping to empty them if he doesn't empty them enough for comfort... But with that I don't want to confuse my body and make it produce the wrong amount. And if I did pump do I do it before after he nurses?

I also read about cabbage leaves for relief, but on that hand I don't want to dry up my supply too much.

He is still not waking up every 3 hours like he's "supposed to" so we have to wake him to feed. Abd then he only latches on for like 10-15 mins total , usually about 10 on one side 5 in the other. I worry he's not eating enough but he has lots of wet diapers and poopy ones.

Any advice for dealing with engorgment? Pumping and saving the milk vs manual expressing and "dumping"? And when to do it, before it after he feeds

 

[swanxxsong]

I made this my guidebook when I suffered engorgement, because it sucks!

https://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mom/engorgement.html

I'd express in the shower (hand express) for relief. I'd pump lightly for ten minutes on the side on which she didn't nurse, or both if it was between feedings and she hadnt eaten. During the day I woke her every 2 hours and then every 2-3 at night. I used a cool washcloth between feedings for comforts sake as well.

It totally sucks, I understand that completely. . but I hope this helps! Kellymom is awesome. I'd def pump on the opposite side if he only nurses on one, for your sake. Doesn't need to be for long - just for some relief. And I'd personally do it after he eats.

Good luck!! xoxo

Oh, and as long as the diaper output is good, I wouldn't worry right now love. It's unnerving not knowing numbers of what they're eating but if he's happy and pottying enough then he's obviously content.

 

[GossipGirly]

Comong over x.

 

[Junebugs]

hey ladies i guess i need to move over here now. i forgot about this thread!

I had a little break down today and was crying all day long because mason would not remove himself from my breast!! He was on all night and day... on top of it, it is my husbands 30th birthday so we had so many people coming to visit and i had no time to even take a shower!!!! i feel so bad because i took some of my frustration on him and he did not deserve it. especially on his birthday.

 

[Jokerette]

Oh June bugs I'm sorry that sounds exhausting! No wonder you had a breakdown!! keep at it and it will get easier as our LO's start to have more time between feedings

 

[Jokerette]

Kenny is finally latching on right! I hope this is the end of my sore cracked nipples. He spit up some blood yesterday and today but he only seems to do it after nursing on my right breast which has some bleeding on the nipple. I'm really hoping its my blood I am seeing and not something in his digestive system. It's scary. anyone else ever experience this?

 

[Jokerette]

Are any of you guys pumping so that your OH can do a feeding at night? I think I'd like to start doing that when Kenny is 2-3 weeks old, but how do I start? When do I start pumping and storing the milk? What time of day do I pump? I'd it going to confuse my body? Do I just pump a tiny bit and combine them to make bottles or do I try to fill a bottle in one sitting? Help! I'm feeling clueless about where to begin!

Thank you swan for your advice above!! Maybe I can start by using the engorgement relief ti start my stash of milk. I guess my biggest fear is that I don't want to over pump and have my body make way too much milk so I'm walking around with full painful breasts all day long. But I guess too much milk is better than not enough? How do I balance it out

 

[swanxxsong]

I've read that bloody nipples can cause bloody spitup or stool so that sounds like what you're experiencing. I can see how that would be scary though!

re: pumping (based on my conversations with my Lactation Consultant, because I'm definitely no expert haha), it kind of varies on the advice given for pumping. I was told to begin pumping immediately, but that's because Aria didn't start nursing until she was almost a week old and the LC didn't want me to lose my supply by just ignoring my boobs (since Aria was just fine ignoring them, ) But she said she doesn't usually tell women to pump so early, if they're having success with nursing. I just was lacking in the success department for a week. So I've been pumping since day one in the hospital, though I no longer do it routinely. I was pumping every 2 hours to establish my supply, then as soon as she began nursing on her own, I've cut back dramatically and just pump occasionally, when I feel inclined. My LC said normally they'd say not to introduce a bottle of EBM until 6 weeks to avoid nipple confusion, but since Aria started on a bottle, she could care less. She prefers the boob, actually, but will reluctantly nurse from a bottle if I try.

I'm still pumping because I want to stockpile a supply for myself. I have worked it out with my boss that I'm working one Saturday a quarter to keep employment with the company - so if I decide to return to work after 2-3 years, even just parttime, I have my foot in the door - with the option to work a few weekdays through the year as well. I've accepted it, because I love my boss and co-workers and would consider returning there when Aria goes to preschool - and eventually school. I don't start until April, so I want milk stored for that time - so she'll have whatever she needs all ready for her. OH did give her a bottle the other night because I accidentally woke him up while I was puking in the middle of the night, but that was a fluke. lol! Not that he is opposed to helping me, but since it's tax season + longer hours for him, I felt guilty that she kept him up for 2 hours in the middle of the night. Though it was nice to get a short break!

I digress, lol; pumping can throw your supply, and speaking from experience, oversupply does really suck sometimes. That's why I've cut back on my pumping immensely, because it's not a fun experience with which to deal. Her cluster feeds have thrown my body back off-track on their own, though, so I can't really win. Mornings are, from what I understand, best for pumping milk.

What I had been told was 10-15 minutes per side, and not to worry about quantity of milk during that time. Some women can pump a lot, some can't pump much at all, and I've found that sometimes I can get 3 oz easily per boob in about 5 minutes, and other times in 15 minutes I can barely get an ounce. Just depends on various factors. I basically pump until I have at least 6 oz in my fridge, then I freeze it. My bags hold 6oz but sometimes I wait until I have enough for 2 bags, even if one isn't a full 6, then freeze. Just depends on how much pumping I plan to do during those 1-2 days.

In terms of balancing it out, I've yet to master that, so I'm not sure what to say. haha. I'm trying to combat my oversupply and it's a tedious and un-fun process. So hopefully someone else with more experience with that will be able to give you good advice. lol!

 

[swanxxsong]

Feb 18 -- I have updated to match the original board's main page, as far as I can tell. If I missed you, please let me know and I'll add you to the list.

I swear I'm forgetting someone but I'm not sure who.

 

[GossipGirly]

hi girls, I am waiting for my milk to come in and we are still working on his latch so my nipples are so sore and cracked too, just sent hubby to get some Lanosil or whatever it is to help x

 

[Jokerette]

Thanks Swan!!! maybe i will start pumping in a week or two to start saving milk, anf then intorduce the bottle around 4 weeks or so... im going to meet with an LC next tuesday again so ill ask her. just the last time i talked to one she said we should introduce the bottle around 2-3 weeks but that just seemed so soon to me.

 

[Jokerette]

Kennys last 3 diapers have leaked all over the place.... i wonder why? we are using the same diapers and tightening the same amount?!!?

 

[mumanddad]

I pump 3 to 4 times a day and have done since day one, but i dont get much prob between 3 and 4 oz each time. I also put corbyn to the breast but he is always hungry half hour later so i always top up with ebm or formula x