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[m_t_rose]

What a great thread!! I love BF and I am hoping to BF until Jacob is 2, but recently I have gotten really down about it because he has been pulling off and biting just the tip of my nipple with his gums. It hurts so badly it makes my eyes water. I also don't think he has a very good latch. He has a tiny mouth and even when he opens it very wide he still only gets a little bit in and my nipples are starting to hurt. They were fine for the first 2 weeks though. I think I just need a bit of advice and encouragement. I never though BF would be this difficult.

 

[Lu28]

The first few weeks are definitely the hardest and you're doing so well

Aisling did the same at about this age and even now she'll bite down for no real reason but it's very rare. To be honest, I think sometimes it's just about exploring how things feel in their mouths etc. If you're worried she's not getting enough of her boob in her mouth, how about pinching your boob a little so that you can fit more in her mouth - sort of like a nipple sandwich! I found it helped alot with her latch in the early days. Good luck and feel free to pm me if you feel like a moan

 

[m_t_rose]

I try to pinch my nipple to fit more in but he seems so pull back a bit so he only has the tip in his mouth. I am also finding that my milk comes out so fast that it is choking him and if he pulls off it squirts all over the place. Does anyone else have that problem?

 

[bluemoon]

Hello i am a new mum, and i have a son but we are sturggling witht he latching and staying latched just wondered if anyone could help me.

thank u

 

[Lu28]

m_t_rose - sorry hon, I have a slow let down if anything. I have heard though that lying back slightly can help if the milk is flowing too fast

bluemoon - not sure if anyone has pm'd but please feel free to pm me if you'd like some support with this. I had some similar problems in the early days which eventually resolved but I did supplement with bottles for a while too so I might not be the best person to ask! More than happy to chat if it would help though

 

[diz]

What a great thread

o.k....i'm a bit confused on a couple of things. Firstly i feel i should be expressing and freezing some milk for growth spurts, evenings out etc... but i'm unsure when and how often i should do this?

Secondly my LO has set out his stall and wants to be fed every two hours, each feed lasts for approximately 30 mins. During the evening he feeds at 6 this is then followed by a bath (3x a week or so) then a feed at 8, then he goes to bed (in our room).

i'm usually ready for bed my self at 10, which is when his next feed is due, so i wake him up to feed him (he's usually very sleepy). After the 10pm feed he will sleep until 2am ish, then wants feeding every 2 hours again. I'm wondering if i should also wake him at 12am for a feed, in the hope he has his 4 hour sleep from then until 4am?

any thoughts...?

 

[pinkbow]

this is a fab thread

well i could use some advice if possible?!

basically my LO is doing well with BF he loves it and so do it...but he seems to prefer my left breast, i think as its the bigger more productive booby(always leaked when preg not the right)...but now ive noticed the right 1 isnt filling as well as the left and im panicking im losing my supply in it...or will eventually? what can i do to help this?
I still swictch breasts between feeds and he does get milk..

any advice would be fabby, thanks

 

[thelilbump]

Diz, Tbh i think waking him up for a feed at 12 is really up to your personal preference and trail and error. He might no take that much and still wake at 2 for another feed and then you've not had much unbroken sleep, or on the other hand he could go through. I'm not sure anyone would have a definitive answer apart from trialing though i may be wrong. You may find he starts naturally cluster feeding in the evenings soon anyway, maybe demanding to be fed every 2 hours or so in order for him to start to going longer between feeds at night.


Rach - i have this problem too. When my LO was smaller i used to try different positions to trick her into feeding from that side such as the rugby ball hold or lying down in bed. I kept her feeding from it until it was clear she was unhappy and then i'd change sides and let her have as much as she wanted, If she only had 10 minutes or so on the good side i would try her again on the poor side just to keep it going really. Now she's bigger and can't really hold her in any other postion than the normal body to chest i always start her on the side she doesn't like and finish on the preffered side. I hope that all makes sense! I'm not saying i did it the right way just thats what worked for us personally.

 

[diz]

Diz, Tbh i think waking him up for a feed at 12 is really up to your personal preference and trail and error. He might no take that much and still wake at 2 for another feed and then you've not had much unbroken sleep, or on the other hand he could go through. I'm not sure anyone would have a definitive answer apart from trialing though i may be wrong. You may find he starts naturally cluster feeding in the evenings soon anyway, maybe demanding to be fed every 2 hours or so in order for him to start to going longer between feeds at night.

Thanks lilbump.

if cluster feeding is so called when the baby feeds every two hours then Noah does that constantly!!! he always wants to be feed every 2 hours from the start of the last feed.

I might try waking him at 12.00 tonight and see how that goes.

any tips on the expressing question...?

Thanks!!!

 

[thelilbump]

o.k....i'm a bit confused on a couple of things. Firstly i feel i should be expressing and freezing some milk for growth spurts, evenings out etc... but i'm unsure when and how often i should do this?

Personally, I never gave my baby a bottle and during growth spurts i just battled through it. However i did express and freeze for emergencies (such as illness). However, my Lo didn't feed as often as yours, more like every 4 hours so i'd express between feeds or first thing in the morning. Sorry i'm not more help on that one!

 

[pinkbow]

Rach - i have this problem too. When my LO was smaller i used to try different positions to trick her into feeding from that side such as the rugby ball hold or lying down in bed. I kept her feeding from it until it was clear she was unhappy and then i'd change sides and let her have as much as she wanted, If she only had 10 minutes or so on the good side i would try her again on the poor side just to keep it going really. Now she's bigger and can't really hold her in any other postion than the normal body to chest i always start her on the side she doesn't like and finish on the preffered side. I hope that all makes sense! I'm not saying i did it the right way just thats what worked for us personally.

thanks lilbump ive been sticking to the 1 position on my nursing pillow, or lying down which he loves...so i think ill try the rugby ball position ive had a look online and looks much more comfy and id have a hand free

thanks again it makes me feel better already knowing im not the only 1 and mason is acting normal lol

 

[candyfloss]

My LO is 9 weeks old and until earlier this week I was only offering one boob unless he wouldn't settle and looked like he wanted the other side. I've now started offering both sides at most feeds (unless he seems to just want a snack!) and he does take the second side and is going much longer between feeds - from about 90mins to 3 hours now. He's sleeping better during the day and seems more content too. Had him weighed yesterday and he's put on 1lb in 2 weeks which I'm pleased with (now 11lb4oz so 3lbs up from birth).

My concern is that his poos seem greener now - very dark green/brown rather than the mustard yellow. I've read it can be a milk imbalance and wonder if his system needs to adjust to having more foremilk (as having both sides regularly now) or if I'm offering the second side too early? I generally offer it when he keeps dropping the latch and doesn't seem interested in it any more - this is when before I would presume he was full and wind him, offer it again, and then put boob away if he didn't take it.

Any advice would be great! HV wasn't bothered when I asked her about it yesterday but would like more advice!

Thank you!

Kate

 

[Lu28]

Hi Candyfloss! I've found that poo seems to change in colour on a constant basis and ended up not paying too much attention I would however burp once he seems disinterested and put him back on the same boob at first in case he was full of air instead of milk. If he still seems disinterested then pop him on the second at that stage. Good luck!

 

[thelilbump]

Hi Candyfloss,

What you are doing sounds about right to me. I wouldn't worry so much about the colour of the poo now aslong as your baby isn't showing any signs of distress, so he should be alert, not crying constantly, giving you plenty of wet and dirty nappies. I think they're only concerned with the colour of poo in the early days because it shows they're feeding.

 

[candyfloss]

Thank you both! He's generally a happy chap, and lots of wet and dirty nappies still so will try not to worry....its going back to yellow slowly at the moment I think too. Hard not to worry at times

xxx

 

[Seraphim]

I feel so lucky to have had BnB throughout my pregnancy, and this thread just is the cherry on the cake!

LO is due in a week, and at this point what I'm really wondering is what to expect in the first few hours/days. If she popped in early I wouldn't like to panic about things not progressing as they should.

I've prepared as much as possible - I think! But I still am a bit clueless about what will happen initially.

In my 'toolkit' I have...

Nursing chair
Nursing pillow
Lansinoh Cream
Pads
Shields
Medela Swing pump
EBM freezer bags
Feeding cups
Breastflow bottles (would like to avoid these initially)

Also got some nice fabric wraps, swaddle blankets and nursing PJs etc.
And underfloor heating for those mid-night wanderings!

 

[thelilbump]

Hi seraphim.

Sounds like you've got everything to me just ready for your little arrival now Have you got some muslins aswell because they came in quite handy for me personally?

As for what to expect everyone has such different experiences i'm not sure anyone could tell you. I remember our first feed was about 2am, OH had been sent home and I was on my own in the ward, MW was quite good and did help but it wasn't how i expected at all, being sat there alone in the middle of the night absolutly shattered trying desperatly to feed DD with no idea what to do! I decided to feed for a few weeks, then i thought a few months and now 13 months later i'm still breastfeeding and my baby has never had a bottle of EBM or formula. I'll be honest, it is hard at first but get through the first 6 weeks and for most it becomes a lot easier. I think it's important to remember aswell that for whatever reason you can't breastfeed not too feel too bad or dissapointed, as long as you and your baby are happy and healthy thats all that matters at the end of the day. Remember the ladies on here are always around for advice aswell. Good luck

 

[Seraphim]

Hey lilbump, thank you

Ahh yes, I got muslins

So it's normal to try and feed directly after labour or within a few hours? And then on demand / every 2 hours?? What's the normal course of action if that plan doesn't seem to work??

 

[thelilbump]

Well i was whizzed down to theatre so didn't get to feed my baby until she was a couple of hours old poor mite. Personally i fed on demand, but on that first day LO slept for agessss so the mw made me wake her. Once home she kind of fell into a pattern of waking every 4 hours for a feed naturally. Every experince and baby is different though!

 

[Hiding]

Hello,

I have several issues unfortunately

My LO is 5 weeks tomorrow. He had a prosteriour tongue tie which we had repaired on Tuesday. As soon as he was brought to me, he latched for the first time ever and stayed there munching away for about 30 mins. I was delighted He hasn't latched since though. I feel I am doing everything right - low lights, not forcing him, trying him in several positions to see if he favours any etc. He just will NOT open his mouth wide enough. He licks and nibbles on my nipples then gets really upset. I just end up putting the nipple shield back on and letting him feed.

The other issues are that he seems to be resisting me - pushing away and getting very upset. He is clearly starving and eventually will latch (with shield) and drink but makes upset and unhappy noises for a good while.

He is also croaky and unhappy since his tongue tie. I called the lady who was present at the procedure and she advised we give him 1ml of Calpol. He's been asleep since so not sure yet whether he feels better or will find feeding any easier later.

We are using one bottle in the evenings to try and reduce colic symptoms, EBM in Dr. Brown bottles.

Breastfeeding has been soooo hard for us. I am going to visit a Baby Cafe on Monday as a final attempt to get him to latch. I dont think I can watch him breaking his heart when down there anymore. The shield seems to be giving him terrible wind, and so I am tempted to give up on that altogether too. He just seems to unhappy these last few days.

Can anybody offer any advice? I feel really upset about it all and cant help but cry every now and then - I know some of that is hormones, but I just dont know what to do for the best for him.

Thanks in advance xxx
(P.s. my 'User CP' doesn't work so I will have to track this as best I can!)