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[TigerLady]

Double post

 

[TigerLady]

E&L,

My first was a scheduled section as he was breech. (I don't like to use the term elective as I would never have chosen it for myself! ) Because this one is so close and my hospital won't to VBACs anyway, this one will be section, too.

I think the biggest thing you can do to prepare is to read through the BFing section and get a realistic idea of what challenges women face and how they overcome them.

Other than that, you might want to get a nursing pillow (I couldn't have done without my boppy, esp after having a section), some bottles for bfed babies (I love my breastflow bottles) just incase you have to use bottles (you don't want to use the hospital ones as the flow is too fast and can cause problems with bfing), some good nipple cream, and lots of positive attitude!

Make sure you request a really good dose of oxcitocin during your section. It is the hormone that your body produces during labor and helps signal that changes are needed. That and complete removal of your placenta (by the doc) will signal your milk to come in. Well, those 2 things and constant nursing and sucking by LO!

Most recommend getting skin to skin contact and baby to the breast as soon as possible after your section. I didn't find that necessary, but I still recommend it. I did start holding baby and do skin to skin right after my surgery was done. But I waited for him to show signs of wanting to nurse. That took about 4 hours. Once he started making sucking motions with his mouth, I put him to the breast. He learned to latch pretty quickly and we never looked back.

I would stress that the baby is not to receive any bottles, pacifiers, or supplements without your express permission first. And remember that baby doesn't NEED anything other than the bb unless there is a medical problem.

My milk didn't come in until day 3. I just let LO nurse as often and as long as he wanted to until then. Which meant he was pretty much attached to me full time. Seriously. The nipple cream was invaluable in that time as it was very very painful.

You can do it this time! Just keep reading and asking!

 

[E&L's mummy]

thank you i hope so.
someone else had said about the oxcitocin....will have to check if thats a US/UK thing or not as it wasnt even mentioned last time.

i wouldnt have chosen to have sections but it was for medical reasons after the birth of DD1 and this one is for the same reasons but also cos ive had 2 now.

DD2 went straight on to my chest which was fabulous as i didnt even see DD1 for an hour and half after she was born. and by the time i did, she was bathed, clothed and having cuddles with daddy.

one of my concerns is that it took so long for anything to start to flow, DD2 has severe jaundice while she was in SCBU and i do wonder if that was cos she had no fluids for all that time. i ask for help sooooo many times and told them i was nattered about her not feeding and noone did anything. i think they were releived when i caved and put her on the bottle. my mum did her best but she could never BF as she has sever inverted nipples and, again, no support with myself or my sister to BF. she just didnt know what to tell me or show me or help.
right im gonna do some reading etc on the rest of the board but thank you for your support and maybe nearer the time please could i have a mentor/support with it all.xxxxx

 

[TigerLady]

Of course you can... just ask!

I think the oxitocin is universal. They probably just didn't mention it. It is also necessary to make the uterus contract and go back into place. I know my OB loaded me up on it as my uterus was so large and stretched. I think it helped.

 

[Bluetomato]

Hi, Im not sure if this is the right place to post, but ive got a few problems and was wondering if someone could help me. Dominic is 19 weeks old today and although he is breastfed im finding it a struggle. He has been breastfed from birth, although has had the odd bottle of formula (about 1 a week, or maybe even less than that). It seemed to be going quite well to begin with, he was feeding every 3 hours or so, and from about 6 to 12 weeks he was more or less sleeping through the night - from about 10pm-5am. However hes now decided that he doesn't want to do that any more, last night he woke for a feed at 1.30am, 3.30am and 5.45am. Im quite lucky in that his feeds only last about 10 minutes, but im still tired all the same. During the day he now feeds every 2-3 hours.
He was weighed last week, and had lost 9oz, and when he was weighed 2 weeks before that he hadn't put any weight on at all. The hv suggested I either do top up feeds or start to wean him. I decided not to wean his as I think hes too little, and I didn't really want to do top ups as I wanted to keep him on just my milk for a while longer yet. However im getting to the point now where im shattered. Ive got pnd and a very boistrous 2 year old who is trying to demand all my attention and juggling bf as well, its not working very well. Yesterday I gave Dom a top up feed at bedtime, and after speaking to my hv again today, she suggested giving him another top up at his lunchtime feed, just to try and fill him up a bit so he sleeps longer at night. I don't really want to do the top ups, but im not sure what else to do. Im really pleased ive managed to get this far, but I wish I could carry on longer although if things carry on this way im not sure im going to be able too. I also feel bad giving him formula, like im letting him down in some way

 

[vineyard]

Of course you can... just ask!

I think the oxitocin is universal. They probably just didn't mention it. It is also necessary to make the uterus contract and go back into place. I know my OB loaded me up on it as my uterus was so large and stretched. I think it helped.

Oxytocin is universal with c sections as it's the only way to stop the bleeding.

 

[wishingonastar]

Hi, Im not sure if this is the right place to post, but ive got a few problems and was wondering if someone could help me. Dominic is 19 weeks old today and although he is breastfed im finding it a struggle. He has been breastfed from birth, although has had the odd bottle of formula (about 1 a week, or maybe even less than that). It seemed to be going quite well to begin with, he was feeding every 3 hours or so, and from about 6 to 12 weeks he was more or less sleeping through the night - from about 10pm-5am. However hes now decided that he doesn't want to do that any more, last night he woke for a feed at 1.30am, 3.30am and 5.45am. Im quite lucky in that his feeds only last about 10 minutes, but im still tired all the same. During the day he now feeds every 2-3 hours.
He was weighed last week, and had lost 9oz, and when he was weighed 2 weeks before that he hadn't put any weight on at all. The hv suggested I either do top up feeds or start to wean him. I decided not to wean his as I think hes too little, and I didn't really want to do top ups as I wanted to keep him on just my milk for a while longer yet. However im getting to the point now where im shattered. Ive got pnd and a very boistrous 2 year old who is trying to demand all my attention and juggling bf as well, its not working very well. Yesterday I gave Dom a top up feed at bedtime, and after speaking to my hv again today, she suggested giving him another top up at his lunchtime feed, just to try and fill him up a bit so he sleeps longer at night. I don't really want to do the top ups, but im not sure what else to do. Im really pleased ive managed to get this far, but I wish I could carry on longer although if things carry on this way im not sure im going to be able too. I also feel bad giving him formula, like im letting him down in some way

i'm sorry to hear the response from your HV, but am also not surprised...as soon as a BFing mum encounters difficulties most medical 'professionals' seem to jump on the formula or weaning band wagon

they have a growth spurt at around 3 months and 6 months, give or take a few weeks and the feeding increases greatly for a week or two then calms back down...his increased feeding could be this, though you've said he's also lost weight...

as his feeds are about ten mins, perhaps you could try burping him, then giving him a little break before putting him back to the same breast to ensure he's definately had enough and has pulled off plenty of hind milk (the fatty part that is laden with calories)

is he generally happy and content between feeds and having approx 6 wet nappies a day?

also, are you eating and drinking properly yourself? i know it sounds a bit preachy but the quality of your milk is affected by what does and doesn't go into your body so for him to get the right nutrition, you need to eat and drink right too

well done on coming this far...we'll get you through this blip and back on track

 

[wishingonastar]

also, are you certain you have the correct latch and that his latch hasn't changed in some way from what he was doing originally...reason i ask is if a latch isn't correct a baby won't pull off as much milk as with a good latch and so will need to feed more frequently and won't be getting the full benefit of a correct latch

if you have a children's centre near you give them a buzz and see if they run a BFing support group...i went to my local one and it was fab...they sorted my latch right out

 

[Bluetomato]

Hiya,
Thankyou so much for replying. I took Dom to get weighed today and he now weighs 14lb 14oz - hes put on 12oz in 8 days! (Either that or the scales wern't very accurate last week ) Feeding seems to be going a bit better today, and I didn't give him his lunchtime top up as it didn't seem to help last night as he still woke at 2.15 and 4.30am so couldn't see the point in giving it. When I feed him, he feeds for nearly 10 minutes, then I will take him off and burp him, then put him back on. He will feed for another minute or so then come off. Hes fine between feeds and has lots of soggy nappies, plus explosive poos!
Its the nightime that im finding really hard, as even when hes finished feeding he takes a while to settle. Not quite sure how to make him sleep better.
Thanks again x

 

[wishingonastar]

glad he's putting weight on again...sounds like the scales were off last week to be honest!

for nighttime, perhaps it would help to implement a routine? i did this when isabel was around 3 months old and it helped massively with getting her to settle, as babies often respond well to routine and consistency, so now isabel knows that she's fed at 6:50pm, has naked time or bath from 7 til 7:15pm then goes upstairs and is dressed for bed with a only a nightlight on that projects stars to the ceiling then she's zipped into sleeping bag and put into bed. The nightlight added the finishing touch to an already established routine and she settles like a little angel i don't follow a routine in the day as yet but am quite rigid at nighttime and its worked a treat

 

[TigerLady]

BT, Wishing has already given you excellent advice! I just wanted to reiterate that weaning will NOT help him put on weight. I'm glad he has gained, too.

I think it is normal for them to get to that age and start waking at night again. It seems many many babies get weaned at that age due to the mistaken belief that eating more often = hunger = need for solids. In reality, it is a growth spurt!!

My LO only goes 3 hours between feeds. When he got to his 3/4 month growth spurt, he started going every hour at night again for a while! He went back to 3 hourly after a while.

If it is the lack of sleep you are finding so difficult, have you considered co-sleeping until he gets back to sleeping through? I work full time and the ONLY thing that has kept me bfing every 3 hours at night is the fact that we co-sleep and I don't have to fully wake in order to feed him.

 

[Bluetomato]

Thanks for the advice,
Things are really not going very well at the moment. Hes feeding every 1 1/2 -2 hours at night and im exhausted. Even after feeding hes taking a while to settle so it doesn't feel like im getting any sleep at all! Ive tried co-sleeping with him, but he fidgets like mad and again, takes a while to settle. He does have an evening routine - 6.30pm he has a bath with his big brother, 6.50ish breastfeed from both sides, then a 4oz formula top up 7.15pm ish goes to bed in his sleeping bag in his cot. He seems to wake for his first night feed about 1am - last night he fed at 1am, 3am, 4.45am then 6.45am, so he is sleeping for 6ish hours between 7-1, but id love it if he slept a little bit longer. In the past I did try giving him a dreamfeed (breastfeed) around 10pm when we go to bed, but it didn't seem to make any difference to the amount of time he slept for.

 

[wishingonastar]

is he in a sleeping bag? if not, you may find he settles better in that as he can't kick the blankets off..they move with him!

have you got him in a basket or cot? if he's in a cot could you drop the side and have it pushed right up to your bed so its almost co-sleeping but so he's not close enough to thrash about and disturb you so much... or have the basket very close so you can perhaps put a hand near him to reassure him but you can sleep at same time...?

i notice you said you do a formula top-up...if you're not noticing this to make much difference you may want to consider dropping this and returning to sole BFing as your supply will increase quickly to match his demands and it saves you needing to think about bottles and so on

are you certain he wants food each time he wakes in early hours? one technique people try is when he wakes don't feed him instantly, instead change his nappy or walk him around the house a little...that way he'll either settle if its not food he needs or it can also help to train him to go a little longer each time without food (he wakes at 3, you feed him at 3:10 and gradually he stretches food intervals himself).

i'm sure you're already doing it but just to check:
- are you certain he's not too hot/cold at night as isabel woke regularly when i didn't wrap her up enough (i was paranoid she'd overheat so went the opposite way!)
- are you cluster feeding him in the evening? isabel stopped asking to be cluster fed from about 12 weeks so i had to remember for her else she'd wake sooner in the night...i put her to breast approx every hour if not more in the evening but will stop doing this once she's established on solids as shouldn't need it then

well done on how well you're doing so far honey

 

[ClaraCluck]

I am really proud to have EBF my LO for 24 weeks now, we started weaning him last week so think I have given him the best possible start.

I had a breast abcess a couple of months ago and it took 6 weeks to get sorted, but I persevered and stuck to BF.

On New Years Day I noticed I had a blockage and called the emergency docs in case it was mastitis. It turned out to be a milk blister and once it cleared the blockage disappeared. However this left a big hole where the blister had been and a crack across my nipple. It was very painful for a week, but stuck with it and it has been healing slowly but surely. The top is still cracked and isn't really painful anymore, except occaisonally when he first latches on. I think he had got lazy with his latch and we have corrected that now, but I can't seem to get it healed 100%. He also spat up blood last week and just when I thought it was healing he did again today and I also have a small crack on the other nipple as he keeps pulling off all the time.

I am really reluctant to stop now, but it takes up all my thoughts at the moment.
LO isn't great at taking a bottle either so worried if I do switch that it will be a nightmare as well as the trauma of drying up.

Any of you girls got through something similar? Every time I think i have it sorted it goes wrong again! Thought it was healing really well today, then LO spat up blood and just fed him and nipple started bleeding,

xxx

 

[TigerLady]

hon. I haven't had this problem before, but I am sure someone will have some good advice for you.

Just wanted to say that you have done great so far! It had to be really hard to power through so many problems, but you have done it! I hope this gets better for you so you can carry on.

 

[ClaraCluck]

hon. I haven't had this problem before, but I am sure someone will have some good advice for you.

Just wanted to say that you have done great so far! It had to be really hard to power through so many problems, but you have done it! I hope this gets better for you so you can carry on.

Thanks Tigerlady xx . I am sat here in tears, hope this sorts itself out soon, I have just fed LO ready for bed and nipple started to bleed, haven't seen it before so upset. Fed so well off other breast and this one doesn't hurt really any more, but it seems to be taking over my life at the moment. Annoying thing is surely BF should start being easier now he has started being weaned and especially once he has solids before milk in a few weeks! Really annoyed at the moment! x x

 

[TigerLady]

I assume that you have tried nipple creams? Are you making sure to keep them slathered in the good cream all the time? Especially right before and after a feed?

 

[wishingonastar]

when i had horrendously sore, cracked nipples from a poor latch i got them better by the following:

- applying lansinoh ointment immediately before and after feeding and randomly during the day whenever i remembered (can get it free on prescription)
- altering isabel's position so she didn't latch on the sore parts
- rubbing in breastmilk after a feed and letting my nips air for a few mins, then making sure they're dry before putting bra back on

if you're really desperate to avoid feeding directly on nipple while it heals you could use nipple shields as a temporary solution on that side, or could express that side and feed LO out of something like a doidy cup with the expressed milk (isabel won't take bottles so i'm trying these on her)

 

[ClaraCluck]

Thanks so much ladies, I have been distraught, don't want to stop BF. Was so painful when first healing , think I'm worrried it will get like that again. I have been using Lansinoh after feeding and in my breast pad, but hadn't thought to use before he feeds will try this right away. It had started to heal so well and still looks a hundred times better than it did last week. I spent a lot of time yesterday with no top on to get some air to it ( had Lansinoh on at the time) do you think this may have caused the bleed today if part has got too dry.

Since last week I have fed from the sore side in rugby ball hold, do you think I should alternate positions rather than sticking to same one, This seemed to have worked til the bleed today however. Also do you think a breast shell would help or just continue to put LAnsinoh in breast pad?

Really appreciate your help, i have been beside myself!

 

[TigerLady]

I would add in another position every few feeds if it doesn't make things worse. That way you aren't over using one part of the nipple.

Airing them out is good, but too much can cause dryness in my experience. Definitely use the cream right before a feed, let it air out a bit, then apply more cream and cover up. Then apply more cream whenever they are dry or every few hours or so. Hopefully the bleed will clear up soon.

You are doing a great job! You really are!!