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[TigerLady]

Just pump any extra you can for now and store it (do you know the right way to store it?). Then when it is time to go back to work, you will have a back up stash to get you started. When you are at work, the important aspect will be to pump any time your LO is taking a bottle of EBM while away from you. That will keep pace with LO's needs and you shouldn't have to use formula.

If you have any specific questions or concerns, feel free to ask me. I had to go back to work full time when LO was 13 weeks old (end of FMLA), he is nearly 9 months now and has still never had a drop of formula! So, it is totally possible to make it work.

 

[WTTMommy]

I already started a thread asking this but maybe here would be better.

Last night and the night before we gave Rach EBM, all 3 of us slept so much better. I find it hard to deal with her crying, tugging, and coming on and off the boob when I'm half asleep. So we gave her 3-4 oz at a time and she was out minutes later!

I still pump every few hours so my supply isn't affected and get 3-5 oz each time.

Can you think of any negatives to giving her EBM during the night? (Other than nipple confusion.. she has been taking the bottle with no problems since a week old)

 

[TigerLady]

The only thing I would watch out for is it negatively affecting your supply if you are not pumping when she gets her EBM bottle. If you are pumping ahead of her needs during the day, getting at least as much as you use at night, then it should all equal out. But monitor it closely! If you start to see the hint of a drop in supply, make adjustments. Either do less EBM and more boob at night, or start pumping at night while DH feeds her.

 

[WTTMommy]

Thanks TL! I will do just that.

 

[angel74]

Hi,

Hopefully someone will be able to help me! My little girl is five weeks old today and I until last week I'd been b'feeding (at times with great difficulty!) exclusively. She lost 11% of her birth weight and seemed to have problems latching on properly. They told me she had slight tongue tie but two midwives have looked at it and said they don't think hers is an issue for feeding. My left nipple ended up in a bit of a mess in early days and feeding was painful. I developed mastitis in the other (right) breast and my daughter had thrush so we had to be treated for that. I stuck with it and although my left nipple has not healed completely, its easier to feed off and not painful like it was before. Although I thought feeding was going badly, she gained 9 oz the week a couple of weeks ago but last week did not gain any weight. I was advised to top her up with formula which I have been doing and trying to express /feed but I feel as though my own supply is suffering and want to increase it again with hopes to ditch the formula top ups if successful. I sometimes express but usually only manage around 3oz from both breasts. The breast in which I had mastitis seems to produce less than the other (ironically, the supply seemed to be better in this one before the mastitis). My little one never seems to slee much during the day even after feeds and sometimes feels like she can literally be on and off the WHOLE day with no breaks as if she take a little bit, dozes, wakes up and realises she is still hungry. She sometimes makes noises at the breast and thrashes/squirms also and I've noticed she does this much more now on the breast which has mastitis as if there is little milk or something though I can see sometimes little drops on her cheek etc.

I've had quite a llot of conflicting advice from health visitor and midwives at the support group I've been to a few times and am beginning to lose confidence in my ability to feed my daughter. Can anyone advise what I can do to increase milk supply? I'm kind of at my wits end with it all but really don't want to throw in the towel with breastfeeding until I have no choice!

 

[thelilbump]

ahh i have to run and put LO to bed but wanted to send big don't worry about the weight gain, they normally loose up to 10%. I'll be back to read and respond properly after!

 

[thelilbump]

Hi,

Hopefully someone will be able to help me! My little girl is five weeks old today and I until last week I'd been b'feeding (at times with great difficulty!) exclusively. She lost 11% of her birth weight and seemed to have problems latching on properly. They told me she had slight tongue tie but two midwives have looked at it and said they don't think hers is an issue for feeding. My left nipple ended up in a bit of a mess in early days and feeding was painful. I developed mastitis in the other (right) breast and my daughter had thrush so we had to be treated for that. I stuck with it and although my left nipple has not healed completely, its easier to feed off and not painful like it was before. Although I thought feeding was going badly, she gained 9 oz the week a couple of weeks ago but last week did not gain any weight. I was advised to top her up with formula which I have been doing and trying to express /feed but I feel as though my own supply is suffering and want to increase it again with hopes to ditch the formula top ups if successful. I sometimes express but usually only manage around 3oz from both breasts. The breast in which I had mastitis seems to produce less than the other (ironically, the supply seemed to be better in this one before the mastitis). My little one never seems to slee much during the day even after feeds and sometimes feels like she can literally be on and off the WHOLE day with no breaks as if she take a little bit, dozes, wakes up and realises she is still hungry. She sometimes makes noises at the breast and thrashes/squirms also and I've noticed she does this much more now on the breast which has mastitis as if there is little milk or something though I can see sometimes little drops on her cheek etc.

I've had quite a llot of conflicting advice from health visitor and midwives at the support group I've been to a few times and am beginning to lose confidence in my ability to feed my daughter. Can anyone advise what I can do to increase milk supply? I'm kind of at my wits end with it all but really don't want to throw in the towel with breastfeeding until I have no choice!

OK I can only speak from my personal experience of course but with regard to the birth weight, they're allowed to loose up to 10% of their birth weight within the first two weeks so I'm sure 11 would of been fine so don't worry about that one too much. I'm unsure about tongue tie or thrush as no experince of it I'm afraid but it sounds like you did a really good job feeding through it and well done to you Mastisis is a bit grim isn't it? I had it once and had no idea what was going on just literally felt i'd been struck by flu. 9oz, fab weight gain again . My LO also had weeks when she'd put on loads and then other weeks she might not have any or just 1lb. Sometimes being ill can play a part in that if she's had a little sniffle or something, also simple things like growth spurts, they have these at 6 and 10 weeks approx. Gahh who advised you to top with formula?! You are right that's probably not helping your supply any at the moment, you are sending your body mixed signals. So many people are told to top up with formula, even we were, we had an on call mw come out as mine was off and she was like 'oh give her formula' when my normal mw came back she said '' and told me to do no such thing so glad i never did! I toyed with the idea for the day as was worried, don't want my baby to be hungy of course but she wasn't distressed or anything unusual just her weight had slowed a little. It's difficult to express so early on, one of the reasons why they tell you not to express until 6 weeks is because women can be very disheartened at how little they pump and think they're baby is getting enough food which simply isn't true, remember your baby is a natural stimuli.

As for the sleeping thing, that could just be the way your baby is, remember she is still only little and wants mummy cuddles. When she's on the breast that had mastisis trying massaging it at the same time she's feeding pushing down towards the nipple this may help. Keep massaging it when you are in the shower too this should clear any tiny blocks you might still have.

My advice for keeping your supply up would be to let your LO feed as much as you can possibly manage and pump when you can. Try not to do it heaps as you'll only tire yourself but try and use your judgement. Did you learn how to feed lying down? Don't go to sleep obviously but it can be more relaxing when you are feeling tired. We co slept for a while and used something called a snugglenest which had a slide down mat for breastfeeding, was a great help.

You're doing a fab job so far and well don eon perservering

 

[Tink1o5]

Just pump any extra you can for now and store it (do you know the right way to store it?). Then when it is time to go back to work, you will have a back up stash to get you started. When you are at work, the important aspect will be to pump any time your LO is taking a bottle of EBM while away from you. That will keep pace with LO's needs and you shouldn't have to use formula.

If you have any specific questions or concerns, feel free to ask me. I had to go back to work full time when LO was 13 weeks old (end of FMLA), he is nearly 9 months now and has still never had a drop of formula! So, it is totally possible to make it work.

No, i have no clue the right way to store it. Help please
also im going to sound like a complete and utter idiot, but what is EBM?

 

[thelilbump]

Just pump any extra you can for now and store it (do you know the right way to store it?). Then when it is time to go back to work, you will have a back up stash to get you started. When you are at work, the important aspect will be to pump any time your LO is taking a bottle of EBM while away from you. That will keep pace with LO's needs and you shouldn't have to use formula.

If you have any specific questions or concerns, feel free to ask me. I had to go back to work full time when LO was 13 weeks old (end of FMLA), he is nearly 9 months now and has still never had a drop of formula! So, it is totally possible to make it work.

No, i have no clue the right way to store it. Help please
also im going to sound like a complete and utter idiot, but what is EBM?

EBM is expressed breast milk. You can freeze milk or put it in the fridge if you plan to use it quickly. To freeze milk, over here we can get little bags from our local chemist, I'm not sure if you have them in your local superstore, probably in with the baby stuff like the pumps.

 

[thelilbump]

like these tink https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_...ps&field-keywords=milk+freezer+bags&x=15&y=16

 

[TigerLady]

Tink, don't worry about not knowing all this - -that is why we are here!

So -- pumping and storing:

Pump your milk into the collection bottles. Then transfer them to milk bags. Some ladies like to leave them in collection bottles as those are reusuable. But if you plan to store very much, that would mean getting loads of bottles and require lots of room in the freezer. However, they are perfectly good if you have the space! If you use the bottles, use masking tape to label them with the date you pumped.

If you choose to go the milk storage bag route, these are my favorite: (Wal Mart has them. My favorite place to get them is www.diapers.com as I can order diapers and such at the same time)
https://www.amazon.com/Lansinoh-breast-milk-storage-holds/dp/B0011Z83L6

You can find them just about anywhere. Use a sharpie marker to write the date, amount in oz. and LO's name on the bag. Store 2-4 ounces per bag. That way you waste less in the long run (that will make sense later).

Place them in a separate container or ziploc in the freezer away from everything else. I used big ziploc bags and my milk had its own shelf in the freezer.

You can collect milk over the course of a day, store it in the fridge between collections, add to it as you get more, then freeze it at the end of the day. This works well if you can only pump an ounce or so at a time at first.

When you thaw milk for use, place it in a cup of warm water (in the bag, obviously). It will thaw pretty fast. You may need to refresh with warm water again to heat the milk to a good warm temp. NEVER heat EBM in a microwave.

Storage guidelines:

Deep freezer (stand alone): 6 months
Freezer that is part of a fridge/freezer combo but separate from the fridge: 3-4 months
Thawed and kept in freezer: 24 hours
Freshly pumped (never frozen) in fridge: 3-5 days
Freshly pumped at room temp: a few hours at best
Thawed at room temp: 1 hour

Once you thaw frozen EBM, it must be used within an hour or throw it out.

Once LO drinks from a bottle of EBM, anything they don't drink within that hour must be thrown out.

Never refreeze milk. Never freeze or keep milk that has been partially drunk from.

That is why you should store it in smaller amounts. It is better to thaw a second small bag, then thaw a big one and have to throw half away.

HTH! If you have any questions or if any of it isn't clear, just ask!

 

[TigerLady]

Oh! And some daycares/babysitters don't like to take babies that are on EBM. So, it will be important to make sure they know your LO is breastfed and they will have to properly handle EBM when you are looking for a sitter for while you work.

 

[sahara]

thank you tiger lady. I have tried pulling his lip down but it is always well and truely stuck!!

I am starting to to unlatch and relatch, but I still can't get him on right.

Any thoughts as to what I am doing wrong?

Hopefully I will be able to drive and get to a BF clinic/Cafe soon (had a section)

xxx

 

[TigerLady]

S, have you tried using your hand to compress your nipple and areola before popping it in his mouth?

Getting to a clinic where they can actually see what is happening would probably be most helpful! Is there anyone that can drive you? I had a section, too, and it was a few weeks before I felt comfortable driving.

 

[sahara]

Hiya, my partner has just had a hip replacement so its a bit difficult at the mo.

I have contatced a lactation consultant and hopefully she is coming out to me soon

I have had a couple of people look at it and they all say its fine

 

[greenlady]

Hi there, I'm new to breastfeeding as my beautiful daughter is only 6 days old. I know its really early days, but I just wanted to drop in for some advice please. I'm having trouble latching her about half the time, and can spend a good half hour maybe 45 minutes trying to do so. Once she's latched and sucking properly she feeds really well, but she does a lot of latching, sucking a few times, then stopping and either falling asleep or pulling herself off. This continues over and over until I eventually latch her and she stays.

I am getting really emotional and tense during this extended latching time and I'm worried that it's delaying her feeds, it can make a regular feed take well over an hour and that's not including changing and burping. She seems to find it a bit stressful as well which also upsets me. I have to usually wake her for her feed, so she's probably grumpy about it and struggles against it. Sometimes her little hands pull her off the latch, as well and often gets in the way. I have tried changing positions and breasts, eventually I get her on but sometimes not on the breast she should be going on, as I'm trying to alternate.

I have quite large breasts (f-g cup) and my nipples are on the flat side. So I usually have to hold the breast till she's well and truly drinking thoroughly, then I try to move it which can be tricky! It still really hurts initially but once she's suckling properly it's not too bad and getting easier. Also, my milk has come in but its not like its regularly leaking all over the place, sometimes I wonder if she's getting enough in the initial sucks or if that's what's frustrating her.

Any advice appreciated. I know its probably just her learning how to do it as well but it is upsetting me and of course my back is killing me!

Thanks x

 

[TigerLady]

It sounds like everything is going great! (Even if it doesn't feel that way.) The "problems" you are describing are VERY common in the early days. It takes time and practice for them (and you) to become pro at it.

She will get better with her latch as she gets more practice and as her mouth gets bigger. Usually by 4-6 weeks things will start to "click" and you both will be experts.

My nipples hurt, bled, and were blistered and cracked for about 3 weeks. Ouch. LOTS of Lanisnoh cream helped.

When you say you change positions, I assume that means change hold types? Ruby, cradle, cross cradle, etc? If so, that is a good solution. If you think she is coming off because she isn't getting a fast enough flow at first, you can always do a few manual compressions before you start a feed to get the flow going a little. You said you have to wake her for a feed -- how often are you feeding her? Will she go longer than 3-4 hours if you don't wake her? If you can swtich to strictly feeding on demand (as long as she isn't going too long between feeds), you might have better luck. She might get her latch better faster if she is truly hungry when you start a feed.

As for worrying that she is getting enough, don't. That is a very common worry and I promise she is getting plenty.

 

[greenlady]

Hi Tiger lady, thanks for your reply. It's good to know I'm on the right track, and I actually think I turned a corner last night. In answer to you question, yes she will sleep quite a long time if we leave her, not every time but but maybe twice per day, and as they keep saying to feed at least 8-10 times a day (every 3 hours) I was getting paranoid that she wasn't getting enough. But as she's still so young I guess it might be newborn sleepiness thing.

So I've found that waking her takes a lot longer than I thought, she needs to be much more alert to realise she's hungry. She was about 3 hours from the last feed when I woke her about 7:30 last night. She took about half an hour to properly wake up, and then latched quite well. After that she fed three more times before midnight, so I let her sleep until about 4am when I did the wake up routine again, and once again she latched much better. It did take nearly 2 hours though because there was waking her up, a change, feeding for about 20 minutes lots of burping, a greedy second helping, a big poo, another change, more burping and stroking, and eventually got her back to sleep! She has since had 2 lots of breakfast this morning

I was finding I had more trouble with my left breast which is a bit bigger and the nipple slightly more damaged. So I tried starting her on the right, giving her 5 minutes then changing sides and she would then have 10-15 on the left. Seemed to work well. Also I have decided the rugby hold works best for me. But yes I am trying to feed on demand but was aworried she wasn't demanding enough! The ravenous hunger before midnight last night put my mind at ease.

And yep lansinoh after every feed for sure! It is still toe curling at time but its getting better each time. Thanks for your help I was a bit overly emotional and frustrated yesterday. Thanks again xx

 

[TigerLady]

We all get that way sometimes! I'm glad last night went better -- it sounds like a very successful night. Don't hesitate to come back and ask more questions if you need -- or just get some support if things get hard or frustrating!

 

[WTTMommy]

Me again...

So Rachel has been super fussy through most feeds lately... she is fine at the beginning but gets really bad when my flow slows down. She pulls on my breast, scratches it, pulls herself off with my nipple wedged between her gums... and we do that throughout basically. Is this a sign of a growth spurt?

She takes 4 oz (sometimes more) of EBM at a time. Yesterday she had 4.5 oz, then another 2.5 oz 1 hr later. From what I've read here that seems to be a lot of milk to drink at one time for a 5 wk old. Should I be worried about overfeeding her?

Thank you so much in advance.