Get your own personal BnB BF Champion and one-on-one BF support here!

[tiggercats]

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.


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

How long would it take to defrost 4oz bags? Do you use hot kettle water, hot tap water or does it need to be only just warm?

We had a disaster the other day, I went out for 40 mins and left a 4oz bottle and Alex guzzled the lot then screamed until I got home. Bless his dad he said 'if you hadn't been through so much to feed him yourself I would have opened the emergency formula' I'm glad he didn't, but if frozen stuff could be defrosted relatively fast I could relax if I leave Alex again.

If you put defrosted milk in the fridge can it be Left for longer than an hour?

 

[Kota]

Tigs it takes hardly any time at all. When Monkey and I went out for dinner I left the babysitter with a bottle of fresh pumped and a bag of frozen solid milk sitting in warm tap water, by the time P' had finished his first bottle the frozen bag had defrosted, it then just needed to be warmed through with more hot water once transferred into a bottle.

 

[greenlady]

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!

Well I'm back! ;haha: feeding is going pretty well she's bloody greedy now and like to have double helpings. Last night again she fed 5 times between 6 and midnight, then woke herself about 4am. and again at 8:30 (the 4am feed went on for ages).

My problem now is my left breast is not as efficient. I'm managing to get her on it eventually, but I can hear that she's not gulping it down the way she does on the right. So after 20 minutes on the left she pulls herself off but is still hungry, so I pop her on the right. My left nipple is sore and quite cracked, a small part of it is a little bit like and open wound. I'm a little worried about it. What should I do? Does it mean she's not latching on it correctly? I am going to have a shower then leave it out in the air for a while. Should I hold off feeding her from it until it heals or should I just keep on trying?

Thanks

 

[OpheliaX]

Just keep trying do you have lanisinoh? It works wonders put a lot on after each feeding. Also she might not be latching right you can unlatch her by sticking your finger in her mouth then let her relatch. If it is painful try a different position. My left breast is almost always slower then the right. When I pump I sometimes get an entire ounce or more from the right while double pumping. You can try popping her back on the left when she comes off and do it a few times before offering the right.

When they get older the pop off all the time to take a look around if I switched him everytime I'd be playing musical boobs.

 

[greenlady]

Thanks yeah I have lansinoh, I think the nipple will slowly heal and she had a good feed from the left earlier, about 20 mins and came off with a mouth overflowing, so I know its working at least. Just being called away for a feed but will be back with more questions I'm sure thank for being so helpful

 

[OpheliaX]

Anytime!!!

 

[enola]

Hi ladies - really hoping someone can help.

So, Daniel is 3 weeks old now and exclusively breastfed, but it's not been easy and I keep just getting so disheartened by all of the hurdles. Firstly we had latching problems and the midwife who came out to see me said it looked as though someone had rubbed a cheesegrater on my nipples Buckets of lasinoh and gritted teeth and a bit of repositioning later, his latch is much improved...most of the time.

He is gaining weight really well, though, and is now between the 50th and 75th percentile, and has lots of 'normal' wet and dirty nappies.

Now, I don't know what's wrong with him (or me), do you think it might be a growth spurt, he just completely out of the blue (at night, usually) fights the breast. He headbutts and punches me and pushes away and arches his back and screams bloody murder til he is bright red...it's so upsetting and I feel rejected, plus he's not really much of a crying baby. I really try to meet his needs as soon as I sense what they are and he is constantly in arms, so skin-to-skin or getting worked up isn't an issue. When he does get into this state, I try to calm him first and then bring him back to the breast, where sometimes he attempts a latch but sort of holds the breast with his mouth gaping round it...what could this be? He has the suction of a dyson the rest of the time. Sometimes we use some expressed milk to take the edge of his hunger and then try him again - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

I also have all but given up for the time being in trying to get him to go on the left breast...I don't know if it's a problem with my nipple, my flow or with him, but he hates it Sometimes I manage to 'trick' him by sliding him over or using the football hold, but it is such effort and I'm so tired that I've just taken to expressing every other or so feed from this breast to keep the supply up (is this often enough? He feeds every 1.5 hours-ish at the moment) and also to have milk to placate him when he is doing his crazy fussy thing.

I have no experience of breastfeeding so don't know if I'm doing something wrong...any advice and support would be so much appreciated. Formula just isn't an option for us, even if I end up exclusively expressing I am determined to stick at it and at the moment I'm just trudging through to that distant-seeming 6 weeks when everyone seems to suggest things will improve.

I'm sorry for the essay there's a lot to get off my chest, and as with many things it always seems worse in the dead of night.

Thank you so much for your time and help

 

[FemmeEnceinte]

You remind me of me

Molly has never been great with her latch. Bit of a lazy one, she has her days when she'll just tickle the nipple a bit until the milk flows and then swallows and fusses and wonders why there's no more when she won't work for it. I usually find this is worse in the evening and also when she's going through a spurt.

As for rejecting you and not sucking sometimes, it does sound like very typical growth spurt behaviour if he's fine for the rest of the time. 3 weeks is a biggie, almost as bad as the one we hit at 12 weeks which lasted until she was about 16 weeks! She screamed all evening for the first 2 weeks and I really started to question/doubt myself. It's a struggle I know, and sometimes you'll wonder if you can go on or if you're even doing the best thing but you are, I promise and it does pass eventually.

So, yes you're doing everything right. This is all normal as are your feelings of confusion and doubt.

My advice is, rant at OH whenever possible. Mine is the only reason I'm still BF'ing and I am and always was of the mindset "no formula, ever". He can also sometimes rock her to sleep when it gets too much... if Daniel is fussing for hours etc. then he'll also be getting overtired so if you can get him to nap for even 30 mins he should be calmer and more willing to feed when he wakes. OH has spent hours on and off rocking Molly before.

Big , you can do this! x

 

[TigerLady]

WTT -- sounds like a growth spurt to me! Otter used to have punching matches with mine for hours on end. Don't worry about overfeeding her, you aren't. Otter actually took 7 ounces of EBM in one feed once when about 8 weeks old. And, of course, you can't really overfeed from the breast. Anytime you worry you are overfeeding, remind yourself of Otter. For the first 14 weeks, he fed every 1-2 hours, around the clock, an average of at least 16-18 feeds per day. From 14 weeks until 7 months it was every 2-3 hours, an average of 8-9 per day. He's still thriving, not fat (but certainly chubby!) and the doc has always been very happy with his growth.

E -- FE gave you great advice, so I won't add much! She's right, you are doing everything right. Work on that left boob as much as you can, preferably when he is calm and more willing. If the fighting and back arching doesn't let up within 5 days or so (that is all the longer a LONG spurt will last), then look for other signs of reflux, just in case it is that. But it is much more likely his 3 week growth spurt.

Tigger -- When I am in a real hurry to defrost the EBM, I take it directly from the freezer, put it in a cup (still in the bag), set it under the tap, turn on the warm water, and let the water run continuously into the cup the bag is in. I don't make the water so warm it will overheat the plastic bag, but warm enough that it thaws the milk fast. It takes about 5 minutes or less to get the milk ready to feed that way.

And if you put defrosted EBM in the fridge, it will keep for 24 hours. So, if you have frozen on hand, no worries that OH will have to break into the emergency formula. It was very good and sweet of him to think of all your hard work and resist it!!!!!

GL -- What is with left boobs?!?! Mine is slower than the right one, too! Oph, is right, keep nursing through it. I had cracked, bleeding, blistered nipples (both!) for about 3 weeks when I first started. I used Lanisnoh like crazy. After every feed, anytime I felt it wear off, and even before a feed when they were really bad. It won't hurt LO to put it on right before a feed. Also, Oph was right about trying to relatch. The latch probably isn't all that great and that is what is causing the cracking. However, it could just be normal for early days. Otter's latch was always really good and I STILL got the cracked-blistered-bleeding thing for those early weeks.

 

[tiggercats]

I'm sticking up for left boobs, my left has (until this week) been my best boobie it only let me down this week as it has a blister on it - ouch.

 

[girl friday]

Hi, I am breastfeeding Harry who is 2 weeks old today. After 1 week i reluctently introduced bottles at night as I had an awful night; Harry was latched on from 10pm to 6am and wouldn't go down. I was liteerally falling asleep whilst sat upright with him latched on and was exhausted.

Harry only gets bottles at night and feeds from the breast the rest of the day. I know night time is when my milk production is at its highest and if Harry isn't getting enough then I should be trying to increase milk production, but I was totally lost and needed sleep!

I have bought a brest pump, which arrived yesterday so I will start using that today when I have some batteries.

Also, how will I know if Harry is getting milk or if he is just comfiort sucking? He seems to stop and start sucking a lot. He was latched on for the duration of lost and then for most of the next 1 1/2 hours but was still hungry and wouldn't go down! I don't know whether to change breasts as I know milk is different at different stages of the feed and have heard that hinde milk is most satisfying and filling for him.

Any help and advice on continuing breast feeding, expressing, combination feeding and increasing milk production would be really appreciated. DH goes back to work on Wednesday and I want to try to get more settled with Harry so we can all be a little more relaxed.

Thank you.

 

[greenlady]

GL -- What is with left boobs?!?! Mine is slower than the right one, too! Oph, is right, keep nursing through it. I had cracked, bleeding, blistered nipples (both!) for about 3 weeks when I first started. I used Lanisnoh like crazy. After every feed, anytime I felt it wear off, and even before a feed when they were really bad. It won't hurt LO to put it on right before a feed. Also, Oph was right about trying to relatch. The latch probably isn't all that great and that is what is causing the cracking. However, it could just be normal for early days. Otter's latch was always really good and I STILL got the cracked-blistered-bleeding thing for those early weeks.

Thanks, it's funny there was also a thread on the main BF board about difficult left boobs! My MIL's theory is that as I'm right handed I support her better on the right (as I've been using the rugby hold which works really well for me) and its more comfortable for her. SO I've tried the crossover hold for the left side, so that she's sort of still in the same position as the right. It works OK I think, mostly. I just end up switiching positions until she latches properly ... and the nipple is slowly improving too.

btw am now slightly dreading the 3-week growth spurt!

 

[im_mi]

girl friday- i would highly recommend trying to get him some more feeds during the night. he is still very small so a few nights on bottles isnt going to have made any difference to your supply. Have you considered co-sleeping through those long night feeds? it makes life SO much easier. i used to struggle on like that sat up in the chair and end up a total wreck with tiredness, thanks to listening to everyone who says "omgz co sleeping killz ur babiez!" if you're up for giving it a go, google how to safely co sleep and i swear it will make your life so much easier. you can just lie there and doze quietly whilst baby feeds, its much easier than being sat there trying to stay awake and watching the clock.

I swear these hard times will pass, honey. People are often willing to blame all ills of the world on breastfeeding but babies are supposed to wake up a lot at night, like you said thats when the milk production hormone is at its highest level.

if you are happy with combination feeding, thats fine too however at his young age it could be detrimental to your milk supply. the recommendation is to not introduce bottles until 6 weeks old. You could always express milk in the day to give to him at night, but again if you are not latching him on and feeding him then your body wont learn to keep up with his demands.

Whatever happens, it will be okay. if you find yourself going towards more and more bottles and you are not happy with that, you will be able to get baby back to the breast exclusively. women who have never even been pregnant have been able to breastfeed their adopted babies so anything is possible

what you need to do is figure out what you want from this breastfeeding relationship - do you want to breastfeed exclusively? is that important to you? if so, then there are plenty of things you can do to make sure you are getting enough rest without having to use bottles at night. Try your best to have a sleep during the day, and bear in mind that in just a few short weeks your baby will probably get the hang of sleeping a little more at night than in the day and if you are stuck in a routine of FF at night you may look back and wish you hadnt.

however, if you are happy combination feeding, then just keep an eye on things and try to limit the bottles as much as possible in the early days, while your milk supply is establishing.

You're doing a great job, mama

 

[ABLK]

Help with relactating & attachment please

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi there

I was wondering if anyone could give me some guidance with relactating. I weaned my baby at 13.5 months & she is now 17.5 months, thus taking a bottle for 4 months. I have been feeling very sad about not feeding her anymore & miss the closeness & bonding. Even though most people I talk to about this idea think that it is crazy, I cannot deny my feelings.
I attempted to use my medela electric breast pump for 2 wks, four times a day & not through the night, & found that at the end of it I was only producing around 2-3 drops of sticky yellow milk, after 15mins each breast.For one week I took fenugreek tea 3 times a day. I became dis-heartened & gave up 3 days ago. Is there light at the end of the tunnel???
My daughter has been very interested in my breasts, but does not want to latch on or suck, is there any tips on possibly getting her to do so? Am I being unrealistic in my expectation?
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, thanks

 

[krockwell]

HELP!

I'm not sure which person to click on to get BF support from...so if someone would either respond, or message me. that'd be great.

I'm a large breasted woman, with sore nips what seems like CONSTANTLY!
I'm not sure if it's his latch, or if it's normal...

He's 8 weeks old now, and the first while was pretty good, then around 4-6ish weeks it started to get painful, and I just finished having HUGE cracks from top to bottom of my nipples.

I'm desperate for some sort of relief from the pain that comes EVERYTIME I latch him on for a feed!

Should I try nipple shields? What should I do? HELP!

 

[FemmeEnceinte]

Well, first of all I'd check his latch. You can encourage a better latch even now but simply unlatching and relatching until he learns.

To make sure he's latching well I'd make sure he has a good mouthful of nipple, not just the tip as that will be very sore for you.
There should be some nipple on show at the top but very little a the bottom. If you have large nipples it should just be less at the top and more at the bottom.
LO should have rounded cheeks.

If all is well, it could just be that your nipples are taking a little longer to toughen up. You can help speed up the process with Lansinoh. Plaster it on after every feed, every nipple pad change, every shower etc. You really can't be too overzealous with the stuff. Also, a nipple shield may help but only use it for the first few minutes of a feed or every other feed as it can lead to some nipple confusion. For me, the Avent shields didn't work so it might be worth starting a thread asking if anyone knows of a good brand that helped their nipple pains.

It's also worth checking that you don't both have thrush. Can you see any white spots on LO's tongue or the insides of his cheeks? If so, make an appt. with your GP as it's very treatable.

Massive

 

[Wombat]

krockwell - I am 38J, so hopefully will be able to help.
First of all - check the latching on. If you have large areolas like me and relatively small nipples, try pinching them gently before the feed (so that they become hard).
Also position is importaint. At the early stages the only way I was able to breastfeed was with the breastfeeding pillow.
It might not be with every big boobed girl, but for me it was easier to bring boob towards my Lo then to bring lo to my boob. I literally had to hold my Lo's head with one hand and with my other hand my boob. I still do it. This way you are able to see how your LO is latching.
Another thing - try let your boobs out. Literally. If you are at home do not put the bra on and just leave them breathe. If you can't be naked, then wear just a plain loose cotton t-shirt. This way they will heal better.

Hope it will get better

 

[im_mi]

ABLK, it sounds like you're doing everything right keep at it, and have plenty of skin to skin cuddly time with your daughter so she has an opportunity to latch on. Good luck! i dont think you are being unrealistic at all, my son recently self weaned at 25 months old and i cant imagine what it would have been like to have weaned at 13 months. Once your LO is latching on and having a suckle every now and then your supply will improve, and then she will latch more, and hopefully you'll be back to breastfeeding lots and lots in a few months

 

[mandylou]

if one of the champions could take a look at my thread (link below) and get back to me either on the thread or via pm i would be very grateful...i could really do with some support and having someone to encourage me not to give up, as at the moment i feel myself drawn toward the formula..
https://www.babyandbump.com/breastfeeding/312563-need-help.html

 

[im_mi]

read and commented feel free to PM if you ever need support or help ok? stick with it love you're doing great x