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[TigerLady]

Try the rubbing cheek method when he stops sucking but stays latched. Just gently stroke his cheek with the tip of your finger a few times. It should encourage him to start sucking again. Just make sure to get the suck going before he moves his latch down to just your nipple -- ouch!

If that doesn't work after a few sessions, come back and let us know and we'll try something else.

 

[Dopeyjopey]

Thank you, I'll give it a go and persevere with him being a very hungry boy! x

 

[Emx]

Wondering if anyone can give me some advice - re: nipple chewing!! (Owww!)

Have breast fed Lani from day one with no problems, she had a good latch from the start and I have never had any pain from feeding her at all...

She will be 3 months old tomorrow and just this week (she has started getting teething pain which I assume is the reason) she has started squeezing my nippes really hard between her gums and sort of chewing (gumming?) them... she has also started pulling at them towards the end of her feed and her suck also seems to have increased ten fold in the last week... my poor nipples have started coming out of her mouth a bit mis shapen at times and I am also starting to feel really sore by the end of the day (even using nipple cream for 1st time in 3 months!)... Help!!

 

[TigerLady]

My advice would be to do whatever necessary to stop these habits now. When she has teeth, biting is more painful than you can imagine! Most babies will bite at some point, some more than others, so it is important to make it clear they are not allowed.

There are a few things you can try.

If she is actively chewing, I would unlatch her. If you can't get your finger in her mouth to unlatch her, then you can shove her nose into your boob. Sounds cruel, but it will work. If she can't breathe, she'll let go to move her head. Anytime she starts to chew, make her stop.

She's still very young, so it might be a bit more tricky. Normally, I would say anytime chewing or biting occurs, stop the session for at least 30-60 seconds with a firm NO. If they bite again, stop the session entirely for at least 30-60 minutes. They learn quickly that biting means an end to feeding. But that is also for babies that usually have gotten their first teeth so are from 6-10 months old and more ready to understand that sort of thing.

Also, try to gauge WHEN she is chewing. I found with my DS that he tended to bite most often when he wasn't really interested in feeding or was at the end of a feed. So, I was very careful that the boob became a "No play" zone. I actually had to cut out comfort sucking all together for several weeks until he learned not to bite and a I learned better what his cues where right before he would bite.

I cut sessions off earlier -- once he hit a couple of sucks between swallows, the session was over. I did that until I figured out how to tell when comfort sucking would lead to play would lead to biting. Now I can let him comfort suck again, but have to watch him very carefully.

Again, this was a bit easier for me as DS was already 8 months old or more and eating solids so I didn't feel bad cutting his sessions a bit shorter.

I would see how you can modify some of these usual tricks to meet her needs at such a young age without impacting her need to suckle too much. This might be a bit of a challenge!

 

[Rach27]

I would love to have a BF champion

My story, in brief, is...

Thomas was born on March 11 this year. I developed GDM and, as a result, they tested Tom's blood sugar for two days after birth. Despite there being no problems, they insisted I went straight to formula feeding just in case BF'ing wasn't to be. Although they didn't encourage me to try, I did at every feed and began using the breast pump hours after he was born. I remember pumping for almost an hour and getting a little over 1 ml of colostrum. Again, the MWs were telling me not to bother and just stick with the formula as it was too late for me to provide enough milk for him

Three days after he was born my milk came in and continued to pump and supplement his forumla feeds. A week after he was born he latched on by himself so I nursed him pretty much all day every day until we were only using a bit of forumla in the evenings. It took a while to drop this feed (mostly a mental issue rather than realistic concern about supply) but I'm glad to report that we have been exclusively BF'ing for 2.5 weeks now

I'm sooooooo glad I persevered as I feel it's so important he gets my milk. I hope to BF for 12 months + / as long as Tom wants to and it would be great to have someone to help me along the way. Similarly, if anyone is going through a situation like mine and you think I could be of help, please let me know as I'd be more than happy to.

Rach x

 

[TigerLady]

:wave: Rach, you are more than welcome to pick a champion from the front page that you feel meets your needs! Anyone, including myself, would be more than happy to help. Do you know what kind of experience or support you are looking for?

I am very impressed that you managed to perservere through all that!!!! SOOOO many moms would have listened to the advice of the mws and just done FF. It is amazing you stuck it out and made it work. You should be very very proud of yourself!

 

[Rach27]

Thank you I guess it would be great to have some words of encouragement (just that that!!) from time to time to assure me I'm doing things right.

For example, we have absolutely no routine. He feeds 6 or 7 times a day for 30 mins ish but these can be more frequent and less in length iykwim. He seems to fuss during the evening feeds a bit but goes to sleep for 7+ hours after a quick drink. His poos are usually twice a day, yellow and runny. He is 15 weeks old and around 14lbs. So, if this is all 'normal' then I'm happy. I just love BF'ing - it is just as magical as I thought it would be and more.

I forgot to mention that Tom also lost 7% of his birth weight and was quite slow to put it back on and at that point, they tried to get me to stop BF'ing again as it could be 'interfering' with his diet!! Grrr!

Why doesn't anyone want you to BF any more? I do wonder that!

 

[TigerLady]

I don't know!! It is such a wonderful thing to do if you are able. I get loads of DIScouragement, too. Especially now that DS is 11 months, has 6 teeth, is walking and I am 28 weeks pg to boot! BAH! I just tell them to stuff it -- I will BF for as long as both DS and I are happy with it!

It sounds like everything is going perfectly for you both right now. That is a great amount of sleep for his age! The most important thing while you are EBF is to feed on demand. LO will demand what he needs - not more, not less. And if you meet that demand, your supply will regulate to make sure he gets it.

As for a routine, I never had one. I let LO settle into his own, very loose, routine. He did that at about 5 months-ish. He still doesn't have a routine that I set for him, except for bedtime. And even that is flexible to some degree. I just follow his cues and encourage him to sleep when I know he is tired and showing the signs (even though he doesn't always agree that he needs sleep! ) But I don't ever force anything on him. So far, it has worked for us!

Feel free to come to this thread anytime you have questions or concerns. Or PM me if you want some private words of advice or encouragement. Anytime!

 

[TigerLady]

Oh! And 7% is nothing! I've seen BFed babies loose 20% before they start to gain. Otter lost 11% in 2 days. That is why they pack on the chub in the last weeks of pg -- so they have it to loose while they are waiting for milk to come in and while they (and mom) get the hang of BFing!

 

[Rach27]

Thanks TigerLady, I'm sure I'll be back with some questions very soon xx

 

[Leesie]

BF champs please help me! I am sitting here in tears because I just googled a percentile calculator and worked out that Sebastian is in 95th percentile for length but only in 5th to 10th percentile for weight. When we had him weighed and measured last we were told all was ok and normal. But I am feeling terrible, by those measures it sounds as if he is utterly emaciated.

I went back to work part time (working from home) about 2 months ago and although I still feed on demand 6 or 7 times a day I feel as if this might have something to do with him being so skinny. I don't always let him finish drinking himself as I'm always having to rush back to my desk and get back to work. Also he sleeps through the night (but has done this since birth so not sure if this could be a problem).

Anyway, I feel horribly guilty now. Could I have done permanent damage to him by letting him get so thin?

strangely he looks fine to me, slim but not overly skinny. But maybe I'm fooling myself. He's a very active boy and is meeting his milestones, starting to crawl, sit etc...

I just feel so terrible. What can I do to help him gain weight? He is not interested in solids.

Sorry if this message is a bit incoherent. I'm terrified to go to the pediatrician in case he tells me to put Basti on formula. that would be my biggest nightmare, we've come so far and i want to make to at least one year of BF.

Please help!

 

[TigerLady]

First, big

Secondly, you are doing fine! I promise. Forget those dratted charts. Especially if you found them on google. There is no telling what populations they based their stats on. FF babies have much different growth rates, on average, than BF babies do. If your docs aren't concerned and LO is meeting all his milestones like you say, then everything is fine. Honestly!

I wouldn't even bother with solids. Babies actually tend to loose weight when they start them as breastmilk is actually much better for them. It is higher in fat and calories than any solid you can give him. Just keep feeding him on demand as much as possible and he will be fine. If you can let him finish active sucking and swallowing at every feed that might help a bit. Don't worry about comfort sucking... once he gets to 2-3 sucks between swallows on each breast, then you can cut him off. Let him suck longer if he wants on days you don't work.

Don't beat yourself up, hon. Both you and your LO are doing just fine.

 

[Leesie]

thanks Tigerlady , I'm going to forget about solids for now and concentrate on BFing. I'm feeling much calmer this morning never going to google a percentile calculator again !

 

[want2bamom]

I need some help cause i'm getting very emotional over this whole breastfeeding issue...

I started off breastfeeding my little girl all the time up untill she was about 2 months. I had finished nursing her one night and i thought she was finished feeding cause my breasts were really soft, but shortly after she was crying and crying all night, i wasn't sure what she wanted, i really didn't think she was hungry but about 4 hrs later i ended up giving her about 4 oz of formula and she drank it and then fell fast asleep, so right there i kinda knew that i didn't have enough for her...She is 3 months now and the majority of her feeding is formula but i want to breastfeed her full time,but i'm just not producing enough milk cause even when i pump i only get about 3-4 oz and she usually drinks about 6oz of formula...How do i go about upping my milk suppyly and breastfeeding full time?? I really need help cause i don't want to be giving her formula but i want her to be content after a feeding. I need desperate help!!!

 

[jessica2509]

Hi,

I fed my daughter for 15 months 3 years ago, so when i had my son 2 weeks ago i thought it would be no problem.

How wrong.... He has no problem latching onto my right breast, but has had major problems with the left side. He hasn't been latching on properly to it and my milk in that side slowed down and he stopped feeding from there totally. My midwife suggested i express to get the milk back and then feed him from the right hand side, then take him off and quickly swap him over to the left to trick him.

This seemed to work and he latched on properly until this morning. I was so happy that he was just feeding from this side that i didn't notice he wasn't latched on properly and thought the pain was just because the nipple was already sore. When he came off i realised that he had chewed half my nipple off and am now in agony.

Can anyone please help. I don't know what to do to fix my nipples as i am not going to give up feeding him myself. But cringe everytime he is hungry.

Thanks,
x

 

[K477uk]

Jessica,

Firstly I can sympathise with half eaten nipples! I found that in certain positions (i.e. where the gum wasn't on the cut part) helped loads, as although I was still feeding it kinda stopped it from opening up again.. for this I quite often ended up almost twisting the boob to get him latched onto the part I wanted in a rugby hold. Also I would try and feed him off that breast before bed, so it got a little break overnight, but that was as I fed one breast at a time and he only woke once/twice a night, and it meant I would get a good 6-8 hour streach without feeding!

Also lots and lots of lanisoh and BM rubbed in!!! It does heal.. even though it feels like forever!

 

[want2bamom]

guess i'm getting no help from anyone??

 

[tannembaum]

guess i'm getting no help from anyone??

Hello, I cant be much help as I'm only just starting out myself but I've been told that nursing babies can get at least 1oz more from your breast than you can by expressing.
Hope that helps a little.

 

[wishingonastar]

I need some help cause i'm getting very emotional over this whole breastfeeding issue...

I started off breastfeeding my little girl all the time up untill she was about 2 months. I had finished nursing her one night and i thought she was finished feeding cause my breasts were really soft, but shortly after she was crying and crying all night, i wasn't sure what she wanted, i really didn't think she was hungry but about 4 hrs later i ended up giving her about 4 oz of formula and she drank it and then fell fast asleep, so right there i kinda knew that i didn't have enough for her...She is 3 months now and the majority of her feeding is formula but i want to breastfeed her full time,but i'm just not producing enough milk cause even when i pump i only get about 3-4 oz and she usually drinks about 6oz of formula...How do i go about upping my milk suppyly and breastfeeding full time?? I really need help cause i don't want to be giving her formula but i want her to be content after a feeding. I need desperate help!!!

hun, ignore the amount you get from a pump...it's not a true indication at all as babies are much much more efficient at getting out milk. your boobs work on a supply and demand basis and your supply takes 2-3 days to respond to increase/decrease in demand.

When your daughter is hungry put her to breast and let her feed there first (10-15 mins each side at least but more if she'll take it) then try her with formula if she needs it after. your boobs are never totally empty even when soft

they also cluster feed for one period of a few hours a day normally so maybe she needs to cluster feed and thats why she was hungry shortly after feeding

 

[want2bamom]

Thanks girls!! I'm happy to say we are on day 3 of just breastfeeding..No formula at all!!! Thanks!!