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[TigerLady]

Good morning ladies I have a question. My daughter is 3 weeks old tomorrow and she eats every 2 hours and is gaining weight like a champ! I started to notice that after she eats she is very content but a few mins. later she is arching,streatching,groaning and whining not a full out cry. but it leads me to believe she is in pain. she then farts and poops a little for the next half hour and then is at peace. I burp her and I watch what I eat, what could be her problem is there anything I can do? I feel soo bad for her and on top of that by the time I get her back to sleep at night im only getting like an hour of sleep at a time. oh yeah also her poop is yellow like I have read its suppose to be but instead of being seedy its like a gummy texture does anyone know if this is ok?

In my experience this is actually very normal. Both my kids were gassy babies for a few months. Remember their digestive tracts are still getting used to everything. Your DD's actually sounds pretty mild to me. Maybe try bicycling and pumping her legs and some tummy anti-gas massage when she starts grunting. That might help her pass it faster.

I second co-sleeping. It was a life saver for me. Just be sure to follow safety guidelines for it.

 

[loopy82]

I was pretty much going to say what tigerlady has already said

 

[Lilly12]

Try some gripe water!

 

[membas#1]

warm baths are great for helping with gas

 

[babylll]

Hello Everyone,

I need some help. My baby is 2 weeks old, he is being both formula and expressed bottle feed. I would like him to latch on but he is not wanting to latch on. I became engorged shortly after his birth and had to give formula and bottle feed, now he does not want to latch on. Any tips or suggestions.
Also I need tips to increase my supply. I try and pump every 3 hours starting at around 11am till 10 pm approximately, one breast gives more milk usually but I need to increase my supply as it takes about 30 mins per breast to get about 2 ounces of milk. Once my baby does start to latch on I would like to nurse over night and not give formula.
I would probably be considered bigger breasted.

Thanks

 

[readynwilling]

can you pump a little bit before you allow baby to latch, just to soften the breast a little bit to make it easier to latch?

when i had latching issues in the hospital the nurse had me pump and i used a syringe and feeding tube taped to my finger and i was able to control the flow of milk. that way J developed a good strong suck (because i was in control of how much she sucked to get milk) and then we just had to find a position that worked for us (cross cradle DID NOT). but i found if my boobs became engorged it was difficult for J to latch.

will he not latch at all? or is he just not latching and sucking efficiently?

Right now the best way to increase supply is to increase the feeds. your body is just learning how much milk it needs to make now, so the more that is removed from the breast the more it will make. Lots of skin to skin with LO will help as well as eating oatmeal.

 

[babylll]

He will not latch now, the last time he latched was about 3 days ago, that was once. Today I was leaking milk and he still would not latch on.

 

[readynwilling]

that one is beyond me that must be heartbreaking. i hope one of the other ladies can help you out. Im not sure where you are located but at my local hospital we have access to a lactation consultant until baby is 1 month. do you have any resources like that where you are?

 

[cheese lover]

I think the best bet would be to get help in person. You can contact your local Le Leche League or contact a lactation consultant. Keep trying to get the baby to latch every time you feed him before you give the bottle. Its likely that because the bottle is easier he just wants to have the bottle.

 

[babylll]

I have spoken to the lactation consultant and she has said just to keep putting him on the breast. I will be seeing her on Friday, but I am looking for other suggestions, that might have helped others.

 

[TigerLady]

Start with using a bottle for breastfed babies to start reducing nipple confusion. Breastflow are my favorite. Have you tried nipple shields? They are usually not good for supply, but in your situation, I would give it a shot. They make latching easier for LO. The LC in person is probably your best bet. But definitely keep trying until then! Every single time you even have a hint of a thought he might be willing to latch, give it a try. You can also try about half way through a bottle feed. Let him get a little satisfied, but not completely, then get him to try to latch.

Also, have you tried to sandwich your breast a bit, express a drop or two so it is on the tip of your nipple, rub your nipple over his lips and by his cheeks, when he opens his mouth wide, shove your breast in there and see what happens. Keep trying that.

Big These sorts of things can be tough! But they can be overcome with hard work and persistence.

 

[readynwilling]

Have you tried to give a feed while LO sleeps? i would lay LO down on the bed or couch and then take your nipple, hand express a drop to get the smell there, and use the nipple to tickle LO's lip to get them to open mouth then if they open mouth, pop the boob in and see if he'll start sucking? And remember, baby can sense the tension. so if trying the dream feed method, just relax about it. if he latches YAY if he doesn't you are no further behind then you are now. Maybe try it on the couch in front of the tv if you can. turn on the tv to your fav soap, strip the pair of you from the waist up and just see if you can get him to latch on.

TL had some great suggestions too.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

During the early days, you need to be pumping at night as well. Your milk producing hormones peak between 1am-4am so you must pump then in order for your body to really increase supply.

I would drop the formula and try LO on the breast constantly. Newborns will feed a lot and it's totally normal.

 

[Nervous_1]

You've had some fab advice on getting lil one to latch already, so I'll focus on increasing your supply. Ideally you should be pumping every 2 hours, and you should definitely pump at least once between 1am and 4am as this is when the milk producing hormones are at their highest. Spending time skin to skin with your baby will help, so if you can spend a day in bed with baby in just a nappy and you stripped from the waist up.

You can also try eating oat based foods like porridge, or you can take fenugreek tablets (get these from health food shops).

 

[lisaf]

I had a ton of issues latching at first. You really need to pump at night too like the other girls have said. Right now your body will keep making milk as long as you tell it you need it. So you have to move that milk out every 2-3 hours, day and night, same as the baby would. Best way to increase supply would be to pump more often but that is really hard... I would add 1-2 night pumps then focus on latching since that will be a lot easier to build supply.

A nipple shield can help, but you want to get them latched with the shield, then try to remove it so they don't get too hooked on the shield itself.
Have you tried hand-expressing? (there are videos on youtube showing how) since that might work better for you. When you pump, try holding your baby or having him near you/within sight, or a piece of clothing with his smell, also relax, try not to watch the milk come out. You can also try compressions on your breast to get more milk out.

Your best bet will be to get in-person help. I also would not give up, keep pushing for help from every resource available to you. Have your LO checked for tongue-tie as it can make it harder for them to latch (and can make the latch quite painful when they do finally get on the breast).
Tigerlady was right about doing the breast 'sandwich'... start them off nipple-to-nose... wait for the mouth to open wide (tickle the upper-lip with your nipple).. don't be afraid of smothering them on the breast, you will actually keep their nose clear by pulling thier body closer so their chin has to tip upwards.
I would actually start doing that same behavior with the bottle too, tickling the nose etc.

Do as much skin-to-skin time as you can, just lie in bed all day topless etc.
Watch videos on youtube of good latches and how to latch etc.


In the end, I managed to get my son to latch at first with a nipple shield, but that was a problem for other reasons (and shields will diminish your supply if used too long so they are a short-term solution). I needed an expert's help and this one LC got him on for me, came back the next day and got him on again, then after that it was easy to get him on.

I still had issues with painful latching, tongue tie etc... but thats another story, lol.

And yes, if you are too engorged, its hard to latch so you should pump first to get some milk out and soften your breast.

 

[2RockinBoys]

where do you get the bf milestones from?

 

[Nervous_1]

where do you get the bf milestones from?

https://www.babyandbump.com/breastfeeding/496781-blinkies.html

 

[Lollipopbop]

Hi everyone

I'm pregnant with my first and am really excited but nervous about breast feeding! I would also like to express so my OH can feed him and what not. Can you ladies give me some input on what essentials I should buy? Manual or electric breast pump and which make? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks! xo

 

[summer rain]

Its recommended to wait until 6 weeks before expressing and/or giving bottles, this is because your supply needs a chance to get established, but bearing that in mind it depends how often you plan to express and how you respond to a pump, for most women a manual is completely fine-you could always buy a cheap manual (the avent one is reduced to £15 fairy often) and then if you find it doesn't work for you when you do start expressing, you could always buy an electric pump, but you won't have forked out and wasted your money if the manual works totally fine xx

 

[sailing_girl]

I would totally recommend an electric pump! I don't pump that often (my LO doesn't take a bottle) but when I do, I love my electric pump! I'd recommend the Swing by Medela. It's fast and effective and it's really easy to freeze expressed milk in bags with it. It's a bit more cost wise but IMO, totally worth it.