Will be 37 due in April 2016 anyone else?

[allforthegirl]

How weird that the LC doesn't think it is still a fast flow...... Everyone I talked to in the bfing world thinks that was/is my issue.....wonder if I talk to your LC if she would tell me other wise....interesting. Does it hurt when you have a let down??? I can feel my breast fill with milk and it feels like my ducts are over filled, and it really does hurt. When I was in the hospital it went away, but came right back about a week later. During that time D was so happy, and didn't have any over gulping episodes. It was so nice.

So does the LC think that the revision didn't work?

 

[Bekah78]

Great to hear Frankie is improving and had a longer sleep. Hope that continues for you both.

 

[penelopejones]

I don't really feel any letdown at all, actually--no pain for sure! And I haven't seen milk spraying out or anything since I started the block feeding. We'll see if she thinks differently when she sees him tomorrow. She did suggest that I keep trying the laid back breastfeeding position.

Intolerances do run in my family. I'm Celiac and so is everyone on my mom's side, and I had milk intolerance as a baby.

 

[allforthegirl]

What ever it is I hope you can figure it out really quickly.

 

[Qmama79]

Hey, seems that you're going through a rough time feeding Frankie. I hope you can sort it soon. Is he growing well? Is his weight gain okay?

Q is well. We're not battling big feeding issues. I am going to a bf meet tomorrow as my let down seems to be increasing...I just drench myself in the mornings. I can't put him on during let down as its just drowning him. I have to wait a few minutes & that seems to work.

Tuesday is another 'vampire' day where they'll try to fish blood out of my son. I'm dreading it. 😞 . It's important though, so no point delaying it more. It'll tell us if the fatty acid enzyme is maybe working a little bit... if it is, then he'll have a mild presentation of Vlcadd. FX...

 

[Bekah78]

Everything crossed for Q qmama. Hope it is just mild. Tuesday will be hard, but hopefully this time they'll get the bloods they need and like you say, no point putting it off as needs to be done. Is there someone who can go along with you for some support?

 

[Qmama79]

Nobody is coming. I've got you three to keep me fueled with good wishes!😉

How are you recovering?

 

[allforthegirl]

Fingers and toes are crossed.

I try and disconnect as much as possible when I have to hold them for things like this. It doesn't always work though.

 

[Bekah78]

We'll be with you there is spirit

Going well thanks. Few twinges last couple days but otherwise recovering well.

 

[penelopejones]

I hope it goes quickly and relatively painlessly, Q! It really sucks having to put littles through that. That letdown sounds crazy! I sometimes leak from my left boob but nothing crazy like that, unless Frankie goes longer than usual between feedings.

I met with the lactation consultant today, and she said Frankie's tongue tie has reattached, but just partially. I have an appointment with the dentist who did his revision tomorrow, and hopefully it will be released and will heal properly this time. I did all the stretches and sweeps for 2 weeks so I'm not sure when or how it happened, but I do know that pretty soon after the procedure was done the first time I started having trouble getting my finger under his tongue, so maybe it happened quickly.

The LC said Frankie is basically just chomping at the nipple and drinking the letdown, and then waiting for the next one. So it is surprising that he has been gaining weight well, but she said it is important to get this sorted soon as after 12 weeks, my supply will regulate and he might stop gaining weight well. (That is exactly what happened with my daughter, who I think had an undiagnosed tie as well). Frankie gained quickly, jumping from like 18th percentile in weight to 63rd at his 2 month check up. He was only 13th percentile or something like that for height. I'm worried that he will start struggling with weight gain and my supply won't keep up if he doesn't start nursing efficiently.

She also said he has a "bubble palate" that hasn't shaped properly because his tongue isn't pressing against the roof of his mouth when nursing or resting. I have some stretches to do for that. And finally, I'm working with a new "bodyworker" who does myofascial release. She said he had a lot of tension in his neck and back, but not as bad as she might expect.

I'm also watching my diet because he was SO bad the last few days when I ate dairy that I think that has to be part of it. He was much better today. Aside from dairy I'm watching soy and basically eating fewer packaged foods as soy seems to be in everything. If he gets better after the tongue tie has healed I guess I can try to reintroduce that and see what happens. I'm also hoping his eczema clears up. Poor thing.

Anyway, long post, but today Frankie was much calmer and only had one screaming/refluxing/red faced episode, whereas when my mom was here he was doing that basically all day, and inconsolably. Hopefully he is turning a corner...

 

[Bekah78]

Sounds like you're really getting to the bottom of what's been upsetting frankie. Hopefully once the tie is sorted again feeding time will be more enjoyable for you both.

 

[allforthegirl]

I wonder if it wasn't released properly. I have read that this happens a lot. Something about going deep enough to completely release it. I hope the dentist gets it this time.

I wonder about D palate too. It isn't very flat either. Man I sure hope D isn't just chewing. I worry about that too.

I hope that you don't have to adjust your diet too much. My first had eczema and his was bothered more by how often he bathed, what soaps I used, and what was in the detergent. Could F be the same?

 

[penelopejones]

I'm not sure--I'm definitely going to lay off of the soap when I bathe him. We already use the fragrance free detergent and stuff (although come to think of it, my MIL volunteered to do a our laundry for us and she uses stuff with fragrance).

I feel like he is getting better, finally. Yesterday was one of his first days with very little crying/hiccuping/arching/screaming--just a short period of it in the afternoon. And this is a big deal for me--he sat contentedly in his carseat for about 20 minutes yesterday while we ate some snacks and dried off from swimming at our community pool! (Not that I want him to hang out like a couch potato in an infant seat all day, but until now I have seldom been able to put him anywhere for longer than a minute!).

Yeah, I'm not sure if the tongue tie was released incorrectly the first time, or if somehow it partially reattached really early on, because I was never able to get down under his tongue easily to do the sweeps. I'm hoping this one sticks, and that my supply has time to catch up. I've gone back to nursing on each side each time and hope that he'll get the hang of pulling the milk out soon, before it's too late for my supply to catch up.

The LC suggested palate massage--basically, stick your finger in, starting at the gums, and move in a rainbow/horseshoe shape back and forth as far back as he'll let you. She said to do it every time I change his diaper, so I remember. She said the palate issue can actually affect head shape as well as digestion, so I'm going to make a concerted effort to remember to do that from now on. So many things.

So are we all past the 2 month mark now? Bekah, I forget Erik's birthday. I feel like it has been a struggle but suddenly Frankie looks so much less like a newborn and the squishy phase is almost over!

 

[allforthegirl]

Do you bathe him often? My nephew has bad skin but she still insisted on bathing him every single day.

I take the small wins as huge accomplishments too. I'm glad you are finally feeling like something is working.

I hope that he can figure it out for you soon.

Interesting about the massage. Curious how the palate affects head shape, that really interesting to me.

 

[allforthegirl]

Bfing blog this a great article. I found it looking up bubble palate.

 

[Bekah78]

Erik is 7 weeks old today. He was born on the 23 rd of April. To celebrate turning 7 weeks he slept for 7 hours last night. I'm not surprised though. He was feeding every two hours yesterday. Such a hungry baby, think he's having another growth spurt. He's so long already though (58cm) I think he's going to be very tall.

Great that you had a better day with frankie. Hope you get more good days like that.

How often are you bathing you're babies? I'm just doing twice a week. Was thinking of starting to increase it working towards a bed time routine.

 

[penelopejones]

I bathe Frankie about that often, unless he's had a bad diaper blowout and needs to get cleaned up (which he has started doing - mabye time to go up a size in diapers!). I usually use a natural/organic/fragrance free cleanser but could probably do with just water.

7 hours Bekah! That's awesome! Frankie's still maxing out at 4.

I'll look up that bubble palate article. The head shape thing seemed weird to me, and the LC just mentioned it in passing, but she said Frankie has indents near his temples and that those are due to the bubble palate somehow.

 

[penelopejones]

This sort of gets to some of the stuff about palate shape: https://dysphagiacafe.com/2015/09/03/newborn-and-early-mouth-development/

 

[allforthegirl]

7 hours is a really great sleep. You must feel amazing this morning. Erik is exactly one month younger than D.

I checked D mouth and it seems quiet high too, yet not as high as about a month ago when I first looked. (then again I am no expert).... Though when I took a pic the back of his palate looked very blanched. Not sure what that is about.

I bathe D once to twice a weeks too. Or more if he makes a massive power dump.

 

[penelopejones]

Frankie's palate looks blanched, too. Maybe that is normal? Or not? Who knows. Apparently if the tongue starts moving correctly while nursing and at rest, it will help to reshape the palate.

Time for updated pics! Here's one of Frankie finally smiling, relaxed, and happy! Something is working... He is spitting up much less. Today he didn't have any red-faced, grunty, screaming periods at all! This afternoon I napped with him on my chest while DD was in her room for quiet time. Miraculously, DD took a good nap. Frankie woke up at 5 and DD was still sleeping in her room! I hope he has a good night.