Breastfeeding Chatter #16

[Ladylove]

Pumpkin that must have been so hard for you. But continuing to offer until your milk returns is such a great idea. I'll file that one away in case I am in the same boat.

LittleO I get that too, but it was more when DD was tiny. Like if she was unsettled someone would suggest I offer a formula top up as she must be hungry. In fact every time DD did something deemed out of the ordinary - not wanting to sleep, cat napping, etc etc I was always asked if it was my milk supply. It still drives me batty- I just want to lift up my top and squirt everyone in the eye with my milk to show them, yes I have lots of milk thank you very much!

[Netix]

Hi everyone. Just wanted to check in, seeing as I haven't been in here for over a week. And just wanted to say that I think my mastitis has started to return somewhat, due to the fact that our feeds have been pretty short over the last few days, because Mack has a chest infection. The night before last, we were in hospital overnight, and had a chest x-ray to boot. Mack is a *bit* better, but still screams sometimes, I guess from the pain in his throat. Sometimes when he coughs, he brings up phlegm, which he then swallows, then throws up. Especially nice right after a feed. Today he looked like a fpuntain.

He is on ab's and panadol, great when he doesn't throw them up. The doctor saw him several times over the course of the evening and the next morning, and we saw him again this morning. He says he is "happy" with Mack's cough currently, but not with his breathing, which is quite jerky, and I don't remember it before he was sick. Have to see if he still has it after his cjest infection goes away, and if so, tp return to the doctor. But oh, the pained screaming!

Thats it for now, I am utterly exhausted, I really am literally falling asleep typing this.

[Teeki]

I so hope DD goes back to the ready when DD2 is born.

DD2!! Hooray for another little girl! Maybe she'll get interested when she sees the new bub feeding! It won't have been too long between her stopping and the little one being born, I imagine she'd remember and when she realise there's milk again she may be keen beans!

Netix, big hugs, I hope Mack is better soon and mastitis stays away

I can't believe the negative comments some of you get about breastfeeding! Makes me feel incredibly lucky that I'm surrounded by enlightened people, or ones who don't care, or ones who know to keep their mouth shut lol.

[Charlotte91]

How is it normal for a baby to dry incessantly for hours at a time?
DD was sick and she never cried. Ever.

There must be something wrong with my milk.

I need sleep.
I don't know that I can do this.

There's either somethng wrong with me or my baby. But it's most likely me.

[little_O]

Charlotte!

I didn't try it myself yet but my mil swears by the infant drops for colic. Have you tried them? Is he overtired?

Hang in there hun!

[Ladylove]

Ash I forgot to respond to your Q before... It occurred to me- are you pumping at all? If so it could be friction? If not I'm not sure.

[Ladylove]

Netix and Charlotte huge hugs to both of you.

Charlotte don't worry about not being able to do it because you already are! Automatically you are, you are pushing through because even though you probably don't feel it you are so strong and you know your little ones need you. So you are an incredible super mama. I wish I could offer you better or more practical advice re the crying but I'm not sure what it might be aside from the usual suspects. But I wanted to cyber-hug you.

[buffy1]

Netix, so sorry about the mastitis and that your wee boy is unwell. Hope you're both better ASAP.

Charlotte, more hugs. There's nothing wrong with you or your milk. Bub could be unsettled for any number of reasons. It's awful when they cry like that and you must be very tired. Wish I could offer more advice, for now xxxx

[Kmn]

Mine would cry from about midnight to 4 every night when he was tiny - some babies just do this. It improved after a couple of months.

He pretty much had to learn not be scared of his own farts. And I had to stop having caffeinated tea, because enough came through in my milk to make him wired (some babies are much more sensitive than others to caffeine).

Taking him outside helped sometimes.
Sitting on an office chair and swivelling him helped. There were lots of middle-of-the-night jigsaw sessions.
baths sometimes helped (even though bathing a baby at 2 am seems crazy)
rubbing tummy helped sometimes
Lying him on his tummy on our tummies would sometimes calm him down.

Can someone else look after Hannah for a day so you can sleep whenever bub sleeps during the day and catch up a little?

[HotI]

My kids are also unsettled as littlies, dd screamed til about 4 months, ds is still going but heaps less than when he was a newby.

like Kmn said, getting outside helped. we put DD in a carrier (DH or I) and walked laps of the neighbourhood. DS i would do laps of the porch - out the kitchen door, round the verandah, in the front door, repeat.
baths, DS prefers the big bath so DH or i jump in with him, often dd too.
standing, swaying, dancing holding him upright (carrier helps here too)
i do dinner wearing ds on my back, and swaying, dancing, jiggling or if dh gets home he gets handed screaming baby or a saucepan.

Char, nothing wrong with your milk. some babies just take awhile to adjust to the outside world.

[Jennifer13]

Ash - I'm not sure from what you described, but have you tried the ABA hotline? Doesn't sound pleasant!

[~Ash~]

Thanks for replying ladies. I'm not pumping at all - going to pop off and see my gp today because it's getting quite irritated now. Hoping it's nothing bad!!

[AlligatorsMum]

Hi girls
Hoping for some experience here!

DS has been fighting a viral infection with high temps inflamed throat etc since Sunday and on Monday night was off his bedtime feed so prob had one good feed on left side and pretty much nothing on right side.. I was just exhausted by then and so went to bed without pumping (kicking myself now!!!)

I woke up Tuesday in a lot of pain and extremely engorged. It was very painful when he fed and I best describe it as what I imagine it would feel like having a peice glass getting pulled out of your nipple lol - I've never had any pain BF in the last seven months so I'm unsure what this is. It is still quite painful when letdown happens and it is now wed so I'm worried I've done some damage? I also felt like I was a lot less full todaypthan I normally am in the mornings?

Is/was it a blocked duct and if so how long should the pain last before I get worried and does blocked ducts cause supply issues? I have been offering the painful side first at each feed just to help drain it as much as possible and massaging it in the shower and while he is feeding... Any advice would be great!

[Jennifer13]

It will settle if it's a blocked duct but maybe try feeding in a few different positions/holds to clear it fully. An anti-inflammatory tab might help with both the pain and inflammation from the blockage. An ice pack after feeding on the affected spot might also help.

If you start to run a fever, you might have mastitis.

[AlligatorsMum]

The pain seems to have gone from feeding tonight so hopefully the block has gone (if that is what it is) but do blocked ducts affect supply? I guess I will find out tmrw at work when I pump but I expect it will be less than normal.. But I guess I also have to expect that as I haven't been eaten as well or as much as I would normally cuz I barely have time to shower during the day when DS feels pretty crappy. Hopefully as he gets better and I can start eating and drinking more water my supply will get back to normal!

[buffy1]

Poor you, sounds painful. Glad it seems to be improving though.

RE supply, I had the same question about a month ago when I had a blockage. Yes, I did find that my supply dropped a little but it bounced back after a couple of days. Just feed, feed, feed (and express) from that side and it should be ok.

[little_O]

For me it definitely drops off, like what was said above, just keep feeding as much as you can from that side and it will pick up again.

I've had mastitis 5 times and it hasn't gotten rid of my supply yet just keep feeding and it fixes itself (supply that is).

[Ladylove]

I had non-painful but rock hard blocked ducts a while ago. I couldn't feed feed feed off the offending boob as DD was going through an extremely fussy stage with feeding but I found that following the feeds she did take with a pump and then hand express after pumping worked- as recommended by the girls here!

But what really cleared them or got the milk moving through again was hot (wet) washer compresses. Massaging hard breasts was pretty much impossible before using the compresses but they really got the blood flowing and softened things up.