Printable View
ive never assossiated comfort sucking with being a bad thing..how can comforting your baby be bad?
strange about the fact it helps them pass wind as i often let DD suck for as long as possible (encourage it) because when she does those short shallow sucks i dont get the dysphoric feeling that i get with the deep gulps, and everyone comments how must be full of wind etc because she is sucking for an hour! its nice to hear another perspective.
sent via my vortex manipulator!
That's so interesting MR, can't believe I didn't know that! My DD only does this during the night feeds - during the day it's strictly a business transaction only, 10 minutes flat. Can't miss that valuable play and screeching time :)
Well, I hate comfort sucking :( I have an aversion to the saliva all over my boobs and the licking... ick. Proper feeding is OK, playing with my nipples is not.
Can someone enlighten me, please?
DS has cranky moments (like most babies) so I stick him on the boob. He seems very keen to get on, but he'll suck about 5 times, pull off and cry and then repeat about 15 times.
It's very frustrating. If I don't stick him on, he gets very distressed. But doesn't stay on the boob once I get him there.
That is not what i understand comfort sucking to be. (i wouldn't like that either):
That's all she does! She rarely sucks properly (maybe three sucks at the beginning of a feed) then it's all that weird stuff.:
Did you have quite a quick let-down with a lot of milk Maruschke? DS used to do that when he was little on one side because the let-down was quite forceful - he'd get it going then pull off and lap it up like a little puppy the cheeky beggar. Not sure how you'd encourage her to stay on and actually suck more if it is what's going on, he kind of just grew out of it as his mouth got bigger and my boobs settled.
Maruschke, she's still learning - have you seen a lactation consultant recently to see if some sort of "suckercises" could be beneficial?
Also to deal with the fire hydrant, attach her after expressing - don't express to completely empty, just half-way-ish and let her have a try. She will probably attach better to a softer breast, and may not be as overwhelmed by the flow too.
And if you feed with you lying on your side and DD lying on her side on a towel then she can just let excess milk dribble out the side, rather than choking.
Yeah, I'm a fire hydrant... fast strong let down.:
Kmn - good idea! I will ask next time I am there :).
Do you still have an LC you can talk to?
Maybe she will grow out of it as she develops more? I wonder if a supplemental nursing system would help her learn that food comes when she sucks properly?
Charlotte, maybe he's upset because he just wants to suck but is getting food instead...? Have you tried putting him on the less full or 'empty' side?
My DD was like this when she was really little, wanted to suck but the milk just worked her up/made her agitated - especially when she was really tired. We introduced a dummy (and other settling techniques) when BF was established, but I know it isn't for everyone.
Hopefully the more experienced ladies will have some suggestions for you too.
DS2 does the crying & pull off sometimes (usually at night) and I find I need to do a couple of things
1) take him off and hold him upright and shhh in his ear to settle him then re-attach
2) pat his back/bum to help him stay settled enough for feeding.
Charlotte, my DD did this when she was younger. Is there a chance he's not actually hungry? I realised after a while that I was confusing her tired signs for hungry signs. All she really wanted was to be held and rocked to sleep, and I kept getting my damn nipple in the way lol.
YES! It took me ages to work this out. I thought mine was the only baby in the world that didn't like feeding to sleep :):
Yep me too. Tired baby equals a frenzied desire to suck but the milk gets in the way :) also if she has a tummy ache or is unsettled for some other reason the same thing happens.
Also my DD gets upset when my let down is slower than usual. Often she will suck a few times, pull off and cry, repeat, repeat, and when I finally feel my let down coming I have to put her back myself as in her frustration she abandons the boob altogether.
We had a much much better feed today :D. Genuine sucks!
Is it possible to overfeed a baby EBM? DD2 put on 280 grams from discharge Monday to her weigh in Thursday, then put on 300 grams from Thursday to Wednesday O.o. All using different scales though.
Currently 3200 grams.
That's fantastic M, and WOW! What a fabulous weight gain! You must have liquid gold there :)
I don't think you can over feed a baby with breast milk no matter where it comes from.
FWIW my DD put on about 250 g a week for the first eight weeks, and she was overdue. Your little one is doing incredibly well.
OK great that makes me feel much better!:
I just had to share this breastfeeding pic I had taken by the awesome Heaven. Anyone who is on my FB would have seen it already, but for those who aren't:
2674
DD is 15 months now and still feeds heaps :).
Oh beautiful shot!
Love the photo - beautiful!
Thanks :). I'm so glad she got fussy when we were having our family photos done, otherwise we may never have had a breastfeeding shot taken!
Lovely Sterla
Sterla that photo is gorgeous! Your little girl is beautiful :)
M, my understanding is that it's not such an issue with ebm as with formula, but when feeding anything from a bottle you've just gotta follow baby's cues. So no forcing the bottle back in because it's not empty yet even though baby has stopped drinking. I'm guessing you're just feeding on demand though and following her.
As for the weight gain, my DD was gaining ridiculously fast! She was well above her birth weight when we left hospital on day 3, I'm not certain she ever actually lost any lol. She continued gaining til she was 97th percentile, and now she's almost stopped lol. At 14 months she's almost 10kgs, still breastfeeding and eating loads, whereas almost every other bub in Mother's Group was put onto formula and is now massive compared to DD. Interesting considering she was overdue, 4.2kgs at birth and bigger than most of them even though she was the second youngest in the group.
Sounds to me like your little one is doing great!
I have been letting DS look at and play with 'booby' to make it more appetising when he has breast refusal.. Anyway, today I asked, "would you like some booby" and lifted my top, he cried and wouldn't latch.. Tonight I did the same, he smiled and got straight on.. I think it's so cute he know's what 'booby' is and whether he wants it or not!!
M: that's fantastic, they say a breastfed baby can't have too much because the body uses it so efficiently.
Sterla: that is beautiful.
Dd has had quite pasty greenish pops this last week. At first they were creamy coloured and stank and now they've gone pasty and green. Only two things that have happened is she was vaccinated and I've had mastitis. Could these be influencing it? Or is she not getting enough? She's only on my BM.
Ta :):
Are you on AB's for the mastitis? That could cause it.
i never really understood the 'you can never over feed a bf baby' esp. when theyvjust suck and suck. my Dd is a little porka too! by day 5weigh in she was already above her birth weight and now at 10weeks she would be 7kg. she has the cutest cubbiest cheeks! it is a good feelong knowing that im the reason cause of my bm.
sent via my vortex manipulator!
No I was on poke root this time (works naturally as an ab). It honestly looks like smooth green and cream peanut butter!:
Is it normal for them to thicken up as they get older on BM? She still feeds the same, except she's sleeping a 6 hour patch at night?
Little O their poo will change heaps from month to month and even week to week... As ive only recently discovered myself. Could be her shots, could be her body is warding off a cold before anyone sees symptoms, could be lots of harmless things.
Sterla your girl is so loveky!
M, that weight gain is impressive! And it's all your EBM. You should be proud as you are doing such an incredible job.
As are you BAL! I like your technique for dealing with the refusal - it's so gentle and relaxed.
M, great weight gain! DD2 put on 300g in her first week, which is more of a relief if you've got a small baby or had a rocky start. They do slow down in time.
BAL, glad to hear he had a better feed. Do you do bath time bfs? Or sleepy bfs?
Little O, poo is always changing. It's not usually a very good indicator of anything unless you think there's a reason to be concerned.
DD2 is stretching out her bfs a bit more. Loving her food, although it's not a major source of nutrition. Although nappy changing is now clearly demonstrating that stuff is definitely going in. She tackles food with so much enthusiasm! And because she's not into bfing for comfort, I can't see her bfing until four like her big sister. :( I'm going to enjoy it while it's here. I figure I've got at least until she's two. Fx.
I can't believe I'm sad that I might not bf much beyond two. Considering when I was pg with DD1 I figured once they were walking and talking that would do me. ;) How much has changed!
you never know jen, it could all change. dd was never much for comfort feeding to begin with....
Jennifer my girl has just started a few solids over the last few days after I wasn't quick enough and she stole my avocado and it's like she's been eating her whole little life! So I'll be interested to see how her feeds go when she's really into her solids journey.
Oh and while DD is most certainly a comfort sucker, she doesn't like comfort sucking on my boobs alas.
I've noticed dd has upped her comfort sucking.
Actually she seems to be feeding more again, off both sides. She'd dropped down to one side, but now she needs too and is getting more restless these last 2 days. Could my supply have dropped? I haven't felt as full. She just finished a wonder week too..,
I'd say she's just making sure that you're producing what she needs - so your supply was meeting demand & rather than your supply dropping her demand may be increasing so she's feeding more frequently to meet her demand & simulate supply. everyone is different but I haven't felt full either with ds or dd after the first month or two.
as long as she's happy, peeing & pooing, your supply is most likely fine :)
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
I so hope DD goes back to the ready when DD2 is born. I miss BF her so much. Still offer every day, but my milk has been gone for a good few months now, and DD is about to enter her 14 month, and she only had one BF right at the beginning of her 13th, so I think it's fair to say she's weaned for now. Refuses it when I offer and signs for her bottle or water. One sweet observation, I taught her to sign milk for a BF at 7 months, and whenever she wanted a BF she signed milk. When my milk started to dry up and we started supplementing with EBM and cows milk, she stopped signing milk and started singing either water or her own variation, which means the bottle we use for her nap feeds for milk. I like that the milk sign was just for boobie milk. Sometimes when I'm offering boob she'll sign milk, but will just snuggle and cuddle them. Hoping to tandem feed if dd can go back in a few months.
Thanks Sloane. She is definitely pooing and weeing a lot so that's good to know.
PZ: not sure of its what happened to you, but my mum said my brother went off her milk when she was pregnant with the next. Could this be what happened with your dd?
Sort of. My milk started drying up almost instantly. Nothing was keeping it there, and DD had a really, really hard time with it going because she was still feeding every 1-2 hours and so not ready to wean from the boob :( She fed for about a month when there was literally not a drop in my boobs, and then gave up. Now I have colostrum again and she hates it.
Wow how annoying for you both! Wonder if it's the hormone change?
Fx for you that she goes back on it when the milk comes back!
Our of curiosity, how do people go tandem feeding when bubs is newborn? Dd fed all the time so I wouldn't know how I could have fitted another feed in?