Breastfeeding General Chatter #12

[tk1999]

Yep another booby addict here... she won't take anything else - when DD was first born the hospital introducted a dummy to help develop her suck reflex... DP and I hadn't planned on using a dummy but were surprised that we weren't fussed that DD had one.

At about 6 weeks old she stopped taking the dummy... flat out refused it - has one or two sucks then realised it isn't booby so spits it out! I don't mind (though it would be handy to have her take a dummy sometimes!!)

Sometimes she will only take one or two sucks and fall asleep but it is like she needs those comfort sucks to send her off!

[Freya]

Another boob addict here too! He even tries to pull my shirt and bra down to get to them if its feedtime and Im not fast enough I love it.

[onthefly]

oh yeah, lol at me, pumping at 20-something weeks probably isn't a very good idea
I had thought of hand expressing at 40+ weeks if baby is late again. Most likely though I won't as it's too much effort really.

DS is 18 months old and STILL like that. He gets soooo excited when it's nya-nya time - it's how I get him to open his mouth to brush his teeth before bed. I'm not sure if that's good parenting, but never mind. And you should see/hear him when he gets to have the second side as well. I swear there's nothing there, but he doesn't care at all.

Yay for you Alioops!

[onthefly]

Congrats on cutting out the midnight feed Kelebek
I was only doing one side, cause I wanted to really cut back, but actually recently I've gone back to 2. He's still super excited when I let him have the second though. I know before I always had more milk on the right - now it's probably much of a muchness since there's so little there. I only sometimes hear him swallow - he feeds for a while and eventually pulls off and tells me 'no' pointing at the breast. Then he points to the other and asks for that.

I'm happy not to be feeding through the night anymore, but neither of us is ready to wean.... unfortunately going back to IVF next year means we have to. I'm trying not to think about it too much for now.

[briggsy's girl]

is it bad to not have goals as to how long we're going to feed? i just find i'm going with the flow and i'm content with that! i am honestly surprised that i've lasted as long as i have - but i'm happy to have done this, and i'm going to keep going as long as we're both feeling ok about it all!

am going to send DH (or mum) shopping tomorrow while they are in town to get the stuff for lactation cookies. for the first time EVERy last night, DD wouldn't settle with just the one side at bed time - she needed both - and even then, she refused to go straight to sleep - had to be rewrapped four times in her cot - soooooo glad she's still in our room! no whinging, just didn't want to go to sleep - to be honest, i think i crashed first and DH just kept an eye on her...

spending the day at home today and going to keep an eye on how much i drink - i think maybe we're facing a growth spurt or something. didn't think she was due for one for a while (she's almost 5 months - thought it was due at 6) - or maybe a wonder week from her behaviour - again, not due - but she seems to be going through all the stuff! she went through the last one nearly 3 weeks early so who knows... anyway, if i stay on top of my own hydration, i can discount that as part of the issue if she is unsettled/wanting more milk.

[onthefly]

BG, she may also be getting to an age where feeding to sleep (or to a "ready-to-sleep" stage) won't always work. It's a bit of a nuisance where your secret weapons don't work so well anymore And yeah, she's probably on her own personal schedule for developmental milestones.

I never had any goals actually, just same as you. I wanted DS to self-wean, but have accepted now that that is not going to happen. Oh to be younger/fertile, hey?

[briggsy's girl]

yeah age is on my side (kinda) but definitely not DH's - old fart that he is lol

i don't mind if E doesn't need to feed to sleep - not a drama for me - i just wish she was consistent! lol daytime she is refusing to sleep unless fed to sleep - night time, she seems to feed til she is full, then want to play before sleep. weird kid!

she's a much happier poppet this morning so far - will see how things go through the day. it wouldn't surprise me if she's hitting a wonder week early... i don't mind if she wants to feed lots - she just needs to stop clamping down then turning to look at everything else - it hurts lol

[briggsy's girl]

E just tries to go THROUGH everything... she will help pull top up if she can see me doing it - but if she wants something and i'm not quick enough, she will just try to eat through everything

[onthefly]

He he, just wait till she's more coordinated and able to pully our top up with one hand and yank your bra out of the way with the other....

[briggsy's girl]

hmmm not looking forward to that - can cope at home, but we feed anywhere she needs to be fed - can't imagine people want my booby hanging out in the middle of the shops! i at least TRY to be discreet

[onthefly]

Don't stress, by then it'll probably just be a bedtime feed anyway.

[briggsy's girl]

ok, quick question

is it normal to all of a sudden need BOTH sides to fill the bubba. until now, one has been sufficient - but the last couple of days she's demanding the second side. and draining it. i'm not sure if it's cos the weather has been warmer off and on, whether her appetite is bigger, or whether some stress we've been under is impacting my supply. she is still feeding just as often (as little as half hour between feeds in the arvo) so i'm not getting much chance to replenish the supply!

i thought about lactation cookies to help up the supply, but we're seriously strapped for cash at the moment, and even if we had the bucks for the ingredients i can't justify a 60k round trip to buy them - so, can anyone think of things average people have in their homes that help with supply?

[turtleschell]

Oh yeh plenty of tiny FF babies around, it makes me kind of feel sick inside, coz I think it's mostly due to subconscious brainwashing. I mean, American movies, things like pacifiers, and I don't know about anyone else, but my Mum and all her friends keep telling me that she 'needs a dummy' and 'she needs a bottle as well as breast' and 'why aren't you feeding her water'. If it wasn't for internet, I would probably have listened to them. It's just so sad for a baby to miss out on booby time, when they all clearly really love it and I think they definitely need it. I plan to breastfeed for as long as possible and I too will breastfeed wherever, whenever.

[Gigi]

congratulations Persephone, both on having your baby and the breastfeeding too.

colostrum is such "liquid gold", even if all he ever gets, is that initial colostrum, his health is off to a flying start. Every drop of colostrum is precious, even when you count ten drops and think "is that all"? LOL. nb's stomach is so tiny, like a marble, so doesn't take much to fill them up!

i had a midwife visit me VERY regularly at home, for the first six weeks, so helpful, and she taught me how to do the feeding lying down thing, took some practice i can tell you! but it was such a useful thing to learn.

Glad your little guy is off the CPAP machine now.

keep posting, i found the first four months a real rollercoaster (of my bub and me getting th ehand of bf-ing), so it's great you have had doula/mw support in hospy and online support here. i reckon, having multiple avenues of bf support is great,

congrats again! a squishy newborn - awww!

[Shanti]

Hey girls!

Haven't posted in here for a while, thought it was time \

Congrats Sterla and you others with milestones made well done!!

We have made it to 17mths BF now wooohoooo what an awesome milestone!!!! I really have to stop and think sometimes at what a great job I (and others like myself) are doing!!!!! I NEVER thought I'd make it this far, not only with our early probs but also because I thought a child this age wouldn't need to be still BF but that was in my pre-mother days when I didn't know much about BF of course hehe

We were at a wedding in Toowoomba over the weekend and a couple of things about BF I wanted to share. First one was a mum with a very young 5mth old baby was there and her little girl needed a feed and i heard her say to her DH "i've got the bottle but I think she just wants boob" (i dont blame the baby LOL) so they walked off outside to the car to feed the baby..... mind you, it was about 5 degrees outside (very very chilly!!) and they had warmed up the car and left it running so she could go and feed in the car instead of staying at the wedding and feeding at the wedding..... made me feel like saying something to her like "you should feed in here, where it's your right" but I didnt say anything as I don't personally know her myself. I said something to DH about it afterwards and he told me that he'd also heard her say to her DH that 'i tried feeding her in the toilet but she got upset'.... how awful!!!!! That poor Mum didnt feel comfortable to feed at the wedding...... and her baby was only 5mths. I felt I should have said something to her to let her know she has every right to feed wherever she wants to to maybe give her some confidence but i didnt want to 'intervene' kwim? it's hard.... so off they went outside in the freezing cold to feed. How will BF in public ever be considered 'normal' when so many mums dont do it cos they feel 'uncomfortable' arrrgggh upsets me.

Another thing that bothered me over the weekend in relation to BF was that my FIL made a comment about me 'still' feeding DD. I was in the motel bedroom feeding DD and lying down with her and he came to say goodbye as they were going out for bfast and heading back home that morning and my Mum said "they are in the bedroom, A is having a feed and relaxing with her mum!" and perhaps they were bitter that they couldnt see her and say goodbye and as he walked out he said "she needs to wean her off pretty soon"...... how friggen rude is he...... it's none of his business!!!! (DH is having a few probs with him at the moment too so hes not in the good books with us at all!!) sooooo because of that comment, I'm deliberately going to feed DD more often around him.... hahaha..... at breakfast the day before that we had it with them at a cafe and DD wanted a feed and I put her on (discreetly) and you could tell he noticed and felt uncomfortable..... his wife (MIL) never BF the boys so he's never been around BF women....... he must feel so uncomfortable..... oh well his problem not mine.....
AND.... when I was at the wedding he made mention about how so many kids these days have allergies and I felt so tempted to say "could it be perhaps that ppl feel the societal pressures to prematurely wean their babies well before they are both ready to be weaned, hence for the increase in allergies????" ..... *sigh* uneducated people.

There was a tiny 3wk old bub at the wedding too and I felt VERY clucky..... she was gorgeous!! I sure hope this babydust works for me soon!!!!!!!

[UntoldAngel]

Hi everyone! Well little Parker is just over 3weeks old and loving the booby feeds
He was searching for it when he was first born, and the little champion knows exactly where to find it. However we did have our share of issues whilst in hospital with my milk coming in hard and fast leaving me very engorged and sore for a couple of days (though they took about a week and a half to settle completely) and Parker being unable to latch on without 20mins prep work before, and 15mins after every feed. I also managed to get a blocked duct on Saturday afternoon but we cleared that up overnight thankfully.
Generally he is feeding 3-4hourly however occasionally cluster feeds either in the middle of the day, or early evening. BUT, he has done a 6hr and 8hr sleep through the night which was great for my sleep, not so much for the fullness!!
Unfortunately the IL's are telling me that I need to feed more often because he is soo tiny and skinny (he lost 340g in 4days after birth, gained 160g in 3days, then only 80g in 11days) or I am going to have to start supplementing with formula. Apparently I should be feeding him when he wants, which I do, and everytime he whimpers, um no, and that he is too little to go any longer than 3hrs without a feed, yes he can otherwise he'll tell me.
Anyway, apart from that, things are going well and hopefully they won't be pressuring me when it comes time for solids or the right time to wean, because I hope to bf for a year at least! Oh and I don't mind bf'ing in public - my bub has a right to eat/drink as much as the next person!

[Shanti]

Oh and I don't mind bf'ing in public - my bub has a right to eat/drink as much as the next person!

Excellent attitude I wish more Mum's thought the same way, then BF in public would be more 'normal' to the rest of society!!!! I love feeding my now 17mo in public.... educating those about how feeding toddlers is 'normal' too!!!

[Persephone1]

Hi Ladies,

Well, I've been bfing for almost 4 weeks and everything is going well. Am even managing to do a few feeds lying down at night which is a blessing for my back and arms.

Last night A fed 2-hourly and managed to feed 5 times between midnight and 7am. I was pretty whacked this morning, so DH took him for three hours and fed him some EBM from the freezer - the first time he's been fed out of the bottle. DH reports that it was fantastic because he was able to feel useful to both of us and A took the EBM easily. I think DH feels quite empowered by it.

The thing is, I haven't really expressed much, just the occasional 20ml here and there, and a few times to ease the engorged bbs. I only have a manual expresser and otherwise hand express. I'd like to express more, particularly now that DH wants to do more of the feeds, and to ease some of the pressure on me. But I'm not sure how to go about it - ideally I'd like a store of 3 or 4 bottles in the freezer, but how does my supply deal with the added requirement of stocking my freezer? I was thinking perhaps I would express from one bb and feed from the other for a few days but I'm worried my bbs will think I'm feeding twins and my supply will go through the roof. How do others do this?

Also, how much should I express for a newborn feed? The feed DH gave to A this morning was about 50ml, which wasn't quite enough but kept him satisfied for an extra hour. Is a normal newborn feed about 100ml?

Oh, and complete OTT, does anyone else have trouble settling their bubs when you smell of breastmilk? Whenever A is upset I try and comfort him, but he seems to think it's feeding time - even when he's not hungry. He goes to DH and settles straight away. I can't help smelling of breastmilk! What can I do?!