Breastfeeding General Chatter #12

[~Serenity~]

Hey all thought I'd pop in we've been bf for 9 months now and finally just started some solids in the last week

[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?!

[MantaRay]

Wow Persephone, congratulations! It sounds like you are doing a fabulous job.

Usually mums find that they have too much milk for the first 6 weeks or so, so it can be an idea not to express during this time except for comfort. This way the supply settles down more quickly. It is really up to you though - everyone is different. If you decide to express so you have EBM on hand, it might be an idea not to express a lot at a time - maybe just a bit extra after a feed a couple of times during the day.

Babies from 1 month until 6 months take an average of 750ml a day (some babies take only 500ml a day, others up to 1000ml a day, but 750 is an average amount). So the amount per feed will be 750 divided by the number of feeds. Most babies feed between 8 and 12 times in 24 hours, so to make it easy you could divide by 10 and it would be about 75mls per feed. Of course some feeds are bigger than others, so if you have less for one of the feeds, that is still ok too.

Hun, it is totally normal for the baby to settle better for someone without milk. That will ease a bit too as your supply settles down. Dads do come in mighty handy at these times LOL!!

[Gigi]

that's really good news Persephone, i'm glad for you.

my dd fed two hourly so i hear you loud and clear.

my baby's father was invaluable during breastfeeds, we went to a "partners" ABA session when heavily pregnant, so he heard, from people other than me, what he could do to be VERY useful, when we were feeding.

things like
- getting me drinks and snacks (ones i could handle one handed)
- doing nappy changes (she needed changing before and after feeds)
- telling me positive thoughts about breastfeeding (which was invaluable during the first four months, before it all settled down)
- finding my dry breastpads (in the first eight months)
- verbalising what a gift, me feeding our DD was - reminding me why we chose bf-ing in the first place (for her health present and future).

ABA presented the father's job to be cheersquad and physical support (fetching needed stuff e.g food, clothing) and i am so glad he heard this info and stepped up.

Many times in first four months, i was so sleep deprived and my breasts hurt for no obvious reason, so giving up was mighty tempting, so i REALLY needed the cheersquad thing from him.

it was stuff i would have found hard to ask him to do myself, so i was very grateful he heard the info at the ABA partners session.

i have no idea how solo mums do it, i REALLY needed the support to establish breastfeeding.

Our r'ship was going downhill fast, but for the sake of our child, he kept up the bf-ing verbal and physical support stuff.

For your questions about expressing, i would ring the ABA helpline and get someone to puppywalk you through some ideas/ways of doing it. If you're feeding every two hours (and i did them 24/7) - personally, i was too sleep deprived, to even organise doing something like that.

1800 686 2 686 is the aba helpline number

or PM Barb Glare on this forum, she often drops into this forum to lend a helpful hand (she's an aba counsellor).

[con:)]

Hi Ladies,

I'm Connie, i have a three month old little girl, Grace, i thought i might join in on the b/f talk here and i'm hoping to get a few opinions!

I have had no problems b/f Grace, she has been the best feeder of my three kids. She was sleeping from 8pm to 4am at 5 weeks, and at 7 weeks she started sleeping from 8pm to 6am. It has been like this ever since then. In the last week, however, she has reverted back to 4am wakes, and the last to nights she has been waking at 3am. It is really unusual for her...but i noticed she appears to be really hungry at these feeds. I have been making sure she is warm enough at night and that she has a dry nappy...so i am thinking perhaps my milk supply isn't as great as it was and she is getting hungry earlier in the morning. I am trying to boost my supply now by feeding her a little more often so hopefully that will help.

Does anyone have any opinions on this? Do you think my supply could be low and she is hungry, or is she just waking from her sleep cycle?

[deletedit]

I'm only at almost-two-weeks of breastfeeding but its all going well. He was a wee bit slower at working out the boob than DD#2 but has it all figured out now and was 200g over his birthweight on Wednesday, and is happily sprouting thigh rolls and extra chins. Boobies are a bit too soothing though, he keeps falling asleep before he's finished. Basically he's nothing like DD#2

[leckert]

Connie, she could be just starting a growth spurt.

[MantaRay]

Hi Connie, welcome to the group. Worrying about low milk supply is the most common concern for breastfeeding mums (so you are totally normal LOL!!) but luckily it is very rare for supply to be an issue in a baby that is feeding well. It is really common for babies to start waking again (or more often) in the night at around that age. As leckert said, this is often referred to as a growth spurt. From research it is believed that this extra feeding happens during periods of rapid brain development in readiness for milestones (sitting, crawling, talking, walking etc). Usually it passes within a week, but it can take longer, and occassionally seems to continue for months.

If ever you are worried about your supply, feeding more frequently is the easiest way to increase it, and if your little one is already feeding more often that is taken care of!

Keep up the great work hun, and I hope it passes soon for you.

[MantaRay]

Wow, time for a new thread already! You can find it here - https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...tter-13-a.html