ok so i was told that mason was allergic to dairy from my midwife but then i had a reply to a thread on here about how someone was told the same but the actual problem was that their supply was too much and thier bub was gettin too much foremilk and after lookin it up all night it 100% matched what mason was going through.
So i had been tryin to block feed but it wasnt helping much and as a result he was back down to feeding hourly day and night and i was exhusted, my nipples were killing and i was just over it all.
I got some formula last night and he only woke at 1am,4am and 730am after going to bed at 9 where normally we dont get him down b4 11pm and the most i would get out of him at night was 2hrs but it was more like 1 hr. i felt great this morning after gettin heaps of sleep last night and it was so good today being able to get things done BUT i have spent the last 2 hrs in tears cause i miss breast feeding it is such a huge bond that i dont wanna give up.
so i am thinkin of just giving him a formula bottle for one of his cluster feeds of a arvo so i can get things done and 1 b4 bed that way i dont have to gve up breast feeding completly.
Oh it's so hard if you're getting all this different advice.
Block feeding etc to try to deal with oversupply will take time to take effect, but anyway - Formula or no formula, I think you really need to see a sepcialist to help figure this out. Either an LC and/or some sort of pediatrician with specialist knowledge in regards to allergies etc.
If you do'nt want to give up breastfeeding, then don't - I'm sure there's a way to figure this out, it's just a matter of getting the right advice.
Yes try anythiing that you think will work, I have bottlefed 2 and BF 2 and BF IS AWESOME!!! I promise it gets easier and soon enough it will not even be a issue you will just do it!!! Keep going another month and see how you go!!! HTH
melly: the dairy i have goes through the breast milk.
well we had a perfect baby yesterday while he was on formula doing nice poo's and just so content. i gave him a breastfeed last night and he was in so much pain and did about 4 dioreha poo's in a hr. soon as i put him back on the formula he has been perfect again.
also i dont think it would be a dairy intollerance cause the formula he is on has dairy in it. so its the foremilk problem and i dont wanna put him through pain tryin to get it sorted out.
Sassy so sorry to hear that things are not great. I went through a similar thing with my DS, his wind was soooooooooo bad, that you could actualley hear and feel it rumbling in his tummy, his sleep was terrible and he was feeding often. For us it turned out that he had silent reflux, and he would feed often to sooth the burning, which meant he got too much foremilk, and the sugar in the foremilk would kinda fement in his gut, causing pain and wind (this is what I was told by the paed I saw). Unfortunatly I don't know a solution to the bf problem, because I put him onto to formula before I found he had the reflux that was causing the wind. However he was put onto losec for the reflux, and with the formula he was just a completley different baby.
Big hugs, I know what a tough decision it is to make, especially when you see your baby in so much pain.
Hey hun, whatever you decide its got to be best for you and bub. Lactose overload does calm down within a short time. The result you are having with formula may be temporary as he is adjusting to the new diet, the formula is harder to digest and will feel heavier and he may go back to waking and feeding regularly.
He would have done those poo's after the bf because bm has a natural laxative in them. I have no answer for the pain though, was it during the feed? Maybe he was frustrated at it? When you say diarrhea what do you mean?
If you do decide to switch to formula, just be careful he doesn't get constipated. Also make sure you slowly ween, otherwise you may get mastitis.
Sassy I have been through this before and it sucks big time!
I am pro BF, but we ended up choosing FF (for many reasons, mostly because I needed surgery for a massive abscess!) and we enjoyed FF, but I did miss the bond of BF, felt the guilt of FF etc... but I also saw how DH was able to bond more, we slept better, and like you said, DD didn't need to go through pain / hunger while we sorted our BF issues out.
I hope you can continue BF if that is what you want, but also full of support and loving hugs and reassurance if you do decide to full time FF.
Sassy, bf poos are usually very runny, it isn't to be confused with diarrhoea. Hard poos in a baby is not a good thing, it can indicate not enough fluid.
Mason is so little that he's still adjusting to the world outside. Feeding frequently at his age is completely normal. Formula takes longer for a baby to digest, which is not necessarily a good thing, which may (or may not, there are plenty of ff babies that still wake often) mean he demands less feeds. It is not a sign there is something wrong with your bm.
MHCN and GPs often have very little knowledge (or incorrect information) about bfing and how bf babies behave. It sounds like you would benefit from seeing a lactation consultant who is ICBLC qualified and discussing your issues. There may be something in your diet that is upsetting your DS, but then again, it might just be him being a normal baby. If he has had dairy-based formula (and did the MHCN suggest this? Because I would have thought that made no sense at all!), then he probably isn't allergic/intolerant to dairy. You could try paying attention to what you eat and whether or not he is more unsettled to see if there's a correlation.
Honestly, it sounds like he's cluster feeding like many babies do in the evening. It is tiring, but it is normal. It must be hard to have a toddler to look after at the same time, because they're often tired and grumpy then too! Have you tried putting him in a sling or carrier in the evening so that he is comforted by being on you? Does your DH help out at all in the evening?
GL, I think this is a temporary thing and I also think you can bf successfully if you just get through this tough period.
I agree with Jennifer. I've only had experience with my own DS, but everything you describe is everything my DS did at the same age. It sounds like cluster-feeding, and it might be a growth-spurt or a developmental leap. Either way, for my DS it was temporary and things changed fairly rapidly.
Runny poos are normal at that age. My DS did daily runny poos until about 4 months when they became (TMI) thicker and pastier, and only every 4 days. Sometimes I wish they were still runny!
And I also understand that lactose intolerance is pretty rare in a BF'd baby, and overdiagnosed. Do you know why your MCHN suggested that Mason had it? If it's because of the runny poos, then I don't really understand that - all the babies in my MG are BF'd (or at least partly) and had runny poos and wind in the first few months. My DS had considerable wind until about 4 months and was often uncomfortable with it, but that's meant to be very normal.
I know the cluster-feeding can be really exhausting, but don't for a minute think that there's something "wrong" with it. If your baby is healthy and doing lots of poos and wet nappies, and is generally content, then chances are he's doing everything "right" for him. I know that doesn't make you feel better when you're sleep deprived.
GL hun, I hope you feel like you have some answers soon.
Sassy, I know you are having a really hard time I thought that it sounded like oversupply from your other thread, so I am not surprised that mason ticks all the boxes. Certainly if he is tolerating formula, there is no dairy issue - formula doesn't just have dairy in it, it is cows' milk with additives - about as dairy as you can get! I would say this makes oversupply a more likely cause. Oversupply nearly always resolves by about 12 weeks, and there are some strategies to help it ease sooner. Block feeding is one of these - two or more consecutive feeds from the same breast. Sometimes setting a time can help - say 3 - 4 hours on one breast only then swap sides for the next feed - otherwise just doing 2 feeds from side then 2 feeds from the other can work too. When doing this ensure that you express from the other side for comfort - just enough to reduce the lumpy feeling. Another thing that can be helpful is to express a little bit off at the start of the feed before attaching, so that Mason gets less foremilk. Often mums who do this will express until the first letdown, and then they'll attach. As Jennifer said, you won't see results from these things immediately, it will take a couple of days at least to notice a difference.
You could give the ABA helpline a call on 1800 mum 2 mum (1800 686 2 686, drop the last 6 for VOIP) also. They can ask you some more questions and help with other ideas.
In terms of mixed feeding (breastfeeding and bottle feeding), this works for some mums and is fine if that's what you really want to do. Many mums find this more work though as there is more time and work in washing and making up bottles than just breastfeeding once breastfeeding is established. Also, if you start doing it, your supply will adjust accordingly so it will be more work to go back to full breastfeeding once the oversupply is resolved if you want to. Really it is a decision only you can make - there is no right or wrong answer.
From what you have described, it does sound very normal for a mum who's supply is still settling down. I know it's exhausting now - I well remember having a baby and a toddler and feeling completely overwhelmed. It does get easier though and it won't be like this for long. Do you think you could give the block feeding and/or expressing before a feed a go for a couple of days and then re-evaluate?
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so confused
I have been through this before and it sucks big time!
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