Had a bit of a crap night last night, but was my fault, we had a big day, and didnt get home til late, and even though M slept the whole time, I think it was too much for her. And I had a few drinks, gave her EBM but fed her after 4-5 hours thinking all the alcohol would be gone,but she was AWAKE and ready to party after the feed. Could not get her to sleep, she wasnt crying, but just wouldnt sleep. So no more wine drinking for me! Lol. She has been fantatic today, lets hope she is better tonight.
Her tummy was gurgling a bit, so tried the colic relief, and LOL her face when she started enthusiastically sucking the dropper, only to realise it wasnt milk! haha it was so cute.
littlelalla- sometimes our feeds are that long and it can be so draining at 3am when you just want to sleep. Thats when EBM in a bottle is great
mit- I get those pains sometimes too, but very mild. Hope they feel better for you soon.
smoz- thanks, I will check that book out for sure!
Thanks for the feedback on the pain, can't help thinking if its like this for baby 1# then its only going to be worse with each other child (not even close to sure what size family we want)
Well I'm out to find out how to increase supply. My left breast only makes 20ml where as the right one gets 80ml - very strange as I have been feeding equally with both. I figure thats fine now when he needs 80-100ml at most but whats going to happen when he goes through a growth spurt. Who knew boobs where so complicated??? I mean darn it I hadn't even twigged that my nipples where "flat" until baby - like i've stared at other womens breasts before
MIT- I have been taking fenugreek to help increase supply. In my opinion it works. Its made by naures own and got it from the chemist for $17 for 60 capsuals.
Well my boobies are tweeking now...so time for a feed. I just wish this girlie bop would tale them......ok got to run.
hey ladies , how are the little ones going? well ochre is changing by the day. he is more awake now and spends more time in the morning looking around and checking out his new world. i can't believe he is 2 weeks today!! gosh time flies! i had the midwife here today and she weighed him. he has put on 100grams in a week and they like them to put on 150gm minimum so I think I have to increase his feeding. Really puzzled as to why he hasn't put on more as he feeds 3 hourly (2 hourly in the evening) and takes his time with his feeds. I've decided to not let him go for so long on the one side and get it down to 10 to 15 mins one side then put him on the other side. It has been working well today. He is getting more milk when I change him over so it will be interesting to see how much he puts on when the nurse comes to weigh him on Friday. He's doing all the right things, lots of wet nappies etc so I shouldn't be such a worry wort. But it didn't help running into another mum today down the street who had her baby the day after me and her boy is fed 4 hourly and has stacked on the weight! Anyways - hope you are all getting some rest. My c-section wound is feeling much better and I even managed to get outside and take my 2 youngest for a ride in the pram. Fresh air works wonders! xx
Hope bubbas and boobies are doing well....are their any formula feeding mums here?
Melissa - hope the BFing sorts itself out soon xoxo
Laura - Don't quote me i could be wrong but i heard that the hind milk (ie the last milk they get after about 10/15 mins) is the really nutrisious stuff so maybe swapping so soon isn't a good idea? I dont know im no expert just passing on what i've heard....basically bubs should 'empty' a breast before moving to the next even if it means he only gets one side per feed????? just what i've heard so please dont think im telling you what to do....
As for me things are going great! only complaint here is how many times bubs goes on and off attaching...he's a bugger and ill have to reattach 5or more times at the beginning of a feed before he settles down...im sure its due to his guzzling but even lying down isn't fixing that
Will keep at it but if nipples start to feel the pain then ill see midwife...
DS1 did his first 'bad' thing to the baby today threw a pillow on top of him, very gently but it was definately a testing the boundaries thing.....otherwise all good and just smothering him with kisses
Littlelalla- I wouldnt worry about the 50g, sounds like he is gaining weight, and as long as he has plenty of wet nappies etc, he should be fine. But it is hard not to worry isnt it!
Smoz- We have the exact same problem here re the attatching. She is contantly pulling off! And I usually end up expressing. Im going to start giving her some formula now, because it is getting too much for me to express so many times a day. She just isnt attatching properly and I tell you at 3am, 4am, 6am etc, I really dont have the patience to sit there for 1 hour and keep trying. Is the reason because there is too much milk gushing out do you think? I really want to give breastfeeding a good try, I just dont know what is going wrong. We have a health nurse check tommorow so I will ask then.
Had a long day today, I was so tired, she didnt sleep much but I did manage to get a nap in at 4.30pm. And we went for a walk and did the shopping, it was good to get out.
smoz - yes i have been told that too. I think he basically empties me by about 15mins as he starts to slow right down and only take the occassionaly suck. So I started dropping his first side down to 15 mins and he is taking heaps more from other side now. All day yesterday I did this with my feeds and last night was his best night ever. He slept for 4 hours, fed, then 3 hours. I'm wondering if the extra milk has made a difference. I'm not formula feeding at all. I did with my second DS to top him up early on and he developed full body eczema from the cows milk. I am going to try very hard to keep this one on breast milk only. I have to reattach Ochre for a bit as well especially the left side. He fusses and pulls off then on off then on and then finally gets it going...but in the process manages to soak himself and the pillow! So far my DS2 hasn't done anything 'bad' yet....he has had a few close calls when he has thrown a few toys near Ochre..but on the whole he has been good so far. Fingers crossed it stays that way!
Skye - get the health nurse to see how she attaches....i'm sure she will be able to show you how to get her on correctly. it's a big learning curve isn't it! even me - who has breastfed for a total of 3 years had to re-learn how to attach Ochre. but it was the best thing i ever did as now my breasts are no longer grazed. and once he's on he's on. wow you must have so much patience to express as well as bf. i would like to express just to see how much milk i'm producing but that would only increase the milk supply and I have to avoid that because of the mastitis issues i suffer from. good luck with the nurse today hon you are doing a great job hon - i hope you get some rest today xx
So random question....how do you hold bubs when BFing??? with DS1 i was taught that if i was putting him on my left breats i would hold him with my right hand. (hand holding and guiding head with arm supporting the body aginst mine) and use the left hand to shape the nipple...
Well i tried it different last night and it made a HUGE differance with the attaching...put him on as above but then switched arms so his head was cradled in the elbow of my left arm!
so yer just wondered how you've all been taught to 'hold'your babys whilst feeding???
Smoz - thats the way i do it as well. it was the way the midwife showed me how to do it in hospital. to feed on the left side i grab ochre by the back of the head/neck with my right hand and bring him to my breast. my left hand cups my breast and i use it to guide his mouth to the nipple. then after he's got a good suck going i let go of my breast and slip my left arm under his head to support him.
smoz - I hold him however works best at the time. Midwives at hospital showed me the rugby (twin) position and the others but found that one that propt him up almost sitting down facing my boob worked the best. However the wriggly little fellow likes variety so he gets moved into different positions often.
My supply is improving with regular expressing and lots of water (I wasn't drinking enough when DH pointed out how much liquid I was putting out vs what was going in).
Would love to know how to stop Lucus having his grumpy period as there is very little that will settle him between 10pm and 3 in the morning. On a good night its down to 12pm to 2am. He just seems fussy and unhappy and lets the whole house know. Were trying to make day time active time and keep up with the sleep/change/feed routines but there really does seem to be this "bad" patch each night since day one. I'm assuming that it can be quite normal and is part of them getting used to everything but boy does it try my patience and give me a headache.
Well were off to the shops again, were trying small quick outings to get him and us used to it. Had to laugh on tues as he went through all his nappies and peed on his outfit in the changeroom so we had to take him home wrapped in a blanket with only a nappy on. I'm now keeping a change of outfit in the nappy bag. They certainly make you learn quickly.
hi, smoz i do the football hold and the other one. i tried laying down but it doesnt work. might try the sitting up possie. becca is on off all the time still and its very frustrating. she gets ebm all feeds. Shes put on 200gms in 1 week so its good. my supply is good too but i dont drink much water...ooops!
i took both my girls to do food shopping today, it worked out well, thankfully. ok beecas almost finished ebm and is filling her nappy...that i just changed!!!!
Yer im hopeless and reme,bering to drink enough water aswell but i've taken to making sure i have a big glass with every feed that way when i feed him i feed myself.
Its expressed breast milk. So on top of trying to feed, i express and give her that...very time consuming. I am seeing the lactation clinic on Monday. Does anyone think it would be better seeing a lactation consultant...whats the difference????
Melissa Im doing exactly the same as you. Unfortunately Im this close to totally giving up on breastfeeding. She will drink, but really mucks around and she ends up getting EBM. Im tired, and its getting too hard to do both.
Do some people just do EBM in bottles for months on end?? Just wondering.
I was also after some advice. After night feeds Mia will wake up and not go back to sleep. I have rocked her, and put her in her bassinett but she will cry. Last night she was up for hours after the 1.30am feed. What does eveyone else do to get bub back to sleep?
Hey Sky...hugs to you. It is hard to do both. I gave up with Olivia after 5 weeks. I think its harder being a first time mum, thinking that b/f is supposed to be easy...well it aint. I put Olivia on formula and shes fine. I felt guity doing that because I really wanted to b/f. But my mental state was better for it. this time I am giving it a real good go, because I know its not easy, and I dont have any expectations this time around. I will do what ever is working for me and my baby and i wont be pressured to feel bad either way.
As for the sleeping after the feed, maybe shes confusing day with night. Sometimes youll find they sleep loads during the day and awake at night, unfortunately its something you have to work through and doesnt make it easy with expressing on top. Good luck.
Thought I'd better hunt this thread down and join in A big to my former Belly Buddies and I look forward to getting to know some new names too!
For those who don't know me my name is Sam and my baby girl Ruby was born last Saturday morning 29th of November. She was 5 days post dates which was the same as her brother Angus!
She is my fourth (and last!) baby and first girl so I feel like I've BTDT and a newbie all over again...especially when it comes to nappy changes rofl!
I haven't done a birth story yet but will get cracking on it soon. This birth was fast after lots of prelabour in the last couple of weeks. It was also my best birthing experience!
Unfortunatley I had a secondary PPH about 2 hours after she was born so that spoilt the day, but the birth was so positive that I'm trying not to dwell on the negative.
Her stats at birth were 7lb 10oz (3.450kg) 50.5cm long and HC 34cm.
We're breastfeeding and it's going well besides a few grazes which are quite sore and one has been bleeding so I'm going to get some nipple shields today. My milk is in big time and my nipples have been flattened a bit which makes it hard for her to latch on without me expressing off a bit first.
She feeds every 2 hours mostly. Overnight she is having a 3 - 4 hour sleep which doesn't help the engorgement but she loves the gutfull of milk she ends up getting from it
Skyeblue many women express fulltime if that is what you want to do. Have you tried using a nipple shield? They have kept me breastfeeding my others as I have had cracked nipples every time and been close to giving up. They don't stop the pain but they lessen it enough for you to get through it enough for a few days for your nipples to heal. I know how agonizing it can be but the rewards are worth it if you can ride through this time
Ruby has her wakeful time around midnight too (she also does a few poos so must have tummy pain) so I've been having an afternoon kip when she has one. Also try not to let her sleep too long during the day as they generally only have one long sleep cycle in 24 hours so if she has it during the day you will probably be up more at night.
Sky I'm with Raven on the sheilds, my nipples are flat and it helps him have something to latch onto. that and it dosn't hurt of he wriggles around a bit as his pulling the sheild not me. Dh just picked them up from the chemist without needing instruction so it should be easy to find them
I'm still using a combination of EBM and feeds with and without the shields, figure however it gets in is less important than that it gets in. Last night I only had one bottle expressed (I had used them up durring the day in laziness) and was too tired to do more after his feed as he took forever to feed. Had a truly daft moment when I told DH sleepily that I didn't have anything to feed him with for the next feed as there was no bottle in the fridge Needless to say he thought that was funny.
My personal feeling is that while 1st option is the breast/skin feed if it hurts use the shield and there is nothing wrong with the EMB especially if someone else can do the feed while you sleep. Only reason why I still try do one or two feeds myself is Lucus was starting to get lazy and just let the milk flow from the bottle rather than suck - little sod!
Oh I don't know aobut you but the EBM feeds take shorter and with the Nuk teat he has less wind - anything to help at night is worth it IMO.
Yes we are using the nipple sheilds, we have been since day one. I can see milk in them, so I know she is getting milk, she just thrashes aroundand keeps pulling off and asyou said MIT, in the middle of the night it isnt fun, I just get fed up and give her formula or EBM.
Well she is just waking up now, so Im going to give breastfeeding another go.
threw a pillow on top of him, very gently but it was definately a testing the boundaries thing.....otherwise all good and just smothering him with kisses
So far my DS2 hasn't done anything 'bad' yet....he has had a few close calls when he has thrown a few toys near Ochre..but on the whole he has been good so far. Fingers crossed it stays that way!
A big 
to my former Belly Buddies and I look forward to getting to know some new names too!
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