I have several questions to put out there about breastfeeding, so instead of making several requests I put them all here. Feel free to answer only 1 if needed or all if you hae suggestions for all!
1. We had a rocky start with breastfeeding - nurses at hospital were not supportive and gave me silicon nipple saying my nipples were flat. At home had difficult weeks trying to get my son off of silicon and on to my breast., during which he was crying a lot. At first ped visit doc said he was not gaining enough weight and said my milk was "not good" and that I should supplement w some formula. Did my own research and found out that silicon nipple decreases amount of milk baby can suck. Supplemented until he latched on, got rid of formula (he by humself began to refuse it) and am changing docs. My question is now if anyone went through this and if you feel it affected your baby in the long run? I am worried about feeding trauma from not being able to feed well the first weeks of his life.
2. My son "fidgets" a lot during nursing. Is hardly still unless he is falling asleep and often scratches his face and pulls his hair. Any thoughts on this?
3. About a month ago he started screaming whenever I burped him in-between changing breasts. I feel like he thinks I will not give him more. Sometimes I cant finish burping as he is screaming so much and just put him on the other side. Anyone have this problem?
4. He falls asleep at the breast and when I try to burp he sometimes wakes up which is hard for me as it is hard to get him to sleep. So sometimes if it is a rough day I put him down without burping. Bad? or OK? However sometimes I feel the gas wakes him up.
5. Ever since a recent trip we took (which involved a lot of changes for him) he now feeds and then stays on the breast for comfort until he falls asleep or I pull him off! He used to do this a little bit but now he stays so long. My breasts are sore! Thoughts?
Thanks to all who took the time to answer some or all my questions!! It is good to hear so many suggestions and thoughts as well as positive support. I did forget to mention that now (since 3rd month) breast feeding is great. I just wondered if recent behavior (like screaming between breasts and burping) may be residue emotions from early weeks. I hate to think that my baby was starving those first weeks of his life!!
However I am very proud to have beat the formula we were supplementing - to the degree that he refused it after awhile and now only takes mommy's milk.
I agree, a lactation consultant is just the ticket. I recommend Janet Talmadge in Naperville(find her at LactationInnovation.com) or Barb Hardin of the Mother's Milk Co. in Cicero ###-###-####).
Get thee to a lactation consultant.
Breastfeeding is a TOUGH job those first 4 months. Now, my 6 mo DS nursing only 3 times a day. It's the only time in a woman's life she can burn calories by sitting on her rump.
1.) Drink mother's milk tea to increase your production.
2.) Attach a co-sleeper to your bed until you have a good supply.
3.) Stress is probably lowering your milk. Go get a postnatal massage and a haircut!
4.) Lanolin for sore nips is great.
5.) Check your diet with a food journal for fuss foods. My son was a hellion when I drank cow's milk, oj, coffee, etc. Hence, why I'm skinner than I've been in years. My diet is free of most dairy now. Dr. Sears is the best I've found on BFing...
Best wishes!
Good job on switching doctors! That was poor medical advice. I have never used a nipple shield but I don't think he's too traumatized. Fidgeting is normal, he's just curious about the world outside of your breasts. Some kids need to be burped, others don't. If I don't burp my son, I end up cleaning up spit up. With my daughter, I never needed to burp her. He'll figure out that when you take him off, he still get's more. Try leaving him on one side longer so he's calmer when you take him off. Your breasts won't always be sore but if you've been nursing now for 4 months, I don't think that they should be anymore. You might want to get to a LC or a La Leche League meeting so someone can see his latch. Good job for
breastfeeding.
L.:
1. there are many reasons for you son to have lost weight... your milk being "not good" is not one of them. having smoothed the bumps the trauma should have healed.
2 and 5- without watching him feed it is difficult to speculate
3 and 4 _ stop burping.
P., RLC, IBCLC, CST
Breastfeeding and Parenting Solutions
www.breastfeedingandparentinsolutins.com
Hi L.,
Good job on sticking with breastfeeding, it is truly the best gift we can give our little ones.
I would talk with/see a lactation consultant to help you with your breastfeeding issues - hopefully the next 4 months+ will be much easier for you! Both my sons have dairy intolerance, so while nursing, my diet has been dairy free and I think that helps them- perhaps he has food sensitivites? We also have the gas issue in our house and I have found that gas can wake them up, too. I have had better luck rubbing up the back to get a burp out than the traditional patting the back and it is a bit more soothing to the baby. Perhaps you could try it and maybe that would not wake him as easily?
Good luck and hang in there.
I can respond to question #1. I also used a nipple shield for one breast for some time with my son. I eventually weaned him without difficulty. I did not notice a long term effect with him but that breast never produced as much as the other. Probably not related to the shield but I did notice that(typically one breast will produce more than the other). I have also never heard of feeding trauma and think things will settle down and nursing will begin to go a lot smoother!!
Hi L.,
1) I needed a shield and still use one. My lactation consultant was never concerned about my son getting less milk- it was not an issue for us. I've heard that rumor that it transfers less milk, but my LC and I think that is not true with the silicone Medela shields used today. Just my opinion.
2)My son still fidgets alot. He was easily distracted when nursing. To this day he will still play with my hair or lightly bop himself on the head. I'm not sure why, but it's what he does. I think it is totally normal- just what they do. :)
3)I'm guessing that this is just his fear that you are not going to give him more milk, and not due to some sort of stomach issue. If that is what it is, he will eventually learn that although you pull him off to burp him, you always put him on the other breast. Right now he may just be reacting to being taken off the breast and eating yummy milk!
4)Does he have isssues with gas? If so, I would try to burp him, then rock him until he falls asleep again. As babies get older, you need to burp them less, but he's still pretty young. I would try burping and rocking and see how that goes. It will get better...
5)If you can, read the book "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. There is a bit about "popping your baby off the nipple" on her website here- http://www.pantley.com/elizabeth/books/0071381392.php?nid.... I found it very helpful because my son loves to do the same thing. He started taking himself off after he was done in just a couple of days!
Good luck to you! Hope my ideas help you...
T.
L.,
Good for you to stick to your guns and do what you have to do to get the support you need!
1. The same thing happened to me re: shields and losing weight. We supplemented but then my daughter stopped nuring. I pumped and we re-established breast feeding at 6 weeks of age. Now my daughter is a healthy, happy, full-weight, nursing 6 month old. Whenever she is hungry or needs me, she turns her head inward and she knows I'm there for her. It is the best feeling in the world that I can support her, feed her, and comfort her. I don't think she has any recollection or scarring from the earlier time. Now when I look back, I really think her mouth was too little to latch onto me properly.
2. I would say this movement is totally natural. A four-month-old is very different than a two-week old. He uses his arms and legs because he can! My daughter strokes her face and rubs her eyes really hard; at first I was worried but now I realize "it's just her thing."
3. This happened to me this week in fact! I agree about the burping. Perhaps he isn't finished with one side when you switch him over? Even if the majority of the milk in ingested, I sometimes think that I'm being too efficient as I move her from one side to the other. Now that my daughter is older, she jumps on and off one side for a while, like she's hanging out. If I move her to the other side, I'm rushing her feeding. If you have the time, let him stay on one side for as long as he wants; he'll let you know when he needs to burp! I wonder if they think, "But wait, I'm not done! I'm still hungry!"
4. I wouldn't wake him! If he really needs to burp, it will wake him in his sleep so you can get the burp up then and put him back down. As my daughter got older, she didn't burp after every feeding. It wasn't a contant step I neeed to take.
5. I'm sure he noticed the change and this is his way of soothing. When he realizes things are back to normal, he'll be back to normal It may take longer than a day or two.
Finally, at this age, the only time I get a little sensitive is if my daughter nurses on one side for over 45 minutes. This is rare but if she does I figure she needs to! I wonder if we're supposed to get sore any more? You may want to talk to a lactation specialist about that one.
You're doing great and your son is lucky to have you!
