AnonymousInactive
Brenda,
I also wanted to add that I thought I was hallucinating a few times during my 18 months of severe sleep deprivation. The times I remember most were during some of the worst of it– about a month where he woke nearly every 45 minutes all night long…
I chalked it up to the sleep deprivation, as mine was so serious I knew that there were a lot of things that were probably going wrong with the wiring up there for me. hahahahahaha. I was also incredibly foggy– like I didn’t really perk up at all (if you could even call it that) until after one in the afternoon. I wasn’t drinking any kind of coffee or tea or eating anything that might help wake me, so it seemed i struggled each day until afternoon to feel like I was actually moving and clear headed for the day. I honestly wonder if whatever hormones are present in the body for breastfeeding helped me in this, as now that I am sleeping more like a normal person (and have weaned), when Lucas wakes inthe night it seems harder to wake up. Weird, right?
I really hope htings get better. Can anyone help you? I also slept in another room from my husband so that I could maximize whatever sleep I got, and so that he could function at work. i felt at first like I must have been the only person so desperate to do this, but since have learned about a few other moms on here who needed to sleep separately from a spouse for these kinds of reasons. It made me feel better to htink that I wasn’t the only one doing it. I don’t know why, but somehow it did. I really hope things get better soon!
AnonymousInactive
is it too risky? i am still breastfeeding and would like to continue for as long as I possibly can but lately I’ve been craving sushi!! (and no, I’m not pregnant
I woldn’t risk it but my ob/gyn told me that if I trust the place I could have some when I was pregnant. Should I wait until I stop breastfeeding?? I wouldn’t want to expose my child to unnecessary diseases.
AnonymousInactive
Hi there,
the name is Hydra aid. I get the nectar consistency and i buy at this website http://www.linksmed.com/beverage_thickener.html by the box of 300 for $77.18 with shipping. It has worked great for us because my dd was on breast milk and baby cereal doen’t work with it (beacuse of the enzymes in the BM). It works for fomula too.
Fo a 5 ounce bottle i put 1 teaspon of the thicekner. It doesn’t need to be refrigerated and i think one package yields two teaspons. I used the fast flow platex nipples when using the thickener. You can make it thicker if you want by adding the whole thing. Also the y-cut dr. browns nipples might work, but my dd din’d t like those nipples.
The amount she drank did not decrease at all. my ped gave me the ok with this thickener and i haven’t have nay problems with it. It have helped my dd a lot. I hope it helps your baby.
sells
AnonymousInactive
Marianna-I needed to increase my milk supply in January with great success following Christine’s advice (thanks again Christine!!)and others (there is a post with lots of ideas that were given to me if you do a search for my posts) and using blessed thistle and fenugreek. I also met with a lactation consultant because Chloe’s latch is not very deep which apparently is very common because they are fighting what is coming up and what is going in! Because of this Chloe did not empty the breast effectively messing up the whole supply and demand cycle. So I pumped after feedings and did breast compression during feedings as well as improved latch which was not easy with a 6 month old with a mind of her own
. I have also found good information at the website http://www.kellymom.com She talks about all of the herbs etc., to increase milk supply and talks about other strategies.
Good Luck you CAN do it!
AnonymousInactive
Yes, pumping ALOT will help.
Here’s some pumping techniques I used to boost my supply when it was dwindling.
1. Pump in the wee hours of the morning when supply is highest.
2. Cluster pumping. This means you pump every hour and a half to two hours for a few hours each day. I used to pump at 4 am, 6am, 8am. Also once or twice a day I’d pump only one hour after last pumping or feedings. This tells your body that the baby is not getting enough and will boost supply.
3. Pumpt 2-5 minutes after your milk stops flowing. If you’re breast feeding, pump to empty breasts and then for another 2-5 minutes. Sometimes you’ll even get some reserve milk this way, but even if you don’t it will help to increase production.
This is very hard work, but you only have to do it for a few weeks and then you can gradually decrease how often you pump and still keep a pretty good supply. I’d use this pumping regimen for a few weeks whenever my supply started to dwindle and it always worked. One time I increased my supply from 20-25 ounces a day to 50 – 55 ounces a day!
I think you can get a drug to help also. I can’t remember what it’s called though.
Good luck.
AnonymousInactive
Hello Momof4 –
I have only been on this board a couple of times, but I have been following your story. It is very similar to mine as well. I bf my son for 13 months and now have a 2 month old who is bf exclusively. BOTH have had the exact same problems — reflux, pulling off breast, arching back and screaming during and after feedings, general fussiness all day, fussy pooper. Both were really good night time sleepers, but rarely naps during the day.
I also have OALD. It’s very frustrating to know that while we are trying to provide the best nutrition for our children, it seems to be causing them some pain. I have wrestled with moving to formula as well, but I don’t want to lose my milk supply.
Have you tried formula for Caden at all?
AnonymousInactive
Myles was the same way before his Prevacid dose was high enough. He would only drink more than an ounce or two if he was sleepy.
I really don’t know whether it’s bad or not bad to sleep feed but keep in mind that as she gets older she is going to be sleepy fewer times each day, so you will have fewer opportunities to feed her if that’s the only time she’ll eat. It’s great that she’s taking solids well!
Myles ended up giving up the bottle completely at 7 months of age (except for his one bedtime bottle…..he wouldn’t even take a bottle before his naps anymore). So, he’s been primarily spoon fed since then and he’s done fine. I added lots of breast milk or formula to his foods and even spoon fed him breast milk to keep him hydrated and give him the fats and other nutrients that he needed.
I hope the increase in Prevacid helps. How much are you increasing it to?
AnonymousInactive
Hey Emily,
I’ve posted this before, but your little one and mine sound exactly alike, and I do think that OALD has much to do with their problems. My guess is that your other babies got so much better at 6 months because they could handle the forceful letdown and supply of the milk.
Ben has gotten better at this as he has gotten older, and really improved (as far as the colicky behavior and gas goes) at right about 4 months. In fact, it’s been a while since I’ve heard the little guy toot, and he used to be a tooting machine. I’ve read several places that OALD can really cause gas, etc. I think he also has DGE, to some degree, as it seems that when he poos regularly, he spits up less and eats better too… like he is cleared out now and now there is room for food (does that make sense?)
Anyway… saying all of that to say… stick with the breastfeeding if you can. I really do think that time (as hard as it is to wait) is one of the main factors here. I too really struggled with the whole formula idea, but also have a little one who won’t take a bottle!
Hang in there though.. .you are not alone!
AnonymousInactive
Mine strains every time he eats practically. Breast or bottle. I read somewhere it has to do with the sucking/swallowing that stimulates the digestive tract to move and thererfore the straining at the final end. So that may be why he’s straining while feeding. Not fun I know, sometimes I feel like I’m wrestling an alligator to get him fed when he starts straining some then looking away and then goes back for more.
He doesn’t seem to be in pain from the straining does he?
Right now mine is on a trial run of Elecare and he still strains but he doesn’t seem to be in pain usually. We are going to try to see if we can reintroduce breatstmilk and see if he is doing better because of the formula or the fact that he has gotten over his cold, cut his bottom teeth, is on a good amount of his Prevacid that is newly compounded or what! There always seems to be so many factors at once going on its hard to see what works/doesn’t work!
that’s why I can’t go away!!
and the doctors who tell moms to stop breastfeeding
, don’t get me started!!!
AnonymousInactive
Christine,
Thanks – yes, I’ve tried TED for almost 3 weeks, and then I gave up since Caden’s bm issues hadn’t improved (his main issue was mucousy stool – no blood though). So, I figured my diet wasn’t the problem. I kind of wonder if my OALD and oversupply is STILL a problem. Who would think that producing too much milk would be such a problem? Isn’t it strange that some women who want to breastfeed can’t, because they don’t produce enough milk, but then there are those of us who also struggle with breastfeeding due to producing too much! It shouldn’t be this hard when it’s a natural thing! Anyway, I may try again just to see if his moods improve even if his bms don’t change… I’ll keep you posted.
Thanks again 
AnonymousInactive
I think I’d probably do TED perfectly for a good long time before I gave up breastfeeding. I say this because I can tell from your post that you really want to breast feed and it would be a loss to you to stop, especially if it ended up not being the solution.
Have you tried TED yet? Sorry, I can’t remember either.
AnonymousInactive
Thank you all for your suggestions. I may still try the Neocate just to see… I plan to stick with breastfeeding and also maybe try eliminating dairy and soy again for now. I’m wondering if I need to give it more time. I was on TED for almost 3 weeks, but not the entire 3. I gave up when Caden didn’t seem dramatically better as I expected. It wouldn’t hurt me to try again for the full 3 weeks at least or maybe more??? Has anyone had it take longer than 3 weeks to notice significant improvement when cutting out dairy and soy?
I don’t want to do the complete elimination diet again, because although I was happy to lose my pregnancy weight quickly, it was VERY quick – almost at an unhealthy pace (I lost 50 pounds in like 2 months total – a big portion of it from my 2 week stint on TED!). I did gain way too much this pregnancy, but now I’m at my prepregnancy weight and still losing eating regular foods, so I don’t want to go overboard! I guess the nursing is really helping me lose weight this time (more than I remember from before)
Thanks everyone
AnonymousInactive
I’m sorry I can’t remember your exact case…but is it necessary to jump right to neocate? Have you tried Alimentum or Nutramigen? They are not the same as Neocate, but they can help if your baby has an intolerance. Of course, I also recommend sticking with breastfeeding if you can…I was just curious if you HAD to jump to neocate?
