Search Results for 'breast feeding'

[Anonymous]

I used the “hands free bra” thing and it was WONDERFUL! Best money I spent! Sarah had latch on issues so I pumped 99% of her milk. The bra made it easier to do other things (play with her, read a book, talk on the phone, play Tetris , whatever!) I was able to pump for 3 months before I had to slowly stop b/c I was returning to work. You do get used to it, and yes, carrying a pump around with you everywhere will just become second nature. Good luck and don’t give up!

Amy

[hellbennt]

now that you belong to TBW, there are tons who’ll answer you there, too

[Anonymous]

4 and 6 huh? That is usually my asleep time-which I don’t get much of. I’ll try it. And I’m doing the fenugreek/blessed thistle. Should kick in soon if it’s going to.

Oh, that’s what that bra does. good to know.

I’m renting a medela hospital pump right now. Good there. and just ordered a Medela In Style Advanced for work etc. It’s good to tote with me places.

Great advice girls! More advice is welcome I really need it.

[hellbennt]

I put a lot of info about breastfeeding a reflux baby in my ‘Groupie Introduction’ – it’s stickied to be the top post in hte Introduce Yourself Forum

also there’s mspi info, including breastfeeding info, in the MSPI post that’s stickied in the MSPI Forum

[hellbennt]

also, is it a ‘good’ pump? the 2 ‘major’ brands that I happen to know of (I researched a bit over on thebabywearer) are the Ameda Pump in Style & the Medela- I had the Medela (had to return it back to my cousin after Jonah, bcse she had another baby) & now I bought an Ameda…they both seem to work great…

[Anonymous]

YES. That’s exactly what I did. I pumped every morning around 4 am. I would have lots of milk. Then I’d pump again at 6, and lots more milk. (I wasn’t nursing, just pumping). There’s something about tapping into that early morning supply that really helps increase your overall supply.

Also, I forgot to mention this in my last post, but Medela makes a hands free bra that you can wear which holds the pump shields over your breasts so your hands can be free while pumping. Maybe that would work for you. I didn’t have one but saw it in their catalog and at their website.

ndrose2006-9-26 15:48:12

[Anonymous]

Thanks everybody.

Thais,

I agree…what’s wrong with formula? I mean if he was still nursing would I have to tear him off the breast because he’s one? Normally I really do trust her, but I was really stumped today. I just don’t understand the big rush to get a 12 month old who just stopped living on breast milk to go right to whole milk and give up his only bottle of the day. That just seems wacko to me.

I think it must be the AAP that pushes this because my friend heard the same thing from her pediatrician. Her daughter was not a good eater and the ped said not only to take the bottle away but stop feeding her purees. What a mistake that was! That kid lived on toast, crackers, chicken nuggets and french fries for years because that’s all she would eat. At least with the purees they’re getting some good nutrition.

Myles was very social until about 7 or 8 months. Then he gradually became more reserved and in the last two weeks or so he’s become very anxious around people he doesn’t know or in unfamiliar situations. Don’t many babies cry at the doctor’s office? All of my kids did, even Liza who was a very social, and outgoing baby. Maybe she though it was over the top because he did it at Kindermusik, too. But last night was the first class and he didn’t know what to expect. I hope it’s just a short stage and he gets better soon like Matthew did.

Thanks for the feeding clinic info…that makes me feel better.

Jill,

I think part of Myles’ problem with food is that he is just plain stubborn. Like your son, he probably can self-feed, he just chooses not too.

So, you teach sunday school? That’s great. Do you think moms and dads should leave the screaming kids or take them out and wait until they are older? My girls won’t stay at sunday school and I always wondered if I should just leave them screaming or what.

Thanks everyone for your responses and reassurance. It really was a lousy visit and I still feel a little down about it but deep down I do think he’s fine.

[Anonymous]

I take my pump with me too, if I’m going for very long. I use an electric pump from WIC, so I just bring an ac/dc convertor so I can pump in the car. Of course, Bryce can’t nurse, so everything he eats is what I’ve pumped. It’s kind of a pain sometimes, but worth it.

A lactation consultant once told me that if you pump between 4:00 – 6:00 am, you will start producing more milk. I’m not sure of the reasoning. It might be worth a try though, if you aren’t already. Also, drink TONS of water. Drink more than you think is enough. It really makes a difference. Make sure you’re eating enough too.

[Anonymous]

I took the pump with me every time I left the house. I felt so tied to that thing, but it was all worth it.

Sorry, I don’t have much advice about the pumping and storing. Sounds like she is eating as much as you are producing. My supply was always very high in the wee hrs of the morning. That was when I could pump the most and still have enough to nurse an hour later.

[Anonymous]

i used to carry a breast pump in my purse wrapped in a cloth diaper. this was about 20 years ago when i was nursing and working full-time.

[Anonymous]

Well, for what it is worth:

1. self feeding – feeding clinics, both peds we see and Gi all said that most babies only really are 100% self feeding when they are about 18months old…. they said normally not to worry until then (obviously for Matthew we are probably talking 36months but hey!)

2. Stranger anxiety – what is wrong with your ped?? They are phases and they come and go and they sometimes overcome them and sometimes not. Matthew was extremely social as a baby. Starting at 7months or so… big time stranger anxiety. At one year old it was at its worst. I was in Spain adn i had to take care of him for 2 straight weeks because he would not let anyone touch him. Now, we are back to social, and friendly and he is even playing with all therapists.

3. Why off the bottle?? Did you ask for an explanation?? this is so strange that people assign age to bottles and an age to sippy cups or straws. First of all, let me tell you that there are plenty of breastfed babies who nurse until they are older. What, teh peds are going to say stop nursing ebcause he needs to move on to another cup??? Then there are so many kids that take a bottle at night, what you take everything away from them just because they turn 1??

4. This si what bothers me the most i think because i have a tube fed baby and nobody is expecting me to switch from formula to milk… so what is so wrong with formula? My GI said she put both her kids on pediasure rather than milk because she said toddlers are picky and that way she would not have to worry about nutrients etc… so really, there is nothing wrong with formula

5. Get some Miralax.

Really, do you trust your ped?? Why all this negativity??

Great about height and weight! Very much where Matthew was at 1 year old (but Matthew has a head about 97%!).

[Anonymous]

Yes, it’s me again.

Here are the issues I’m trying to work out…

~The biggest issue right now is the fact that she’s nursing so much that I’m having a hard time getting a back stock of milk for storage. After she feeds she screams so much, I can’t set her down to pump. If I do get a chance to pump, she’s hungry right after and I end up having to bottle feed her. How can I get enough pumped to go back to work?

Most times, she’s nursed so long I have nothing left to pump. She’ll go on and off for hours at a time. Without her taking a pacifier, she will only be calm at the breast. Otherwise, she’s screaming.

So, I’m trying the babywearing thing. Still getting used to it. Not really freeing me up enough yet. Maybe soon.

How does anyone go anywhere longer than a couple hours without the baby??? Do you take a pump with you at all times? or does this get easier as time goes on.

[Anonymous]

Well, we just got back from Myles’ check up. My head is spinning from all the negative things I heard.

1. He probably has an oral aversion and should be evaluated. (She’s willing to wait until he’s 15 months old). She thinks he should be self feeding more and taking a sippy cup. I know many babies, probably most babies, are self feeding and using a sippy cup by now, but does it always point to an aversion if they are not? My second child was the same way. She didn’t self feed until she was 18 months old. Still she turned out to be a very good eater.

2. His stranger anxiety is extreme for his age. He cried or screamed the entire time we were there even when no one was touching him. He did the same thing at Kindermusik last night even though I was holding him the entire time.

3. He should be off the bottle. He only takes one bottle a day; right before bed. I don’t see why that’s a bad thing at 12 months old.

4. He should be on whole milk instead of Good Start 2. I really don’t think it’s a good idea to switch him to whole milk when he’s only been on good start for a short time. For Pete’s sake he’s only been off breast milk for a week!! I don’t even know if he has any milk or lactose issues yet. Plus he’s not a good eater so I thought the formula would be better until he’s eating better.

5. He will likely always have sluggish bowels and need lots of fiber to keep things moving. Great. But then she also said I shouldn’t be spoon feeding him his fruits, veggies and added fluids. The kid would end up impacted if I didn’t feed him the right foods.

Otherwise, he’s fine. He’s 30 3/4 inches tall (90%), 22lbs.7 ounces (50%), and has a big head (90%). His ears were fine, so his crabbiness is likely due to teething.

So, what do you all think. Should I be conerned???

[Anonymous]

Improving or behavioural? Need advice?

Well I am so confused…Here is my story..

Daniel was jumping off the breast crying at 5 weeks, so I went to a

Lactation nurse for advice, she suspected silent re-flux. HE was also so

unsettled and could not calm him during the day. So we went to the

Paediatrician at Daniel’s birth who prescribed Losec 1-mg twice a day. 8

weeks later we went back and at this point I visited another lactation

nurse to keep up the BF, and she thought he was also colicky plus

“extremely alert’ and kept telling me how hard he was to settle (i.e., the

full day there he only slept 40 minutes, and suggested we book into a

sleep centre. Also we decided to BF until he got fussy and then top him

up with EBM to ensure he was getting enough. We went to the sleep

centre (2 weeks ago), and the nurse reported he showed signs of re-flux

and was unsettled (again he only slept 40 minutes in the whole day). So

we went back to the Paediatrician who had both reports from the nurses.

He has put up his medication to 2-mg twice a day, plus 2-mg Zantac

twice a day and we add thickener and he has been on that for 4 days.

Now we see an improvement, slightly with his feeding, but he still fusses

and cries before we give him his bottle (EBM), but once we get him

started, he seems to take it okay. I have not been game to BF him during

the day, but he has always fed okay during the night. The last 3 nights,

however, he cried so much before his feed, the only way we could feed

him was walking around/rocking him at the same time. It seems he has a

meltdown sometimes! Now I am not sure if this is a behavioural problem

or he still hurts?

In summary, he doesn’t sleep more at night (6-8 hours) and still grunts/

gurgles/snorts and kicks madly for 20 minutes after his 4-am feed,

though can put himself to sleep. I still can’t get him to sleep during the

day on his own (I keep him on my lap, so he can get some sleep, but he is

very uneasy, often keeping one eye slit), he still had a few feeds where he

cries before I can get the bottle into him. He still shows tired signs from

the 1 hour mark from feeds. So really is he better and has developed

behavioural problems or is he still re-flux?

I really appreciate any feedback?

Thanks Sharron

[Anonymous]

Amy, you don’t want to know what we did. It wasn’t fun…

Basically, my breasts were so painful from her constant sucking, that I would let her feed on demand, but not for hours at a time. Any time she seemed to want to feed, I would put her on, and let her do up to 30 minutes on each side. Or, if she was doing non-nutritive sucking, I’d let her soothe herself for a while, but wouldn’t let it go on for hours. I just couldn’t take the pain. Unfortunately, that meant that she was crying a lot (which was hard for us all). I don’t believe in restricting feedings when they’re so young, but I’m also only human and my body can only take so much before I was in quite a bit of pain. To calm the crying, I’d wear her in a sling a lot, bounce her around, dance with her, sing songs, let her suck my finger, a paci (which she never took). Sometimes when things were really bad, I’d wear her in a sling and let her nurse until she got groggy, and then I’d pop her off, but keep wearing her around. She was sleepy at that point, so even though she started to fuss, I could usually calm her by walking around with her. We did swaddling, which didn’t really calm her. I did a lot of skin to skin to help calm her. I tried a swing, but she HATED it (I ended up with 3 different ones out of desperation). As for the feeding, for us it unfortunately got progressively worse as her reflux spiraled out of control. She would only suck for about 2 minutes if I was lucky on each side, and then I couldn’t get her to suck any more. She was pulling off, arching, the whole reflux deal. She was basically inconsolable day and night- wanting to be held, but writhing and arching so much that you couldn’t hold her. The feeding basically stopped at 2 months- at that point she was diagnosed with reflux- and that’s when our whole sleep-feeding nightmare began.

I really hope that things turn around for you and Lucy. I know how hard it is, especially when you have another young child at home (Sarah was 20 months when Hailey was born). I agree with the others to see if zantac or some meds help at all. And babywearing really saved me.

Hang in there.