Search Results for 'breast feeding'

[hellbennt]

Shelby,

it does get better! Ann Marie has good points about giving mylanta before feeding- you can really give it whenever you need to- so if he’s fussing/pulling then gently unlatch him, squirt like a ml of mylanta in along the inside of his cheek and then put him back on the breast…

can you go to a LLL mtg or somesort of breastfeeding moms group for support? I met a lot of my current friends this way. While the other moms can’t help with the reflux, it’s nice to have a reason to get out of the house. I didn’t leave the house alone w/ jonah until he was about 6wks old- I just couldn’t handle it…so maybe it’s something to ‘plan’ for…

I would also give the pepsid along with the prevacid- just make sure you space out the doses 2hrs or more from one another. The mylanta can be given near the pepsid but the pepsid/mylanta needs to be at least 2hrs from the prevacid.

FAX your doctor. THANK your doctor. Tell what symptoms were and how they’ve improved. Then state what has NOT improved. Then state the facts you’ve found- just facts (like prevacid dosing is _mgs per kilo and Justice is currently on _mgs per kilo, therefore bcse these __ symptoms are still present I am requesting a dose increase to__mgs. Thank you!! You can fax the marci-kids recommendations- offhand I don’t know what they are, but I DO know a good starting point to at least ask (tell) for is 3mgs per kilo per day total (I do believe this is lower than the marci-kids) and this was considered ‘high’ when jonah was on prevacid…

so hang in there as it DOES get better!

~laura

[Anonymous]

Hi Shelby,

I will let the breastfeeding moms answer those questions as I only pumped with both boys for a short time and never put them to breast. I would, however, suggest mylanta about 20 minutes before feeds to cool Justice’s throat so things might go a little smoother? Also, if you can get your ped to prescribe carafate, it will coat his throat and make him feel better to feed.

Sorry I don’t have better advice, just wanted you to know that we are here for you.

Hang in there!

Ann Marie

[Anonymous]

My little one is 7 wks old. He has been on prevacid for 2 wks as of yesterday. Of course, the doctor did not put him on a high enough dose so things are not going well. I am tired and just plan angry. I am breastfeeding him and all the pulling is really killing me. I am so sore. I know he hurts, but I just want to scream at him. I am wanting to give up. I didn’t get to breastfeed my first son because the doc said he wasn’t getting enough and told me to supplement. I did what she said and he wouldn’t go back to breastfeeding. The problem wasn’t that he wasn’t getting enough, it was that he had reflux and hurt. Point being, I really want to breastfeed this baby, but it is driving me crazy.

Thanks for letting me vent. If anyone has gone through this and it gotten better please let me know. I mean the whole breastfeeding pulling off thing. I’m afraid he still isn’t on the right dose and things will just continue to get worse. His ped doesn’t even want him on the prevacid because he doesn’t scream all the time and he is gaining weight just fine. UGH!!! Thankfully, I have been able to convince her to do all the things I have wanted. I am afraid however that if he does need a higher dose, she won’t go for it.

Shelby

[Anonymous]

Oh Tracy, that’s so sad about Ian and Elecare. No baby should have to associate feeding with pain.

And I agreee that babies do have taste preferances that young. When Liza was 6 months old and I stopped pumping breast milk for her I started supplementing with formula. She quickly decided that she prefered the formula and began refusing breast milk to my great dismay. I had to mix them for a while and then she began to accept the breast milk again.

You’re right about the need for protein and fat at his age, and fruits and veggies just don’t provide that for them. That’s why I spoon feed Myles his breast milk all day instead of feeding him purees which would be so much easier.

Can you add the cereal to his bottle to thicken it since the elecare is so thin? Can you try oatmeal instead of rice? The oatmeal actually adds some flavor. I’ve tasted Myles’ oatmeal/breast milk concoction and it doesn’t taste bad at all. The rice is much blander in my opinion.

I hope his diarrhea clears up soon. Poor little guy.

Christine

[Anonymous]

There is nothing saying you have to have your baby on milk at a year old. I absolutely hate when doctors say that. It really bothers me, sorry!! I see that your breastfeeding, that is the best nutrition that you can give your baby and if that is what you are comfortable with don’t let anyone change your mind. I wish that I could have done it for even half the time that you did but I dried up in one week. My Emma has been on Alimentum since around 5 months and it has worked great. We tried hidden diary at 13 months and it failed horribly. I don’t mean to scare you b/c I have seen success stories at a year old but some don’t. I did the trial when I was ready not when someone told me I had to. My GI actually recommended that I wait until she was 15 months. If you do want to do it I recommend to do hidden diary first; yogurt, cheese, then ice cream. They are much easier to digest. It took 2 weeks of these for the proteins to build up in Emma for us to see a reaction. We are starting our 2nd trial now. Our GI said yogurt for 2 weeks, if that goes good continue the yogurt then try cheese for 2 weeks. If cheese goes good continue and try ice cream for 2 weeks. After 6 weeks or so and everything is good then add maybe ½ oz of milk to formula. It should be a very slow process to make sure it goes smoothly. Some mothers that have babies that eat solids very well do go to rice milk (can cause constipation) or 2% milk. I haven’t tried either since Emma doesn’t eat, and she needs the nutrients from the Alimentum. Hopefully they will post their transition. Don’t let them worry you!!

[Anonymous]

Tracy,

Yeah, that sounds like a good idea; waiting on the rice for now. His tummy may be very uncomfortable from the antibiotic. Hopefully once he’s done with that he will be more willing, or at least you’ll know his tummy is not upset from the medicine.

There are always so many darn variables to weigh and consider. Like with Myles. I want to start him on Carnation Good Start since my breast milk supply will only last another 6 weeks or so and the soy is probably too constipating. But I want to give him some juice, too. And try new foods. And maybe gradually reduce his Prevacid at some time. But you can’t do it all at once and if you do one thing at a time you’ll be trialing something while they are on their way off to Kindergarten! It’s hard to know what to do first.

What do you mean about bad associations from Elecare? Isn’t that what he drinks from his bottle?

3 bottles a day may be a good idea too. Especially if he doesn’t really like them anyway.

I wish I could be more helpful. Hope Ian is feeling all better soon.

Christine

[Anonymous]

Tracy,

Sorry I don’t have much advice. I have problems with Myles, too becaue he hates the bottle and won’t take a sippy cup either. I can’t get enough fluid into him and he eats too much cereal because the only way I can get any breast milk or formula into him is to mix it with some cereal and spoon feed him. It’s frustrating because I think if he would drink more fluids he would have an easier time moving his bowels. His doc said less bulk (cereal) would help but what do I do if he won’t drink anything whatsoever?

So, while Myles problem is different I understand the daily frustration of not being able to get your child to eat or drink what he needs.

Have you tried making his cereal really, really thin; like gruel? (That’s what my mil calles it). I make Myles’ cereal with 1/4 – 1/3 cup of oatmeal mixed with 4.5 ounces of breast milk. It’s very thin, just enough texture to help me spoon feed it to him. Maybe Ian would take it that way becaues he may hardly notice the texture. Later on you can gradually increase the amt of cereal as he gets accustomed to it.

I wish I had better ideas for you, but I’m still scratching my head over here with my own little boy!

How’s Ian feeling?

Christine

[Anonymous]

The weight is the same over here since we go to the American doctors here, they have an Army Hospital close to where we live right now.

Here are is weight and height charts if you are interested:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a206/John-and-Owens-Mom/Ow en-chart-height.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a206/John-and-Owens-Mom/Ow en-chart.jpg

You know this is what I was thinking as well, that he doesn’t tolerate food so well because there is one food that causes all his problems. Ever since I removed everything from his diet he has been doing so much better and he is still doing good on the carrots, which before he got a horrible diaper rash from them.

My inlaws are more supportive than my family over here too, I’m german so all my family lives somewhat closer by. It took my mom a year to finally realize that he can’t tolerate dairy/soy and she is still questioning the whole other food issues.

I’m still breastfeeding in the am and pm, I cut out all dairy and soy but haven’t done so with gluten yet. Since this just came up last week at his ped visit.

I noticed too that he was happier and sleeping more restfull at nighttime when we took out everything. It’s amazing at the improvement he has made, his skin is soft again for a change and he doesn’t have those red dry cheeks anymore either. Owen used to wake up a lot at nighttime as well, whimpering in his sleep and was just plain restless.

Right now he doesn’t sleep well but that is because he is sick and running a fever. He sounds like a seal when he coughs, so I might have to take him back to the ped to see what’s going on.

[Anonymous]

Interesting about the undigested comment. That’s what happens when it burns his bottom.

Henry’s weight has always been an issue. I noticed Owen is only 2mths younger than Henry. Henry weighs 23lbs. He’s in the 25%. Don’t know how that translates for you overseas. Would it be the same? Anyway, when he was born, he was 90th! He was in the 10% by 9mths! I’ve struggled to keep him in the 25%. I think we’re on a good road now though.

My family—they’re insane to say the least. My in-laws that live farther away are more support. They wonder why we put him through all this. He looks fine as well. For Henry, it’s a nighttime issue. As a silent refluxer, he was on an apnea monitor until a year old. He had severe apnea. They didn’t understand this at all. He had an upper GI. Was impacted after that from the barium. An aweful trip to the ER for that. Had a PH probe that he pulled out after about 4 hours. Stomach emptying study. And an endoscopy- the scope down the stomach. Had scratch tests and blood work for allergies. It was a lot, but we never got any answers. And he didn’t sleep! That was my main thing. He would scream in his sleep about every 1/2 hour! Not wake up for the most part, just scream. It was horrible. He did that until we removed the gluten from his diet. How about that? And I did it myself. No doctors involved. All those months of missery for all of us. It makes me sick really. Why didn’t any of his many doctors catch it? I went to this website— http://www.disa.com.au/ —– and looked at the food intolerance section. It discribed Henry better than I ever could. That was when it all clicked for me. I just knew that was what was happening. It took me 15 months to find it, but I found it.

I always wonder if there’s something to do with a malabsorbtion with all of this. Like maybe the intestines just can’t absorb or break down the food due to these intolerances? We still puree Henry’s food, but are slowly adding more texture. We just don’t puree it as much. He seems to like it. He also seems to be digesting things better without the gluten.

You are still breastfeeding? That’s the best way to get them to gain weight I’ve heard. Of course, you’d have to avoid all the foods that bother him.

I’ve also noticed how happy Henry has gotten in the last couple weeks even. He just keeps improving. It’s a huge difference to me although, I’m not sure to anyone else.

We moms just know- don’t we?

[Anonymous]

Everyone has given you such wonderful advice….i just wanted to add that we also had a child waking every 1.5-2 hours until he was nearly 18 months old. I would breastfeed him back to sleep because this was teh only way either of us could sleep….and it was absolutely horrible horrible horrible!!– the sleep deprivation. Also, probably after changing doses and introducing a ppi you will see a huge difference….HOWEVER:

after looking into the possible ppi meds and dosing, and appropriately high doses of ppis, zantac, mylanta, etc. and looking into gentle sleep solutions behavior wise (I also recommend the No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley) ….if he is still waking and uncomfortable, you need to look into MSPI and other food issues.

My child has milk soy protein intolerance (MSPI– so we removed all dairy and soy and beef from his diet at 8 mos) and didn’t sleep for more than two hours in a row until we also removed all gluten from his diet at nearly 18 mos. Food allergies and food intolerances (not hte same thing, but often presenting similar symptoms) can cause night wakings, upset tummies, etc. My son woke crying, burping, screaming…nearly every time he EVER woke up. When he woke without crying, we talked about it for a few days following because it would be so unusual.

I just want to let you know tehre are other things out there that can cause night wakings and these food problems often go hand in hand with reflux. My son has legitimate severe reflux, but on top of that, has obvious food problems. We are still in the process of testing for food allergies and the allergist said that even if they aren’t traditional full blown ALLERGIES, sensitive stomachs and protein intolerances can cause these symptoms as well. Good news is that you can control their diets (not fun, butyou can!) and your own, if you are breastfeeding (also no fun, but you can) and they often grow out of both allergies and intolerances by age five, but often by age 2-3. If you suspect he is in pain and other things should have taken care of it, don’t give up until you find an answer.

Have you had any testing done for his reflux?– upper gi, endoscopy, ph probe to see what’s going on? Is he generally happy during the day? Our son was pretty much a dream during the day from 11 mos on, yet still screamed so much at night that hte neighbors have heard him many many times. So, just cause they are fine all day doesn’t mean they are really totally fine. It’s a very tricky thing, though, with behaviorial issues in there as well. I understand what you are going through, hang in there!!!

[Anonymous]

Thank you. I have seen a lot of improvement in my little one, but we still have our days. He is a lot easier to deal with than my first. He doesn’t cry all that much. It’s just really hard to get him to go to sleep, keep him asleep, and he pulls on me when I’m breastfeeding him. The pulling keeps me sore. He actually sleeps better than my first, but it’s still not much.

Another question I have is, he is all of a sudden choking when he eats. I don’t know if that is a reflux thing or not. My first never did it. I don’t think it is oal. I have started trying to feed him more upright and since I have been doing that the choking has started. I have read about choking somewhere on here, but don’t know if they said it was reflux related.

Sorry to ask so many questions. It seems like I am on here every day with a new question, but he is very different than my first. I also know that the ped probably won’t have the answers.

[hellbennt]

my friend just had a baby & she’s nursing and her baby swallows a lot of air- turns out he’s ‘tongue-tied’ – there’s a proper way to call that, lol!

http://www.kellymom.com is a great breastfeeding resource

[hellbennt]

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/breastfeedingreflux/

& a great resource: http://www.kellymom.com/

here’s la leche league- you can find a local group & even email or call-in questions: http://www.lalecheleague.org/WebUS.html

[Anonymous]

My niece was exclusively breastfed and sometimes she didn’t go for 6-7 days! Usually after 5 days my sister had to give her a tiny bit of prune juice just because she was fussy. But our ped said it was normal.

I have to say that I found that for some reason, I could not sustain a good milk supply by pumping alone. In the beginning, for the first few months, I nursed every two hours and then pumped for 10 minutes after that (because Hailey wasn’t sucking terribly well and I was engorged). Then after she was 2.5 months old or so- when the feeding strike was full blown- I couldn’t get her to suck and went to exclusive pumping about 4 times a day. My supply went down exponentially and by 4 months was basically gone.

That’s just my experience though. Good luck to you. I know that Laura has a link to the yahoo breastfeeding forum, maybe they can help you out more there (sorry I don’t know the address).

[Anonymous]

In the beginning, you want to make sure you pump or feed every 2 or 3 hours. If you go longer than this for a couple of days, your milk could start to diminish. Also, if you dont feed or pump during the night for several night in a row, your supply can decrease too. Your body has the highest levels of prolactin at night, therefore, nursing atleast once during the night between midnight and 5:00 a.m. will help keep your supply up.

I’m not sure about the pooping though. All 3 of my babies always went atleast 4 or 5 times a day for the first couple of months. Then it went down to 2 or so times a day after that.