The Breast Feeding Support Thread

hollymartins

shesty wrote: »

No problem Digs.I can't say I have any solutions and unfortunately it led to problems feeding, as they were just very fussy, particularly himself.But I remember my second being really fussy about wind up to nearly 18 months, lost count of the number of nights she would be awake and I would have to go in- she wouldn't resettle til she got upright and let a load of gas out.I have actually taken this guy out of his grobag lately and he is in padded babygros, as he does so much grunting and trying to pass wind at night, and the grobag restricts his legs and wakes him up.Honestly.....��
Hope it works out well for you.I hated being contiuously drenched and it was only when I talked to my sister lately that I realised how different my experience was with BF and how it was hardly surprising I stopped early-she never has half the "problems" I did, with continuously soaked bras, trying to latch a half drowned baby (!) , milk pouring out of the other boob while they feed from the first, and the resultanr wind, no matter what you do-not a great experience.

Oh god I sympathise as I had the exact same experience with my two. First time around it was such a shock, waking up with wet sheets etc. and milk literally spurting out of me. I used to sleep with a towel underneath me and I leaked continuously until I returned to work and stopped breastfeeding. Second time around it was the same again. The smell of stale milk and the desperate feeling of just wanting a shower Constantly wearing breastpads and having to replace a few times a day, I do not miss those days.

Digs

Oh gosh Shesty that sounds so stressful!! I don’t think I’m having as big an issue as you did, no wonder you struggled.

I’m back from the group and while I have an abundance of milk it doesn’t seem like a true oversupply so should settle around 6 weeks fingers crossed. I last fed baba around 7:30an and by the time I got to the group it was 10:30 so she was well due a feed. Sat down and latched her on and proceeded to soak everything around me, myself, the chair, the baby!!! The LC said well I can tell why you’re here! The girl beside me had eyes like saucers, I felt so sorry for her. She was having the opposite issue, couldn’t bring up her supply and was in terrible pain. My heart went out to her.

So after chatting with the LC it seems the forceful letdown is my issue. She showed me another position to help deal with it and said apart from getting used to it it’s a matter of powering through. The gas goes hand in hand but she’s an efficient little feeder and the older and bigger she gets she should get better at coping with the letdown and won’t guzzle as much air. I’ve definitely noticed when I’m more diligent with winding her she settles very quickly. So hopefully all in all I’ll get a handle on it.

The only other suggestions she had was when I go out to pack a few changes of tops, plenty breastpads and a few hand towels! The glamour.... A saving grace for me is I seem to be fine in between feeds, I’m not soaking through (I tend not to have longer then 3 hrs between feeds at the moment though!!) my issue is just during feeds at letdown, much easier to manage then being constantly soaked at random times.

shesty

No I was the same but if they went too long between feeds, the second they latched on it was milk everywhere.He was quite efficient, and actually particularly so at night.He was very good at night, and my supply was much more regulated.Day time was a nightmare and honestly I never got a handle on it.My issue was at 4/5 weeks he simply would not stay latched, he would pull on and off constantly with wind-i could hear it gurgling through him-and so my supply never did that six week leap that he needed.He fed great when sleepy so nightime continued til 10+ weeks, when his sleep stretched quite a bit, but daytime was pumping.Unfortunately LCs were not great help.But look anyway at least your little girl is feeding away and fingers crossed it will sort itself out.And you're not imagining it, it seems like nothing but the letdown and wind can be such a nuisance.It was SO frustrating for me, because all of mine latched on straight off and fed great but I just never seemed to get too far past six weeks despite my best efforts.

Digs

That does sound super frustrating, it’s pretty amazing you lasted so long!!

The LC was quite clear with me that it’s a management issue, this appeals to my practical side. Rather then me sitting around waiting for it to magically disappear I instead need to get to grips with it. I’m finding it easier by the day, I think the haakaa is a game changer on that score though. I pop that on and the letdown is caught and goes straight to the freezer. Bit fiddly but again practise will perfect that. Luckily her wind isn’t bad at all, certainly no worse then any of my other two but again more frequent winding has helped there. Unlike my first baby I at least now know what’s causing it. She’s also used to me taking her off during letdown while I spray into a towel and she goes back on no issue! Today was another learning curve in being more prepared when I’m out and about as the haakaa isn’t as easy to use in public!

While I think of it aswell, anyone reading with the same problem the LC said to help when I’m out feeding if I feel letdown on the other side to apply pressure to the nipple with my finger and it suppresses it. Tried it twice and worked a treat which was neat.

I think we’re on the right track anyway. Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

Pocos

Hi all

Just looking for some advice from thise who breast fed in the past!
Any advice on how to drop the last feed? I literally only feed herself to sleep, and only when I’m on my own! My husband rocks her to sleep or lies on the bed beside her and she’s happy with that but if I’m on my own she just cries until i feed her! Like it could be 3 days since I last fed her and it’s not at the same time when I do! So it’s not habit and I don’t consider it a feed (she takes a bottle now!) But just expects it once she’s tired and i lie down beside her! Any advice???

Is it a case I just have to refuse and put up with the tears? If so how long does that last for?

She’s 1 since last week so I gave her a year and for a few reasons I want to finish up! Preferably in a nice manner!

jlm29

I dropped it a couple of months ago. My oh did bed times for a few nights, and the first few times I was at home without oh, I just plonked him in the cot and sat in a chair beside him until he stopped crying. It generally didn’t take long, but he’s a very easy going baby. It took longer with my last guy, but he was born with a serious case of middle child syndrome.
My little guy is 18 months old now, so prob around 16 mths or so when we weaned

Pocos

jlm29 wrote: »

I dropped it a couple of months ago. My oh did bed times for a few nights, and the first few times I was at home without oh, I just plonked him in the cot and sat in a chair beside him until he stopped crying. It generally didn’t take long, but he’s a very easy going baby. It took longer with my last guy, but he was born with a serious case of middle child syndrome.
My little guy is 18 months old now, so prob around 16 mths or so when we weaned

So I will have to put up with crying and sadness?? I was hoping there would be an easier solution but to be honest I didn’t hold out much hope!

My LO would be the opposite of easy going! She’s very stubborn!!!

jlm29

Pocos wrote: »

So I will have to put up with crying and sadness?? I was hoping there would be an easier solution but to be honest I didn’t hold out much hope!

My LO would be the opposite of easy going! She’s very stubborn!!!

Maybe you should wait for someone else to advise. Maybe there’s a better way. I often see a book called “the no cry sleep solution” recommended. Maybe read that for magic tricks?

Pocos

Thanks jlm29 but I really think you are probably right! Tough it out for a few days and hopefully she will forget about it by then!

Might try avoiding having to put her to sleep in her room (do car and buggy and let dad do nighttime) for a while first! She’s such a good memory though not sure will that work!

scarepanda

When I was stopping, I told her for 3/4 days in advance that we were stopping and subtly made a bit of a deal with it the last night. After that we replaced boob with a book and a song before getting into bed. She never looked to nurse after that last night. Now, while she did love nursing she was never a very boob grabby baby, more never refused when offered. But I also think she was ready so stop when we did. She was down to once a day for about 4 months in advance to stopping and I was 5/6 weeks pregnant when we did, so I'm not sure if there was even much of a supply left at that stage.

I would say if you think there's going to be much protesting to enlist your partner into bed time routine. Maybe nurse her for the next couple of nights letting her know it is coming to an end, and once she's finished get your partner to do story time and into bed (break that connection of you nursing her and putting her into bed) and to may be do full bed time for a couple of nights after you stop. Then you start doing bedtime again? Even though I think my girl was ready to stop, I was very surprised that she never asked for boob after that last night and I think it was because we replaced nursing with something else positive she liked. We never did story time at bedtime before that. I'm a stay at home mam so I'd read her books during the day before that, so I knew she loved to be read to.

Edit: I should probably add that my girl turned 2 the week we stopped, so her comprehension and stuff would be a bit further on than your girl in terms of preparing her in advance to stopping

scarepanda

Ladies, I need your advice/opinions!

Whats your opinion between lanolish and multimam creams? Trying to get the hospital bag sorted, and I can't for the life of me remember which I used last time around.

bovril

scarepanda wrote: »

Ladies, I need your advice/opinions!

Whats your opinion between lanolish and multimam creams? Trying to get the hospital bag sorted, and I can't for the life of me remember which I used last time around.

This time around I found the branded Lansinoh mad money. I used to be able to get a tube for no more than 8e but couldn't find one for less than 15 this time so I opted for the generic version. Your Chemist should have some under the name Lanolin BP in a little plastic jar. It's a pure moisturiser and I'd use it a lot especially in the first few weeks.

The multimam compresses are little white strips with gel on them. They have a cooling affect on nipples. Each compress can be cut in half to make them last longer. I wasn't using these as frequently as the lanolin. I did find these better but maybe that's just me.

Best of luck with everything.

lazygal

I preferred the Multimam cream this time around.

Naid23

Would anyone have any tips for freezing milk? I'm going away with my sister for a night and stocking up milk for my partner to have on hand.

Issue I am having is, I'm pumping using the MAM pump and bottles and transferring to the Lansinoh storage bags. When i pour say 100ml (Mam bottle measurement) in, Its saying its 140ml in the bags so i'm kinda confused and not sure which ones i should be going by.

My daughter usually takes a feed of around 100-120ml from the bottle so i've just been going by that and writing that amount on the bottle.

Has anyone come across this before or am I doing something wrong?

thanks

jlm29

Naid23 wrote: »

Would anyone have any tips for freezing milk? I'm going away with my sister for a night and stocking up milk for my partner to have on hand.

Issue I am having is, I'm pumping using the MAM pump and bottles and transferring to the Lansinoh storage bags. When i pour say 100ml (Mam bottle measurement) in, Its saying its 140ml in the bags so i'm kinda confused and not sure which ones i should be going by.

My daughter usually takes a feed of around 100-120ml from the bottle so i've just been going by that and writing that amount on the bottle.

Has anyone come across this before or am I doing something wrong?

thanks

I always ignored the number on the bag, and just went by what was on the bottle before I poured it into the bag.
I tended to freeze portions that I knew would be enough for one bottle. My boys always took around 3-3.5oz, so that’s the amt I froze in each bag

Naid23

jlm29 wrote: »

I always ignored the number on the bag, and just went by what was on the bottle before I poured it into the bag.
I tended to freeze portions that I knew would be enough for one bottle. My boys always took around 3-3.5oz, so that’s the amt I froze in each bag

Thanks for that. I only noticed it today and got confused. Will go by the bottle to be sure.

scarepanda

Thanks ladies!

I remember using multimam compresses last time around for a while, but also remember them being awful expensive. I had a look at the price of both creams in the chemist during the week and they were round about the same price . I think I might start off with the multimam cream this time though, I plan on making my own version of the multimam compresses.

Sarah1916

Does anyone recommend somewhere to buy the Breast angel silver cups that have been recommended by a few people? There seems to be a few online under different names and varying prices so I just want to make sure I get the right ones.
I am due in a few weeks and would like to try using these from the start to try and prevent pain as much as possible.
For anyone that has used these, have you used nipple balm/cream as well?

TIA

catrionanic

Sarah1916 wrote: »

Does anyone recommend somewhere to buy the Breast angel silver cups that have been recommended by a few people? There seems to be a few online under different names and varying prices so I just want to make sure I get the right ones.
I am due in a few weeks and would like to try using these from the start to try and prevent pain as much as possible.
For anyone that has used these, have you used nipple balm/cream as well?

TIA

Have you asked your local Cuidiú group about them? Im in the Dublin County North group and we have two sets which we loan out to new mums. They're expensive and you'll only need them for a few weeks so might be worth trying that!

I have a set and found them great. I used them on my second baby and they were much better than the creams and compresses. You don't use creams in conjunction with the cups- you put a few drops of your own milk in the cup and that helps your nipples to heal. They really are fab.

Anne_cordelia

Sarah1916 wrote: »

Does anyone recommend somewhere to buy the Breast angel silver cups that have been recommended by a few people? There seems to be a few online under different names and varying prices so I just want to make sure I get the right ones.
I am due in a few weeks and would like to try using these from the start to try and prevent pain as much as possible.
For anyone that has used these, have you used nipple balm/cream as well?

TIA

Earthmother.ie sell them. You can sell them on again afterwards. Highly recommend them.

Digs

I’d second Catrionanic and see if you can source a lend with one of the groups if needs be. I used them on my second baby and they were a life saver, unreal! However, with my third I didn’t need them at all so if I had bought in advance they would have been an expensive unnecessary purchase! I passed them onto a friend recently.

I bought mine on Earthmother.ie

kastasia

I stopped feeding my nearly 15 month old yesterday morning. We had been mainly doing early morning and last thing at night I gave him a big feed the night before, then a few minutes in the morning and as we had babysitters last night I decided that was the last one. (have a few reasons for stopping, had just planned on going to 12 months but kept putting it off). I was tempted to feed for a few minutes this morning for relief but just hand expressed in the shower. Any tips for relieving engorgement without boosting supply and how long should it last? Feeling a little emotional too...

fits

No tips, but well done! I can imagine that it is really emotional to stop. Do something nice for yourself if you can.

annoyedgal

I weaned my 12 month old two weeks ago. Reluctantly really and very emotional also. What i found helpful was keeping my back to the shower so avoiding hot water on chest. Wearing a good supportive nursing bra, expressing only if very engorged or a lump, just hand expeessing the minimal amount. And sage tea! Not the nicest tasting but really really helped reduce supply. I took some Nurofen too when pain was bad. All in all took ten days for boobs to go soft. Waaay longer than when i weaned my son but i fed him for longer. Well done you for going to 15 months and best of luck and as fits said do be kind to yourself! It is an emotional rollercoaster

lunamoon

My 10month old will only feed twice a day. Once between 4.30-5.30 and then again before his 8-9am nap. Both are short feeds (3mins ish) The odd time he will feed during the day but only for comfort. I offer it a lot but he's too busy for it. He initially hated solids but loves them now. He also loves water. I went away for a few days and he kept up this same pattern with his granny. Is this something to be concerned about?

jlm29

kastasia wrote: »

I stopped feeding my nearly 15 month old yesterday morning. We had been mainly doing early morning and last thing at night I gave him a big feed the night before, then a few minutes in the morning and as we had babysitters last night I decided that was the last one. (have a few reasons for stopping, had just planned on going to 12 months but kept putting it off). I was tempted to feed for a few minutes this morning for relief but just hand expressed in the shower. Any tips for relieving engorgement without boosting supply and how long should it last? Feeling a little emotional too...

Cold cabbage leaves maybe? I’ve known a good few people to use them when their milk was coming in, to help with enforcement if they didn’t plan to breastfeed, so it’s worth a try! I found with all of mine that I wasn’t particularly engorged when i stopped feeding because it was gradual. But I’d say hand express just enough to relieve engorgemeng!

Sausage dog

I found it emotional too when I stopped. There is definitely something special about the whole experience. Best of luck over the next few days.

Neyite

lunamoon wrote: »

My 10month old will only feed twice a day. Once between 4.30-5.30 and then again before his 8-9am nap. Both are short feeds (3mins ish) The odd time he will feed during the day but only for comfort. I offer it a lot but he's too busy for it. He initially hated solids but loves them now. He also loves water. I went away for a few days and he kept up this same pattern with his granny. Is this something to be concerned about?

My son dropped breastfeeding around this age too. But a great eater and drinker like yours. I didn't worry because he still drank milk a lot just not mine.

Is yours drinking milk as well?

lunamoon

Neyite wrote: »

My son dropped breastfeeding around this age too. But a great eater and drinker like yours. I didn't worry because he still drank milk a lot just not mine.

Is yours drinking milk as well?

He'll drink expressed milk for his granny. I haven't tried him on any other type of milk yet. Any suggestions on what one would be good?

scarepanda

lunamoon wrote:

He'll drink expressed milk for his granny. I haven't tried him on any other type of milk yet. Any suggestions on what one would be good?

I started regular cow's milk at 6.5 months for meal times. I never watered it down or anything like that.