The Breast Feeding Support Thread

Madisson

Can't believe my lady is 2 weeks already. Considering expressing some milk now and again so I can do something about this barnet of mine. Never did it before because the phn said not to for 2 weeks untill she gets used to bf because she had nipple confusion from a bottle I gave her in the hosp. . But question... phn said to bf for 20 mins..that's grand but how much is that? How much do you express for each bottle?

nikpmup

Madisson wrote: »

Can't believe my lady is 2 weeks already. Considering expressing some milk now and again so I can do something about this barnet of mine. Never did it before because the phn said not to for 2 weeks untill she gets used to bf because she had nipple confusion from a bottle I gave her in the hosp. . But question... phn said to bf for 20 mins..that's grand but how much is that? How much do you express for each bottle?

I just expressed until the milk stopped coming out! About 10-15 mins per breast

Madisson

But say I store some, how much do I put in each bottle?? Probably a stupid question. Like 20 mins of breastfeeding, how many ounces is that in a bottle?

nikpmup

Madisson wrote: »

But say I store some, how much do I put in each bottle?? Probably a stupid question. Like 20 mins of breastfeeding, how many ounces is that in a bottle?

It depends on how much your lady is feeding! I would say to pump until your breast is empty - you'll see it coming out into the pump and then when there's no more coming out you can stop. If you have bottles or bags to store it in, seal it and pump the other breast. I used to store a breastful per bag.
Edit: at my most productive, I was getting anything from 3-6 ounces per breast if that helps!

Madisson

nikpmup wrote: »

It depends on how much your lady is feeding! I would say to pump until your breast is empty - you'll see it coming out into the pump and then when there's no more coming out you can stop. If you have bottles or bags to store it in, seal it and pump the other breast. I used to store a breastful per bag.
Edit: at my most productive, I was getting anything from 3-6 ounces per breast if that helps!

thanks a mill. ..a bit clueless haha don't want to have my hair appointment interrupted with a phonecall due to a hungry baby at home

nikpmup

Madisson wrote: »

thanks a mill. ..a bit clueless haha don't want to have my hair appointment interrupted with a phonecall due to a hungry baby at home

Pump both breasts - that should be two feeds, or one big one.

liliq

Madisson wrote: »

thanks a mill. ..a bit clueless haha don't want to have my hair appointment interrupted with a phonecall due to a hungry baby at home

Could you bring her with you?
I got my hair done twice when my son was quite little, he slept through the whole appointment both times, the buzz in the salon is great for helping them snooze

banbhaaifric

Brought my little girl with me a couple of weeks ago and she was good as gold. When she woke up she had a little feed and then was doted on by everyone there.

Madisson

I would take her with me but not sure ive the confidence to bf in public yet. Ive only fed her at home so far...suppose I have to start somewhere if I dont want to be housebound for the next few months

liliq

Madisson wrote: »

I would take her with me but not sure ive the confidence to bf in public yet. Ive only fed her at home so far...suppose I have to start somewhere if I dont want to be housebound for the next few months

It's unnerving but if its any help I have never ever had so much as a negative side ways look and have always had lovely supportive comments if anyone has even noticed

A support group can be a good one as a semi public feed.

DoctorBoo

My little one only ever feeds for 15 - 20 minutes every 3 hours. My PHN insists this is not enough, even though my baby doesn't appear to be hungry and is putting on weight. Any similar experiences?

Madisson

liliq wrote: »

It's unnerving but if its any help I have never ever had so much as a negative side ways look and have always had lovely supportive comments if anyone has even noticed

A support group can be a good one as a semi public feed.

Thanks a mill...just need to do it once and ill be ok. Ive started being able to feed her on front of visitors so im improving. We're both getting used to it..at the beginning id sit in a room by myself almost in tears with both boobs hanging loose hoping she would latch on and the thoughts of anyone near me would just put pressure on me. Going to go to the support group on thursday

Madisson

DoctorBoo wrote: »

My little one only ever feeds for 15 - 20 minutes every 3 hours. My PHN insists this is not enough, even though my baby doesn't appear to be hungry and is putting on weight. Any similar experiences?

My midwife said that 20 is a decent feed. Sometimes mine takes 20 mins and at night takes 40 but at her 6 o clock feed she never takes more than 15 and I was just told that's nature and once shes having plenty of wet nappies and putting on weight shes fine. I really think some phn's are clueless...the midwives that came out to me from the rotunda were great and gave me so much confidence with bf...my phn couldn't answer any of the questions I had.

liliq

DoctorBoo wrote: »

My little one only ever feeds for 15 - 20 minutes every 3 hours. My PHN insists this is not enough, even though my baby doesn't appear to be hungry and is putting on weight. Any similar experiences?

Some babies are quite efficient feeders from birth. If weight, nappies etc are all ok I would carry on as you are.

Roesy

9 days in and I'm wondering is my milk supply is dwindling. Was fearing this about my right breast yesterday as it did not seem to be producing much when I pumped a couple of feeds instead of feeding her directly. My breasts feel the most normal/soft they have in months. She hasn't fed in three and a half hours and they don't feel anyway full. She's been feeding a lot today and seems quite dissatisfied after the last couple so I'm wondering is she getting enough.

lazygal

Pumping isn't a reliable indicator of supply. Both mine were/are fine feeders but I never got a great amount pumping. I also never really had a very full feeling. I went on wet/dirty nappies and if in doubt cluster fed to keep supply going.

banbhaaifric

Hi Roesy, as lazygal says pumping is never a good indication of your supply. Your baby is much better a getting your milk out than a pump

And it sounds like your supply is just evening out I think. In my experience, my breasts went soft again once they were getting in synch with my baby. They do have growth spurts though where they just want to feed all the time (mine had her first at around 10 days), and the thing to do is just let them feed and your boobs will figure out what's needed and provide it. Amazing really!

I found it quite boring sometimes so it's good to just settle in with everything you need around you. These days for me it's a cup of tea, glass of water, remote control (for all those terrible Christmas movies on Netflix!) and the iPad I was so so lucky to get from my family for my birthday (which was the day I brought the baby home). Forget everything else and treat it as being forced to rest . If you get into a good comfy position you can doze a little too.

My little girl still has an extended on/off feed in the evening, but then goes down for a long time so it's totally worth it

You're doing so great, especially with a blocked duct so early on. And soon you'll start to get the real benefits too. Today I got stuck out of the house for much longer than I thought with work stuff (long story), but I was fine with just a nappy and wipes in my handbag. And roll on the weight loss that apparently kicks in after 3 months! (Just need to step away from the biscuit aisle.... )

Roesy

Hopefully that's all it is. It wasn't really the amount I pumped that bothered me but the lack of fullness in my breasts yesterday and Olivia's hunger. She is 10 days today so maybe it is a growth spurt.

lazygal

I think the first few weeks are one merged growth spurt! Just sit under her or feed lying down and let her work away!

Roesy

lazygal wrote: »

I think the first few weeks are one merged growth spurt! Just sit under her or feed lying down and let her work away!

I've yet to be successful with a lying down feed. Must try again later. Little monkey is just after feeding now and is conked on my shoulder after 2 tiny burps.

liliq

Roesy wrote: »

I've yet to be successful with a lying down feed. Must try again later. Little monkey is just after feeding now and is conked on my shoulder after 2 tiny burps.

I took me ages to figure out feeding lying down but it was a saviour! You won't even need to wake up at night fully! Amazing

holding

DoctorBoo wrote: »

My little one only ever feeds for 15 - 20 minutes every 3 hours. My PHN insists this is not enough, even though my baby doesn't appear to be hungry and is putting on weight. Any similar experiences?

Please don't listen to your PHN. I know that this goes against the grain of posting here, as in you should listen to a trained medical professional over an anonymous person on the internet, but in this case your PHN is totally misinformed. You cannot tell how much food a baby is taking by how many minutes they stay at the breast. You can only tell by their nappies and their overall weight gain and temperament. Every baby is different, and some will only feed for 5 minutes on one side - and this is still enough for them, if all the other indicators are fine!

There are far more incidences of untrained PHNs dishing out awful advice than there are of babies who are malnourished by 'only' feeding for 20 minutes every three hours

liliq

holding wrote: »

Please don't listen to your PHN. I know that this goes against the grain of posting here, as in you should listen to a trained medical professional over an anonymous person on the internet, but in this case your PHN is totally misinformed. You cannot tell how much food a baby is taking by how many minutes they stay at the breast. You can only tell by their nappies and their overall weight gain and temperament. Every baby is different, and some will only feed for 5 minutes on one side - and this is still enough for them, if all the other indicators are fine!

There are far more incidences of untrained PHNs dishing out awful advice than there are of babies who are malnourished by 'only' feeding for 20 minutes every three hours

Dr. Jack Newman is a Canadian pediatrician who has a great website that covers a lot of things like this. He's coming to the la Leche league conference to speak in march.

wolfpawnat

liliq wrote: »

Dr. Jack Newman is a Canadian pediatrician who has a great website that covers a lot of things like this. He's coming to the la Leche league conference to speak in march.

here in ireland?

Nead21

Yes he ll be in Maynooth as far as I know.

How Strange

It's solely thanks to him and his common sense advice that both my children were/are being breastfed past 6 months.

I'd love to hear him speak. Maybe I'll check out that conference.

liliq

wolfpawnat wrote: »

here in ireland?

Yep, Nead21 is right. The Irish conference is in maynooth, in the glenroyal, 1-2 march.
It's a family event, there's always great talks and some workshops. Non LLL members can also attend.

nicowa

Does anyone know how much expressed milk a baby will drink in a day? I know it varies, but is it close to the formula guidelines by weight?

My lady is in the 4 mth guide at 13 weeks. I'm going away for a weekend in mid dec and I'm hoping to have enough expressed and stored by then.

I have a pump but have never managed to get anything using it (I actually think its faulty). Today I hand expressed (before feeding) and got 2.5-3 ounces. If I could do that every day I'd have 60 ounces stored. Divided over 2.5 days its about 24 ounces. That seems to work with the formula guides. But do they need more breast milk than formula?

holding

I would allow about 7-8 oz per feed. Sometimes she will drink more, sometimes less, but it might be a good working average figure.

Some things that helped me pump (it took me 4 months to get anything!) - buying a good pump (Medela Swing), putting pressure on the boob in different ways as I held it (pressing on the top of the flange, or the bottom etc at diff times), looking at pictures and videos of the baby at the start, relaxing. At the start I could only get let-down while the baby was latched on the other side.

Good luck and enjoy your weekend away

ETA I also found that I got most milk first thing in the morning so I would feed him on one boob, then pump from the other while his dad dressed him etc.

kandr10

Hi all
I've been breastfeeding my 9day old and topping up with expressed milk because of her jaundice. The last few days she had been improving with the breastfeeding. She'll latch on more times than not and feeds for 10-20 mins at a time. The community midwife said she should feed from one breast for 20mins each time.
How likely is it that I can ramp up to this consistently? Any tips for keeping her latched on and sucking longer? Also there are times when she just does not latch at all. Did any one else experience this in the early days? One last question...:-) with pumping, can you pump into a bottle, store it in the fridge and feed baby from the same bottle? Or should I transfer to other bottle before giving it to her?
Any help much appreciated :-)