Breastfeeding Help and Support [Archive] - Page 6

snowzilla

10-08-2005, 10:01 PM

snowyZ...that ped is being silly! I'm sure there are bitty babies out there who can healthily and on their own sleep that long, but I doubt there are many! I think it's happened once with us, and it really freaked me out and caused me major boob-pain from the engorgement! I know you have the Baby Book, what does he say about it all?

As for waking her up b/c of the food source right there, I'm just not sure that works for a baby. It's not like the smell of coffee and (soy)bacon wafting through a campground at dawn. :) Rather, I think a baby will sleep *more* if s/he doesn't have to wake her/himself up enough to cry loud enough to be heard through doors just to get fed. :p

LOL @ the smell of coffee and bacon - I was actually wondering if she was smelling milk and waking up for it....j/k...(kinda...) :p

I'd tell you what the Baby Book says, but I'm a little behind on my reading. I stopped to read Happiest Baby On the Block, and No-Cry Sleep Solution....I have it sitting by the bed, waiting to be picked up again! :)

Marisa

10-08-2005, 10:10 PM

Alexis -- I'd wait and see if I were you. I remember being engorged so much at first and then feeling so weird when I went all soft, but not being engorged doesn't necessarily equal low milk supply. Not being engorged is actually normal, that's what you *want* -- being engorged is a nuisance, a temporary condition.

With your oversupply it sounds like you're finally getting to the point where you're regulating and she should be getting a higher quality feeding. I'm glad that your LC's advice seems to be working for you! :)

LexyLou

10-08-2005, 10:13 PM

Seriously Marisa, I love you. ;) You have really eased my mind and are so kind and patient with everyone.

Have you thought of becoming a certified LC? You would be awesome.

Dally

10-08-2005, 11:46 PM

Thanks, Marisa. After reading what you wrote, I did a little research and realized that my DD definitely has symptons of an upset tummy: red on her bum (unusual for her) and foul-smelling, green poop. My diet is very consistent, so I think it is a virus. I'm going to watch it, for now. She seems happier today, so I think it might be passing. If it doesn't clear up in another day or so, I'll take a long, hard look at my diet. I appreciate the information!

mollyeilis

10-09-2005, 12:29 AM

Dally... red bum, green stinky poop in our house = teething

Since you mentioned teething in your other post...you might have another answer to think about. :)

Oh, and you might notice that I went to the site with the avatars. :) Thank you!

Snowzilla, you might have already re-discovered the Nighttime Parenting chapter starting on page 312. But in case you haven't...

"In the first 3 months babies' sleep habits resemble their feedings; small, frequent feedings, short, frequent naps. Tiny babies seldom sleep for more than 4 hour stretches without needing a feeding. They hvae little respect for day or night schedules and usually sleep a total of 14 to 18 hours a day.

"From 3-6 months most babies begin to settle."

Does it help? :)

Now I'm going to re-read the chapter. We've entered yet another land in E's sleeping, nursing, and eating habits, and your question reminded me that I'm not alone out here in nighttime parenting land. :o

Kiley

10-09-2005, 11:11 AM

NIP - we just got back from a trip to PA & NJ. I nursed DS while running through O'Hare (while DH pushed the stroller and pulled the suitcase) to make our next flight. We made the flight and DS's tummy was full. I was more proud of DS for not getting upset with the bumpy ride than myself.

mollyeilis

10-09-2005, 01:24 PM

Wow, while running to catch a flight! Heroic!

We had some recent flights. Just Seattle to San Diego (and back) but there was a stop in San Jose, so more than one up and down. Nursing works quite well to help him through those ear-popping time. But he had nursed and eaten so much by the time we got to San Jose on the way up, he was too full to nurse as we took off, which led to some pain on his part. :( He finally swallowed and instantly it stopped the pain. Whew. Everyone said he was the best-behaved little one on the flight, and most people around us didn't even know there was a baby/toddler nearby. :)

Poor hubby though...E and I sat in the window seat, and hubby sat in the middle seat to "shelter" us...he has really broad shoulders and a big belly, so he was aching by the end of that flight home. Took him days to recover. But I like being protected while NIP, if possible, so he did it. :)

BeachBum

10-09-2005, 02:11 PM

Wow, its a whole page back, but thanks for the info on the bumps on Henry's face. This thread is moving fast!

kindermom

10-09-2005, 03:37 PM

My DD is 7 1/2 weeks. She has BMs about 6 - 8 times a day. With that said, I am concerned that she may be getting diarrhea. I have been looking in to the matter and I can not tell with her. All of the mom's I know use formula.

Sympoms for the past 24 hours or so
1. Her bum is red
2. The number of BMs has not really increased
3. Her BMS have definitely gotten an odor to them (normally not very odorous)
4. She has had a lot of stinky flatulence
5. Her BMs are yellow but have become full of mucus

Do these symptoms point to something to be concerned with? I want to put my mind at ease. I hate to bother the pediatrician but I am sure that they will be called in the morning.

AndreaMMS

10-09-2005, 03:57 PM

What is the average amount of time that a 2 1/2 week-old should eat at each breast?

Thanks!

mollyeilis

10-09-2005, 04:10 PM

What is the average amount of time that a 2 1/2 week-old should eat at each breast?

Thanks!

Well, I only fed from one breast at a time. In fact I ended up using the same breast for more than one milk-meal in a row, to make sure he was getting everything he could from the breast. :)

And at 2.5 weeks, I barely remember him being away from the breast. He was with or on me pretty much all the time, and I don't think I put on a bra for 2 months or so... :D

I'm not much help, am I? But the help I'm trying to give is..."as long as it takes". :)

Dreshny

10-09-2005, 04:17 PM

Andrea: When my DS was 2 1/2 weeks old, he ate for about 40 mins on each breast. I only gave him one at each feeding, and he signaled that he was done by pulling off and going to sleep. But every baby is different...

solongtogo

10-09-2005, 04:56 PM

Andrea: my dd would eat for about an hour at a time, and would pull off when she was done and go to sleep

AndreaMMS

10-09-2005, 05:09 PM

Thanks, ladies.

We're still dealing with low-supply issues, and she'll stay on from 10 minutes to an hour and a half (and still scream for food afterwards), so I was really confused....

wildcat

10-09-2005, 05:12 PM

hey Andrea!

Lauren is a week and a half, and she eats anywhere from 10-20 minutes per breast, generally feeding off both breasts at each feeding. It takes us anywhere from 15mins to an hour for each feeding.

Marisa

10-09-2005, 05:23 PM

kindermom -- the symptoms that you're describing can be attributed to a few different things -- it may be a stomach bug, you can see if it resolves or gets better with future poops. It could also be a food sensitivity, meaning a slight allergy to something that you've eaten in the past few days -- try to recall if you've had anything different that might bother her.

kindermom

10-09-2005, 05:33 PM

Thank you Marisa - I suspect that it is a bug. I can not think of anything in my diet that might have bothered her - unless a allergy suddenly developed. I will definetely be calling my ped in the morning.

mcl

10-09-2005, 06:58 PM

i would like for dh to be able to participate in feeding our son. i pump and was just wondering if anyone has any recommendations for the best nipple to use for bottlefeeding. i would greatly appreciate it.

also, my son is almost 3 weeks old and he has a doctor's appt. on friday to see if he gained back the weight he lost. as i've told you guys on my previous post, he weighed 8lbs 2 oz at birth and went down to 7.8 at his first ped visit. on the two weeks visit, he just maintained. do you have any suggestions for keeping him awake? the minute i put him to the breast, he falls asleep. it's like my milk has sleeping pills. i'd been trying to feed him as much as i can so he can gain weight. i appreciate everyone's help.

solongtogo

10-09-2005, 07:01 PM

i would like for dh to be able to participate in feeding our son. i pump and was just wondering if anyone has any recommendations for the best nipple to use for bottlefeeding. i would greatly appreciate it.

The best bottles are Dr. Browns, followed closely by Avents...I know avent has different size nipples for the different ages, I'm not sure if Dr Browns do..

LexyLou

10-09-2005, 07:08 PM

MCL-My LC said that she prefers Avent #1 but that you have to make sure that you shove the whole thing in DC's mouth. You want to recreate the your nipple as close as possible so don't let him just suck on the tip.

To add to MCL's question about pumping...I would also like to pump so that DH can help me out during growth spurts and I can have a stash for late night feedings but if I'm feeding her every 2-3 hours right now when can I pump and still make sure I have enough for her next feeding?

Also, is it possible for her to be going through a growth spurt at 13 days? She didn't sleep at all last night and kept waking up. She wouldn't scream but she was definitely testy and she would feed a lot but then get disinterested but not fall asleep. She's been like that all day today too. We are having 1 hour + feeds every 2-3 hours which is not like her. Plus I can't put her down without her waking up and getting fussy.

Marisa

10-09-2005, 10:44 PM

mcl - we had some Avents but Joey really preferred the Nuk nipples. Just don't buy too many of one type, I guess! :)

Tips for keeping baby awake -- skin-to-skin contact is great, if you can get him stripped to just a diaper, at the breast, you can wrap a shawl around both of you so he doesn't get cold... Try to keep the room bright during the day, try a cool washcloth on his torso, the back of his neck... he'll be annoyed but it will be worth it in the end if you can keep him on longer.

Are you still switching sides during each feeding, or are you feeding him on one side for a full feeding (or more than one feeding in a row)? By keeping him on one side, burping, then back to the same side, he'll get more of the fatty milk. (I may have already said this, I'm having deja vu... :))

Alexis -- I seem to recall the first three weeks being similar to one big growth spurt. :) Actually, though the norm is to have 'big' ones at 3 weeks, 6 weeks, etc... really they can come at any time.

As for pumping, have you tried catching the letdown on the opposite side while you're feeding her? It takes a little practice and coordination. :) Since you're doing one-side feedings, you can pump, or just hold the pump up, on the other side to catch the milk. Even just passively holding the horn up will get you a little bit, and you can save it and put it all together to make a full serving (I think they recommend you combine milk collected in the same 24 hour period).

Once we started doing a nightly bottle, we got in the habit of doing it right after dinnertime, and my DH would give Joey the bottle while I quickly pumped for the next night. With my supply it would only take 5 minutes or so, then I went off and had "me time" -- you know, showered for the first time all day, indulgent stuff like that. :)

Daniel's Kitty

10-09-2005, 11:46 PM

I was really mean and would wipe Ben down with a cold wipe if I knew he was really hungry for the first few days. He figured out waking up if he was hungry really quickly.

I will agree that the first three weeks seem like a growth spurt.
Although I am thinking that the first two months are one right now. ;)

AmyE

10-10-2005, 10:38 AM

mcl - my DH also wanted more "baby time" and to help out with feedings. After many many trials and errors, we figured out that he prefers the playtex ventaire big nipple bottles. (I forget what they're called - supposed to help with BF.) Every baby really is different, so be prepared to try out a couple. And try feeding with a bottle for a couple of days. It took DS about three days to get the hang of it, trying twice a day with DH. Once he got it down in the daytime, DH took over an early am feeding.

My best pumping time by FAR is after the first morning feeding - which I defined as about 6am. (as opposed to the 4am, 3am, 1am.....) I usually had enough to feed him, pump a couple of ounces, and feed him again with no problem at all at 8am.

At one week shy of six months, DS and I have kept the same-ish schedule - he eats at about 5:30, I pump at 6am. At this point I can usually get about 6-8 ounces after I feed him. (The first time I pumped it was less than 1 ounce! :eek:)I also pump at 11 am, 4pm, and 9pm. The 6am pumping is still the most productive.

LILRTL

10-10-2005, 10:48 AM

I just wanted to post a big YAY for me! After having serious supply issues, I have been able to do ALL of Zack's feedings the last 2 days!!! Just from ME! :D:D:D I cannot tell you guys how happy that makes me!! :D:D:D

cc8

10-10-2005, 11:26 AM

Dally

10-10-2005, 12:18 PM

LILRTL--Congratulations! That's wonderful. :)

mcl--DD does well with Avent bottles/newborn nipple.

Question--I'm still concerned about DD. I wrote a couple of days ago about her green, smelly poops. Well, they are not smelly anymore, or green, but now they are so liquidy! Is it diarrhea? How can I tell? Also, about half the times she eats, DD pops off after eating and starts crying. She's never done this before! And, to top it off, she's eating ALL night now. Every 1-2 hours. I'm so exhausted. She's five months old. Is this all teething? Something else? I'm really at a loss! And I'm starting to question my supply since I don't pump enough (I pump often enough, I just don't respond well to the pump). Please tell me I still have enough for her at home, and that's not why she's crying! Any help/advice is much appreciated by this tired mama.

mollyeilis

10-10-2005, 01:16 PM

Dally, do you feel any tell-tale lumps on her gums? Is she sucking her fingers/hand/anything she can get?

What you describe sounds like a normal day in our house. :) So I'm not inclined to be worried about it.

Do you have DD in your room? If not, that *could* help you with the exhaustion, not having to go anywhere to feed her. Most of the time when DS eats all night I'm not even aware of it, until I wake up and I'm dehydrated.

I always have seen *change* as being good. So her poops changed, and aren't green etc anymore. So I see that as good. I was trying to read the Dr. Sears Baby Book about infant diah(can't spell that word for the life of me!) but it's a really long section and I got distracted. Do you have Dr. Sears' book? It's a good one!

Don't go by pumping, please. It's not a good indicator of what you have.

Also, popping off and crying was always a clear sign of readying for a growth spurt. All the coming off seemed to result in more milk pretty quickly, if I let him do it (not always easy since I had yeast for 6 long, painful months). It just all always seemed normal to me, no matter how weird it might have seemed. :D

Dally

10-10-2005, 02:43 PM

Thanks, Molly! Yes, DD always is sucking on her fingers, hand, etc. She pretty much stops just long enough to eat or smile (and sometimes I have to pull her hand out of her mouth so she will eat!). It must be teething...

I've been wondering about a growth spurt. She's never slept real long periods of time, but this is 1-2 hour thing is new. She is in my room--in a co-sleeper next to the bed (last night in bed after 2:30). The thing is, I never can sleep through feedings--even side-lying. I'm not a great sleeper so when she's up and feeding, I'm up. And sometimes I can't get back to sleep (like last night after 4:30am or so!). When she wakes up just twice a night, I can deal, but 4 to 5 times is a lot with having to go to work in the morning. Sigh.

I do have the Baby Book. I'll look in there tonight.

Thanks for the reassurance about pumping. I've been feeling pretty badly about not pumping enough at work, and my big fear is that I'll lose my supply at home. Hopefully, that's not going to happen!

knzbound

10-10-2005, 03:48 PM

Mastitis question.

How quickly can mastitis come on? I had a plugged duct about 10 days ago and it cleared up within a day. Today I started having pain in the same breast around 11:30 am and I started having chills about 2 hours later. I just took my temp and it's not very high...99. Could this be mastitis? Argh and ouch. TIA for any thoughts.

Marisa

10-10-2005, 05:33 PM

Could be -- chills and a low-grade temp were my first signs, and within about 24 hours I had red patches on the insides of both breasts. Keep an eye on it -- you're aware of the symptoms so if you do have it, you'll catch it early and be able to get a Rx if you need it.

LexyLou

10-10-2005, 05:57 PM

Congrats LILRTL! You must feel awesome!

wendstress

10-10-2005, 08:00 PM

I don't know if this is really a BFing question or a sleeping question but here goes.

DD is 7 weeks old, 10 lbs and is is a HORRIBLE sleeper. She gets up almost every 1.5 hours each night (with say, a stretch of 2 or so hours peppered somewhere in the week, if we are lucky). The past few days, in particular, she's been extremely fussy.

We've tried everything (swaddling, cluster feeding, etc) and nothing is working. And she's been crying a lot lately (her crying pattern has changed and now it sounds really fierce/pained). We've been to the doctor and everything is checking out well health-wise.

Could this be a growth spurt? If so, is it normal for a growth spurt to last a week?

I'd say everything is perfectly normal!

http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/fussybaby.html

The height of baby fussiness is generally right around this time... As it was explained to me, around 6 weeks, babies can suddenly see and hear much more....their filters are off! This causes babies to be overwhelmed, and very fussy.

Every baby is different.... For us, it hit hard at 6 weeks, and lasted until 10-11 weeks. A month of non-stop crying. It was hard, but it did pass. We did have a premie, so that may have played into the non-stop fussing.

godsgift77

10-10-2005, 08:06 PM

Hello ladies --

I just had my DS on 10/4 and I can't seem to pump ANYTHING. i wonder if its my pump. I bought the Playtex Embrace because the silicone suction cups looked and felt more comfy than the plastic cups that Medela had. They were the same price but as of Saturday, I still got nothing. I dunno if it was the level of suction or the speed or what and I am frustrated because DS eats so much – I’d love to supplement with breastmilk instead of formula… if you ladies can help, please do – any advice is appreciated…

Marisa

10-10-2005, 11:07 PM

Congrats godsgift!!! Your son is beautiful! :)

Since you are so newly postpartum I would say to give it another couple of days and then try again. It's really totally normal for a newborn to want to eat constantly -- it's actually quite good for your milk supply to nurse him often, a minimum of 8-12 feedings per 24 hour period. Has anyone shown you how to nurse lying down yet? I had to have my mom help me once I got home from the hospital, but once I got the hang of it it was a *huge* help -- we both got a little sleep that way!

Hang in there and try not to give in to the urge to supplement! Just like the last nine months, this too shall pass! :)

marchfamily

10-11-2005, 11:05 AM

Not sure if this is the best place to post this....how do you go about not-nursing/pumping? After much heartache, I've decided to transition my 9 month old to formula. I usually BF in the morning, pump the other - double pump twice during the day and BF at night. I've dropped one of the pumping sessions. What next? Drop the other pump so I can BF in the morning and night? The am BF session will be tough since I have the best supply in the morning. Any guidance would be appreciated. Nine months (probably closer to 10) isn't bad!?!

Jen1098

10-11-2005, 11:41 AM

Gosh it's been so long since I've been in here.:)

I have a non nursing question. I stopped nursing about 3 months ago. Well in the past couple of weeks I've noticed what looks like a white bump right in the middle of my nipple. I can't figure out what it could be, it won't come off. I'm 9 weeks pregnant so I don't know if it's some form of discharge that won't go away. It doesn't hurt, could it be a blocked duct?
I have an ob appt. next week so if it's still there I'll have him check it out.
Strange.

Any ideas?

TIA

cc8

10-11-2005, 11:51 AM

Hi Jen,

I'm def not an expert but it sounds like you have what I have - a milk blister. Warm compress and nursing/pumping from that side really helped me.

AusAshMommy

10-11-2005, 12:05 PM

Marchfamily ~ I'm with ya, having the same problems w/DD...AF has come & gone and along with it my supply...I'm only getting about 3ozs during my morning pumping and I've just about dropped my afternoon pumping, but Ashley still wants the comfort of Mommy when she's overtired and in the morning...

Anyone...any ideas...Ashley's about the same age as well...

AndreaMMS

10-11-2005, 04:33 PM

Quick question...

How long should fenugreek take to start working? I'm taking 6 a day...

cc8

10-11-2005, 04:53 PM

wendstress - thank you SO much for the info/feedback on fussiness. What a relief to read that! :)

snowzilla

10-11-2005, 06:53 PM

Help!!! I have an emergency dental appointment tomorrow that will likely result in a root canal. Problem is that I have a severe phobia of the dentist. Severe. I'm normally sedated for my appointments. If I am prescribed triazolam or ativan to calm me beforehand, can I pump and dump, and if so, how many feedings should I dump???

Marisa

10-11-2005, 09:38 PM

March -- I think it's great that you've been able to keep going this long. I think you must be to the point in your pregnancy now, though, where your supply is just going to keep plummeting -- it's so frustrating but it's really just hormonal. You did awesome, though, keeping it up until 9 mos.

What I would say -- and Lara, this pertains to your situation too -- is that BFing can be about more than just the nutrition. So if you want to move toward dropping a pump, just do it gradually, wait a few days before dropping another one... even if you feel like you're not getting much, you can get engorged if you drop them too quickly and that can lead to discomfort or even mastitis.

However, if you'd like to nurse your baby in the mornings/evenings, for the bonding as much as for what milk she gets, there's no reason why you couldn't, for as long as you chose. Any milk she gets has some antibodies, which can only help as we approach flu season again.
That's a personal decision, but as long as you're making sure that she's getting plenty of good nutrition from other sources and not counting on those nursing sessions for big meals, that might be a way to 'hang on' a little longer to your nursing relationship. It might ease the transition for both of you (esp. if you have any sadness about stopping). Just a thought. :)

Andrea -- it should be within a couple of days at the most. I've read that you can take up to 3 at a time, three times a day.

Snow -- Hale's 2002 book does not have a ton of information on triazolam except to say that extensive studies have not been done -- he recommends lorazepam (ativan) as an alternative.
He gives lorazepam a L3 (moderately safe), stating that it's not ideal for BFing mothers due to a relatively long half-life; however with short-term or intermittent use, in a low dose, and after the first week of life, its use would be relatively safe. He cites studies where milk transfer 4 hours after doses of 2.5-3.5 mg showed 'insignificant' levels of the drug.

The bottom line is that the half-life of this drug is about 12 hours, so to be completely safe you might want to prepare to pump and dump for that period after your procedure. However, if that is not possible, the fact that levels were 'insignificant' four hours after the drug is administered, and that your baby is older than one week, means that you would likely be safe to resume nursing at that point. Of course be aware of sedation in your infant. -- and of course, know that I am not a medical professional, just quoting from a book. ;)

snowzilla

10-11-2005, 09:44 PM

Thanks Marisa! At the time of my post, I was typing with one hand while nursing Avery, and sitting on hold for the dentist's assistant to grab my chart....now I'm thoroughly confused though, as she recommended the triazolam instead of the ativan. And once both hands were free, I googled breastfeeding and oral sedation for dental procedures, and the kellymom website had an article on it that also recommended triazolam. :confused:

The good news is that I have a nice freezer stash saved up, so it isn't a problem to feed her bottles until it is out of my system. It just seems like a really big inconvenience more than anything, but of course, worth it if there is any question that the drugs might still be in my system.

If only I wasn't such a scaredy-cat! :(

Marisa

10-11-2005, 09:49 PM

Well, I would go with the more current info, and Kellymom probably has that! Like I said, I have the 2002 edition of Hale sitting here, and he doesn't say much about triazolam at all except that it hadn't been studied enough.

I do see that the half-life is much shorter though -- a matter of 1-5 hours as opposed to 12 -- so that's probably a big reason why it is more recommended. :)

Edited to change the half-life, it is now correct, and to say that I looked at the 2004 Hale on Amazon (have you seen this 'search inside the book' it's awesome!). The entry for triazolam looks pretty much the same as my 2002 edition.
I should really buy the updated one but it's $30 and I know he'll have a 2006 edition in about 6 months....

snowzilla

10-12-2005, 08:12 AM

So....half-life means how long it is in my system, correct? If my appointment is this afternoon at 2:45, I take the triazolam at 2 so it will kick in before they start the appointment. So by tonight at 9 or 10, I would theoretically be able to nurse Avery to sleep (pumping and dumping for the feedings prior to that)....last night in anticipation of not being able to nurse her tonight, I tried putting her to bed without nursing her down....HA. Fat chance of that happening. :rolleyes:

lml41981

10-12-2005, 08:14 AM

I am sure this has been asked, so I apologize for the repeat...but I don't have the energy to go back and look.

DD has had some bad latches that have resulted in hickied nipples. Sometimes I swear that instead of milk, she's pulling blood. My left is worse than my right...it is really painful to feed. Is there a way to get them to heal quickly or at least not be as painful to feed?

Also, I am likely going to have to go back to the hospital to receive some blood (lost too much during birth and supplemental iron pills with my prenatals isn't working...I got dizzy and almost fell down with DD last night...not worth it. :(). Will I have to supplement with formula or should I rush out and buy a pump and spend the day pumping a supply of EBM to use? Or...will it not even matter that I got blood and I'll be able to keep feeding?

Dreshny

10-12-2005, 08:35 AM

lml41981: I don't know about your second question, but I had very sore nipples, and here are some of the things that helped:
Lansinoh
dipping them in warm salt water
rubbing breastmilk on them and letting them air dry
changing wet nursing pads frequently
spending as much time topless as possible (so the air hits them)

Marisa

10-12-2005, 08:39 AM

Snow - that is correct - for a normal dose the amount in your system would be greatly diminished by bedtime. Thank goodness! :)

LML -- congrats on your little girl! :) Try to 'air out' your breasts as much as possible, put a little Lansinoh to soothe, or even a little breastmilk.

The only information I can find about transfusions tells me that moms who recieve transfusions shouldn't donate blood for 12 months. So don't, ok? :) Otherwise, the blood has been screened... apart from during the procedure I can't find anything in the literature to suggest that you should stop nursing. If you want to pump a little so that DH has *something* on hand for during, that's up to you. I don't know how long the procedure would take.

tinkerbell2005

10-12-2005, 09:33 AM

I've got a terrible cold. Any idea what I can take for it? DD is almost 7 months and we've been exclusively BFing. I'm worried that my supply will drop in addition to the fact that I can't breath and feel like crap!

Marisa

10-12-2005, 10:42 AM

Tylenol Cold is safe, just take any products with pseudoephedrine as sparingly as possible! -- anything that will "dry up" your sinuses may "dry up" your milk a little bit too (not that you wouldn't bounce back, but it'd be frustrating for sure!)

Daniel's Kitty

10-12-2005, 12:39 PM

HGMorgann

10-12-2005, 02:03 PM

I just say "not now." or do the AAP reccomendation thing and say I want to try to nurse until 18 mo. That usually just stops the questions because I think they think I am a little wierd:-)

I think if you say something in regards that you want to try to do it for a longer amoun of time, rather than a shorter amount of time (even if you change your mind) its better b/c the questions will be stopped for longer.

Alanna

10-12-2005, 02:17 PM

Hi Everyone! Ive been lurking along for some time and now that my baby's due date is drawing near... I was wondering if any of you read any books on breastfeeding or bought any reference-y type books that you would recommend... we are going to take a breastfeeding class on saturday... but I was wondering if there was anything else i could do to help feel a little more informed and prepared... thanks for any suggestions!

jrdhbunny

10-12-2005, 02:20 PM

I liked The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. I wish I had read it before I gave birth.

SiValleySteph

10-12-2005, 02:33 PM

What do you tell people when they ask when you are planning to quit?
I am supposed to put it down on a form that I am filling out. I haven't decided when I am quiting yet so I have no clue what to answer.

Just out of curiosity, what kind of form are your filling out?

I had to answer that question on the form I had to fill out to get a code for the lock on the nursing mothers room. It turns out that the key codes expire, so I think they wanted to know when to set my code to expire. I said 1 year for pumping. :)

Daniel's Kitty

10-12-2005, 02:53 PM

It is a WIC form, I think I will ask what they say at the appt on Friday. The extra food money would be nice since dh was laid off and I eat and drink more now. I can ignore most people who think I am nuts for "still" doing it, he won't even be two months till Tuesday.

I almost quit before 6 weeks but by that time I didn't want to and said I was going to 2 months but I still don't plan on stopping. I love it and when he has gained 4 lbs since birth how can I complain?

Alanna I used websites that I found links for. The best websites I have found are the ones on the beginning of this thread.

Sarah

10-12-2005, 03:47 PM

Kat- Be careful with WIC. It's great to get the extra food, but they can give you a lot of flak for nursing, or extended nursing. I have never gotten WIC, but I know a lot of people who have gotten it, and they had issues with it. Ignore what they tell you if they tell you to wean, or encourage formula use. It does depend on the office, though.

HGMorgann

10-12-2005, 04:28 PM

Daniel'sKitty - sorry I didn't see the part of the post where you had to put it on a form. I thought you meant it sarcastically that you sign a form and show it to random people/family about how long you breastfeed. Sorry!

Daniel's Kitty

10-12-2005, 06:28 PM

I think it would be fun to have something like that, but only strangers seem to have a problem with me bfing him "still" and I don't care what they think, a few more weeks and family may make comments.

Sarah I hope it will be temporary anyway, but I know that it will help right now. I never imagined having a little baby around and trying to live on unemployment. From what I have heard more people have had problems with formula, even though they give the money for that too.

adore_one

10-12-2005, 06:29 PM

kat I am confused why people are having problems with you BF he is still such a little guy

Dally

10-12-2005, 06:40 PM

Daniel's Kitty--Good for you for continuing to BF even in the face of criticism. :)

Question on nightwaking to BF--I keep hearing that a baby my DD's age (5 months) either doesn't need to eat in the night or only need to eat once. DD always BFs at least twice during the night, and sometimes more. Does she need to do this? Should I limit her to just twice a night or even once? I'd like to get more sleep if I could, but it's more important to me to make sure she has enough to eat. Also, two factors for DD are her size (very small for her age, about 11.5 pounds, but growing well) and me having to work. I need to keep my supply up. Anyone have thoughts for me?

Marisa

10-12-2005, 09:37 PM

Dally -- LLL's official position is that it's very normal for breastfed babies to need to eat at night, well past the 6-month mark. Some experts even say that nightwakings can be a normal part of the whole first year.

At her age, many other things can be spurring nightwaking as well. Babies at this stage of brain development are starting to remember things that happen during the day, and though it might not be unpleasant at the time, the memory can jar them awake. Like a 'baby bad dream', you might say. :) Teething is another common reason for nightwaking, starting as early as 3 months, and since BFing is so soothing the easiest thing can be to just nurse and let baby drift back to sleep.

Since she is kind of a peanut, and since your supply is highest/fattiest overnight, I'd continue to let her nurse on demand for the next few weeks, reevaluate then. Can you bring her to sleep with you at some point in the night, once she wakes? For a while when my son was still in his crib that's how we'd start the night, then I'd go get him and bring him to our bed at some point. You might get a little more rest that way so that you can be more alert at work. :)

solongtogo

10-13-2005, 12:34 AM

A question about poop...it's been 24 hours since baby has pooped, but she's nursing just fine. Should I worry? She's 7 weeks old..

lady1297

10-13-2005, 06:51 AM

Just wanted to post a positive NIP story, in light of recent Dr.Phil episodes and all.

I was at Joann Fabric yesterday getting material for DS's new snazzy bibs. He was ready for a nap, but being as we were 45 minutes from home, he had to either deal or nap. I chose nap for him (he's only 14 months, so he doesn't get a say!! :D :D ). So, I parked myself and DS into a comfy chair in the pattern section, pulled up our cart (for a block for DS's distractableness) and started nursing. An older lady (maybe early 60's or so) came up and asked if she could ask me a question. I geared up menatlly for a "You shouldn't be doing that kind of comment". Instead, she asked if I knew where to find apron patterns. So I sat and flipped through books with her until we foudn what she wanted. At which time she turned to me and asked "Are you nursing your son?" Again I geared myself up for criticism and said calmly "Yes". At which time DS popped off and smiled BIG, and Milky at the lady like he was saying "Yes and it's GOOD!!" She smiled and said, "Did you see Dr. PHil this week? That lady was a jerk!" I laughed and we proceeded to talked for about 10 minutes about nursing. She said she even pissed of her sister by nursing at sisters house and how she thought it was great that women nurse in public when their kiddos need to eat. It was so nice!! I was thrilled to converse with her.

Score on for positive feedback!!

Marisa

10-13-2005, 07:06 AM

Lisa -- around that age babies do get more efficient and can start spreading out the pooping. :) As long as she's not physically uncomfortable, and as long as it's not hard and dry when she finally does go, she's not constipated. Just get ready for some big messy diapers! :)

Lady -- hooray for positive comments! Although I haven't had any negatives, I haven't had any positives either. People tend to leave me alone, which is just fine. I have this idea that I must sit there glaring and *daring* people to say something, LOL. :D

lady1297

10-13-2005, 08:15 AM

I have this idea that I must sit there glaring and *daring* people to say something, LOL.

Me too! And no one has ever called me on it...damn! :)

lady1297

10-13-2005, 08:16 AM

Oh, Lisa, I missed your question:

As long as babe is comfortable, don't worry. Like Marisa said.

L-O-V-E

10-13-2005, 08:59 AM

I actually came here to ask a question like Lisa's... My son is 11 weeks old, and ever since he was 5 weeks or so, he doesn't poop daily - sometimes waiting 4 days in between. He never seems in pain, although I do see him trying to push occassionally. The doctor's don't seem concerned and tell me to just give him karo syrup. I know that will temporarily solve the problem, but I'm concerned as to why this happens. Do you think it is my diet? or is this really normal? I always thought breastfed babies had no problems pooping.

Thanks in advance.
Lori

jrdhbunny

10-13-2005, 09:05 AM

Poop frequency- DS only poops once every five days or so- sometimes going a week between um...incidents :D . Then he'll go two or three times in a row and it's always perfectly normal, albeit quite huge in volume. My ped is not concerned; she said pretty much the same thing as Marisa and did not recommend any sort of supplement to get him "going". I'm curious to see what's going to happen now that we're supplementing with formula...

Surftraitor

10-13-2005, 09:25 AM

Anyone have suggestions on removing lansinoh from clothing? I accidentally sat on a tube of it and it is everywhere. TIA

Marisa

10-13-2005, 11:14 AM

Lori -- I'd stay away from Karo syrup if you're thinking of using it -- there's really no need for it. A breastfed baby grows more efficient at nursing as he gets older, and since breastmilk is so easy on their stomachs, easily digested, there's often not so much waste leftover. Add to that the fact that your baby is growing and more capable of - how should I put this - holding more waste, before he feels like he has to go? :)

Anyway, it's totally normal... as long as he's not uncomfortable or passing dry hard poops, as I said. :)

Surftraitor -- I wish I knew... I had several badly stained bras at the beginning that I wound up just replacing.... :(

I've read that you can put corn starch on it, to draw the oils out, and you can try using dish detergent as well. I hope you are able to get it out!!

L-O-V-E

10-13-2005, 11:19 AM

Marisa - That makes a lot of sense that way. My baby is definitely growing - he was 14 pounds and 25.5 inches at his 2 month checkup.

Thanks for putting my mind at ease. :D
Lori

Dally

10-13-2005, 12:13 PM

Thanks, Marisa. You confirmed my instinct. :) But sometimes I do wonder why my baby wants to wake up all night when others sleep so well? :rolleyes: Oh, well. It's nice to cuddle with her in the middle of the night!

happy1nuv

10-13-2005, 03:25 PM

Dally ~ On a good night, I get up with Nic 2-3 times... if im lucky i get one 4 hour stretch out of him...

caffeine question ... i know im not supposed to have any, and i try to watch for it ... i cave occasionally for a small brownie/snack size candy bar which doesnt seem to bother nic...anyway, we're attempting a 4 hour road trip this weekend to visit my family ... and we're going to leave really early (between 4-6am, depending on when nic wakes to eat) so hopefully nic will sleep for a lot of the car ride. i'm driving ... and would LOVE to start w/ a caffeinated cup of coffee. for those that have had caffeine plus nursing .. how does dc react to it? i dont want to do anything that will make him fussy that afternoon ... my aunt is throwing a big party so all the great aunts/uncles/cousins can meet him.... i want im in a good mood, since this will probably be a once a year - if that - trip.

kindermom

10-13-2005, 03:49 PM

happy1nuv - I have about a cup over the course of the morning, almost every morning. My DD will not always take naps in the morning. I just realized that this may be due to the caffeine. :eek: :( But by the afternoon she is fine. She is usually sluggish by 1:00 and down for a nap by 2:00. HTH.

eta: My DD sleeps really well at night. Most nights she will go 7 hours straight, then 3 hours, and then another 3 hours. With breaks between for light snacks. I have also thought that her lack of napping in the morngin was because she slept so much at night. In the morning she is not fussy, she just does not seem to want to nap!

maggieb

10-13-2005, 05:26 PM

Marisa

10-13-2005, 05:29 PM

Maggie -- as long as she's still getting all her nutrition from you, your body will adjust to produce the same amount of milk, just during the day instead of at night. If this is something that she's doing naturally, then it means that she's getting enough during her daytime feedings.

Your engorgement will resolve after a few days of this, but if she begins nightwaking again it will not take more than a few days to go back to having a higher supply at night as well.

maggieb

10-13-2005, 05:32 PM

Thanks, Marisa! My Marisa does nurse every 1.5-2 hours during the day so I guessed she's tanked up for nighttime. Hey, I'll take that! :D She hasn't had any formula and still won't take a bottle, so I'll just trust that she knows what she needs. What a change from Helena!

Mickey&B

10-13-2005, 05:36 PM

Happy I was having about 1-2 cups of caffeine in the morning-afternoon and I found that DS was extremly fussy and was having a really hard time falling/staying asleep which was making us both miserable, anyhow I had to give up the caffeine and DS is doing much better. But I must note that my DS seems to be very sensitive to it because just the other day I tried to have a 1/2 cup of diet coke and let's just say I won't be doing that again. all that being said many people have 1-2 cups of caffeine and their children are fine, however that just wasn't the case with us.

Koala_Gurl

10-13-2005, 05:45 PM

Quick question: Have any of you had a baby who slept a lot at night (8-9 hours straight) and still kept a successful nursing relationship? Marisa has been sleeping from about 8-5 lately and although I certainly am not complaining about her sleep habits, I also don't want to compromise our nursing relationship. I was engorged a bit the first time it happened, but have seem to adjust since then. Anyone successfully bf for over a year even with a good sleeper?

DD is 7 months, and is still successfully nursing, even though she has been sleeping long stretches since about 4 months old. We still have an occasional night feeding, but it just seems to happen once in a while. :)

I am also feeding her *some* solids (oatmeal & some veggies).

NYN

10-13-2005, 05:57 PM

caffeine: i drink WAY more coffee than i'm sure i'm supposed to (about three cups a day) and my DD is a great sleeper and a happy child so i think it's just trial and error. i probably wouldn't try it for the first time that day - maybe you can try two or three days before?

question/problem: my DH is in a wedding and i have to attend the rehearsal dinner and the wedding w/ him so i am going to be leaving my DD w/ my parents on two consecutive saturdays. the day of the RD it will probably only be for 4 or 5 hours but the day of the wedding it will be for the better part of the day. i have a good freezer stash that can be tapped into and plan on giving my mom mostly fresh milk to bottle feed her. so i am covered on that front. my DD will be 13 and 14 weeks. as of now (12 weeks) she still feeds every 2 hours and then pretty much STTN but i still do one or two night feeds (i honestly don't really know b/c we cosleep and most of the time i'm not very aware of when/for how long she is feeding). anyway, i have this part pretty much figured out so i was thinking that it will be smooth sailing. then the other day i took her to the mall and i decided to bottle feed her there instead of nursing. FOUR HOURS into the trip i was super engorged/in extreme pain. i couldn't believe it. should i still be getting this engorged at 12 weeks??? i thought for sure i would only have to pump once at the wedding and not at all at the RD. i thought that at 3 months i would be able to go at least 6 hours w/out being in that much pain. is this normal and is there anything i can do to stop it? i notice that since we have been trying to transition my DD out of our bed i have been getting engorged again at night but it never happened to me during the day. i will occasionally give her a bottle before bed but i guess i haven't been very consistent w/ this. i struggled w/ an oversupply for about five or six weeks after she was born but i really felt like my supply was going to start regulating by this point. i guess i just want to know if i should expect to have to pump several times at the wedding. how many times should i expect to pump in a 9 or 10 hour period (if i am not following my DD's normal schedule?)

sorry this is so long!

solongtogo

10-13-2005, 07:33 PM

You guys were right about my poopoo question, sure pooped today. And it was like a volcano exploding. I've never seen so much crap in my entire life. I have no idea how an 8 lb baby is capable of producing that much...I swear she probably lost 5 lbs with it...

BTB

10-13-2005, 08:36 PM

Sorry to drive-by without trying to help, I don't know the answers to any current questions. :)

But, since today marks 6 months of exclusively BFing DD, I had to come and say thanks to the women here who have been very helpful and encouraging - I really never thought we'd make it this far, but am glad we did, and am looking forward to the next 6 months. :D

SD601

10-13-2005, 08:42 PM

And BTB, thank you for all the help the last few months! I am at two months of BF--he finally latched without the nipple shield at 5 weeks--and never thought I would make it. You had one of the inspiring stories which helped me continue! Thanks to you and all the support I received. This really is an awesome thread.

wendstress

10-13-2005, 08:55 PM

NewYorkNovia - Really, let your body dictate when you need to pump. I start to feel engorged if I go more than 4 hours in between nursing/pumping, and my boy is 5 months old. (Except at night - my BBs have adjusted to longer sleep patterns at night, but that's not really what you were asking....)

If it were me, I'd probably nurse/pump right before you leave for the wedding, and then 2-3 times during the day. It's a drag, but it's no fun to be in pain, either! Good luck!

Marisa

10-13-2005, 09:52 PM

Teba -- I had a few longer outings without my DS starting when he was about 2-3 months old. It seemed like most of our friends got married last spring! :) Every woman's body is different, but I know that I definitely wouldn't have made it through a 4-5 hour event without pumping at least a little at some point. When we attended a concert where I couldn't pump, I had a manual pump in the car for the way home. At our friends' weddings, I also had my pump in the car (by that time I learned my lesson and bought a car adapter for the electric pump). I excused myself at a lull in the festivities, went out to the car, turned on the radio, and pumped for about 10 minutes. I brought ice packs and a freezer bag so I could save the milk (though it's good for several hours just at room temp if it's not hot where you are).

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that it's perfectly normal to get engorged like that at 3 months. I'd say it was well after 6 mos before I felt like my body "settled" a bit.

BTB -- I can't believe it's been 6 months already! Wow, time flies! :) Way to go mama! :cool:

Adam's Pi

10-14-2005, 04:15 AM

BTB Six months?!?!?! Really??? Wow! Congrats, Momma!

NewYork I would still feel uncomfortably engorged at nearly a year on the days I worked. I would nurse DS right before I left (7:30) and not get to pump until noon.

ahavnes

10-14-2005, 09:29 AM

Question. Lately I have been having DH get up for Abbey's night feed and give her a bottle of EBM. I have just taken a promotion at work and am too exhausted/stressed out to get up every night. The problem is that now I have no milk for her in the middle of the night! I tried to feed her last night and she was not amused. After about 10 minutes of screaming, I gave up and went for the bottle. But I miss my cuddle time! Is there any way I can fix this? I'll be honest, I don't know if I'll be able to work through 10+ minutes of screaming every night at 2am. Maybe I can just pump at that time to get my midnight supply back? Ideally, I'd like to alternate middle-of-the-night feedings with DH.

TIA!

happy1nuv

10-14-2005, 10:33 AM

BTB ... Wow, 6 months already...time sure is flying...congrats!!

NYN

10-14-2005, 11:26 AM

wow, what was i thinking???! i guess i will buy a hand pump and ask the bride if i can pump in the bridal suite (no car - wedding is in manhattan). i am really not *ready* to leave dd for such a long period of time as it is so this is just adding fuel to the fire.

thanks ladies.

BTB: congrats!

newyorkgirl

10-14-2005, 11:39 AM

Hi, another question here. We took a hiatus from bottles and pumping for the last 2-3 weeks to fix thrush/plugged ducts/etc. Now we are trying to reintroduce the bottle and I am starting to pump again. The pumping is going sort of slow - I use the Avent Isis since I SAH and have no need for something heavy duty - and whereas I used to be able to get 4-5 oz, I can only get 1-2 oz now. I'd built up a small freezer stash before the problems began, so we started thawing out bags and giving it to DS until pumping starts producing enough fresh EBM.

Problem is, he totally rejects the frozen BM. He's still having a hard time taking the bottle at all, but he will down 1-2 oz of fresh EBM and he won't have anything to do with the frozen. I sniffed it and it doesn't smell soured, but it definitely doesn't smell as good as fresh milk.

Am I thawing it out wrong? I put it in a container of water in the refrigerator the day I'm planning to use it. Or is it just that I have a baby with a very discerning palate and I'm just going to have to throw out my freezer stash?

Also, does anyone have tips on introducing/reintroducing the bottle to an older baby (3 months)? We're just being persistent in at least doing one bottle a day, usually between BFing sessions, but he'll scream, then suck the bottle, then scream, then suck...

Daniel's Kitty

10-14-2005, 08:46 PM

I think some people have issues with my bfing since everybody thinks he is so much older. I have even been asked how is teething is going when he is fussy. If I say he is 8 weeks people don't want to believe me.

I was worried at first about lack of poop until it was explained how little waste there is.

Sarah I found out that the WIC office is very pro bfing here. THere were some great bfing posters there. They seemed so happy that someone wanted to do it, although I am wondering now why so many people would decide not to.

mcl

10-14-2005, 11:33 PM

hi everyone,

just wanted to say thanks for all of the wonderful advice. my son had his peds appt. today for a reweigh and he gained back his birth weight plus more:D . i decided to breast feed him instead of what the pediatrician suggested which is to pump for a week every 2 hours. he gained 14 oz. in one week so thanks for all the wisdom ladies.

HGMorgann

10-15-2005, 05:52 AM

YAY MCL!! Great job!!

Marisa

10-15-2005, 07:12 AM

mcl -- 14 oz. in a week is AWESOME!! :) Good for you, mama!

AndreaMMS

10-15-2005, 07:53 AM

Hi, ladies,

My daughter is getting between 1 1/2- 2 1/2 ounces of EBM per day (supply issues) and the rest is formula.

My question - I have a pretty bad cold and sore throat - is it safe for her breastmilk for me to take any over-the-counter medications? Nyquil/Dayquil, Advil, Motrin....

Thanks,

Andrea

maggieb

10-15-2005, 12:43 PM

Thanks, KoalaGirl! It eases my mind knowing there are others out there whose little ones sleep for long periods and bf is still going strong.

Yeah to BTB for 6 mos! Way to go!

Just a quick update. I am going on week three of the elimination diet and Marisa has not had a rash in several days! I have tried oatmeal and bananas and so far those seem to be fine. I am thinking of adding wheat in a few days to see how she reacts. She sleeping so much better, nursing more peacefully and is rash-free. I hope I can really pinpoint what was bothering her.

alicia-beesha

10-15-2005, 01:01 PM

I'm new to this thread and really don't have a lot of time (like most of us) to read through all 135 pages.

But I just want to know how many of you here had to use a shield to bf your baby? Gabe is just 3 weeks old and we have had latching issues since his birth. I've been introducing my nipple sans shield at most feedings (when he's really hungry and fussy, I tend to not take him off the shield to introduce my nipple) he latches on a little, sucks then stops eating completely until I put the shield back on.

Any words of wisedom, advise, encouragement? I'm getting a bit frustrated, but know that bf'ing is an art that is learned by both mom and baby.

Marisa

10-15-2005, 05:02 PM

Alicia -- We also had to use the shield for a little while, and I know there are other mommies on here who successfully utilized the shield and then weaned off of it.

In our case, the shield helped me heal (very damaged nipples due to poor latch) and forced him to open a little wider as well, I think. I began using it thanks to a LC's advice at 3 weeks, and weaned him off of it about 6 weeks later (I probably could've done it sooner, but I was nervous).

Our first time sans-shield was actually by necessity, we were out and I could not find the shield in the diaper bag. Once I saw that we could do it, I began going shield-free during some feedings until we were entirely done with it. I think it's not uncommon for it to be useful for a number of weeks, but it's a temporary fix -- you'll be able to go shield-free soon!

prudies

10-15-2005, 05:22 PM

Hi Alicia - We also used the shield for what seemed like a long time. One day he just outgrew it. I wouldn't worry about it too much for now. If he's nursing well, that's the important part.

SD601

10-15-2005, 05:26 PM

Alicia, I used the shield from the beginning and he didn't even really latch on that until 2 weeks. Once I saw that he was gaining weight well at about 5 weeks(he was gaining about 10 oz a week!), I decided to try without it. Since the kid was a chunk already, I knew he wouldn't starve and started trying. I waited until he had had a bit already and then took the shield off, wiped my nipple so it wasn't slippery, and latched him. The key is to get him really comfortable because with the shield, it's really easy to get them latched. It's a bit more difficult without it, but I just kept trying. And since the shield helps them open up their mouth wide, I just waited until he opened and shoved it in there:D .After one day I just went without, since I knew when he became hungry enough he would eat. We've been shield free for the last three weeks, and it's sooo much better.

I would somehow make sure he's gaining well before you try. I did a weigh and feed every week with a LC. My DS was early (5 1/2 weeks), so everyone here said he wouldn't really latch well until his due date. They were right.

ETA, yes, I think the key is to be relaxed. I finally decided that if I had to, I would BF for months with the shield. As long as we were BF, it was okay. I think that realization helped me get off it, since I wasn't stressed about not using it!

spps

10-15-2005, 06:48 PM

I have been building up a freezer stash of breastmilk, and last week I defrosted some for my DS and I noticed that it smelled bad. So I defrosted some more with the same results. It had either been frozen right away, or stored in the back of the fridge for < 24 hours before freezing. What is causing it to go bad so quickly and how can I prevent this?

TIA!

mollyeilis

10-15-2005, 06:56 PM

I've asked the same thing and was told that it's not bad, it just smells funky. :) There has been discussion that if your baby has a bad reaction to it (won't drink it or whatever) then scalding it before freezing it can help. Something to do with lipase? I dunno.

I found that my milk, once frozen, smells like wet dog. Nasty! But if E is in the mood to drink it (we use it mainly for teething "emergencies"), he'll drink it. If he's not he won't. The smell has never made a difference...

Here's (http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/lipase-expressedmilk.html) what the ever-helpful kellymom site has to say about it.

HGMorgann

10-15-2005, 07:11 PM

Hi...
I have a bad bite on one side (broke skin). I think it might even be a little infected. Ugh! So what should I do?
Today, I barely let her nurse on that side - I nursed on the left all day and then offered the right *if* I had to (it only ended up being 2x and just for a minute). I just pumped the right, so I don't get engorged and I don't want to lose all of the right side supply.
I also offered a little more solid foods and gave her 2 oz. of formula. (She ate about 1/2 of a banana today...but thats it)

Would a nipple shield work or help? (she doesn't take bottles though...)
Can I put something on the cut besides Lanisoh? Neosporin perhaps?

I've always been blessed with a good supply and normally feed off of one side per feeding. I know woman can nurse soley off one side, so I hope tomorrow the left side will produce more milk...but not sure if that will happen. I am eating oatmeal and drinking lots of water....

I'm hoping its not infected, but think it might be. Does that warrant a trip to the doctor? Anything else I should do? I hope that tomorrow I don't have to give formula, but I had no stash...now I do:-)

mollyeilis

10-15-2005, 07:48 PM

I have *no* idea how this would feel on a nipple, but I tend to use hydrogen peroxide on cuts. Just once, to sort of clean it...haven't gotten anything infected yet.

But again, I have NO idea how that would feel. Hubby always says the hydrogen peroxide hurts on cuts, but I don't usually notice that. But if you try it and it hurts, I've warned ya, right? :confused: :o

moderngal

10-15-2005, 08:19 PM

HGMorgann~ I would clean with sterile saline (the kind you use for contacts is fine if you happen to already have it) and try to let it air dry. Saline is preferable to peroxide because it doesn't break down healthy tissue in wounds. If you think it's infected, I would at least call a doctor- human bites can be bad since human mouths are filled with germs.

spps

10-15-2005, 09:42 PM

mollyeilis - Thanks for the info! Once the milk starts to smell ds REFUSES to drink it and we are already struggling to get him to take the bottle. I am definitely going to try to scald it next time I pump. I don't really want to have to resort to formula once I go back to work.

BeachBum

10-16-2005, 06:04 AM

Can I put something on the cut besides Lanisoh? Neosporin perhaps?

I would wash it with antibacterial soap--the liquid kind that you use to wash your hands, then put Lanisoh on it to moisturize.

newyorkgirl

10-16-2005, 06:18 AM

Has anyone had to have fillings while BFing? I was just at the dentist last Friday. He wants to fill in a pre-cavity, as well as take out a couple wisdom teeth. I got him to hold off on the extractions, but he told me to schedule the filling asap. Should I hold off on the filling? Or is there pain medication that's safe to use?

Marisa

10-16-2005, 06:55 AM

Erika -- most dental work and the accompanying pain medication is safe for BFing. You'll probably find this helpful:

http://www.kellymom.com/health/illness/dentalwork.html

shushyk

10-16-2005, 11:20 AM

Hi ladies,

I just had my son on wed. and so excited!! My milk came in yesterday and had a few questions for you experts :)

I wasn't planning on giving him the paci at all, but he was constantly wanting to suck on me, and it was so painful even latched correctly. so we gave him the paci yesterday and then last night was horrible. I was up ALL night. He was frustrated, and couldn't get enough kept going from boob to paci to screaming.

So first question - should we stop the paci? If we don't give him the paci, he is constantly looking for his hands to suck but we swaddle him so that can be frustrating for him too.

Next question, my bbs are so sore, is it bad to NOT wear a bra?

Thanks I welcome any and ALL advice, it was a really hard night and my poor sons cry is horse from whaling all night.

chloechloe

10-16-2005, 11:39 AM

Okay I need help again:confused: My DD is still not eating much. Except of course if all I fed her is cottage cheese, grated cheese, Raisins, watermelon! How do I get her to eat more?????? She is still getting 90% of her nutrition from nursing!!! I should be able to cut down but if I try she FREAKS out.....begging for the boobie......................................So she is over a year, and still nurses.....SEVEN times during the day......and still night nurses although I am asleep when she does so I have no idea how often. Please suggestions on foods to try etc, would be appreciated. I am aiming to cut out one nursing session but I get weak when she begs and I always end up nursing her. Can I baby survive on Cheerios, raisins, cottage cheese and watermelon??
Am I ever going to be able to wean her, she is just so dependent on mamas milk:confused:

Marisa

10-16-2005, 11:43 AM

shushy - Welcome to your new baby BOY!!!

I promise it will get easier. The first few days are going to be hard for both of you -- he's confused and disoriented, he's not sure what this 'hunger' feeling is since he's been 'eating' non-stop, round-the-clock every time your heart beats for the last 9 months...
For you, it will take a little time to get used to the sensations (which can be painful at first!) Just stay on top of the latch issue, it's easy to let it slide when you're so tired in the beginning.

The need to suck is *extremely* powerful in the beginning, it's one of baby's instincts to get your milk IN! Now that your milk is in for real, he will likely be settling his sucking need just a little, and able to start spacing his feeding just a little. And by spacing, I mean going for a half-hour in between instead of 10 minutes. ;)

Seriously, though... it takes just a little bit of transition to get them comfortable with the idea of eating... then not eating... then eating again... etc. My advice would be to ditch the pacifier as much as possible -- if he needs to suck constantly and you can't stand to nurse anymore, Dr. Sears recommends a clean pinky (bonus: dad has pinkies too!) -- it works just as well, and it won't hurt his latch the way the artificial nipple might. (Has to do with the way his mouth moves with the paci as opposed to with the breast.)

Most newborns have their days and nights mixed up for a couple of weeks, too. My best advice is to take to your bed with the baby. Learn how to nurse lying down so that you can snooze while he does. Take advantage of your husband or whoever else is offering help -- they should be bringing you meals and water in bed for the next few days as you recover and adjust. Now is not the time to take care of the house or the laundry, or visit with well-meaning guests (unless *you* want to). By all means, leave your bra off!!! :) I actually wore a t-shirt and PJ pants for about 2 weeks, no bra, just carried a hand-towel or cloth diaper in case I started to leak. When I was comfortable, I wore one of those super-stretchy sleep bras, just to hold pads in place or give a *tiny* bit of support. Airing out your nipples will actually help, though, if they're sore.

The next few weeks will be challenging... he's going to want to have a growth spurt at around 3 weeks which will be another stretch of eating around the clock for a day or two.... then another at 6 weeks... and then it typically does get easier for most moms as they fall into a bit of a routine and work out any kinks. Hang in there, ask us whatever you like, and if you feel up to it, look for a LLL meeting near you in the coming weeks. We loooove to see the new babies :D, and it's great to have a shoulder to lean on in person. :)

chloe -- it can be hard! Joey only began to try solids around a year, so we were in pretty much the same boat as you. Does your DD have any known allergies? Joey was never into the mild, sweet foods as much as the slightly spicy -- he loves olives, for example! He'll eat pasta with a tomato sauce (not baby sauce, the same one we're eating). Black beans and rice (mildly spicy) -- beans and rice are great for babies, good protein/iron source!
If she's ok with cow's milk, you could give her small chunks of cheese... ETA - I missed that you're doing this already! :)
I promise, she will not be so dependent on you forever. Joey started eating real 'meals' (along with nursing 4-5 times a day and at night) around 15 months. Some days he still doesn't eat a ton, but it all balances out over the course of a few days (which is how, I'm told, you should look at toddler nutrition. Some days they will eat 2 pieces of apple and a handful of Cheerios, but over the course of the week they'll actually have a pretty balanced selection.)

Mickey&B

10-16-2005, 04:47 PM

My DS will be 8 weeks this week, and it seems like he wants to eat like every 1 1/2 to 2 hours (unless he has fallen asleep in which case it's usually 3 hours) when do infants start to stetch out their feedings. It feels like he is just snacking and so eating more often. At 6 weeks he was 13lbs 3oz and his ped mentioned overeating but I know you can't overfeed a strickly breastfeed baby, but I started to wonder if he was gaining weight too fast :confused: should I be concerned?

Marisa

10-16-2005, 05:18 PM

M&B -- you're absolutely right, you can't overfeed a BF baby. Sounds like he's going to be a chunky one like my son, who was 20 pounds at 4 months. Nearly a year and a half later, my son is still only 29 pounds. Many times BF babies chunk up at the beginning and slim right down when they get mobile, usually right around a year.

As for spacing feedings, I found that happened right around/after the 3 month growth spurt. Seems like at that time they're finally big enough to hold enough milk in their stomachs to last a little bit longer. They're also old enough to really interact with their environments so it's not all about eat-sleep-poop anymore. :)

At 8 weeks I think we were smack in the middle of cluster-feeding-land... we'd park on the couch around 7, 7:30 every night, and watch every tivo'd show imaginable until about 11 PM... the only time I'd move was to switch sides. Thank goodness for Tivo!! :)

mollyeilis

10-16-2005, 06:22 PM

Next question, my bbs are so sore, is it bad to NOT wear a bra?

It's great to NOT wear a bra in the early days. Easy easy access!

Can baby survive on Cheerios, raisins, cottage cheese and watermelon??

Baby can survive on those things AND breastmilk. :) My half sister only had breastmilk and candy (from her older brothers) and supposedly rice (that's what my stepmom says now, but I never saw it back then) for more than 4 years of her life, and she seems to be a smart, healthy 10 year old now. :)

I myself was nursed until I was 4 (when my little brother self-weaned at 2), and so I can assure you that even though it *seems* they'll be nursing forever, eventually, it does stop. :) As my mother always said, she never saw a still-nursing college student. ;)

pgbg

10-16-2005, 07:48 PM

How would I know if DS had any allergies? He's eating well, gaining weight and is wet/poopy all the time. He started having what the Ped said was acne on his face at around 4 weeks (whiteheads with some redness). Now (6 weeks) his cheeks are more dry with a kind of scaly redness to it (no more pimply things, just redness and some small red dots on his neck). No rash around the anus, which I read in an earlier post could be from allergies. Any ideas? Is this just how acne changes in babies? The other reason I ask is that he sometimes pulls off the nipple while feeding and screams. He usually latches right back on, or needs to be burped, and he doesn't do it all the time...but when he does it just seems that my milk bothers him SOO much. Help!
THANKS!!

lil_nance

10-16-2005, 08:31 PM

My nipples are KILLING me! They are so sore, kind of a stinging, burning feeling. It feels like this both when DS is nursing and when he isn't. They've been a bit sore off and on this week but the more severe pain came on today and hasn't let up much. My nipples don't seem noticably irritated, perhaps a little dry. I checked DS and don't see any signs of thrush in his mouth. Is this thrush? Something else? Treatment? Do I call my OB or my regular doc to check this? I really need to do something because it's interfering with my desire to BF. We've been BFing for 3mo and things were finally going great, now this. :(

mollyeilis

10-16-2005, 09:17 PM

You can easily have yeast without baby having (or having obvious) thrush. I should know! (6 painful months...)

Marisa has the western medicine info, something like diflucan? Or nystatin.

Meanwhile I just waited it out. But a month or so ago it came back, and I'm now treating myself with grapefruit seed extract (taking it orally to get into my system) and acidophilus tablets. Seems to be working! Nipples aren't bright pink anymore and I haven't wanted to scratch off various parts of me in awhile...:rolleyes:

One thing I felt in my nipple/breast/chest with yeast, is a deep pulling, tugging sort of pain. I guess that's a sign of yeast in that area.

Marisa

10-16-2005, 10:04 PM

pgbg -- in my (non-dr.) opinion, if it was just acne he would have had it all along. My son's major symptom of his dairy sensitivity was a red, bumpy rash on his cheeks, forehead, and chest. Although it resembled the bumps he had in his first week of life, this was a little angrier and was accompanied by some serious gas/fussing. I eliminated dairy and within about a week or so his skin had cleared up and he was in a better mood most of the time. (I also eliminated soy; when I substituted things like soy milk his skin was clearer but his gassiness was worse. I used rice or nut milks in place of cow's milk for about six months.)

If you're interested in finding out for sure, dairy is probably the most common culprit. Try to cut out all obvious dairy for a week or so (can take up to two to fully leave your system). If his skin clears up, it's probably related.

Nancy -- it does sound a little like the beginnings of thrush. Since he's not experiencing any symptoms, you may be able to nip (LOL, no pun intended) it in the bud by piling on the probiotics. You can take acidophilus capsules with every meal, and if you feel like you're already in the middle of a yeast infection you can even double up on the dose until your symptoms subside.

As Molly mentioned, there are also meds that can be prescribed -- Nystatin in ointment form, Diflucan pills as a systemic attack... but I think you can catch this early and get relief from your symptoms without meds at this point. Give it a shot.

(For dry nipples, I was just reading that olive oil works well in place of lanolin ointment when dealing with yeast. Who knew? :))

chloechloe

10-17-2005, 06:10 AM

THRUSH--what about using gentation violet (not sure if that is spelled right?) That is I think what the midwife recommends.

chloechloe

10-17-2005, 06:29 AM

[chloe -- it can be hard! Joey only began to try solids around a year, so we were in pretty much the same boat as you. Does your DD have any known allergies? Joey was never into the mild, sweet foods as much as the slightly spicy -- he loves olives, for example! He'll eat pasta with a tomato sauce (not baby sauce, the same one we're eating). Black beans and rice (mildly spicy) -- beans and rice are great for babies, good protein/iron source!
If she's ok with cow's milk, you could give her small chunks of cheese... ETA - I missed that you're doing this already! :)
I promise, she will not be so dependent on you forever. Joey started eating real 'meals' (along with nursing 4-5 times a day and at night) around 15 months. Some days he still doesn't eat a ton, but it all balances out over the course of a few days (which is how, I'm told, you should look at toddler nutrition. Some days they will eat 2 pieces of apple and a handful of Cheerios, but over the course of the week they'll actually have a pretty balanced selection.)

No known allergies, she will eat a few beans though. It is just that I thought she should be eating more food by now. She is about 22 pounds and very tall so she is slender, and extremely active. I really wanted to wean by a year but I am not reconsidering, possible until the end of flu season, would DD have a benefit being nursed through flu season??? So that would give me until Feb or Mar to completely wean!

Molly--I can't imagine nursing until she is 4, for me I just picture babies nursing. Although I do love cuddling and nursing her alot, I am probably the one holding up the weaning too!

Dreshny

10-17-2005, 06:42 AM

I've been reading along with this thread and noticing my DS still nurses as frequently as a newborn (he's 4 1/2 months old.) He nurses to sleep during the day (and takes frequent short naps) and when he wakes up, too. So that's like every 2 hours, plus 1/2 hour AFTER each feed, too. He also still cluster feeds at night--I go to bed with sore nips. :rolleyes: Then he wakes twice to eat during the night. (If he's with DH he doesn't nurse to sleep, but he insists if I'm around.)

Per LLL, this is fine and I can't overfeed him. His ped thinks he needs to cut out the night feedings, since he slept through the night on his own for two weeks when he was 3 months old, but I think he's teething and needs the comfort.

But my question is, will he always nurse this frequently? I'd love to have a break sometime, and the amount of spit-up he produces is insane.

Also, does anyone know how safe nursing is as a form of birth control? I don't have my period back, I'm nursing round the clock, and we co-sleep for part (well, usually most) of the night. DH and I use condoms, mostly, but I'm just wondering.

happy1nuv

10-17-2005, 08:10 AM

roseanne ... no advice but nic still does the same ... if we go out somewhere, he usually goes 3 (i can sometimes push him to 3 1/2 or 4) hours between feedings, but at home its closer to 2 - 2 1/2 hs (i think i bore him)... one o these days ill write down when nic wakes at night, but i think that its every 3 hrs then too... my ped is starting to suggest thinking about st, but im not ready yet..

diedra1027

10-17-2005, 08:56 AM

Dreshny and happy1 - I swear we need to start our own support group! Avery is still nursing frequently as well. Very similar to Nic, she'll stretch it out if we are out and about but wants to nurse every 2 hours or so if we're kicking around at home. We've been doing some supplementation due to her weight gain issues and even that hasn't changed her eating pattern (although she seems to have become more efficient at the breast which I wasn't expecting!). As far as nursing as BC, I've heard that it's effective until baby is STTN, but I'm not sure if that is accurate. I had some problems with high prolactin before I got pg (my period completely stopped when my PRL level was just a tad above normal), so I actually feel very comfortable using nursing as our only BC method right now.

dbers

10-17-2005, 08:59 AM

Anybody go on birth control with BF? My OB gave me a *mini pill* that's safe for breastfeeding, but she said it's not quite as effective as a regular pill. She did mention that the pill combined with BF should protect us.

Warning for BFers - I have a friend who assumed she couldn't get pregnant while breastfeeding, and she's now having a second baby in the same calendar year as her first!

Mickey&B

10-17-2005, 09:29 AM

Anybody go on birth control with BF? My OB gave me a *mini pill* that's safe for breastfeeding, but she said it's not quite as effective as a regular pill. She did mention that the pill combined with BF should protect us.

My midwife said the same thing, as long as you exclusivly BF. Basically she said it's better than nothing. I just didn't want to risk getting pg again, and or effecting my supply, so we use condoms for now. We talked about and IUD which is another option for nursing moms but my DH and I decided we really werent' comfortable with it.

solongtogo

10-17-2005, 10:04 AM

If after you feed your baby, and she spits up, is she hungry again? I know it's a dumb question, but since she spit up all the food, does she need nursed again?

cc8

10-17-2005, 10:08 AM

lml41981

10-17-2005, 10:42 AM

wendstress

10-17-2005, 10:56 AM

Is it normal for a baby to eat for 5 minutes and then conk out? Sometimes she goes into a deep sleep and I can't get her to eat again for an hour or so. My mom was able to wake her up and then I'd put her back on the boob and she'd do a weak suck for a few seconds and then slip off the nipple and conk out on the boob again.

This was common for James as a newborn. In the beginning with him, I'd often use a cool washcloth on his forehead, belly, arm, etc. to keep him awake enough to nurse. Open up her clothes, too, so she's not as comfortable and she'll eat more.

James was a premie, so it was important to keep him eating to get his weight up and get rid of the jaundice....

SD601

10-17-2005, 11:55 AM

solongtogo: I had this question, too, and people advised me that if my DS still seemed hungry after he spit up, then go ahead and feed him. He does this in a growth spurt, spitting up and then eating again. Silly boy.

newyorkgirl

10-17-2005, 12:47 PM

My DD has started rejecting the bottle - whether it has formula OR pumped milk. She only wants my boob. How can I get her back on the bottle? Before this new phase, she was switching beautifully between breast and bottle AND between EBM and formula.
cc8, how old is your DD? Sometimes, when they are reaching developmental milestones and going through growth spurts, they want the comfort of the boob and won't take the bottle.

We've been trying to work on getting DS to take the bottle again, with *very* limited success. The first time he went on a bottle strike, we realized it was because we were also feeding him vitamin supplements - which he did not like. Are you feeding your DD any medication/vitamin supplements? We stopped the vitamins for a couple days and then resumed the bottles, and DS was happy to drink from the bottle. However, we then had problems with plugged ducts and thrush, so we stopped pumping and bottle feeding (which, in hindsight, wasn't so smart, but at the time, I needed him to nurse to help me dislodge some of the plugged ducts and open milk blisters). A couple weeks later, when most of our problems were behind us, we started to reintroduce the bottle, but DS began to reject the bottle again. Now he screams when we offer it to him. He'll suck for a few seconds, then scream again, then suck again.

I was reading some resources on kellymom.com last night, and discovered that we may have been going about it wrong. We don't forcefeed him the bottle per se, but we are pretty persistent about trying the bottle at least once a day. The website articles were saying that feeding shouldn't be unpleasant, and if he cries, then you shouldn't keep trying to bottle-feed him. That's frustrating, because all DS does is cry.

There are going to be a couple situations in the coming month when we are going to be leaving DS with a babysitter and *need* him to take a bottle.

So I guess I don't really have any true advice, but I totally commiserate.

moderngal

10-17-2005, 01:17 PM

birth control~ I have no idea. I can't take the pill, so we're using barrier methods now. :rolleyes: I also got my period back last week and never supplemented, so I guess that's out for me. (DS is 5mos).

solongtogo~ I only feed DS after he spits up if he's showing more hunger cues.

So, DS is just 5 months old now and is sick. We went to the pediatrician again today and they confirmed he has bronciolitis (sp?) and possibly RSV. They gave him a home nebulizer treatment, which he *hates* and therefore I hate. The nurse told me I need to make sure DS gets plenty of fluids, which makes sense, but she said to give him a bottle of water or pedialyte. I don't really see how pedialyte can be any better for him han nursing, especially since I am home with him and it's coming straight from the tap. Do I really need to give him pedialyte or water?

HGMorgann

10-17-2005, 01:22 PM

Moderngal
For sicknesses, my pediatrician gives instruction sheets for that age, and it said for BF babies, to just nurse and try to increase nursings.

For FF babies, it said to do formula w/ pedialite.

However, this is just "general" like for colds/vomitting.

Personally, I would BF only. It is full of antibodies and good stuff to make your little one better.

This is what Kellymom says:
"My baby is sick - should I continue to breastfeed?
By Kelly Bonyata, IBCLC

Absolutely! Anytime a sick baby is able to take anything by mouth, it should be his mother's milk. Mom's milk provides antibodies specifically tailored to fight baby's illness, and is quickly and easily digested."
http://www.kellymom.com/health/illness/baby-illness.html

"When baby is sick, moms are sometimes told to discontinue or restrict breastfeeding and substitute an oral rehydration therapy such as Pedialyte. This outdated practice has been shown to offer no benefits to the breastfed baby, and can even delay healing"

Mrs.Chappy

10-17-2005, 03:38 PM

ok, i have had these blocked milk follicles/milk blisters for several weeks. Nothing is relieving them. A girl in my playgroup receommended i soak with a warm compress and 'relieve' them with a steralized needle then have DS nurse. I am hesitant b/c OUCH and what if there's an infection...it is so painful..first there was one, now there are two. the older one looks as if it is turning yellowish..i know its gross.

catmom

10-17-2005, 03:53 PM

Just wanted to say (ok, brag) that as of tomorrow, we will have been nursing for 7 months! I am so happy. After we had to start supplementing, I thought that would be the end of nursing for sure. I even planned on weaning, but it never happened. With all the problems we've had, I never thought we'd make it this far in a million years. But here we are! And DD is still nursing 5-6 times a day. Every time she nurses I think about all the great stuff she's getting and it makes me really happy.

Now we just need to work on the biting..... ;)

BeachBum

10-17-2005, 04:13 PM

Is it normal for a baby to eat for 5 minutes and then conk out? For a newborn, yes. Sometimes I would try to wake him and get him to eat more. Sometimes I would just wait that hour or so and try again.

solongtogo My reference books say that they aren't spitting up nearly as much as you think they are. So generally I wouldn't worry about it. Sometimes when Henry would spit up I would offer him the boob again, and he would eat again, then spit up again. Sometimes I think I was making him spit up by overfeeding him.

moderngalLove the new avatar--he sure is a cutie! :)

newyorkgirl

10-17-2005, 08:21 PM

Mrs.Chappy, I was dealing with milk blisters for over a month! The only thing that worked was this:

-OTC version of Dr. Jack Newman's All-Purpose Nipple Ointment (2 parts Polysporin, 2 parts Lotrimin, 1 part 1% hydrocortisone cream - mix thoroughly)
-one cotton ball soaked in olive oil
-one diaper filled up with water (we use Pampers Swaddlers, although I would assume that most diapers use the same gel-absorption technology) and microwaved 20 seconds at a time until it is as warm as your BB can handle - this is the moist warm compress - the diaper stays warm longer than a moistened washcloth.

Apply APNO on the nip - don't skimp, but don't slather the nip either. Cover with the olive-oil-soaked cotton ball, then position the heated diaper compress over the nip as well as the plugged duct. I keep it in place by wearing a tank top with a shelf bra. Continue to reheat the diaper when it cools down and reapply. Just before you nurse, remove the diaper and cotton ball and soak your BB in very warm water. Then, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water, moisten a washcloth with warm water, and rub the washcloth over the blister to try and break it. If this does not work, you can also use your fingernail to try and break it open. (Don't use a sterilized needle unless nothing else works - I tried it once and my nip was really painful afterward.) Once the blister opens up, nurse/pump immediately, massaging the plugged duct to help the milk flow out.

Afterwards, wash your BB with soap and water, let air dry, then apply APNO again to help heal the nip. Supposedly, you can use Lansinoh, too, unless thrush is the reason for the milk blisters. If this is the case, Lansinoh actually helps provide a warm, moist environment for the yeast to grow - then only use the APNO.

lil_nance

10-17-2005, 08:33 PM

unless thrush is the reason for the milk blisters. If this is the case, Lansinoh actually helps provide a warm, moist environment for the yeast to grow I didn't know this. I use Lansinoh ALL the time. I think we have a mild case of thrush. I have a dr. appt. tomorrow. I did not use Lansinoh at all today and have to say my nipples have been happier.

Has anyone else used the OTC version of Dr. Jack Newman's All-Purpose Nipple Ointment? I'd like to hear more feedback on this.

Koala_Gurl

10-17-2005, 08:47 PM

Congrats, Catmom!!! Your post made me realize that DD turned 7 months on Sunday, I also can't believe I made it this far (I just said I would go as long as it was working...well, it is so easy now!)

Sunday was actually DDs first full day away from me, and when need be, she took the bottle (yeah!!!)

Pumping story - So, in case anyone needs to know, first aid is a great place to pump while at an Oakland Raider game, LOL!!! I was shocked to hear that at least one woman per game goes in there to pump (who knew?!?!) ETA: I had to pump, since I flew up to Oakland in the AM from down south, and didn't get home until 10pm.)

mcl

10-17-2005, 08:53 PM

hi ladies,

does anyone know where i can get the ointment for milk blisters? jack newman's all purpose nipple ointment?

Adam's Pi

10-18-2005, 04:59 AM

My nipple/boob pain has not gone away. It happens after I nurse DS on that side (we're a one side at a time nursing...uh...duo?). It eventually fades but keeps on coming back. Who do I see about pain after nursing? An ob/gyn? Family practice? TIA, ladies.

newyorkgirl

10-18-2005, 06:25 AM

mcl, I got a little vial of the APNO from the lactation consultant I saw. After that, she told me how to mix the OTC version, which I think is probably more useful in helping to prevent further problems than fixing current ones. If you want the prescription version, you may have to get your GP or OB to prescribe it for you, then you have to find a compounding pharmacy to mix it up. I think it can also be expensive too, which is why the LC I saw told me to just mix up the OTC version.

The handout for APNO is here (http://www.kellymom.com/newman/03b-treatments_sore_nipples_breasts.html#apno), you can print it out and take it to your doctor.

cynder

10-18-2005, 07:03 AM

Sleepy baby YES! My DS was the sleepiest nurser. As soon as he saw a boob, he would go to sleep. It's normal but try real hard to get her awake so they get used to eating awake. There is no need to force it unless there are weight gain issues. We would undress, wash his face, change his diaper, sing to him, stroke his face/back - everything.

Milk Blister Is there any other place besides a LC to get that ointment? I have had a milk blister for close to 2 months now. It popped the other day pumping. TMI here but I had bloody milk. Scared the crap out of me. DS has a good latch but it seems that this boob is the one that gets the blisters. Is there something corrective that I can do to prevent this?

NYN

10-18-2005, 10:16 AM

There are going to be a couple situations in the coming month when we are going to be leaving DS with a babysitter and *need* him to take a bottle.
erika, don't know if this is very comforting but my LLL leader has a 2-year-old and she said that for the first three months that he was in day care he wouldn't take a bottle AT ALL for the ten hours that he was there but then he'd nurse all night and as she pointed out he survived and is healthy. i was worried about this b/c DD is very inconsistent about taking the bottle (almost as inconsistent as i am at offering it, HAHA) and i have to leave her for the first time next week.

nursing as BC: i am curious to know more about this as well. i keep on remembering this woman in my OB's office who had a newborn when i was 9 weeks pregnant and was getting an u/s done when i was 9 months PG to confirm another pregnancy, lol.

LeslieR

10-18-2005, 10:46 AM

my LLL leader has a 2-year-old and she said that for the first three months that he was in day care he wouldn't take a bottle AT ALL for the ten hours that he was there but then he'd nurse all night and as she pointed out he survived and is healthy.

Thank you for posting this! My son is another one that will not take a bottle. There will be a couple times in December that I will be away from him for +8 hours and I am so worried about it. Everyone insists that if he is hungry enough, he will take the bottle. I don't think so. Truthfully, I'm more worried about him crying the whole time I'm gone.:( We're still going to try every day to get him to take the bottle, but reading stories like these make me feel a little bit better about leaving him for that long.

jrdhbunny

10-18-2005, 10:51 AM

It was nearly impossible to wake DS if he fell asleep at the boob and I tried everything! Undressing worked the best, but even then once he got used to being naked, he would just doze off again. But he gained four pounds in the first two months, so I guess he got enough!

For birth control, I'm so paranoid about getting PG that we still use condoms, even though I haven't had a visit from AF yet.

kindermom

10-18-2005, 11:49 AM

Does anyone have any recommendations for stores for nursing tops? I am aware of Motherwear. Are there any other good resources? Maybe we could put them on the front page along with the links for buying nursing bras?

cc8

10-18-2005, 12:26 PM

newyorkgirl - late reply to yesterday's post re: baby not taking bottle. My DD is 8 weeks old.

DD surprised us last night by taking the bottle. I guess she is super finiky - she'll always want to nurse ON me but it's hit or miss whether she'll take the bottle.

QUESTION - what are the major timelines for GROWTH SPURTS (ie when do they occur)?

gizzyntaz

10-18-2005, 01:33 PM

QUESTION - what are the major timelines for GROWTH SPURTS (ie when do they occur)?

3's & 6's.

3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months. These are just averages. Each baby's growth spurt could vary around these times.

Kiley

10-18-2005, 07:53 PM

Just had my babe's 2 month appointment....

14lb 8oz - 97th percentile (was 8lb 11oz @ birth)
24.5in - 95th percentile (was 20.5in @ birth)

All on mama's milk! :)

kakirk

10-18-2005, 07:57 PM

One thing I felt in my nipple/breast/chest with yeast, is a deep pulling, tugging sort of pain. I guess that's a sign of yeast in that area.Seriously?? Because I feel this relatively often, both when I nurse and when I pump. It isn't every time though, so I don't know.

So, tell me about plugged ducts. My left boob has been really sore the past two days. I can't feel any obvious plugs (should I?) so I just don't know. It feels like a cross between engorged and...bruised I guess. I put a hot compress on it last night while I pumped, and while the heat felt good, it is still sore today.

Is this a plugged duct? Somethign else?? Dunno. Help! :confused:

Katie

moderngal

10-18-2005, 08:05 PM

nursing tops- I have gotten some from Babystyle and from Motherhood. I also like the look of some at Expressiva, but I haven't ordered from there yet. (honestly I find any wrap top to be great for nursing- Banana Republic has some nice ones that have worked well for me.)

lil_nance

10-18-2005, 08:26 PM

Just need to vent. I've had the worse day. Went to my primary dr due to sore nipples, burning, stinging sensation, possible thrush. We'd been BFing fine until this weekend. The dr. who saw me was clueless. She took a glimpse at my breasts, then asked me if it was thrush, what I wanted to do. Isn't she the dr.? I mentioned Nystatin, but couldn't remember the name. She went to look it up and to speak to the head dr. He said it didn't sound like thrush (ie no obvious outward signs, nipple slightly red but that's it). Recommended Lanisoh. DUH! Use it all the time, not the solution or the problem. He also recommended La Leche. HELLOO! I know latch isn't the issue, it hurts even when I'm not nursing. So she went and talked to him again. I'm pushing the possible thrush idea. I heard the dr. say "If she knows what it is, why is she here?" I was so mad. I felt like no one was listening when I kept saying my nipples are killing me. The dr. who saw me (a female) was so condensending. I left the office in tears. THEN, I called my OB who recommended going to the ped and having DS checked. I convinced the ped nurse to get us in. At first they tried to send me to the OB. SO DS was checked and no thrush. The OB then made an appt. for me tomorrow morning. I love my OB but I wish they would have just seen me in the first place. I've been very happy with my primary in the past but after today's experience, I will be looking for a new dr.

catmom

10-18-2005, 08:42 PM

I have a question I'm hoping someone can help me with... DD (7 months) doesn't want to nurse to sleep at night anymore. She has been like this in the middle of the night for a long time, but now she's doing it at bedtime, too. She nurses for a few minutes, delatches, and turns away with her arm over her face. We call it her Greta Garbo pose ("I want to be alone.") So I put her in her crib and she rolls over and goes to sleep. Great, right? But her nursing times at bedtime keep getting shorter and shorter. Tonight she only nursed for 5 minutes total, on both sides. She always nurses at least 10-15 minutes. Has this happened to anyone else (the shortened bedtime nursing)? Her overnight nursings have gotten shorter also, but she still nurses about 15 minutes then. I can't believe she's really emptying both breasts in 5 minutes at bedtime when it takes her so much longer the rest of the time. Should I worry about this, or am I just being neurotic? Mostly I am worried about getting mastitis again because she's not emptying the breasts well before bed. She has dinner (small amount of solids and her #2 supplementary bottle) about an hour and a half before bedtime, so maybe she's not all that hungry then? She already eats about every 2 hours during the day, so I can really feed her dinner earlier without cutting out the previous nursing session. She still nurses 5-6 times a day, in addition to her 2 bottles and solids.

cc8

10-18-2005, 09:00 PM

Thanks for the info on growth spurts!

kakirk - I've been plagued on and off with plugged ducts (I also "surrvived" a round of mastitis). Fun stuff.

For me, I knew I had a plugged duct because:
*I saw a milk blister on my nipple and
*When feeling my bbs, there was a distinct hard spot. This is plugged up/backed up milk which DD was unable to drain while nursing due to the plugged duct

Stuff that helped me unplug the duct:
*Warm wet compresses
*Constant nursing
*Saline soaks for the bbs

Do the saline soak, then the warm compress then have your DC nurse. After some persistence, the duct should open up.

Hope this helps.

newyorkgirl

10-19-2005, 08:20 AM

Oh, Nancy, I'm so sorry yesterday was so tough. When I was talking to my LC, she says that a lot of docs/OBs don't have experience with BFing problems, so they often don't know how to diagnose/treat. When my OB diagnosed me right away, the LC was very surprised and pleased. When you see your OB, tell him/her about the shooting pains and say that you're pretty sure it's thrush, even though your baby doesn't have it. The two methods of treating systemic thrush with medication is through Nystatin and Diflucan. I was on a two week course of 200mg of Diflucan daily. I'm pretty sure it's all gone, but I've also been using grapefruit seed extract topically on my nips and in DS's mouth just to make sure it's all gone.

chloechloe

10-19-2005, 08:28 AM

Okay.....I am NOT succeeding at this weaning thing. I don't want to wean all nursing sessions just one. Why is she so attached? This is our day presently.....
wake up (730-900amish) nurse
nurse at 10ish
nurse at 1230-1pm
nurse at 3pm
nurse at 5-6pm
then again at sleep time 8-9pm
and through the night
That is alot for an almost 13 month old. I am just looking to get rid of the 10ish session, I realize that it is 2-3 hours between sessions, and it should be like 3-5 hours. I have tried to stop her but she gets REALLY upset, and I don't let her cry......Then we could go from wake up time to first nap without nursing and get more done. (I know I have posted this question before, I think today is just a day of defeat). Why do I feel defeated? Because I LOVE nursing and fell like a failure at the mom thing that I can't eliminate one nursing session, but as soon as she crys and grabs my shirt I feel bad, and I am told that I let her have her way too much and she will be a spoiled brat. I just can't let her cry......it breaks my heart. (the Next session after the morning one would be the 3pm session, but probably not until around Christmas, then wean totally by March ......that's my goal!) Please help me not fail at this.....I want to be a good mom.....(yes I do struggle with PPD at times)