Club Breastfeeding Mums
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Hi Terry,
Take a deep breathe. This is how I manage. I drink plenty of liquid, soups and herbs to increase milk ss.
I will bf from 6am to 11pm as much as the baby wants. I find that a good night's sleep does me alot of good. But there will be times when bb act like very hungry, kind of like getting frustrated or \"frantic\" sucking, then I will get the confinement aunty to make fm for them.
Do you have a confinement aunty?
My milk supply will only be enough after 1-2month or so.
About the sore nipples. I will apply some bm on them and air them (meaning I don't cover them). For bb, I endured sore nipple on the left side for 2wks till they toughen. heehee
I had sore nipple on my left side becos once my bb refused to let go and I did not pry open her mouth.....so she was nursing so long till it became sore :rotflmao: -
terry:
I went through the above too because I also have low supply, I never really have engorgement before. Very tough dilemma because some will say give some formula since baby so hungry but yet if always give in then it becomes harder and harder to establish supply. If pump must pump every 2 hrs then how to get enough rest? And it doesn't help that my baby although above 3kg but looks long and skinny. It's really difficult but we mommies will manage somehow if we really want to do it. Jia you!Hi all,
Juz delivered my bb boy. He is 11 days old. Trying to get this BFg thg right and havg a real hard time doing so.
I'm here to get some advice cos I'm so on the verge of gvg
up and gg to buy fm now. I call the LC hotline and they told me I dun hv enough bm.
I can pump every 3 hrs abt 40mls in 20mins or mre, but my nipples get sore.
But if I pump then when my bb hungry then I dun hv enough bm for him to latch on.
Nw he hvg problems latching on these 2 days. He will push the nipples out of his mouth and then try to furiously seek the nipple again. When I help to put the nipple in his mouth he will push and cry. Takes awhile to succeed and itz driving me crazy.
Wat shd I do? I'm afraid he win hv enough to drink. So stress.
My first month I gave in to confinement lady to feed formula while I try to stick to pump schedule so that I can still get as much pathetic amounts of breastmilk to baby as I can. 2nd and 3rd months it was my baby who refused to let go of my breasts while he is awake and reject bottle. Looking at his photos then, his cheeks are chubby and his weight gain was good so I think I didn't do too badly.
Apart from the advice from SAHM_TAN, you can try to get fernugreek or mommy's milk tea which should help to some extent. -
Just to share this. I once heard a PD "scolding" a mother "You must let the bb latch on to have bm" so I never tried to pump outside of bf my bb. Of course there are mummies who pump outside of bfg bb. So I also don’t have a definite answer. I can only think that it depends on the mother.
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Hi Terry,
Is there a reason you’re pumping? To boost supply? maybe wait till after you nurse then pump? Don’t let anyone tell you that you don’t have enough milk, unless you can see that your baby is not growing and is not having enough output (wet and poopy diapers). The truth is we have no idea how much milk is going in. The only way to tell is from baby’s output. So if you are not giving him extra supplements, then whatever is coming out is from whatever goes in. Unless you are not latching at all, then the amount you pump is not an indicator of how much much you are producing. Not having engorgement is also not a sign of low supply. I didn’t have engorgement for all three babies, but my supply was enough
As for your sore nipples, I think you have a problem with the pump fit or suction strength. You might want to get a larger flange, or reduce the suction strength. Pumping and nursing should not hurt. Since your nipples hurt now, you can treat it with your own milk, or get some nipple ointment. Either purelan or lansinoh.
As for the latch, it’s critical to get it right, or baby can suck for hours and not take anything. If he continues to push the nipple out. Maybe it is because e nipple is not far in enough? Also, has he been given an artificial teat? Some babies are very sensitive to nipple confusion. If baby has received artificial teats, he might be getting confused. Stop it at once, and try to coax baby back to the breast. For latch issues, do see the LC for help. Which LC did you call? The Breastfeeding Mothers Support Group can recommend some for you if you need. (hotline: 63393558).
Lastly, at this age, babies don’t take very much at each feed, because their tummies are tiny, but they need frequent feeding. Make sure you’re nursing 8-12times a day at least. This will help your body build up its milk making ability. Extra pumping sessions are helpful to boost supply, but may backfire if it makes you very tired coz that would reduce supply. Worse still if latching doesn’t hurt, but pumping makes the nipples sore! As patentee has suggested, you can try taking three fenugreek pills three times a day. It doesn’t work for all mums, though it worked for me. But fenugreek won’t work alone. You need to combine it with frequent emptying of the breasts.
All the best. Persevere. The first few weeks are the hardest. But stay the course, and you won’t regret it. We are here to cheer you on! -
regarding pooing. For my current bb who is bfg, at one stage (before she’s 1month) she did not poo for 1-2wks at a time. My PD said that it was normal because bm was very easily abosrb, so not much to poo heehee. After some time, it was more regular.
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Hi Terry
I believe yr baby has nipple confusion. Are u pumping out and giving him fr bottle? If so, the sucking technique is different, thats why he pushes yr nipple out becos he could not get yr BM out as he is sucking wrongly. You should also stop pumping and just let BB latch on. Although we should BF on demand, I normally try to establish a schedule like 2-3hrs interval as I find that it helps me to have sufficient rest esp these early weeks. Its also less stressful as u can do other things. When trying to establish schedule, you can ask someone else to soothe BB if he is crying but feed is not due yet, ie try to drag the interval. Also try not to let BB use yr breast as pacifier ie fall into deep sleep. when his sucking become less intense, use yr last finger and remove BB fr breast, then put him on bed. Otherwise, we will feel like we are feeding round the clock & we will feel very tired, lousy, have sore nipples, want to give up etc. u will know whether BB has enough as we can feel the let down effect and hear BB swallowing, and after a while, the sucking will slow down and BB will start dosing off.
It is possible to establish enough supply just by letting BB latch on all the time. I did that for no.2,3 and 4 and no bottles needed, very easy once u establish supply. For this transition to no pumping and no bottle, u will face increased stress as bb will be hungry (cos dont feed him BF fr bottle), dont know how to suck so will refuse your breast, cry cry cry. However, after missing one- to two feeds, they will learn. Just remove the bottle and everything will fall into place. I also gave the same advice to a friend who was abt to give up at 6weeks. Told her to give up bottle, just keep on letting bb try to learn to suck fr yr breast. Stressful, but think of the long term convenience/benefits, cos once you start on formula, whatever effort u put in on BF so far will come to a nought. However, by going thru a few days of "stress", things will get easier and u will enjoy BF and yr BB.
As for the sore nipples, be very wary that it takes just one feed with a wrong latch on to start having sore nipples. Healing takes longer but it will happen within days if latch on is correct. Like what the mothers said above, squeeze out some BM using yr fingers & apply to nipples after every feed and air them as long as u can.
I had sore nipples for no 1 and for no2, even bleed. No 1 also had nipple confusion cos I pumped and feed fr bottle as well as latch on. Took the hard way at abt 6weeks and one to two days later, everything went ok.
But I managed to go thru with support from DH. For no 3 & 4, I made sure bb latch on properly each time so everything went well. -
Thks everyone for ur timely support. I knew that u guys wld come together to help me out.
Yes, I pump is to increase my ss. Smtimes I feel that the bb did not empty my breast well so I will pump out the miserable amt. Is right to do that? Cos the breast gotta be empty so it will produce mre? In the 1st wk, my breast was engorged a few times in the middle of the nite, and bb still sleeping so I pump it out.
So reading the above, I’m confused! Pump to increase ss or??
Mummythreestreams,
Pumping always hurts for me. I use medela, nw I use avent. Still hurts. But is bearable.
I called the TMC BFg hotline. The LC told me bb takes abt 60mls, but I told her I pump only 40mls and she said not enough milk.
I cried my eyes out. Then proceeded to type this to chk with u guys what is happening.
I will try again the next few days.
My mum told me she oso no milk for us last time, cld it be genetics?
This again guys. Really grateful for ur input. -
terry:
Sayang don't cry, they say crying during confinement no good for the eyes. Our bodies react differently to the pump, so the yield may not be an accurate represention of what you are actually producing. Don't be discouraged by what others say.Thks everyone for ur timely support. I knew that u guys wld come together to help me out.
Yes, I pump is to increase my ss. Smtimes I feel that the bb did not empty my breast well so I will pump out the miserable amt. Is right to do that? Cos the breast gotta be empty so it will produce mre? In the 1st wk, my breast was engorged a few times in the middle of the nite, and bb still sleeping so I pump it out.
So reading the above, I'm confused! Pump to increase ss or??
Mummythreestreams,
Pumping always hurts for me. I use medela, nw I use avent. Still hurts. But is bearable.
I called the TMC BFg hotline. The LC told me bb takes abt 60mls, but I told her I pump only 40mls and she said not enough milk.
I cried my eyes out. Then proceeded to type this to chk with u guys what is happening.
I will try again the next few days.
My mum told me she oso no milk for us last time, cld it be genetics?
This again guys. Really grateful for ur input.
I know it's easier said than done.
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No regrets breastfeeding, AT ALL! All moms should certainly do it- much healthier for the kid since breast milk's got all the necessary nutrients. Plus it's a lot more economical, heh.
If work is an issue, there's always the pump! -
I did not make sure that the breast is emptied of bm after every feed. But if you want and the pump is causing pain, you might want to use your hand to express. I did that when I was still working during the last few months of bfg (1yr into bfg). It’s rather easy, to put it crudely, it’s like milking a cow/goat. You can google on the method.
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