We're doing it!

So yesterday Caleb was a week old and so far we are doing great with nursing! This was something I was really worried about. And I was having a few issues at first, but the LCs at the hospital were pretty helpful- especially the last one who said that sometimes the best thing to do was ignore everything they said and just do what works. We've played around with different holds and that helped too. (I can only football hold on my left side. It's weird and not comfortable on my right so we cross-cradle that side.) 
 
We've been counting his diapers because he is jaundice and he's making plenty of diapers, so I wasn't worried he was getting enough. But then yesterday that was confirmed when we went in for his 1 week check-up. He was born at 6lb15oz and then dropped to 6lb9oz the day after he was born. Well, I know they say give it 10-14 days for them to return to their birth weight, but in 1 week we passed it! He was 7lb2oz yesterday!
 
And really, it is going so much easier than I expected.  I was worried about tracking which side he nursed on last and tracking his time. But really I just follow him and my body and it's working great. Sometimes I do start on the same side as the last feeding and sometimes I don't. I'm making massive amounts of milk and so sometimes it's more about going to the fullest side first. I am pumping a few times a day to help relieve the engorgement too. (And seriously, pumping almost 5oz from one side and he will still nurse after that! I think my body thinks it's feeding a village, not just one child!) 
 
Because he's jaundice, we do nurse every 2 hours and sometimes every hour, so I'm pretty sleepy, but it's all worth it! Thankfully, he's a very efficient eater and doesn't take long to nurse.
 
I am just so very happy that we're doing it and it's going so well!
 
But any and all advice on the over-supply would be appreciated too. Or just anything to add to help us continue our success! 

 

Sounds like you are doing great.
 
The only think i remember about the oversupply is if you are pumping 5 ounces then feeding him, your body will think you need that much so it will keep on making that much.  

 

I am SO happy that breastfeeding is working for you!!!  I had a terrible problem with oversupply with both of my singletons.  I exclusively pumped for the twins and I did it like a mad woman (production was very high!)!!  My body must have thought that was normal because I was terribly engorged with my first singleton.  At first, I pumped a bit to relieve the pressure but it wasn't really helping my situation.  I stopped pumping and hoped my supply would regulate on its own.  I tried cold packs and binding; I was in A LOT of pain and got mastitis twice in 4 weeks.  I was in total misery.  I ended up going to cabbage leaves... an absolute last resort.  I applied cabbage leaves twice a day for three days and it did help with discomfort and reduce supply.  I say this cautiously because cabbage leaves can kill your supply if you aren't careful.  I still did have oversupply after that but it was manageable.  It took me about 2-3 months to completely regulate (or for my baby to drink enough that I wasn't uncomfortable!).  I did have oversupply with my second singleton but I did not have to resort to the cabbage leaves. 
 
As a side note, I did single side feedings for both singletons until about 6 months to ensure they were getting foremilk and hindmilk.  I also had a problem with gasiness in the beginning because I produced so much, they were only getting foremilk which upset their tummy.  I have read some articles that said that this isn't really a "thing" but in my experience, it is!
 
Congratulations on your baby boy and your nursing success

 

:yahoo: That's great news! In regards to over supply, pumping will definitely make the situation worse - the more milk you remove the more milk your body thinks you need to make. If you're very uncomfortable, see if baby will nurse first to help relive pressure. If not, you can hand express or pump, but just enough to feel comfortable. Ideally, it's best to just try and ride out these first few weeks until your supply regulates on its own - if you over correct now you may run into low supply problems later on (usually around 4-6 months). Have you checked out Kellymom.com? It's a fabulous resource!

 

It sounds like it's going great! For me the oversupply just went away on its own after a couple of months. If I felt like I was too engorged id stick him on there for a minute or pump. I was so concerned with him not getting enough the oversupply didn't bother me.

 

YAY!  Glad it's going so well!!  Ditto not pumping to fix the over supply, and ditto kellymom.com!  If it's feeling painful just let him "snack" for a few mins to relieve the pressure, but not do a full feeding.

 

Yay!!!  So happy to hear this!  You must have some serious cream in there!  My kids were never up to their birthweight at the two week checkup.  WTG Momma!

 

Thanks y'all! I'll be checking out kellymom for sure.

Good news is his jaundice levels are finally going down! We've been feeding at least every 2 hours around the clock to help with that and I'm glad it helped!

I think I'm going to cut back on the pumping and only do it for relief right now. I do want to build a freezer supply so I don't mind it for that. (We don't plan to introduce a bottle for a few more weeks, but both the older kids want to feed him and we want the option available should we ever need it.)

He's still nursing great. And I even had my first "public" feeding. (We were in the car in a parking lot.) I hated the nursing cover though. It was cumbersome and awkward. I'm pretty modest though so might try it again. Or get a different one.

I can't express how happy I am that we've gotten this far.

 

WTG, Gina! 
 
I'm glad to hear the jaundice is clearing up. Tons of milk and sun is always good for that.
 
Nursing one baby was very, very simple compared to nursing-gymnastics with twins.
 
I hated covers- they are so very cumbersome. Try a nursing shirt if you are modest- it can cover the top and your belly.

 

Ditch the cover!!! Freeeedoooooommmmmm!!!

My favorite way to maintain modesty is with a tank underneath my shirt. Then I lift my shirt up and scootch the tank top down, quickly latch babe on and unless someone comes up and kisses Caleb on the cheek most people will just assume you're cuddling him. Practice in front of a mirror - I think you'll be surprised how little can be seen.

 

I hated the nursing covers! I was never able to use them. I really liked nursing shirts though for when I was out feeding in public.

 

Where did y'all find nursing shirts?

I need encouragement this morning. The oversupply and fast let-down are taking their toll on us at night. I tried block nursing yesterday to help regulate my crazy supply. Mostly because I did notice he was getting too much foremilk and the crazy fast let- down is making him cough and gag. And he's starting to spit up.
Last night was miserable. He wouldn't latch until I finally pumped enough off that my breast was a little softer. He was screaming, I was crying. He was literally gulping the milk, which made him gassy and even more miserable. We did gas drops, which he mostly spit out. He was up for 2 hours fussing. When he finally fell asleep at 3, it was a good deep sleep and he refused to eat again until 6:30. When again it was a struggle because of engorgement and crazy let-down.

I'm going to get an appt with the lactation specialists Monday hopefully, but I need encouragement and advice. I have tried changing the angle that I feed at to work against gravity, but we are still having the gulping/coughing issues from too fast let down. Everything I read says they get used to it around 3 months. I can't fight like this for the next 10 weeks! I'm so tempted to just pump and bottle feed.

 

I ordered mine online.
 
If you need help/encouragement this weekend I can come over!
 
I can remember at Cooper's first or second check-up, him needing to nurse, and me squirting milk all over his face b/c I just couldn't get it in there fast enough and the letdown was too fast.
 
Here's a link to a site with shirts, this isn't the one I got mine from, I'm still searching for it. http://www.milknursingwear.com/store/pc/all-nursing-tops-c54.htm

 

The site I got mine from was similar to this.
 
http://www.mothersboutique.com/shslto.html
 
Just remember - feeding a baby at this age is hard no matter what method you choose. He'd probably be gassy and fussy with formula as well. It's just hard right now. It will get easier.
 
ETA: You've got my number, text me if you need/want to.

 

Aimee's right - it's hard in the beginning no matter what. Take a deep breath. Trust the process. Have you tried keeping a cloth or cup nearby? When your milk let's down, unlatch Caleb, collect the milk in the cup or with the cloth until the flow slows and then put him back on. Side-lying nursing worked really well for Emmett and I - it allowed the excess milk to just dribble out of his mouth.

Did you see this article? http://kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/supply-worries/fast-letdown/

 

Thanks Aimee! Your text really did help this morning.

I do think the exhaustion is catching up to me. I've been super emotional this morning- crying and snapping at the kids.

I did do some reading on kellymom. That's where I learned about the block feeding.

Is there a reason to pump a small amount before feeding him? I think it helps with the let down and flow, but then he doesn't get much/any foremilk and mostly gets the hind milk.

 

Thanks Aimee! Your text really did help this morning.

I do think the exhaustion is catching up to me. I've been super emotional this morning- crying and snapping at the kids.

I did do some reading on kellymom. That's where I learned about the block feeding.

Is there a reason to pump a small amount before feeding him? I think it helps with the let down and flow, but then he doesn't get much/any foremilk and mostly gets the hind milk.

 

I had a friend who talked a lot about foremilk/hindmilk and thought she had an imbalance and therefore stopped nursing.
 
Right now you're just learning. Who cares if it's foremilk or hindmilk, just keep putting him on there and don't worry about it. It's milk.
 
If pumping before he feeds = a successful feeding and not pumping before = him gagging - then do what works.

 

I agree with Aimee. :good:

When was Caleb born again?

 

March 10. So he's just 12 days old. 
 
Thanks Aimee! I do think I tend to get a little hung up on what I "should" be doing vs what's working at the time. 
 
 
ETA
And thanks for the links too! We just got back from the twins' soccer game, so I'm going to go check those out. 
And btw, Mr. Caleb snoozed right through the entire soccer game. 

 

Geez, I can relate to your troubles so much!!  Feeding in a reclined position or on my side helped my little ones with my fast letdown, and I did keep a burp cloth handy to catch my overspray if I had to unlatch them.  And don't give up on the block feeding - it will help regulate your supply but it will take few weeks!  After I regulated, I stuck with the block feeding for about six months.  And if you do find that he is getting gassy due to your oversupply, ask the doctor or LC about Maalox or Mylanta before each feeding... another thing that helped us for about the first two months.  He is gaining weight, his jaundice is gone, you've got the wet diapers... you are doing so well, Gina!   Hang in there!

 

Last night was soooo much better. I pumped just enough to soften and relieve some of the engorgement. I did that to both sides before I went to bed. Chris kept Caleb with him in the living room while he watched a movie and I slept. He brought the baby to me when it was time to feed him and then when I was done, he put Caleb down.
At the next feeding, Caleb refused to eat. I changed him and he fussed, but he just wouldn't latch on. So I put him back to bed for another hour. I pumped a small amount before feeding him after that 3 hour stretch and he did good. He got fussy once, but calmed down after a few minutes, so not really fussy- fussy.

The older two are at their bio-dad's house, so we also got to sleep in a little this morning and that's helped.

I did notice last night that the engorgement isn't as bad, so hopefully things are starting to settle down.

 

I'm late to the party but do want to encourage you Gina.

You are doing so well! Don't quit on your worst day. Breast or bottle fed, some days with newborns are tough.

Expressiva.com is where I ordered my shirts.

 

I didn't BF but I will tell you that Abigail was the gassiest child I've ever seen...had to give her Mylicon every night till she was 2 to prevent her from screaming gas pains in the middle of the night...
 
sounds like things are going well!

 

Well, today's 2 week check up went great! He was born at 6lb15oz. Last Monday he was 7lb2oz. Today he was 8lb!! So even with my frustration and let down issues, he's eating and gaining!

The doctor encouraged me to stretch out his night feedings. I was surprised because he's still so young. But the doc said it might help him eat longer during the day. (Average feeding is about 10 minutes.) We'll see how it goes though.

 

I had over supply issues with Emmett and nursing for 10 minutes was usually a long session. To be honest, that never changed. Are you feeling the need to change things up in terms of night time feeds? I'd be hesitant to do anything other than follow Caleb's lead at this point. Stretching out feeds could disrupt the supply/demand cycle just as your supply is establishing and regulating.

 

I think he could stand to stretch some feedings out. I've been setting an alarm and waking/feeding him every two hours because of the jaundice. But there are times when he just doesn't want to wake up and eat. So now that the jaundice has cleared and the doctor is okay with going longer, I won't set any alarms and just let him tell me when he's hungry. I don't see us going all that long though, just based on us feeding so frequently up to this point. I'd be happy/ surprised for a 3hr stretch.

 

Ohhhhh! Sorry. I misunderstood. Yay for possibly 3 hour stretches!!