Jump to content
SallyComMy

All about breastfeeding

Recommended Posts

tml,

I gave UHT milk (as long as full cream & pasteurised, any brand will do). My bad, I should have put cow's milk instead of fresh milk, sorry!

Snacks, you can offer cheese/fruits/yoghurt/biscuits etc. Up to you. Cereal more like a "meal" to me la but if your baby likes it, it's ok I guess. No fixed rules.

ceetee,

Is it only recently she behaves like this? Cos around 3 weeks, most babies will have growth spurts & they tend to latch on quite often. After a week or so, they'll go back to "normal" feeding patterns.

actually i have been pumping out to feed her b4 this as my supply came late. As i said 1st 5 days in hospital, when i came back nipples badly cracked and bleeding, i still feed her direct tho.... then i worried i don't have enough to feed her, so i pump out all these while.... only when i'm quite confident with my supply, i started to direct feed her, that was like when she entered 3rd week. what should i do? normally for a feeding, how long it should take?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

ceetee,

I seriously dunno where you get the theory of pumping till your supply is stable before start to latch her on. You should latch her on all these while and that's the best way to boost your supply. Pumping should only come as additional mean to boost your supply by telling your body that your baby needs more milk that what she has drank so far. Also when you start supplementing with FM, your body will never have a chance to know your baby's milk requirement and thus will never produce the required amount of milk. Demand = Supply -> simple formula. Also if you let your baby get so used to the easy way of drinking (aka via bottle), she will reject your boobs as it requires far more hardwork to get the same amount of work.

I was in hospital 4/5 days too and I had c-sec with complication post sugery (excessive bleeding) and yet I latch her on. Cracked nipples & bleeding is very normal for first month as our nipples are not tough enough. Just apply purelan cream (edible) will do. Also dun expect to pump 5-10oz per session in your 1st few weeks unless you are a real milk cow.

All new mummies, we have been telling you gals many times (read all our old posts and learn) that nothing better than direct latch on and pumping exclusively is the last resort if your baby refused to latch on or you are back to work. Also baby loves to suckle and it does not mean they are hungry all the time! It could be just pacifying! Baby's tummy is a size of a GULI and if we keep feeding them, they will still drink (as they love the pacifiying feeling) but it will just over-feeding them, forcing their tummy expanding unnecessary.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
tml,

I gave UHT milk (as long as full cream & pasteurised, any brand will do). My bad, I should have put cow's milk instead of fresh milk, sorry!

Snacks, you can offer cheese/fruits/yoghurt/biscuits etc. Up to you. Cereal more like a "meal" to me la but if your baby likes it, it's ok I guess. No fixed rules.

ceetee,

Is it only recently she behaves like this? Cos around 3 weeks, most babies will have growth spurts & they tend to latch on quite often. After a week or so, they'll go back to "normal" feeding patterns.

actually i have been pumping out to feed her b4 this as my supply came late. As i said 1st 5 days in hospital, when i came back nipples badly cracked and bleeding, i still feed her direct tho.... then i worried i don't have enough to feed her, so i pump out all these while.... only when i'm quite confident with my supply, i started to direct feed her, that was like when she entered 3rd week. what should i do? normally for a feeding, how long it should take?

ceetee, a pead told me before the feeding should be around 15 to 20 minutes per boob for a newborn. And growth spurts do happen on the 3rd week. I remember I was basically holding my baby the whole day to feed her on the 3rd week, and she feeds for 30 minutes to 45 minutes, if I unlatched her, she'll cry so I let her drink. And for the sucking, yeah my baby sucks and stops... they have to suck very hard to get the milk from our nipples, so I'm thinking she's taking a rest when she stop sucking... :smile: Btw, what u pump is never equal to what you have in your body... you shouldn't use the pump out amt to see how much milk you have...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Janice, meiteoh,

Thanks! i was so relieve my gal not longer rely on my bm alone :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
janicelly

do these full cream milk work the same? i mean the nutritions and all? those formula milk powder is getting more exp these days. my son has been drinking alot recently, waking up middle of the nite and all...so it's very costly getting the milk powder!

For my case yes, it's ok cos I am STILL breastfeeding, she's taking solids & assorted dairy products with no problem. You can intro as part of her meal (as long as she's above 12 months old & you've tested dairy on her with no allergy reaction) BUT NOT as replacement of formula milk. FYI, my daughter is already 28 months old :). Please check with your paed whether it's ok to start intro UHT milk to your baby.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

bunnynwife,

i did latch her on when i had sore and bleeding nipples. i think my mistake was i worried so much that she doesn't get enough initially. that's why i supplemented her with FM.

i don't mind to have her latch on for an hour or so if she is suckling, even soft ones.... but she will fall asleep after few suckles, if i pull out my nipples, she will cry, then i have to latch her on again.... virtually the whole day she wants my nipples in her mouth.... she will suckle, fall asleep, suckle and fall asleep. i have tried all the ways to wake her up including stripping her, but she is still the same....

when we were still in hospital, i continuosly have her latch on for solid 7 hours.... until the nursery staff had to bring her back coz she was still under phototherapy.

bearbear,

yeah, i was told the same, the most is 45 min.... perhaps she is really in the stage of growth spurt now... how long does it last? she is going to be 1 month old tomorrow....

today i went to see my gal's paed, she said is very normal for babies to take mom's nipples as pacifier... ie whenever they feel like suckle, they will look for mom's ones.... i tried to give her dummy and she rejected during the direct feeding period. i stopped feeding her direct since yesterday, and it took both of us some stressful time to have her accept dummy. i cannot afford to have her to develop this habit coz i'm not a full time housewife, the one who takes care of her will have tough time later on if i just let her suckle for comfort.... any of you have a way to discipline infant not to hav this habit??

i understand whatever we got via pumping is never the same as direct latch-on, i will have her latch on only at night and during the day, i will feed her via bottle, to suit that into our lifestyle once i go back to work, which is another 1 mth time.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Ceetee,

If you are planning for exclusively pumping (I was one after 2 months of maternity leaves), please pump every 2 hours interval in order to boost your supply. Never skip the midnite pump, you may try 12 midnite then 4 am follow by 6am so that you can have 4 hours sleep straight. Ask your hubby to help you to bottle feed your baby and you pump or you pump after feed. I might be the lucky one and I managed to pump far more than my gal's need and have plenty of stock despite I only pump 4-5 times a day after I have return to work. So have faith and you will able to do it.

Don't worry about baby's not getting enough - you can count the wet diapers. Like I say earlier on, baby's tummy is the size of a guli. They do not need few oz of milk to fill their tummy - it;s always US the parents who FORCE the baby to drink more than what they required.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

ceetee, is your baby jaundiced? It's normal for babies with jaundice to be more lethargic than usual. I understand how you feel as Eva is such a sleeper than I couldn't feed on demand. Once I even tried cold water on Eva just to keep her awake during feeds. :x

But bunny is right. There is no need to supplement with FM at this stage, especially when she's churning out enough wet and dirty diapers (6 to 8 is the minimum)!

How to train your baby to not turn you into a pacifier? You have to learn to read her cues and resist the urge to stuff her mouth with your boob whenever she cries. Babies DO NOT cry when they are hungry unless they have been starving - which is impossible after a feed. Try other things like changing her diaper, changing her clothes, carrying her, burping, and so forth.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
bearbear,

yeah, i was told the same, the most is 45 min.... perhaps she is really in the stage of growth spurt now... how long does it last? she is going to be 1 month old tomorrow....

today i went to see my gal's paed, she said is very normal for babies to take mom's nipples as pacifier... ie whenever they feel like suckle, they will look for mom's ones.... i tried to give her dummy and she rejected during the direct feeding period. i stopped feeding her direct since yesterday, and it took both of us some stressful time to have her accept dummy. i cannot afford to have her to develop this habit coz i'm not a full time housewife, the one who takes care of her will have tough time later on if i just let her suckle for comfort.... any of you have a way to discipline infant not to hav this habit??

i understand whatever we got via pumping is never the same as direct latch-on, i will have her latch on only at night and during the day, i will feed her via bottle, to suit that into our lifestyle once i go back to work, which is another 1 mth time.

Ceetee, personally, I'm against dummy / pacifier. I insist of not giving my baby dummy even though my MIL keeps nagging me about it (cos my baby resorts to her thumb instead, which I think is normal and she only does it sometimes, e.g. when she's sleepy). However, I do understand your situation, for certain reasons, your baby likes to be pacified through suckling your breasts. I guess you have no choice considering you need to return to work soon.

Actually, how's your milk supply now (after you start pumping)? If you think it's too low, try taking some fenugreek pills or you can buy fenugreek seeds from the Indian grocery store and pound into powder yourself (it's very cheap). My cousin gave about 1/2 kg to me during my confinement, I'm not sure if it really works or purely psychological, cos my milk supply is more than what my baby needs (I can keep about 1.5 to 2 months supply in the freezer). She told me it really works as her milk supply was abundant too.

About the pumping intervals, I think it depends on individuals ... Every 2 hours is a bit too frequent for me, I think for the first 2 months, we should feed/pump at about 3-4 hours interval to establish the milk flow. And because my baby was able to drop her midnight feed by 2-months old, I could actually get >6 hours sleep at night :wub: , and by the time I return to work, I only pump/feed every 5-6 hours or so.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

i started at 2 hours interval at initial stage - baby at 5-6 weeks, once finish breastfeed Ian, i will pump the other breast (very tiring journey)

once start working, i pump every 3 hours including midnight .. have to be hardworking to wake up to do this pump to maintain the supply (baby not with me)

with this pumping schedule, i was over supply.. and slowly slowly increasing the pump interval time to 5-6 hours..

now i pump every 8-10 hours, of course supply drop half of it as well

so, cetee, you must be very hardworking at initial stage to maintain/boost up the supply

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

gals, thx very much for your support and advice.

islandgal,

i pump every 3 hours interval since i was discharged from hospital, even midnight, i get up to pump every 3 hrs too... my m-i-l is around to feed Gina at night, so i just need to spend 30-45 min pumping. my gal is drinking 3 oz now but at the interval of 2 1/2 - 3 hrs. I understand infant's stomach is about the size of their fists, but somehow she will stop crying after being fed 3 oz....

meiteoh,

yeah, Gina had jaundice when she was 3-day old, now she has recovered. I learned Dunstan's baby's language lately, and it helps a lot... only when she 'signal' discomfort, i'll be a bit lost, wet diaper, too hot, too cold, wanna carry, so forth, all that i know tried, and she still cry.... and eventually dummy solves its all..... even pat, rock also can't help....

bearbear,

i tried fenugreek seed, but i took the water after boiling the seed, does it work that way? i bought from BMS organic shop, that's the instruction given... it seems to improve a bit only... until i got diarrhea, i stop taking as it's the side effect. i tried 'power pump', it helps better... but still, i'm producing just nice to meet her daily demand.... any other recipe? my m-i-l boiled the papaya fish soup twice weekly, black bean soup daily for me to drink, sigh... i just find myself so useless...

i tried to let Gina to suck her own thumb, she likes it, but to have her mitten out, expose her to being scratched by her own self, if not pull her own hair... sigh... how lah???

i think i hav no choice but to let her llatch on at night and see how it goes...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

ceetee

I dont understand why are you so reluctant to let your baby latch on direct? If you dont let her latch on, be prepared to have to pump exclusively when u go back to work if she rejects your breast when she is used to drinking from a bottle.

Its a lot of work to pump exclusively for a FTWM.

When my baby was 1 mth old she latch on every 2 hrs for about 30 mins and night time its much worst. Meaning that i only have 1.5 hours in between feed. But for me the hard work paid off. After that when i went back to work, i had enuf milk to have about 6 oz spare everyday.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Mommies,

My 2mth old son has been breastfed exclusively since birth and has recently developed rather bad milk rash on his cheeks, forehead and chin. They are red bumps like pimple and come and go every few days but look really bad. Has anyone ever experienced the same thing? I'm just wondering if it's because of my diet? Is there anything I can do about this? We brought him to 2 paeditricians and both prescribed steroid-infused creams, which I'm not very keen on using it on my baby.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Ceetee Maybe you can try soybean milk. It helped to boosy my supply.

Sheep Yah, It is really hardwork to pump if you are working. I pump every 2-3 hours and it seems like I don't have time to work. But I still continue till now, my babies already 9 months old,going 10 months soon. And mind you, I have twins.

jhow Are you sure it is caused by milk? Hormones withdrawal in babies also will cause rashes

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

fluene yes its very hardwork to pump...thats y im trying to tell ceetee to latch the baby on now so that she does not reject the breast. at least only pump in the office n direct latch on during the weekends and night will be slightly easier.

My girl just hit 9 mths and i dont pump so often anymore...The max i pump is 4 times during weekdays, but usually its 3 pumps a day can get between 17- 19oz), 5.30 am, 11.30am and 5pm. Since my little started solids, she only takes about 13 oz of EBM during the day, when i get home she will latch on at least 3 times till i go to work the next morning.

Most probably i will stop pumping when she turns 1. But see how la...Dont think my boss can accomodate me more than that as i have declined all outstations assignments for more than a year already.

Ceetee Maybe you can try soybean milk. It helped to boosy my supply.

Sheep Yah, It is really hardwork to pump if you are working. I pump every 2-3 hours and it seems like I don't have time to work. But I still continue till now, my babies already 9 months old,going 10 months soon. And mind you, I have twins.

jhow Are you sure it is caused by milk? Hormones withdrawal in babies also will cause rashes

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Hi Mommies,

My 2mth old son has been breastfed exclusively since birth and has recently developed rather bad milk rash on his cheeks, forehead and chin. They are red bumps like pimple and come and go every few days but look really bad. Has anyone ever experienced the same thing? I'm just wondering if it's because of my diet? Is there anything I can do about this? We brought him to 2 paeditricians and both prescribed steroid-infused creams, which I'm not very keen on using it on my baby.

Just want to know, it's not acne, right? Cos newborns do have acnes, but it'll go away soon.

If it's not acne, my baby also has the same problem earlier on, i.e. rashes on face and ear area. I'm not sure what's the cause, it could be heat rash or allergies or something ... I asked my PD, he says it could be something that's she's allergic to, e.g. washing powder, dirty bed linens, etc, etc. He didn't mention about breastmilk though. He gave us a cream to apply, we used it for abt 2-3 days and stop (same concern as you). However, she doesn't seem to have the rashes anymore.

But also, we take extra cautions:

1) We make sure that we wipe her face with wet cotton or hanky each time after she has her milk / solids.

2) I also changed the face cream which I used on her previously (though the previous one says it's organic). Cos her face was a bit dry earlier one probably because she sleeps in air-cond room.

3) Change her bed linen frequently .

Don't worry too much, babies' skin tends to be more sensitive. We just have to be more careful when they developed certain signs of allergies or whatsoever :-)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
gals, thx very much for your support and advice.

i tried fenugreek seed, but i took the water after boiling the seed, does it work that way? i bought from BMS organic shop, that's the instruction given... it seems to improve a bit only... until i got diarrhea, i stop taking as it's the side effect. i tried 'power pump', it helps better... but still, i'm producing just nice to meet her daily demand.... any other recipe? my m-i-l boiled the papaya fish soup twice weekly, black bean soup daily for me to drink, sigh... i just find myself so useless...

i tried to let Gina to suck her own thumb, she likes it, but to have her mitten out, expose her to being scratched by her own self, if not pull her own hair... sigh... how lah???

i think i hav no choice but to let her llatch on at night and see how it goes...

Ceetee, I took the fenugreek powder "raw", didn't boil with water at all i.e. pound the powder, took one teaspoon a day with water / red dates water (as it's kinda bitter). Hey, how much did you take until you've diarrhea? Nvm, if it doesn't work, try other, like Milkmaid tea? A few of my friends say it works, but I think it's a bit expensive (compared to fenugreek). You can get the tea from many baby shops or online baby shops.

Otherwise, I guess there's no "secret recipe" per se. I believe it's important that you drink lots of fluids, e.g. water, red dates water, soups, soya bean milk, cow's milk, etc etc because water is essentially the main ingredient of our breastmilk :-)

About sucking the thumb ... My baby actually sucks her thumb with her mitten. She some how likes it more with the wet mitten, guess it's "tastier", that's why, ha ha ha ... And yes, without the mitten, they'll scratch their face or pull their hair, my baby also did that, so the mitten is there to "protect" them from injuring themselves. Anyway, by 2-3 months, we didn't use mitten anymore, cos she needs to develop her motor skills, like opening and closing her palms, learn to grab things, etc. But we've to cut and file her nails frequently, if not, she'll scratch herself like catwoman :girl_devil:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Dear Mummy,

Currently I am working and I pump my BF once in the morning (4 oz), twice during work(each 3 oz) and once in the evening (3oz). After that, Bf my babies at night. i only get 12oz perday (max) exclude at the night time direct BF. Any way to increase the milk supply because i actually have twins but my milk supply seen like not enough even one BB..Is domperidone or motilium help? which is better?

My twins currently drink enfalac. should I change to enfa-pro after six months? what is the different between enfalac and enfapro?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Dear Mummy,

Currently I am working and I pump my BF once in the morning (4 oz), twice during work(each 3 oz) and once in the evening (3oz). After that, Bf my babies at night. i only get 12oz perday (max) exclude at the night time direct BF. Any way to increase the milk supply because i actually have twins but my milk supply seen like not enough even one BB..Is domperidone or motilium help? which is better?

My twins currently drink enfalac. should I change to enfa-pro after six months? what is the different between enfalac and enfapro?

Hi, Kelly, congratulations on your twins, well done!!

I've never heard of the two medicines which you mentioned ... Anyway, out of curiousity, I check out from wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domperidone

I extract the following para which we should take note of:

"LactationThe hormone prolactin stimulates lactation in humans, and its release is inhibited by the dopamine secreted by the hypothalamus. Domperidone, by acting as an anti-dopaminergic, results in increased prolactin secretion, and thus promotes lactation.

Since, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), domperidone is not approved for enhanced lactation in any country, it is sometimes self-prescribed from original research or prescribed "off-label" for this use in countries around the world."

There have been some discussions earlier on how to increase milk supply, as for myself, I think the following works:

1) Drink lots of fluids

2) Use electric double breast pump

3) Fenugreek powder

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Kellysiew Domperidone = motilium I took it to increase my milk supply. Effect was not much and it is quite expensive in the long run. I took it for more than 6 weeks, 3 tablets a day. Then I stopped as the increase is not much. Then I drink soyabean milk daily, only 1 cup per day and it helped in increasing my supply. Maybe you can give it a try?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Kellysiew Domperidone = motilium I took it to increase my milk supply. Effect was not much and it is quite expensive in the long run. I took it for more than 6 weeks, 3 tablets a day. Then I stopped as the increase is not much. Then I drink soyabean milk daily, only 1 cup per day and it helped in increasing my supply. Maybe you can give it a try?

Hi Fluene,

You mean the soyabean milk in packet that is sold outside? or the powder type?

Nothing works for me now. Now trying for new alternatives.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

ceetee,

I took fenugreek the same way as you - like tea. So far, no diarrhea for me. Maybe can try milk tea (it works quite well for me too but like the rest said, it's quite expensive ler). Are you eating/drinking/resting enough?

kellysiew,

Have you tried power pumping? I tried motilium too (was prescribed by Paed cum LC). Like Fluene, it only helped a little bit & I've since stopped. Same as ceetee, are you eating/drinking/resting enough?

From my personal experience if I'm not doing well at either 1 of the 3 i mentioned, my supply will drop like crazy :s

Good luck & hope your supplies will be ok again!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

it have been long since I last drop by in this thread. after breastfeeding my gal for about 17 mth, finally i'll started to wean her off from breastfeeding. sob sob.. my already low BM supply have been badly affected with all the stress from my hectic working schedule. while usually i can get around 3 oz from each pumping, nowadays I can only get total 1.5oz from both boobs... really sad case for me. sometime feel like just thrown it away after pump but then still feel sayang to do so... hahaha...

Have started to supplement her with FM since about 2 months ago but she still don't really accept it well. (another headache for me, sigh..). Anyway, I think i'll fully wean her off from BM once she hit 1.5 years old. As I'll be traveling more frequent than usual.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Dear all Bfing mums,

Today is the 7th day after delivered to a bb gal via c-sect. Every 3 hours my gal need a feeding with 2 oz milk. But my breast milk supply is very low. I oni manage to get 1 1/2 oz per pump session (both breasts) with every 4-5hrs interval. If ipump every 3 hr i only get about 1/2 an oz of milk. I'm using Avent manual pump. I even tried to use Pureen electric pump but worst the is very very little milk been expressed out (less than 1/2 oz).

I wonder how to get more milk supply as my gal refuse to direct lacth even tho i direct latch her and it lasted less than a minute ans cried like starving. I left no choice to gv her FM too and mxed with my breast milk as breast milk cant reach her feeding demand.

I'm so sand and burst ti tears yesterdaya s pumping is not an easy task and my hand actually feel pain n cramp from the manual pumping. I wonder should I get a better electric pump or continue with the manual pump until my milk flow in?

My questions r:

1. How to produce more milk?

2. Need to continue with the manual pump or get a better electric pump (is expensive and i afraid i cant expressed much milk too)?

3. Wat shud i take to make the milk flow come in?

4. It s been 7 days and i wonder will my breast milk continue to decrease?

I'm reali lost and hope all bfing mum can give some info and tips.

thanks alots.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...