Going on 3 weeks of BFing now. I used a nipple shield in the hospital because she tore my nipples to shreds while waiting for my milk to come in, and I told the LC I didn't think I could continue. Now I'm trying to wean us off of it and she doesn't seem to be a fan of it without, but sometimes she'll take it. I'm having a bit of oversupply but changing the nursing positions and reclining back is helping with that. Also pumping a lot, so I'm able to be away from her to run errands and leave H with enough milk if she needs it. Overnights are rough with a lot of cluster feeding, it is what it is though. She's gained weight like a champ though.
I am considering supplementing with formula once I go back to work in 5 weeks. I just don't know if I'm cut out for EBF while working FT.
C loved the nipple shields. I couldn't get her off of them for a long time. I was really anxious about it. Finally my LC said if she's gaining weight and it doesn't bother C then don't worry about it. Around 4 months I started trying to wean her off by starting with it, then taking it off after a minute. Sometimes she would get very mad, sometimes she wouldn't care. I just kept trying. By about 5.5 months we were totally off of the shields.
I only worry because I dread that moment when I can't find it and she's screaming! I have 3 of them placed around my house right now. I also start with it and then try without, sometimes she's ok with it.
15 months. As others have mentioned, in the beginning it wasn't clear that it was going to work. Squishy didn't really learn to nurse until 2 months old, and didn't drop the nipple shield and start overnight nursing until 3m. (Before that she got bottles of bm overnight). They still nurse a fair amount but ican skip some daytime sessions if needed. I don't need to reduce it right now and they enjoy it.
DD is 9 weeks old and EBF. I'm very lucky, it's been a breeze. She latched well from day 1, transfers milk efficiently, great weight gain. BFing is pain free now and quick, about 10-15 mins per feeding. She does spit up a TON but she's a "happy spitter" just like her big brother was. I love BFing, it's been wonderful. I hope to nurse to at least age 2 like I did with DS.
BF for 8 months now, and it's going well, but like many others with similar age babies, I am constantly fighting major distraction. I have trouble getting enough milk in him during the weekends and am having trouble nursing on the go like we used to because he will pop off at the hint of a noise. We recently dropped his bottles from 5 to 4 oz since he wasn't finishing them bc of solids, and this has helped me to keep up with him, since my pumping output has dropped significantly in the last month or so. I want to try to make it to 10 months and then drop to one pump and use my freezer stash.
Post by Monica Geller on May 23, 2015 21:54:20 GMT -5
J is 15 weeks old. We do a combination of BF and pumping. He takes a bottle at night (& I pump) but he's mostly BF during the day. I am planning on going to 6 months.
DS2 is 10wks old and I've been EPing the entire time. He had his tongue and lip ties clipped at 8wks old but it's been a struggle to get him to nurse. Some days, I feel like I'm in a karate match with him since his arms flail around frantically when I try to nurse him. So, I am still EPing. I guess it's fine since I go back to work June 3rd.
I am proud of myself for sticking it out this long considering our rough start. By this point, I already started supplementing formula with DS1 and he was FF by 12wks. Nothing wrong with formula since I told myself I would pump until I only met half of DS2's demands. At that point, I will quit.
Anyone remember what the max amount of ounces you had in bottles for daycare? I think DS1 maxed out his daily formula consumption at 36 oz but some rare days he went to 42. This was before solids. I am only pumping 33-36oz per day now and I am not sure at what point I will need to start supplementing. I am building my freezer stash now in hopes that I will have enough. I am also buying that chest freezer a few of you suggested!
Anyway, I just want to thank all of you, the EPers in particular, for helping. It means a lot.
Your milk changes as baby gets older so the amount if ounces should not need to increase. 24-30oz is average for a breastfed baby in 24 hours. Be sure you are doing "paced bottle feeding" it will ensure you can keep up
We have been nursing for 40 months! L still nurses 2-3 times a day and 2-3 times a night. He tells me he will always have milk even when he's married lol.
C loved the nipple shields. I couldn't get her off of them for a long time. I was really anxious about it. Finally my LC said if she's gaining weight and it doesn't bother C then don't worry about it. Around 4 months I started trying to wean her off by starting with it, then taking it off after a minute. Sometimes she would get very mad, sometimes she wouldn't care. I just kept trying. By about 5.5 months we were totally off of the shields.
I only worry because I dread that moment when I can't find it and she's screaming! I have 3 of them placed around my house right now. I also start with it and then try without, sometimes she's ok with it.
we're closing in on 15 months. i'm not really sure what my plans are now. some days i think we're close to weaning and some days i'm happy to keep going for a long while. right now he's in a biting phase again which is a hell of a lot worse when he has 10+ teeth.
It's been awhile! And selfishly I wanted to include pumpers too.
How long have you been BF/pumping?
Any struggles or questions? Any exciting milestones?
Been BFing for 13.5 months now. It is going pretty well and she is mostly down to two feedings a day. We have finally found a formula that she likes and we try to give her some during the day.
I guess the only struggle recently is that she has started to wake again at around 4am and screams her head off until I let her nurse. I'm not to fond of coming back to night wakeups, but I assume it is a phase like it has always been and that it will hopefully pass soon.
I'm really excited that she is learning how to politely ask for milk instead of bulldozing me or screaming until she gets it. As I usually feed her in my bed, she will go into my room and start laughing and tapping on the mattress and when I ask if she wants milk, she laughs and signs 'please'. it is really cute!
Post by sillygoosegirl on May 24, 2015 8:43:28 GMT -5
It's been a little over 6 months now, and is going really well now. Whatever was going on with her having blood in stool is resolved. I think it was a very mild milk protein intolerance, or one that she has almost completely outgrown. Her symtopms cleared up a week after we discovered there was milk as an inactive ingredient in the probiotic we were giving her, and now I can basically eat whatever I want again without it bothering her! It's pretty darn amazing. (The weird part is that I had her off the probiotic for a few weeks when I was eliminating dairy and then doing the total elimination diet and she never got better during that time.) Breastfeeding is now actually enjoyable for me for the first time, and my goal to breastfeed for 2 years is starting to look attainable.
Currently the only major challenge is that she is super distractible. She doesn't eat well unless we are in a dark quiet room, ideally in bed. Otherwise, she is way too busy to stop and nurse.
I'm kinda sad about not EBFing anymore now that we've started solids. I'm sad that I can no longer say with confidence, "Mommy made your favorite!"
My supply seems to have hit the 6 month slump. The week before last, I added about 7 oz to the freezer. This week, she drank everything I pumped. It'll be interesting to see how next week goes. Fortunately, there's time in my day to easily add 2 more pumping sessions, so I'm not terribly worried, though I do hope it's not necessary.
We just hit two years BFing. Didn't set out to make it to this point but here we are! I'm definitely ready to reduce how often we nurse but DD is only sometimes OK. We still nurse 2-3x/day and typically 1x motn.
BF for 9.5 months. M really isn't nursing much anymore. (Typically 5-10 min. 4x/day.) That seems like all he wants, so I guess it's ok? He eats a TON of food. He gets a lot of formula at DC because I'm only pumping ~5 oz/day at work.
All in all, it's going well. BF is really unobtrusive and convenient now.
@choco P takes about 28-30 ounces a day now. I send 16 oz in 4 oz bottles to daycare.
My son eats the same. He usually eats 4, 4oz bottles. Sometimes he wants a couple extra ounces though. DH stays home with him, but If I were sending him, I would probably send one extra bottle or if they would allow an extra storage container they could use part of.
13 months. We are down to just nursing when he wakes up in the morning, which is ok with me. I'm not sure how long we will continue, some days I think he is ready to wean, then the next day he is all about it. We had a rough start, so I am grateful to have made it this long.
I've been BFing for over 9.5 months now. I've pumped here and there since the beginning, but have been pumping more regularly since DS started daycare earlier this month. (With our nanny, I used to just nurse him directly and only pump when I had an appointment or evening event/date.)
I'm psyched to have gotten this far, still amazed that we overcame the big hump of recurring thrush and lip & tongue ties in the fall.
I found a sitter for our month-long trip this summer, so need to either start pumping enough for a day-long trip to EuroDisney with DD as soon as we land or figure out what the European brands of formula are and which we would use. I'm sure it will be fine either way, it's just one day and he'll be over 11 months old then.
12 days of nursing! It's gone really well for us, and he is gaining like a champ. He eats every 90 minutes to 3 hours during the day, every 2 hours like clockwork at night. I'd love to get a 3 hour stretch in there at some point!
Our pedi said we can start trying to pump and intro a bottle now, since he is gaining well and seems to have the hang of things, so I'm going to try that on Monday.
I find myself getting resentful of my H and all the sleep he is getting. I'd love to be able to hand him a bottle at 3 am and have him handle a wake up...Not sure if that's how it works?
I didn't start having DH give a bottle in the MOTN until DS was only feeding MOTN every once in a while. I was terrified of screwing up my supply. But by the time he was 5 or 6 months and would sometimes sleep longer stretches and sometimes not, I figured my body could handle it.
I have been BFing for 4 days shy of one year. DS has always been great at it since day 1 and we haven't had any major issues. He is down to about 4-5 times during the day and 1-2 times overnight.
He has started the toddler nursing antics that I have heard about, including pulling my shirt down when he wants to nurse so I guess it is time to teach him some manners although I am not sure how to go about that.
A question: I have always nursed on demand but I usually offer if it has been a long time (like 4 hours) or before we/I go out. Should I keep offering now that he is almost one or just go totally on demand only when he asks? I am not really interested in weaning anytime soon.
11+ months of bf'ing here. We got of to a rough start but hit a great stride around 8 weeks when we found a great lc. In those early days I never thought we would make it this far. Still pumping, but plan on quitting next month before our beach trip. I'll continue nursing for the foreseeable future.
15 months and still going strong. She nurses at least 3x a day...more on the days I'm home with her. I don't know how much milk she's actually getting at this point but some is better than none, esp since she refuses WCM.
She starts DC next week and I'm happy we are still nursing for that transition.
I didn't start having DH give a bottle in the MOTN until DS was only feeding MOTN every once in a while. I was terrified of screwing up my supply. But by the time he was 5 or 6 months and would sometimes sleep longer stretches and sometimes not, I figured my body could handle it.
whiskeyandwine - what is your supply like? Are you going back to work? I think creating a slight oversupply is a good thing, so if I were you, I'd definitely twice a day and let your H do one bottle at night. Skipping one feeding shouldn't mess up your supply if you're making it up.
So far my supply has been great. He feeds on demand and is gaining weight. The pedi seemed happy.
We're 6.5 weeks in. Everything is going well and he has a great latch. I haven't had any pain or issues for a few weeks now. He is having some reflux in the last week or so. I think he has a cold that is contributing to it, so hopefully it will get better soon.
I've been BFing and pumping for a little over six months. I'm off work for the summer now, so I'll be glad to pump less for the next few months.
No real issues, everything has been going well.
I hear you motzie. I love nursing, but I hate nursing bras. I was a DD before nursing, so nursing bras and tanks are not supportive enough. I don't know if I'll stop nursing completely at a year, but I'll definitely be done pumping and nursing in public, so hopefully I can go back to normal bras then!
12 days of nursing! It's gone really well for us, and he is gaining like a champ. He eats every 90 minutes to 3 hours during the day, every 2 hours like clockwork at night. I'd love to get a 3 hour stretch in there at some point!
Our pedi said we can start trying to pump and intro a bottle now, since he is gaining well and seems to have the hang of things, so I'm going to try that on Monday.
I find myself getting resentful of my H and all the sleep he is getting. I'd love to be able to hand him a bottle at 3 am and have him handle a wake up...Not sure if that's how it works?
Once we got into a routine, I started having DH handle the first wake up. DS goes down between 8 and 9 generally. He's back up between 11 and 12 to eat. I go to bed at 10 and leave a bottle for H to do the first feeding. DS is back up between 3 and 4. I feed him and then pump once he's back to sleep because he never feeds long enough to completely relieve me. I generally get a minimum of 7 ounces, sometimes as much as 10-12. I leave those bottles in the fridge and DS gets 5 oz. at his first wake up that night and the remainder gets frozen.
I hope that makes sense. It's a pretty nice routine for us and allows me to sleep 5-6 much-needed hours usually.
I've been breastfeeding for ten months. It is going well. He nurses a lot throughout the day and before naps. He still does not STTN and wakes up to nurse at least four times during the night. That is our challenge. I wish he would sleep through the night. Neither of his sisters did until they were completely weaned and it looks like he will be the same. The goal is to make it to twelve months and then as long as he wants after that.
Post by smiledamnit on May 24, 2015 15:41:32 GMT -5
I'm so jealous of all of you who have been able to BF without issue. It has been one of the greatest challenges I've ever faced (…feeding Bean in general has been a struggle, though she continues to gain weight at a great pace, thank God).
She was 8 weeks old and I've been EPing for about 3.5 weeks now. The first month or so we were doing the triple feed schedule that was put in place in the hospital (BF, supplement w/ breast milk in bottle, pump), and it about killed me. She never did fully take to the boob (first issues with latching, then issues with reflux, both of which would send her into a frustrated rage that ended in hours of inconsolable crying). I finally got in touch with a great LC, but even she couldn't help get her to take ("can't change a strong personality"). Soooo, I started EPing and hope to do it as long as my supply will hold up. Now we're dealing with dairy sensitivity so I've eliminated that & soy so we'll see if it helps in the coming weeks. My supply has dropped (was averaging 34-ish oz at my peak and am now only averaging 24-ish oz). And I have a freezer stash of about 60 oz that we may not be able to use if it is confirmed that she is, indeed dairy sensitive. So, we've had to supplement a couple times with formula when I'm away since we don't have any back-up milk.
I long for the day when she eats without being uncomfortable &/or in pain. And when I can eat cheese again.
I'll have been nursing C for 3 years in just under 3 weeks (yikes - where did time go?!?). I pumped 3 times/day while at work for the first year, then transitioned slowly to twice per day after a couple of weeks, and then once per day and then done pumping.
We really struggled in the first few months - he had problems gaining weight, wanted to be latched all day long, and didn't have a great latch for the longest time. He was also a reverse cycler once I went back to work at 14 weeks, but that ended up being a good thing as I barely pumped 10-12 oz per day, on a good day.
Now that he's almost three, it's more or less easy, except when I'm touched out. He nurses in the morning, after work (sometimes), and to sleep at night. It's also a great calming tool for him when he's upset.
We are at 8.5 months. I am supplementing some because she refuses to nurse on the left. It's really sad and I have almost no production on the left because of it.
QUESTION - has anyone successfully brought back production on one side? last night I went 12+ hours without nursing. Pumped and got 9 oz on the right and 2 on the left. What's the best strategy to get the left caught up? Sitting on the pump all day? This is selfishly motivated because I'm going to Vegas in 2 weeks and I'm worried I'm going to be SUPER lopsided at the pool. oO