Lactation Consultant Here to Help you

I have a 3 month old that chews on me. I detach him and try reattaching and he continues to chew through the whole feeding. Do you have any advice? Its making me very sore!

smuniz | November 20, 2008 | reply

At what point does he start chewing? Typically, once they start chewing they are done and just playing. EH may be a super quick eater and then be just playing around - making you sore and frustrated.

CalmBabyRN | November 21, 2008 | reply

Wow -- 3 minutes?! That would be amazing. Thanks for the advice. I will try to implement those things. I'm also going to get in touch with an LC in my area that will come to the house. I'll let you know how it goes.

Naturgirl | November 15, 2008 | reply

If you don't have any luck, I can help you via web cam but you should be able to find someone to come out to you!

CalmBabyRN | November 15, 2008 | reply

UPDATE: I have been experimenting with different positioning. I eventually tried the football hold and she latched on like a pro. I can't get her to latch on in any other positions yet, but I'm happy her latch mechanism isn't broken. = ) She seems to still want the bottle once she's done with the boob. How do I get her to do her whole feeding on the boob????

Naturgirl | November 23, 2008 | reply

How is your supply? If she has been consistently supplementing after each feeding you may not be "demanding" enough at the breast, so your body thinks she only needs that certain amount. You may need to take a fenugreek supplement to increase your supply. The other thing is that babies frequently like to continue sucking after the feeding is done, this is when you should use a pacifier instead of offering the bottle. I would recommend you having a consult to assess your overall supply at this point. Good Luck!

CalmBabyRN | November 27, 2008 | reply

I have a 4 week old baby that was born premature and tiny (4 lb. 4 oz) and had problems latching, so I have been pumping and bottle feeding. Our initial concern was making such she got fed, however that had to happen. She is now up to 6 lb. 7 oz. and I have had some luck with getting her to BF for short periods. I don't think she is getting much milk and she only stays latched for a short time. I am trying to get her more in the hang of BFing, but its tough since she's so used to the bottle. She seems to latch and then release and get frustrated. Any tips? I tried a nipple shield and she didn't like it.

Naturgirl | November 13, 2008 | reply

A few things but FIRST I want you to know that it is possible to get her to latch on it just may take patience, sometimes a lot of patience. I find that when a baby comes off and on and seems to get "frustrated" a couple of factors could be in play. First, her position, if she can't suck, swallow AND breath she will come off your breast to do so. Since she is little you need to be sure she is spositioned high up on your chest I like the My Brest Friend pillow) in a straight line (not draped diagonally), her head, shoulders, hips and legs should all be in one straight line, diaper pressed against your opposite breast, feet wrapped around your body and under you arm. We need to be sure can also swallow and breath...try something, tilt your head down, chin to your chest and try to swallow, now turn your head to the side and try to swallow - you can't right...neither can she, she needs to be looking slightly up, head tilted to open up her nose and airway so she can easily breath.

Once we know she isn't struggling to breath and swallow then we can move on to other possibilities. A bottle is instant satisfaction, requires no effort, breastfeeding is th eopposite, requires deep sucking and it takes some time to initiate the let down. A baby used to instant bottle flow will get very frustrated when the let down is taking some time. She will get it, this is the point when you MUST stay patient, I have worked with some babies for more than 30 minutes before they give in and latch on beautifully and nurse. Sometimes I put a couple of drops of milk on the nipple, you also can try to throw the pump on for a few mintues to get the milk flowing and then latch her on. Be carefu using a nipple shield, esp. for a little baby. Nipple shields come in all different sizes with differnt size holes in the ends. If the shield is too smll you run the risk of the baby not being able to adequately drain the breast, not getting enough milk and eventually decreasing your supply. I only recommend the Medela size 24 Contact Nipple Shield, regardless of the baby's size.

Be patient, keep trying...she will get it, I've never had a baby completely hold fast to their breast rejection and I've taken care of babies who were bottle or tube feed for months in the NICU before we got them to latch on. Hang in there, seek out a lactation consultant to see you in person. See a lactation consultant who will weight the baby, allow you to feed her and then weigh her again to see how much she's getting. Important because some babies are exptrememly efficient and take a complete feeding in minutes, I've seen some very small babies take in a complete feeding in 3 minutes! Keep an eye on her wet diapers to monitor her hydration...6-8 WET diapers in 24 hours.

Hugs, good luck, keep us updated!

Alisa - Calm Baby RN

CalmBabyRN | November 14, 2008 | reply

Hi! I had a question too.

I have a 16 week old daughter, and we have been battling with thrush off and on for about 12 weeks. We have been using the nyostatin, both liquid and the pill for myself. I am getting tremendously frustrated with it, and it isn't seeming to clear up. Are there any suggestions you might have for me? Thanks so much.

Shannon

ShannonDionne | November 1, 2008 | reply

Thrush and can be extremely difficult to get rid of in some cases as you have experienced. First, you must be very diligent about the treatment for both you and the baby, I would toss out any pacifiers and bottles and start new and then in some cases we need to modify your diet. Yeast grows and thrives on sugar. In your case I would cut sugar out of your diet completely and see if that helps.

CalmBabyRN | November 5, 2008 | reply

I am so sorry you have been going through this. I bf'd my first 2 kids for 2 years each without a glitch. Then, baby #3 came along 8 months ago and bam! Thrush, mastitis, sores, you name it, I got it!

I used Nystatin, didn't work at all for me. By the way, it's pure sugar which breeds the candida (IMO) Cut out all sugar for sure if you haven't already. I used Gentian Violet for a little bit, but you can't use it for long and its messy.

Here is what I think really worked for me. It took 9 weeks of h#!! to get rid of it altogether. After all the ''medicine'' from the doctors that did NOTHING...... I started virgin apple cider vinegar about week 6/7. Put on nipples before and after, and swabbed his mouth. Then, I found out about GrapeFRUIT seed extract (vit shop has it). Not grape seed, but grapefruit seed. Pill and liquid.

This is the final blow to the thrush and it hasn't returned.. I used it INTERNALLY with the pills, then swabbed the diluted GSE on nipples and mouth.

Don't give up, it will get better. My boy is a great nurser, and I am pain free! read about it on here

http://www.gseinformation.com/

JUBILEE | November 4, 2008 | reply

Thanks for the advice. I have a 2 year old and breastfed him, and we had some of the same issues, but it was only for a week or 2, not for this long! I did pick up that Grapefruit seed extract and the liquid. How long did it take for it to "kick" in so to speak? Just wondering.

I was ready to give it up, it is very painful and I wanted to throw in the towel, but I will stick with it. I know it is the best thing for my daughter. I really appreciate your help and advice.

Thanks again

Shannon

ShannonDionne | November 5, 2008 | reply

Keep us updated!!

CalmBabyRN | November 7, 2008 | reply

Thanks! It has been about 5 days so far, and it seems to be getting a little more bearable. Carys has her 4 month appointment Monday, so we'll see if it has gone away.

Shannon

ShannonDionne | November 8, 2008 | reply

Hope the appointment went well!!

CalmBabyRN | November 10, 2008 | reply

I could so use your advices. I am the mother of 5 1/2 month old twins and have so far been BFing with almost no supplementation, none since about 4 months, but I have been having a huge problem. Milk blisters, which have led to mastitis 5 times now. I have tried multple things to prevent them, but my little girl is a "suck and release" nurser who constantly causes friction when she nurses. I am at my wits end. I want to BF until they are at least 9 months, preferably a year, but I can't keep taking antibiotics for mastitis. Can you help? Any advice is welcome, and I am willing to try just about anything.

Thank you,

Lorie

lillo6 | October 31, 2008 | reply

Hi Lorie! Congrats on the twins and you should be very proud of yourself for nursing them!!! I'm sure this chronic mastitis is getting very frustrating. Couple of questions first...

Are you tandem nursing them?

Do you use any type of positioner or nursing pillow?

Have you ever had thrush or have you ever noted white patches in the baby's mouth?

Do you have chronic pain in the nipple, before, during or after the feedings?

Have you had a breastmilk culture?

Have you tried taking Lecithin and/or extra Viatmin C?

Are you wearing underwire or tight fitting bras?

I just need a little more info before I can help point you in the right direction, hopefully!!

Hang in there!

CalmBabyRN | October 31, 2008 | reply

Ultimately the BEST rememdy for gassiness is frequent efficient burping - the air to come out one way or the other and I find that if after a couple of minutes of burping we don't get the air out we give up and that is the start of a chain of events. If the baby falls asleep during the feeding it will be hard to get the burp out so I recommend stopping the baby frequently to burp.

I tell my clients to be dramatic and when in doubt burp the baby and try that for a couple days and you will see the dramatic difference. Keep us updated!!

CalmBabyRN | October 31, 2008 | reply

Thank you for your reply! I actually hadn't realized you had replied to me. Thank you for your suggestions. I have not been pumping so that should not be an issue. I will try taking her off the breast when she's gulping...and see if that helps. Something has definitely been bothering her in the last week or so and I'm pretty sure it's gas....

Would block feeding be of any benefit to me to get my supply under control?

Thanks!

Rebekah

twinmom303 | October 27, 2008 | reply

I can definately help you. A couple things, first are you pumping? We have to address the oversupply and it is frequently caused by pumping too much in the first 5-6 weeks. I recommend limiting the use of the pump to once per day, early in the AM when your supply is already at it's peak (due to increase in prolactin levels over night) and ONLY pumping 0.5 oz, nothing more.

In the meantime, just when you notice the let down, and you hear start to gulp you need to stop her, take her off your breast inderting your finger into the corner of her mouth and breaking the seal and allow the letdown (spraying) to happen into a burp cloth instead of forcing the baby to gulp. Once the let down stops you can put her back on but be sure to frquently burp her, if she's gulping then she is swallowing lots of air, if she's swallowing air then she is probably getting gassy and fussy.

Let me know how this works, be careful using any creative positions. Typically the best position is sitting upright, using The Breast Friend pillow and the cross cradle hold.

Good Luck, hang in there!

Alisa

Calm Baby RN

CalmBabyRN | October 19, 2008 | reply

I just saw your post here about being a lactation consultant and I was wondering if you could help me out a bit. I have a 3 week old breastfed baby. In the last week, we've been having problems with what I think is oversupply issues and/or forceful letdown (or both?). She has been gulping, sometimes gagging and choking and getting lots of air. I talked to a lady from our hospital and she suggested different positions (laying down with the baby higher than me...). That has helped slightly, but we are still having issues. She eats every 3 hours and eats usually 10 minutes or so on each side at each feeding. I would appreciate any advice you could give. I hate to see her being uncomfortable! This is my first EBF experience and I have been frustrated with this!

Thank you!

Rebekah

twinmom303 | October 18, 2008 | reply

I just saw your post here about being a lactation consultant and I was wondering if you could help me out a bit. I have a 3 week old breastfed baby. In the last week, we've been having problems with what I think is oversupply issues and/or forceful letdown (or both?). She has been gulping, sometimes gagging and choking and getting lots of air. I talked to a lady from our hospital and she suggested different positions (laying down with the baby higher than me...). That has helped slightly, but we are still having issues. She eats every 3 hours and eats usually 10 minutes or so on each side at each feeding. I would appreciate any advice you could give. I hate to see her being uncomfortable! This is my first EBF experience and I have been frustrated with this!

Thank you!

Rebekah

twinmom303 | October 18, 2008 | reply

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