I am currently pregnant with my third DC but had problems breastfeeding my DS1 and DS2 so I am trying to find out what went wrong so that I can prevent it with this baby.
DS1 refused the breast from day one. When he latched on he would spit out the nipple immediately and cry. I ended up feeding him through nipple shields but he was very colicky for the first few months. He was exclusively breastfed (with the nipple shields) for four months then supplemented with one bottle of formula from four months until eight months when he just lost interest in bfing so I continued with follow-on milk.
DS2 did a lot better and didn't need the nipple shields but he would sometimes come off the breast and cry and then the milk would spray across the room (sorry if tmi.) He had six or seven green mucously nappies a day and would cry when he was passing them in evident abdominal pain. I started him on solids at four months and the green nappies cleared up within a week. I suspect that he was given a bottle of formula in hospital after he was born although the midwives denied it but other than that he was exclusively breastfed until nine months when he lost interest. He would never take a bottle, even of expressed breast milk.
Now I have Dr Google to turn to it seems that these problems may stem from overactive letdown so I am looking for advice on how to deal with this from day one. Does anyone have any tips on a strategy to use, e.g. positioning, block feeding, expressing, etc. to help with this issue. My experience with my last two DCs is that the midwifes, health visitors, GPs and breastfeeding support group were of no practical use. I asked my mum (a health visitor) about overactive letdown problems and she was amazed because she's never heard of it, she says it has never even been mentioned at any breastfeeding lectures she has been to.
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Infant feeding
Any advice for dealing with overactive letdown?
11 replies
StuntNun · 05/08/2012 06:35
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