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Infant feeding

Think I'm just perpetuating a problem. How to break the cycle?

6 replies

SquedgieBeckenheim · 01/04/2017 11:25

DD2, 1 month old, EBF. Was feeding every 3 hours round the clock. Now feeding 1-2.5 hourly for last couple days. R side becoming engorged between feeds, L side only feeling full every couple hours. Because of the engorgement, I've been starting feeds with the R side every time, after hand expressing to relieve some pressure and get over the active letdown. She doesn't always then go to feed from the other side.
DD is settled after feeds but fussing at the breast at times, doesn't always feed to sleep now. She's vomiting after feeds where she didn't use to. I think she's not getting enough of the fattier milk. When I hand express the milk seems watery. It's pale/clear rather than the creamy white I get from L side.
If I feed her only from L side and express from R side, am I going to make things worse or begin to get back to where we were a few days ago? We'd finally got her latch issues sorted and feeding was going so well!

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InFrance2014 · 01/04/2017 14:18

Hi, I'd say every 3 hours is quote a long stretch anyway at that age, 1.5-2 is normal as this is growth spurt time. If you are only starting feeds every time on the R side, you are giving signals that this is the in-demand breast, so it will be refilling faster. It's very easy to stress out about sides, I would say try swopping each time for a couple of days and see what happens.
For the vomiting, again this could be totally normal, they can start possetting or even vomiting as your supply keeps increasing over these early weeks, and their capacity to take more increases. I'm not a lactation expert, only coming from perspective of having a second vomity baby who was totally fine. If you are worried she's showing other unusual symptoms or she seems very distressed, get her checked out.
Similarly, it can be totally normal go through phases of falling to sleep on the boob or not, and fussy- this can all be down to growing and developmental stuff. 5 weeks/1 month is prime for this.
I understand that the fore/hind milk thing is greatly overstated. If you give reasonably long feeds, and swop the boobs regularly, then she will get a mix. Also you can actually use your hand to shake your boob a bit before the feed to mix it up supposedly.

Keep going, sounds like you got over the major latch hurdle.

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AssassinatedBeauty · 01/04/2017 15:12

I would just try a couple of days feeding from each breast alternately, and see how you get on, as the PP says. You shouldn't need to try and engineer the foremilk/hindmilk if you feed normally, offering alternate breasts each time. It should all settle down.

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SquedgieBeckenheim · 01/04/2017 15:54

Thanks for your replies. This is all so different to DD1! DD1 fed 2 hours round the clock for 6 months, was very rarely sick. I had over supply, but not this much.
She is only feeding one side most of the time, but she's not managing to empty the R side. She's fussing on that side, I have forceful letdown so she pulls away when the milk is spraying everywhere. Then she's fussing later in the feed, I think when she has to work a bit more for the milk.
We've had 4 outfit changes today due to the vomiting after feeds! This is new today, before she was rarely sick. Seriously, it came out of her mouth and nose earlier! I'll monitor it all, and resist the urge to express to relieve the engorgement.

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ForTheSakeOfFuck · 01/04/2017 16:34

Totally off the main point: of you're an over-supplier, and wouldn't mind the extra work (hahahahaaaa yeah, who doesn't want extra stuff to do with newborns in the picture) any chance you could be a milk donor for your local NICU? It doesn't remotely fix your problem other than skimming off the thinner foremilk a bit so yours gets more hindmilk.

Just the (admittedly selfish) random thought of someone who might be having tiny preemie twins.

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SquedgieBeckenheim · 01/04/2017 16:55

Our nearest NICU is a few hours away, we live in the middle of nowhere. I don't know how I'd be able to donate, logistically.
DD1 was a NICU baby. Flowers for you, hope your twins are healthy and don't have to be in long.

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ForTheSakeOfFuck · 01/04/2017 17:02

Ah, that's a shame but I ran into exactly the same problem trying to donate oversupply from DS. Literally PINTS of the stuff that would've fed a dozen tiny NICU babies and they made it virtually logistically impossible.

(I'm hoping/praying we make it to 36w. The little peanut just needs to keep putting on the ounces so she doesn't get dwarfed by her piglet sister. Come on peanut! Guzzle those nutrients and get fat!)

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