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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

some help please, I am clueless

13 replies

Tooodlepip · 12/10/2012 18:32

Hi everyone

The support you guys gave me in the begining was amazing so here I am again Smile

Thing is I have an exam on Monday and I have to sit it. I bought a tommee tippee hand pump to express some milk for monday, I'll be gone around 4-5 hours in total so my 4 week old will be with my dh. Today I fed him then I suppose 45 min later I expressed from the breast that I fed him from and got 1 oz easy, I could have carried on but I didnt want to as I just want to over the weekend introduce the bottle.

so can you please tell me, what would be a full feed how many oz should i try and leave for him, also if I express from the breast that he was due to start with at his next feed would that use up his next feed I really don't want to interrupt his normal feeding pattern, so how is it best to do this, maybe feed him from one breast then express after from that and other breast I am confusing myself

secondly, I took my son to the gp re tt, she couldn't see his tongue properly she was trying with a stick thing but he was asleep and wouldn't open his mouth much, anyway I showed her his upper lip and he also has on his lower lip and she just said no thats normal its just a wee frenulum (spelling) but isn't that what lip tie is?? she did notice that he can stick his tongue out and when he yawns he does open wide, but when I am feeding his, at times its still sore and I swear he gulps in loads of air. Oh yeah when she was looking at his tongue she said its not too bad, so does he have it or not I was sort of rushed as she was busy and said she would check him again at his 8 week app.

After expressing today I am worried that he might not be getting fully what he should be due to air I mean he feeds ok a couple of feeds he'll be windy and cry and fuss but mostly I think he is ok, and he seems content and is gaining weight so what do I do just leave it or try and find out for sure??

things i noticed that made me suspect tt was gulping in loads of air due to losing the nipple, his tongue sometimes isn't able to catch its hard to explain and the pain I get feeding him, and how he doesnt open wide to latch??

some advice would be much appreciated, especially re expressing

some other questions they might seem silly but does expressing reduce your milk supply are you more likely to give up bf if you express?? If I wanted to do it long term every now and again can i do both bf and sometimes give a bottle of expressed milk??

thanks sorry for full of questions thread Smile

OP posts:
mawbroon · 12/10/2012 18:48

You need the tt checked out by someone who knows about tt. Too many HCPs say no tie when there is actually one there.

Milk matters have a virtual service to help you identify tongue tie and can point you in the right direction for knowledgeable help in your area.

Not very up on expressing info though, sorry!

Original poster
Tooodlepip · 12/10/2012 18:59

Thanks mawbroon

Why do you think they aren't too concerned is it because he is feeding ok or is it one of those things they won't do anything about anyway I'm in Northern Ireland

OP posts:
ElphabaTheGreen · 12/10/2012 19:13

Ask your HV for a referral to a breast feeding specialist/lactation consultant, preferably one that is qualified to snip TTs on the spot. A GP isn't going to know the first thing about identifying or treating TTs or the consequences they can have! As an example, when a BFing specialist assessed my DS, her fingers were in and around his mouth for a good 5 minutes checking tongue mobility, gape, lips. She even got him on a plinth under a magnifying light and had a look at both mine and DH's tongues! I sincerely doubt your, or any GP, would have been that thorough.

Original poster
Tooodlepip · 12/10/2012 19:44

Forgot to mention he can't maintain a seal well hence air

And constant hiccups Grin

Do u think he is getting a chance to feed enough ?? I'm worried Sad

OP posts:
ElphabaTheGreen · 12/10/2012 19:53

Pooing well, lots of heavy/wet nappies and alert equals a baby who is taking in enough.

Get thee to a BFing specialist! Oh crumbs, it's a Friday

mawbroon · 12/10/2012 21:10

They are not too concerned because they don't understand about the consequences of untreated tongue tie.

I am all too aware of them because ds1 went undiagnosed until age 6.

whatinthewhatnow · 12/10/2012 21:35

it sounds like he's ok in that he is gaining weight, and if he is also having wet and dirty nappies and behaving normally then that is also reassuring. it's still making you sore though, so having a specialist look at it sounds like a good idea (in my experience GP and hospital paediatricians know shit about tongue ties - the best I've found have been lactation consultants, but they do cost - where I am it's £120 for consultation, snip and follow up which I think is pretty good, but that's southeast, it might be cheaper where you are).

fwiw I bled and cried at every feed until DS was 6 weeks old. just when i had resigned myself to months of pain, it stopped, just like that, and he was breastfed for 2 years in the end.

MumOfTheMoos · 12/10/2012 21:48

Expressing: I leave my baby (who is now 6mths but I am still bf-ing) twice a week whilst I go to college. I try and express every day and normally do it an hour after his feed. However, seeing you're feeding a 4 week old you might want to express 30 mins or so after the last feed.

Most people swear by expressing in the morning but I have often expressed in the evening whilst watching telly.

When I'm at college I express when I would have given him a feed.

Expressing helps increase or maintain your supply by creating demand not te other way around.

As to the amount, it's hard to tell as of course none of has any idea how much our dc's drink when feeding. My little one when feeding from a bottle usually drinks between 60 and 100mls and has very occasionally drunk more. If I'm not going to be around then I work on 100-120mls per feed but he's rarely drunk that much. You can build up what you need over a few days.

Go and see a lactation consultant about your tongue tie concerns. My ds has undiagnosed tongue tie for the first 4 weeks and it was the breastfeeding council orbs not e midwives, GPs or others that got it. Do it just or your own piece of mind.

Good luck with your exam!

ceeveebee · 12/10/2012 21:51

I don't know anything about tongue tie but did do lots of expressing in the early days with my twins. I used to express about 1 hour after a feed and I used to do both breasts (double pump). I found I got a lot more in the early morning then later in the day.

At that age I think probably 2 bottles each with 3 or 4 oz would probably be ok for 4-5 hours. But only you know how frequently your DS feeds.I would try to express about 8oz in total-you can freeze in small quantities, then your partner can defrost what he needs - easy to defrost quickly if you put the bag in hot water.

ceeveebee · 12/10/2012 21:51

Xpost but very consistent!!

Original poster
Tooodlepip · 12/10/2012 22:45

He won't take the bottle(tommee tippee ) should I start panicking now Sad

Should I try a different bottle will it make a difference ?? Help Blush

OP posts:
ceeveebee · 12/10/2012 22:55

Are you feeding him or your DH? Sometimes babies will take a bottle from their dad but not their mum

Or you could try a different teat - we used nuk which we were told by SCBU were best teat to use when mixed feeding.

ElphabaTheGreen · 13/10/2012 01:10

Mam bottles, given to him initially while he was fast asleep, turned my bottle refuser around.

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