Please critique my breastfeeding routine!

[Peridotty]

Hi ladies! Please can I get some of your wise opinions on my BF routine? Is it ok or are there problems with it that I can’t foresee due to lack of experience? I have a 10 week old baby. I also have a boob with more milk than the other. I am trying to even them out by starting on the slacker boob unless the other one is engorged.

6.30am: breastfeed (on slacker boob) and pump the other boob and put milk in fridge. Go back to bed.
9am - 6pm breastfeed every two hours. Pump if the baby is having a long nap and I store the milk.
9pm-3am breastfeed but if baby gets fussy after one boob and won’t latch on to the second, then I will use the expressed milk from fridge and pump unused boob.

Is this okay? I find I have a ton of excess milk in the morning so I like to pump in the morning around 6am or 8am. She likes to drink more at night and is very fussy too so I use the milk in the morning and I pump instead.

Some of them definitely squirm more than others!

Maybe I am overthinking it! Honestly BF is probably more prolonged stress than anything I’ve done! I just want to do the best for my baby and not leave her hungry. I really don’t get anything done though during the day. I’m spending my time BFing her, or researching about it, worried if she is cueing or not, or pumping

@Spam88 I LOve your explanation. Maybe that is why she cries and arches her back when I feed her from the bottle?? She actually doesn’t want it?

I really think you're doing the wrong thing by offering a bottle when she rejects the boob. You say she sometimes cries and fusses when you offer the bottle as well, but then takes it? That's because it's a lot easier to drink from a bottle and it requires no effort. If you want to encourage her to drink from the other side you need to persevere.
Don't pump unless you're missing a feed otherwise you're encouraging the engorgement. It's supply & demand. Your body thinks your baby needs more milk and you have an oversupply, hence the engorgement.
It's really not that complicated - feed when baby is hungry, dont fanny around with all this pumping and storing lark unless you're planning to be away from baby and someone else needs to feed her. My son always preferred one boob over the other, it's quite normal

You could try a dummy. I never used one with my first, but my second likes to suck for comfort and gets upset when there's milk there. She sometimes just sucks really hard on it for a a few seconds and then just relaxes her whole body. If I tried to give her milk at that point she would be arching. It helps with being able to put her down as well.

I was very wary of introducing a dummy but we only need to use it sparingly when she's getting wound up so I don't feel it's become an issue.

@mrsmummy1111
Yes she fusses and cries when we give her the bottle too but we assumed that because she was drinking it (albeit with screeching and fussing) That she was still hungry. She looks like she doesn’t want the bottle and bats it away with her hand but when we take it away she cries and then she will drink a bit, then cry, bats it away etc etc.

@BlusteryShowers
Tried the dummy which works for a bit but when it falls out she is still awake and squirmy! And cries ! So we assume she is hungry and then we offer her a bottle again or breast.

Oh bless her @Peridotty
The thing with bottles is that the milk comes out without baby even having to suck. So regardless of whether she wants the milk or not, it's in her mouth and she can't help but swallow it. If she's batting it away, she doesn't want it.
Remember it's very difficult to know how much milk a baby is getting when bfeeding. My son was always a very efficient feeder and fed for 10-15 mins at a time. A friend with a baby the same age would feed for 45-60mins. They both gained weight equally and were healthy happy babies. If you're bfeeding and she looks like she's done, offer the other breast and if she doesn't want it, that's ok. Don't force it. She will let you know when she's hungry again.
Have you tried a dummy?? It may just be that she needs the comfort and the sucking motion but doesn't actually want anymore milk. At 10 weeks a dummy shouldn't interfere with breastfeeding.

Sorry have just seen your update. If she's unsettled then it's possible it could just be wind, or she's tired and cross because she wants to go to sleep. I really wouldn't think too much into the feeding, if she's gaining weight then she's getting enough. Don't force a bottle on a breastfed baby if she doesn't want it

Hi op, I had oversupply on both sides and for a while pumped to get rid of the excess as I was becoming engorged. This only led to even more supply and contributed to my DS's reflux as he couldn't cope with the flow and gulped down loads of air. Once I stopped pumping my supply (eventually) calmed down.

I had big oversupply today begin with but pumping made it worse.

As others, I'd recommend stop pumping and using the expressed milk (at least for a few weeks to let supply settle). Feed on demand to let baby regulate supply. If you still want to build up a stash of expressed milk, then get a silicone pump to collect let down from the opposite side as you feed.

Fussing after the first boob is probably wind. Try a rubbing (instead of patting) a straight back, or add a gentle bounce. If she doesn't want the second boob though, it's not a problem.

Fussing isn't necessarily a sign that she is still hungry. Mine will complain if he's done (or due to do) a dirty nappy, or if he is tired, or bored. If she rejects the second boob I'd run through other possible solutions before reaching for the bottle.

Also, give yourself a hug, a cup of tea, and a pat on the back. You've been giving yourself a huge job by adding in the pumping, give yourself a break. You're doing well.

Not saying that this will work for every baby of course, my first used to cry endlessly (it seemed) but with my second whenever he was upset I'd offer breast and if still upset I'd get him to sleep. At 10 weeks he pretty much only woke for feeds still - still not sure whether he was an extra sleepy baby or if I was just accidentally seriously depriving my first of sleep! If you don't have a sling I'd really recommend one - you can stick baby in when they're unhappy and bounce-walk around to get them to sleep whilst having your hands free to eat snacks and use Mumsnet. Also means their squirming isn't such a problem! (Honestly, it's like they want you to drop them isn't it??)

I think they can be overtired and do the squirmy thing. 14 week old here, also breastfed. He tends to feed, I change and he has a play. Then feeds again to nap. So feeding every 90mins-2 mgrs most of the time daytime. But sometimes he feeds again, then doesn’t nap, and then gradually gets more and more tired and won’t settle.

I have found if he has been awake for 2 hrs now and starting to get annoyed, I just put him in carrycot and walk him to sleep. Usually falls asleep within a few mins.

Between 9pm-7am I don’t wake him to feed or express. And he naturally now wakes just 1-2 times overnight.

Could she have reflux? This could make her uncomfortable after a feed hence squirming, arching back with the bottle, not happy lying down. Does she squirm all the time or just after feeds?

Agree with pp the squirming can be wind, reflux, boredom, tiredness, all sorts of things! For my breastfed 12 week old DC2 its generally wind. Can take longer than you think to get the burps out.

I really wouldn't onerthink it but you could start with the slacker boob every feed for a couple of days and use a haakaa on the other boob at the same time. Then offer the favourite boob second. You might get enough in the haakaa that you don't need to pump.

It really doesn’t sound like she’s still hungry after the first breast. If she’s squirming and batting the bottle away then she doesn’t want it. Babies will just drink and drink from a bottle. She can be squirmy for lots of reasons; sometimes babies just go through fussy phases. If she’s hungry she’ll take the second breast. As she takes the first then she clearly doesn’t have a problem with latching etc so if she’s refusing the second one I’d assume she’s not hungry.
It’s so easy when you’re bf to assume everything is linked to hunger; especially in the early days. I was exactly the same. Cry- hungry, fussy- hungry, sleeping- hungry, not sleeping- hungry. But actually as they develop they start doing a lot more that’s nothing to do with hunger. It’s stressful because it’s all on you and you want to do the best by your baby but it sounds like you’re doing great, just making a lot more work for yourself than necessary.

Fussing can also help stimulate letdown so still best to maybe just stop pumping for now and see how you get on just feeding directly from each side... and join that fb group.

@June628
Thanks! Yes I do assume everything is linked to hunger ! So does my husband.
So today I took all you mamas’ advice and I didn’t pump and I didn’t give the bottle! Turns out I didn’t need the bottle after all. When she rejected the second boob she stayed calm afterwards and still fell asleep with the pacifier without the need for a bottle. She actually cried less today because I wasn’t trying to force her to take the breast or the bottle.
I didn’t pump but the side with the oversupply kept leaking and my T-shirt was soaked with milk haha. However I think the engorgement has got better without the pumping (breast wouldn’t refill so quickly).
How can I give her vitamin d supplement without the bottle though ?

@Caspianberg
Yes my baby definitely gets upset when she is overtired too. She cries a lot when overtired but it is so hard to put her to sleep and stay asleep. She doesn’t like it unless we hold her and rock her whilst walking around.

Back in the day( My kids are grown ups ) we fed on demand and put the baby to the fuller breast each time, so generally the opposite one to the previous time. I had a clip I put on the bra hook of the boob I fed on so I'd know which was next to begin with ( ie when it was all through the night and I was a zombie ) I only had to pump one time I got a blocked duct and ended up with mastitis. Then I soaked in the bath and pumped by hand. ( sounds gross !)

Meant to add, you are constantly feeding on an empty boob. That's not right. Use the full one and you'll have a fuller baby and longer between feeds to rest. Congrats by the way ! Enjoy it !

Is it always the 'fuller' boob which she 'refuses'?

If so, it can be difficult for babies to latch onto engorged breasts so you could try hand expressing a small amount first to release a bit of pressure and make it easier.

Just put the drops straight in her mouth or give it on a spoon.

Wellbaby drops have a syringe. It all dribbles out though until they get a bit older. I wouldn't worry if you're showing her the sun at this time of year.

Vit D drops can go on your finger and then have her suck it off.
I was going to say the same as everyone else before me.... stop the pumping. You're doing fine without it.
It's completely natural for a baby that age to only want to sleep on you or being held. Have you tried feeding lying down?