Any pro breastfeeders in the house?

[Kanfuzed123]

I breastfed my first with a great amount of difficulty (low birth weight, un diagnosed tongue tie, stagnant weight gain, tongue tie reattachment etc) and I’ve just had my second and I’ve forgotten so much. Tried to get through to breastfeeding helpline and LL but they were all busy, posted on a few Fb BF groups but for some reason posts haven’t been approved.

Baby is day 5, nappies have changed colour and we’re having lots of wets and dirty nappies, 5.7% weight loss and no jaundice. Baby feeds so frequently though at least 14 times a day relatively settled in between except in the evening around 9pm and then 1am and then he is SO distressed, crying and sobbing wanting to latch but pulling off crying and getting so cross. Is this normal? I can’t remember if my first did this, I don’t think so? How can I latch him when he’s like this? I’ve taken to 1/2 oz / oz of expressed milk / formula to calm him, but even then he’s so worked up. It often happens mid feed too and I can tell there is milk there. Evening he’ll feed back to back to, 15/ 20 mins between feeds sometimes. My bum is numb!

Baby had a tongue tie and was revised day 3, she gave me some great latch tips so it’s not sore anymore except for the first 10 secs. Worried it could be a sign of ineffective transfer of milk, hence wanting to feed so much?

Any help tips or suggestions would be fab!

I did ask the CMW who did the 5 day check but she said she wasn’t sure but not to worry as weight loss was minimal and nappies are good.

Fast let down? My milk comes out too fast so I pop a dummy in to soothe^^ while I use a haakaa on my breast for a few minutes to get the initial let down out. This can then be frozen.

Mine is 10 weeks old and still pisses about on the breast often. Latching on and off and getting into a state even when I've got the initial let down out and the flow is comfortable for him. It's infuriating. If he gets himself in a state I give him a dummy and just keep him at the breast. Sometimes he wants the comfort and not the milk. Sometimes the dummy is enough to calm him so that he'll then latch on to the breast. Sometimes we just sort of fight back and forth for a bit before he gets it!

They're such a mystery at times.

He also has reflux so there can be a cycle of feeding to soothe the reflux but the feeding also causes the reflux! I just try to be patient and we get there in the end. And always have a dummy to hand!

Oh and the endless feeding during the cluster feeding stages is normal. It comes and goes with growth spurts. I remember some days I felt like all I was doing was passing him from one breast to the other. Christ, then he'd bring it all up and be hungry again

Plenty nappies and baby gaining weight means you're doing the right thing. You'll both figure out your own rhythms. Look for feeding cues to avoid the tears. I'm still shite at that though! He's often sobbing on the breast because I've not noticed the cues^ in time sigh.^

My DS used to refuse the breast during his evening witching hour. I found that the best I could do if he refused to feed was to walk around with him in a sling or over my shoulder for a while until he calmed down before trying again.

You shouldn’t give him a bottle at this age - it’s just about the worst thing you can do for a baby who’s still learning how to breastfeed.

The thing about newborns having 8-12 feeds per day is total BS. Feeding every hour all day long is normal. Have a few days of pretty much non-stop feeding during a growth spurt is normal. Having a few hours of almost non-stop feeding every evening is also normal. DS is still on about 15 feeds a day and he’s 8 months old.

“You shouldn’t give him a bottle at this age - it’s just about the worst thing you can do for a baby who’s still learning how to breastfeed.”

That’s rubbish. Plenty of people mix feed. Both of mine had bottles and boob from birth and were just fine.

It might not be what everyone would recommend but it’s certainly not “the worst” thing you can do for a BF baby.

@TuesdayRuby Let me explain…

The first few feeds after DS was born were a struggle. It always took several attempts to latch him on and once he was latched on he would often come off again after a few minutes. So one of the hospital staff gave him a bottle of formula. After that first bottle he would not latch at all no matter what anyone did. He wouldn’t even try to latch. It took about four weeks to get him back to the breast.

I also have an acquaintance who decided to give her month old son a few bottles from time to time. He decided that he preferred the bottle and completely refused the breast from then on.

Thanks all!!!

Baby was 5.7% down at our 5 day check and 50g over birth weight at 10days so feeding must be going ok.

He’s quite hiccupy though? DD was too but hers was due to her horrific tongue tie, is hiccuping normal or should I be worried his TT has returned? Xx

I had this with my first, low birth weight and posterior tongue tie; he'd get really frustrated at times.

I was taught by a peer supporter to walk around the room feeding him; you hold them a little securer as well as it can distract and calm them.

Also look at videos of laid back breastfeeding; they like to push their feet against your leg so they can control the flow.

Could also be too fast letdown, could try allowing some express off first (even if just hand) for the slower flow. When mine was tired and actually wanted to breast sleep he got cross if it was flowing too fast. Laid back bf does help with that too.

I was given the analogy it's like a dance; you need to learn each other's rhythm and everyone dances in a slightly different way.

Hiccups could be latch (swallowing a little air) or just body growing and changing.

Again laid back breast feeding also helps with any wind as they're slightly on their tummy.

Hiccups are quite normal. All sounds like it's going really well! There's a bit of a myth that breastfeeding babies is this calm, peaceful experience. In fact, I'd liken it to wrestling with an increasingly angry eel I am currently bf-ing my third dc so do have experience! And fussiness is totally normal/fine. Remember your main indicators of how it's going are weight gain and nappy output. If these are fine - relax. Check the kellymom website as a good source of info.