Newborn choking on breastmilk

[ImmyMc]

So today my baby (one week old) has been vomiting (i.e. not reflux) up all of the breastmilk she took. The midwife thinks my milk supply is too fast and forceful for her and she gave me some strategies. They helped with the vomit but she is still choking and coughing when feeding, even though she is lying on me when feeding, tummy to tummy, so it's supposed to lessen the force of the flow.

I looked it up online today to find more strategies for slowing the milk and ive scared myself shitless. So many things about how babies can actually choke and die on breastmilk because of this issue. Or about how they can get pneumonia from the milk in their lungs.

I am so scared she is going to choke and die when she feeds from me.

Remember your body is still learning to make milk and your baby is still learning to feed it takes a while for the supply, demand to get in sync.

Try expressing some milk first, you can freeze it for future use and then there will be less 'pressure' behind the feed when baby latches on. Your supply will even itself out soon enough. Babies can lap breast milk up straight from the edge of a cup but it takes forever, but is a useful technique to know when they get their first cold and struggles to feed as their nose is stuffed up. I wouldn't recommend trying that for too long at the beginning as it could impact the developing latch.

You can find terrifying stories on any subject when you go looking. A bit like when Dr Google tells you that run of the mill headache you've searched up isn't a headache but is really a brain tumour and you've got 3 days to live.

I was advised that when I felt the let down to move the baby away from the breast for a moment while the milk squirted out into a cloth and then put the baby back on breast.
It got better in time as the baby got bigger and I got more used to the whole thing.

Latch your baby in and then take her off again. Squeeze all the let down milk into a muslin. Then latch baby back on again when the milk has calmed down a bit. I had this too and had to do this. It settled down after a few weeks

She won’t choke and die, just follow the advice. I had this problem but with green frothy poo which can be caused by too fast let down. It will all settle for you, your flow will most likely slow and become easier to feed. Everything is so strange and hard at the beginning.

Exactly what the above posters have said. I had the same with one boob (not sure why it only affected one side) and had to take DS off until the flow slowed. DS eventually learnt to do this himself (and often used to get a big squirt in the eye for his efforts ).

@OnTheHillNotOverIt @LittleSnakes @Blackbird2020

How do I know what the let down feels like? Would I take her off, hand express some milk, then put her back on again?

Let down happens at the start of a feed usually after the first few sucks and it feels like a rush of milk through your boob, a bit tingly.

If you have fast let down you will know because if you remove baby the milk will squirt out like a fire hose!

Side lying feeding helped us with fast let down. I also used to catch the first bit of milk in a muslin sometimes (although catching it in a container for storing might have been more sensible).

If your baby does cough and splutter, do wind her before continuing the feed, as she may have taken in lots of air and may struggle to get it back up at the end of the feed - which will mean uncomfortable tummy and also she will take in less milk due to feeling “full”.

good luck!

[quote ImmyMc]**@OnTheHillNotOverIt* @LittleSnakes* @Blackbird2020

How do I know what the let down feels like? Would I take her off, hand express some milk, then put her back on again?[/quote]

If your baby is choking then the let down is coming out too fast. When you take your breast out of her mouth is the milk flying out of you? The let down is just that initial gush of milk.

Hand express into a muslin to get the initial let down out which will slow the flow down and make the feed more comfortable for your baby. And buy a couple of haakaas. Put them on your breast to get the let down out before you feed. Then you can freeze what you've collected. I have so much let down to express for a comfortable feed that it's tiresome hand expressing into a muslin but it does in a pinch when I'm out and about. With a haakaa the milk can be frozen which is a fab feeling to have a supply building. You can also have one on the opposite breast while baby feeds to catch more milk.

Your baby is so brand new. Your milk may settle down. Mine hasn't! But what will happen is your baby's stomach will get bigger. She will also get better at feeding as she grows.

My 4 month old has been through the mill with my forceful let down, and if he's struggling and pulls off to catch his breath (or cough!) it seems like everyone within a 10 foot radius gets squirted

Remember that even as their stomachs grow, the muscles are still undeveloped. Some babies are terrible for bringing milk back up. I spend my life now covered in regurgitated milk don't worry if your baby turns out the same. The only things that matters are: is she having plenty of wet nappies and is she gaining weight.

Muslins and haakaas are your friends. Oh and a dummy. A dummy helps my wee boy to wait while I'm using a haakaa or quickly hand expressing. And I find it useful to pop a dummy in after his feed. The sucking helps him keep his milk down... sometimes!!

Your milk supply will soon settle. Express a little just before your dd feeds. Freeze for future use.

Oh I forgot to say, you said she's vomiting up all the milk she took. This is unlikely. Their stomachs are so tiny, they don't need much.

I still joke that I don't know how my boy is gaining weight when everything he drinks he brings up again.

Well clearly not! He's a chunky monkey and absolutely fine. It looks like more than it actually is when they soak through their 5th outfit of the morning day.

It does get better. But don't look at the milk that comes up and think that her belly is now empty. You'll go through a lot of cluster feeding in the coming weeks then you'll get into a rhythm and things will settle. It will get better. Your baby will be just fine

Yes, your babies stomach is about the sue of a golf ball at the moment, it doesn't take much to fill it up and it emptys quickly too hence the regular feeding. BF babies digest their milk very quickly so even if it feels like she's bringing all her milk back up its very doubtful.

The let down is that first bit where you can kind of feel the milk starting. A few seconds after they latch on. It only lasts about 10 or 20 seconds.

My midwife suggested expressing in the shower or the bath. I thought WTF are you talking about? How do I express? It felt very strange.

I gently squeezed my nipple at the edge of the areola a few times in the shower. The milk came out like a shower head from several holes in my nipple. I’m normally sensible but I’d thought a nipple had one hole like a bottle teat

I’d been feeding baby with the other breast covered by a bra and a breast pad so hadn’t seen what happens when the milk comes out. When you’re somewhere safe and cosy, feed with your breasts uncovered so that you can see what happens.

You just get better at it as you get to know your body and baby better. It’s so new first time. Later on with my first baby and with my later newborns I was able to hand express into cloths, cups, sinks just to get that first gush of fore milk out and soften my breast a bit to help them get a latch. And lying down is good.

Also, just remember that breastfeeding is hard at the beginning until you get used to it. So don’t worry if it’s all a bit tricky to get the hang of. That’s normal.

I just have myself in a panic that the baby will choke and die because my milk is too fast.

You are going to find all kinds of things to worry about as your baby grows and experiences their first cold, coughing and spluttering over their first solid foods, going to nursery, walking to school by themselves, driving themselves around, going off to university. It's highly unlikely that anything bad will actually happen in any of those circumnstances but we still worry a little. It becomes an issue if you are worrying so much it impacts your life.

What have you done since yesterday to help calm yourself? Have you carried on feeding your baby as normal? Tried some of the techniques suggested by your HV and people on this board? How did you find them, did any work better than others? Can you identify your let down now?

@ImmyMc

I just have myself in a panic that the baby will choke and die because my milk is too fast.

This isn't going to happen. Try some of the advice given here already. All of your milk cannot shoot out so fast. It is only the initial gush of let down. You need to get that out and then your flow will be nice and slow for your baby.

Either use a haakaa or hand express. You will literally see the flow slowing down as you get it out. Your breasts aren't hosepipes. In the early days over 100ml would fire out of me into a haakaa before I fed my baby. Now it has calmed and 20-40ml of letdown comes out before I feed him. Sometimes even less.

Your baby might have a wee cry while they're waiting for a few minutes but at least once you go to feed it will be comfortable for her. The more time goes on the better it gets. At 4 months I rarely use a haakaa now. Sometimes my boy has a splitter, pulls off, and gets a nose-full of milk and a face like a milky Jackson Pollock painting. I just let him sort it out himself. I can't be bothered fannying around with the haakaas anymore. Sometimes I even give them a squeeze and scoosh him on purpose with a "way-hay!!!"

Take the advice given. You and bambino will be just fine.