Breast Feeding Q and A
Posted by little2ant on Mar 22, 2010 · Member since Aug 2004 · 3055 posts
Breastfeeding can be really difficult, especially without the support of other moms!
I'd love to open this thread as a place to help each other out and offer advice. I know PG was having some trouble, which made me think of this.
I will start by saying the first 6 weeks is AWFUL-it is painful (esp light skinned moms) and is almost unbearable. If you can make it through the 6 weeks, it's all downhill from there. Also, the 1st 20 seconds of latching on during this time is the worst. Take deep breaths and count to 20 till the pain subsides.
I nursed Noah until age 20 months, and Lyle is still nursing at 20 months.
I can't type for shit right now and have to correct every word, so that is all for now. :-[
Ok, so I know things like caffeine and alcohol can make it into breast milk, but what about other things? Like, if I had a cup of chamomile tea, which always makes me really tired, would it make my baby tired too? Or if I ate something with tryptophan (if there are any non-alcoholic, non-animal derived sources), would my milk have tryptophan in it? He's always most alert when it's the most inconvenient for me (like my bedtime), so just wondering. :hrmm:
I have heard that it takes up to 6 hours for stuff to show up in breast milk.
But yes, it can have an effect on the babes.
I remember eating a mocha-coffee-brownie thing a few hours before nursing Noah and he was wired which was unusual for him.
Try it....but do it early enough for it to show up!
:)
I have a Q...
I'm in my seventh month of pregnancy and I'm starting to get tiny dark bumps on my areolas (Montgomery glands, I hear they're called). I understand they're normal and all, but I'm wondering if they'll go away once I stop breastfeeding? Thanks!
I think mine were darkish too...I think like that line on your belly, (did you get that?) they get significantly lighter but my line, (and nipple darkness) has never really totally gone away. But they get better!!! My nipples were huge and darkish while breast-feeding but after about maybe 6 months they kinda mellowed out...(so did my increased breast size...unfortunately) Even though I continued breast feeding for a long time. ( by the last year + of breastfeeding my breasts looked about the same as they did before pregnancy.
I haven't noticed the areolas actually getting darker, just tiny dark bumps, maybe six or so, have cropped up on my areolas. I've never used the word "areolas" so much in my life! Haha. I guess there are always these Montgomery glands, but they just get more pronounced during pregnancy (?). I've read a lot of info on them, but nothing that indicates that they do or do not go away eventually. They almost look like little freckles. There's a pic here (not my boob): http://www.brooksidepress.org/Products/OBGYN_101/MyDocuments4/Text/Breast/Montgomery1.jpg
I think the reason the boobs get darker is so the baby who has poor eyes at first, can see them!
I think they will go away. Mine did! I got some bumps and stuff too that weren't super dark, but weren't supposed to be there either. I think they are gone?
Hey all...
Breastfeeding is going well for Maia and I except for that I have forceful let-down in one boob. Most of the time she braves it but she gets kind of pissed and I don't blame her - it's like a squirt gun when she comes off of it! Anyway, I was wondering if maybe I should try pumping that boob before she eats? Also, does it get better? I'm only 1.5 months into this now.
Another question concerning appetite - mine, not hers. I have felt like a bottomless pit! Weight is not an issue but geez, is this normal to feel so hungry all the time while breastfeeding? And does that get better as we get farther along?
Yes to all of your questions!
Your supply will slow down. It might be a good idea to pump though, so you can freeze it and have it on reserve just in case you need it in the future.
Later on you might not have enough to pump, so take advantage!
Eat all you like! You burn something like 500 calories a day or maybe per feeding (I forget) extra when you breast feed. You should feel hungry!
I think the first 6 weeks is the hardest and then it is smooth sailing pretty much.
Yes to all of your questions!
Your supply will slow down. It might be a good idea to pump though, so you can freeze it and have it on reserve just in case you need it in the future.
Later on you might not have enough to pump, so take advantage!
Eat all you like! You burn something like 500 calories a day or maybe per feeding (I forget) extra when you breast feed. You should feel hungry!
I think the first 6 weeks is the hardest and then it is smooth sailing pretty much.
That is good to know about the pumping. I didn't know that there might not be enough to pump later!
And whoo-hoo to eating and lots of calorie-burning! I don't feel too bad about all the peanut butter I've been spooning into my cereal anymore:)
Thanks!
Jen-hmm I don't know if I had bumps, maybe I did. The like ring around the outside edge of my nipples was what got darker for me, if i am remebering right.
BR-yes, I totally agree with L2A about the pumping when your supply is up. It will hopefully make you more comfortable too! Then you will have some stored for others to feed her if you need to run errands or let someone else get up with her at night. Yay for eating while breastfeeding...all of my baby weight, (and there was a lot of it) came right off and I ate everything! ( To be fair, I also tranisitioned to vegan at that time, so I attribute much of it to that)
Post-breast feeding question-my nipples, (especially on my right) are like indented now. The actual tip of the nipple, (sorry lots of desciption here) kinda tucks in and points up. I showed my doctor and she said it was okay, did this happen to anyone else? ((I have a smallish chest so maybe its because they got streched out?))
BR-
DH's grandfather told me that when his 2nd son was born 2 months premature, the doctor told his wife to eat lots of peanuts to stimulate her milk supply and help the baby gain weight. So maybe the peanut butter in your cereal is the reason you have extra milk. :) I've been eating tons of peanuts and pb as well. Mmm...peanuts....
Jen-mine get bumpy, too, when I'm pregnant, and it does, eventually go away. At least, mine did.
berryraw-If, by forceful letdown, you mean that it is very full and squirting out, then I actually wouldn't pump on that side, because it will keep making that same amount of milk. I'd start her feeding on that side to relieve some of the pressure, but then move to the other side before she gets full. It took me a while to figure out how to get them, well, not lopsided. I always had one breast that was easy for her to nurse from, and one that was harder. Have you looked into La Leche League? Going to meetings is great, and they always seem like they have been through it all before.
http://www.lllusa.org/
PG: I haven't heard that about the peanuts but I have heard about oatmeal supposedly increasing supply and oddly enough that's the cereal I crave most.
NMpixie: That's my boob situation! She gets to the point where she will just flat out refuse the squirting boob though and I've had to pump some to relieve pressure. It is getting better, some days are still rough though. I do have some LLL support, but we meet once a month and I haven't been yet since she's been born - next week will be the first meeting I can make with her.
Thanks you all!
I agree with nmpixie. The more you pump, the more you make. Pumping milk out to relieve preassure might be ok, but realize that your body makes what you are using. I had major engorgement problems my first month or so. It was actually to the point where I'd roll over in bed at night and the milk would spray several inches in the air, because my daughter started sleeping about 5 hours straight at night at about 1 week old. I acually started wearing prefolds in a tank top to bed at night. If you plan on going back to work and/or pumping on a regular basis for times you are away, you might take advantage of the extra milk, but it will make the process that much slower as far as getting your supply under control. In about a month or two, things get under much better control. I just was glad I wasn't one of these mothers with supply issues. The hospital I delivered at has a breast feeding support group that I found to be more helpful than the local LLL. Attachment parenting groups can be helpful too.
PG: I haven't heard that about the peanuts but I have heard about oatmeal supposedly increasing supply and oddly enough that's the cereal I crave most.
Hmm, I haven't heard that about oats but I've been craving them like crazy too. I figured it was just a comfort thing because of the cold weather lately.
My husband is trying to persuade me to mix a little breastmilk and rice cereal together in a bottle to give to Maia at night. He says a lot of people do it to get their babies to sleep through the night. I'm very leery about this - she's just under 2 months old and I haven't ever given her a bottle.
Any thoughts/experiences/info about this from you all?
My husband is trying to persuade me to mix a little breastmilk and rice cereal together in a bottle to give to Maia at night. He says a lot of people do it to get their babies to sleep through the night. I'm very leery about this - she's just under 2 months old and I haven't ever given her a bottle.
Any thoughts/experiences/info about this from you all?
I think it is a bit early to feed her food. Doctors usually say 6 mo. Mine started eating at 4 mo. and that was early. There is also the fear that she will reject the breast, since bottles are easier to drink from. My daughter did that, when I had to put her in daycare. Of course, she hated breast feeding anyway, and that doesn't mean your daughter will do the same.
I don't see why this would get her though the night more than just plain breastmilk?
I wouldn't do it. She should just have breast milk for at least 4 months if not 6.
Why are you trying to get her to sleep through the night already? Are you getting enough sleep?
I think in the 60s or 70s they recommended starting food at 6 weeks. :o So I don't think it would hurt her, although she doesn't need anything other than breastmilk until 6 months. That's a valid point about how she might reject the breast though. Also, one of my midwives told me that the middle-of-the-night feeds produce the most prolactin (the hormone responsible for milk production), so it's good for your milk supply (not sure if that's true). Your daughter's still really young, so she probably still needs to feed fairly often, but she'll probably start sleeping longer soon. My baby was 7 1/2 weeks when he suddenly went from 3 night feeds to 1. The first time he did that, I woke up in a puddle of milk with really full, sore boobs, and I even had to wake him up for a few nights because my boobs hurt, but they adjusted after a week or so.
Of course I'm no expert...my baby's only 3 weeks older than yours...so feel free to ignore me. :)
Lots of people claim that adding cereal to a bottle will help a baby sleep through the night. There have been a few recent studies lately on the subject, and they all show this old wives' tale to be false. In fact, this has been shown to cause stomach upset and reflux problems in some infants. I know the first couple months can be rough, but they are over before you know it. At this stage in her life she needs to be fed frequently. After doing some research on the subject, I chose not to feed baby cereals at all. In my opinion infant cereals are a highly processed food that were mostly designed for formula-fed children who have trouble with iron absorption, and there are much better first foods out there anyway. I waited until the day before she turned 6 months to feed her anything other than breast milk, and I don't regret it.
As far as sleeping through the night, my daughter cluster fed in the evening and slept about 5 hours straight at night starting about age 3 weeks. I don't know if that can be encouraged or not, but I don't see why not. She would nurse about every 30 to 45 minutes all evening long and then she would sleep for a decent stretch of time. It was very painful for me though, and I don't know if the sleep was worth it. I'm roll over in the morning and be spraying into the air through a shirt.
Do some research on your own, and make the decision that is best for your child. Don't just do something because someone tells you it's the thing to do, even if everyone else is doing it.
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