Breastfeeding Tips Wanted

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’ve been exclusively nursing our little one. Today, I bought a breast pump to make it easier for me to leave the house for more than two hours at a time. However, it seems like it’s taking foreeever to pump. In 15-20 minutes I will express only 1 ounce of breast milk. My SIL tells me that this is not ‘normal’, as when she began to pump when her little guy was a newborn, she would get four ounces in that time.

Jimmy is eating for about a half-hour to 45 minutes every two hours (from the time he finishes til the time he’s hungry again). He is satisfied with one breast and only once have I had to switch over to the other, and then it was only five minutes.

Can anyone help me out, here? I have no experience with this. My mother could not nurse my sister and I, and I couldn’t nurse my older boy*. My MIL adopted my husband, so she has no expertise.

*As Dave’s biological mom says, ‘the milk is poison’. There was little or no nutrition in my breast milk when I had my first son, nearly 11 years ago, and I had to switch to formula early on. It seems (I am hoping) that things have changed. My mother’s family has this as well, and out of all of the women in two generations, only one was able to nurse.

Please, help! Any advice anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated.

2

Pumping is not a good approximation of how much the baby is getting. Some women never let down for the pump, or don’t let down for certain pumps. Really…don’t put any stock in that at all. It’s just not important and it’s really so variable as to be meaningless. I’m wondering why you’re even pumping at all. I don’t recommend that you try until at least 6 weeks unless circumstances are quite unusual. Things just aren’t settled down until then anyway.

The best way to monitor the baby’s intake is to monitor his output. If he is having plenty of wet and dirty diapers and is feeding regularly (like he is), he’s fine.

One good way to encourage good breastfeeding is to spend lots of time skin to skin, naked against each other. Something about the hormones and the stimulation is good for both of you.

Congratulations!

3

Does your baby seem satisfied after feeding? Do you have to turn around and feed him again after a relatively short period of time (less than two hours)? IANAD, but if the women in your family mostly have this difficulty, you may want to talk to your pediatrician about it.
With my first, it took a few days for my milk to really “come in,” so I supplemented with an occasional bottle. I also used warm compresses.
I’m sorry you’re having problems. :frowning:

HEY!! When do we get more pics of the little guy, anyway??

4

Ginger - I’ve never been a mother, so I can’t help you out. But here’s a link to the LaLeche League’s FAQ page. Hopefully that will help.

I want to say that I think it’s cool that Dave’s bio-mom is in the picture now. Considering the feelings at the beginning, it’s nice to see that it has worked itself out.

StG

5

RIght. Questions from Lady Chance.

  1. Is your pump electrical or hand-operated?

  2. Are you drinking enormous amounts of water? She says if you’re trying to pump you need to drink several large bottles per day just to keep even.

She pumped with Kate and isn’t with this one (she’s working from home) and learned quick and fast that staying hydrated and having a good electric pump is the way to get the job done.

Good luck! And let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.

6

I’d wait until 6 weeks when your supply should be established before I pumped. I have major oversupply problems and I never managed to pump even one ounce so the ability to pump is not linked to your ability to breastfeed. Despite what your SIL says, it is perfectly normal for some women to have trouble pumping.

I’d contact LLL and try and get to a couple of meetings if it were me. Online advice doesn’t substitute well for face to face support with bf’ing. It does sound like you are not having problems with the actual feeding though which is great. Not all LLL meetings are breastfeeding nazi gatherings BTW.

Good luck and congratulations!

7

“Normal” is different with every baby. Stop listening to negative comments and listen to your instincts. Lots of skin to skin contact is great advice. Your little one may want ot nurse every two hours for awhile but it will get easier. Breast pumps are a godsend to some and don’t work well for others. The best thing you can do for yourself is to find a support group in your area or on line. You need positive feedback and support. Breastfeeding is a truly wonderful experience if it works for you. Please don’t let stress and self doubt ruin it for you. Get rest when you can, relax and most of all stop letting others make you doubt what you are doing.
Good luck and congratulations. Enjoy every minute with your child, they are truly wonderful.

8

Like you, I never really had to switch sides with my daughter. Because I had a problem with let-down using the pump, I just nursed her as much as she wanted and then pumped out rest.

Also, I don’t know what kind of pump you’re using but I had great success with the Avent Isis…but only once I took the patented silicone petal massage insert-thing out.

Are you drinking lots of water?

9

You may have him confused with someone else. It’s been really positive right from the start.

  1. Electric
  2. Not as much as I should be, but at least 8 cups a day. Old dieting habits die hard.
  3. Nice try :wink:

Everyone else - thank you. Keep it coming!

10

How old is Jimmy? It seems to me I saw the birth announcement pretty recently - certainly within the last two months, yes? Don’t worry. Say it again - don’t worry! Pumping one ounce in 15 minutes is perfectly normal at the beginning. Don’t let your sister scare you, please. As the others have said, some women just don’t pump efficiently, but the baby gets plenty of milk when he nurses. Wet diapers and good weight gain are your signs that he’s getting enough - 8 or more wet diapers a day for a newborn.

Other women need to give it time and lots of practice on the pump before the breast “gets” it. The lastest woman I nannied for was in your boat, until I had her pump literally every hour during the day (between each of her clients.) Within two days, she was pumping four ounces in 15 minutes. It can also help to pump on one breast while Jimmy feeds on the other. Switch the baby and pump half way through to even things out.

If you are anxious about the quantity of your milk, ask your doctor if it’s OK for you to have a *dark * beer once a day. Hops (in beer - and more in dark beer than in light) is an old aid for milk production, and the minimal alcohol can help you to relax, which helps your milk let down easier.

Also, breastfeeding is timed start of feed to the next start of feed. So if Jimmy nurses at 8:00 for 45 minutes and then again at 10:45 for 30 minutes and than again at 12:30, he’s eating “every two hours, 45 minutes” in nursing parlance. This is actually a good **long ** time between feedings for a newborn, even if it seems like you’re doing nothing but nursing. This tells me his belly is full and he’s very satisfied. (Assuming he’s alert at some point, not lethargic and has plenty of wet diapers.) The time span will increase rapidly as he gets a little older.

It sounds like you’re doing a great job at what can be a very *tough * job. Now, this is the next (and hardest) lesson to learn as a mom: don’t let other people’s opinions make you doubt yourself. Your SIL’s breasts are not your breasts. In addition, many people don’t remember how they started out doing things, they remember what it was like once the kinks were all ironed out.

11

Have you tried pumping while you’re nursing your son? I would think that should improve letdown on the non-baby side.

12

Ditto. Mom and I have always gotten along great, ever since we met about 2 years ago. I think you are confusing me with someone else.

13

I can’t give you any advice that hasn’t already been said, and I’m not very knowledgeable about pumping anyway. I never did much. But I will repeat the statement that you are you and your SIL is your SIL. Your baby is different from hers and your body is different from hers. My sister never needed to pump, she could just hold a bottle under the breast that the baby wasn’t using. It leaked enough for her to catch a couple of ounces per feeding. I, on the other hand, never had a leak, didn’t need shields (pads) in my bra, and had to work at pumping, when I actually did it. But we each nursed three healthy children, not starting other food until about six months. And neither of us is you, either. As long as you and your baby are happy and he is wetting diapers regularly and seems to be satisfied that’s all you need to worry about.

I’d guess the difference is let-down, rather than supply, and there are ways to work that out. For me, I made sure I filled a glass of water to drink during each feeding, and it wasn’t long before that in itself helped trigger let-down. But don’t push it too soon or too much. (The pumping, I mean) Let things get well established first.

Oh, and btw, don’t worry too much about dirty diapers, either. He might have them often, and he might only do one every few days. As long as they’re wet he’s doing okay, and so are you.

14

Exactly which pump are you using?

Also, I found that drinking water while I was pumping or nursing helped a lot. I guess it was psychological, but it worked. Get yourself a spill-proof sippy cup. :slight_smile:

15

I’ve heard many brestfeeding mothers warn against pumps made by formula companies- Gerber, Evenflow, ect. The ones they recomend are Avent and Medela.

16

Hi Ginger , I breastfed successfully but never used a breast pump so I can’t help out much there.

I would think, though, if you and Jimmy have the breastfeeding down as well as it sounds, if he is happy and satisfied and has a good output, then I would tend to think it was either the pump you are using or your breast’s response to the pump. Milk letdown seems to start in the brain if I recall. I can remember my milk coming if I just thought about my daughter and wondered if she was hungry.

I think I would try the suggestion WhyNot made to try the pump while you a breastfeeding.

It sounds like you are doing a super job at this point in the game! It gets easier and easier and more satisfying. If you decide to stop that is one thing, but don’t let anyone else’s opinions sway you. You know best for you and Jimmy!

Good luck!

17

Can’t add too much to the good advice you’ve already gotten, except to say “relax, it’s early days yet, enjoy the time on the couch!” I wasn’t very adept at pumping at first, and the pump I had (manual) was awkward. I had more luck after three months, just expressing milk directly into a bottle while nursing. Let that letdown work for you! And grab something to drink everytime you nurse.

What’s the “milk is poison” comment about? And who tested your milk and said it wasn’t nutricious?

As an aside, I grew up thinking I was breastfed because the little crib tag my mom kept from the hospital said to breastfeed every four hours. When I planned on nursing my kids, my mom said she could give no advice because she didn’t nurse any of her four kids…she said the hospital nurses would bottle feed the baby in the nursery, then give it to the mom to nurse, effectively sabotaging any breastfeeding efforts. So glad they’ve changed to rooming-in now! But even with that sorry history, my sister and I breastfed our four kids until they were well past one year old, so family history is no indicator. Determination and patience is much more important. Just keep an eye on the wet diapers!

18

Just to clear things up, the real hope here is that if Ginger can express her milk into bottles, than I can take some of the feeding duty off of her shoulders, making her life easier.

19

It is not easy, but it is worth it. Loren had nothing but my milk for her first 5 months and only had formula supplements for about two months. She still nurses some. She has only had a couple of mild colds and is now 90% percentage for height and 60% for weight. She takes after KellyM.

The feeding frequency sounds reasonable. Don’t panic if he suddenly wants much more. They go through several growth spurts and sometimes go though periods when it seems like they are always nursing. Your body will catch up. Don’t worry if he seems to need a bit less as long as you still get enough wet diapers. As you know, dirty diapers can get fairly infrequent in a baby who is exclusively nursing.

I rented a pump and it worked well for me, but at two months I did not get much more at pumping than you did. As others have said, what you pump does not accurately represent how much your baby gets.

I did get up in the middle of the night each night and pump. Loren slept though the night after about five weeks. Getting up even if she did not and pumping really helped my production. Whenever I went more than 4 hours without breastfeeding or pumping, my production dipped. I did that until loren was six months old.

At first I got better let down starting to hand express and then switching to the pump. Also, visualization helps. Imagine your baby peacefully nursing as you pump. Sounds corny, but it can help.

I stored only about two ounces per bag. If it never is frozen, then it will last for a good 8 hours at room temperature. We kept the little bags in a row in the refrigerator in order of when they were pumped. If any got older than about 5 days, it went to the freezer. I only had enough to freeze a couple of times, but I nearly always had a few feedings ahead in the fridge. Thawed frozen milk should be used immediatly.

Oatmeal is supposed to increase production; I ate that everyday for breakfast and sometimes for my snack in the evening.

One thing you can do is pump the other breast if he does not want to nurse at it during a feeding. That can give you a bit more to store and get production up.

Be aware that formula fed babies may gain weight quicker, so it may seem that your little one is behind. Don’t look at ounces gained, but look at does he look healthy? Are his little fingernails growing? Does he seem bright eyed during his alert periods?

Poison indeed! This is the best food for your baby.

20

Have you been alternating breasts for feedings? If you’ve only been using the same breast for every feeding then the other breast won’t produce as much. Also, sometimes one breast will produce less than the other. I’m breastfeeding my four month old and my left breast will produce at max 3 ounces while the right breast will produce 5 ounces.

Also, you have to make sure you’re getting a lot of rest. doing too much or being too stressed will cause milk production to decrease. It also could depend on the time of day that you’re trying to pump. It is not unusual for there to be a dip in production in late afternoon/early evening. Also, if you’re ovulating (which can happen while you’re breastfeeding) or otherwise having hormonal fluctuations it will cause a decrease in milk production for up to a couple days.

Best of luck and congratulations!