BREASTFEEDING - Personal musings on how I managed to do it successfully


hi mummies,

my turn to have a question: my boy, currently about 16.5M, is refusing to nurse at night. (Until recently, he has 3 milk feeds each day: morning, afternoon, n before bedtime) I still nurse him in the morning, while afternoon is bottle feed. At night, he can't be still enough to feed and will always want to move around etc. He's happy to go straight to bed though (at about 8pm), and does not cry for milk till nearly 7am next morning. His dinner is usually about 5pm. Any experience to share? I was wondering if he can get sufficient nutrients with just 2 milk feeds.
 
hi all,

my gal is 1 mth and 3 days. sometimes she doesn't sleep the whole day till late afternoon.

Do you all encounter that with your babies also? Wonder is it becos they dun drink enough BM, that's why they don't sleep?

Alternatively, if they sleep, does it mean that they are drinking enough?

cheers
 
its normal... all babies undergo some kind of strange unexplainable behaviour at some time... it happened to me too... i can try to entertain my son the whole day fr 11am+ to 3pm and yet he still dun fall asleep while i was real sleepy alrdy!!!

if they r hungry, they will surely cry 4 milk... dun worry.
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Hi mummies who are expressing milk, how do you stimulate let down?

When I latch on my boy, I can feel this cramping sensation in the breast and milk starts to leak from the non-latched breast. Is that the let down sensation?

When I try to pump, there is no such sensation and I pump a miserable 20ml. There was on one occasion when I felt the cramping sensation, I could pump about 70ml from 1 breast. But I didn't do anything special so I also dunno why I could pump more that 1 time.

Any mummy could share on this? I try to look at baby's photo but still couldn't express much...
 
Some questions for mummies who hve breastfeed successfully
1. Night feed via latching or pumpout for confinement to feed during the 1-2 weeks? If pump, will overstimulate or not?
2. baby tend to treat breast like pacifier, how to prevent that or endure for 6 weeks and it should improve/
3. After 6 weeks, how to wean off night feed?
 
Hi Chillipadi,

1. I latched my baby on during confinement because it's the crucial period to get the BM supply up and stable. The baby's suckling will stimulate milk production and for me, it's more comfortable than pumping. I pumped initially but my nips were so sore that I dumped the pump in the end and just fully direct feed.

2. To avoid becoming the human pacifier, I would note the timing of the last feed. Generally, a baby would need to be nursed about 2-3hours so if it's not time yet, baby is probably looking for comfort nursing.

3. It's hard to stop night feeds unless baby is developmentally ready to stop. My baby,at 8weeks, just stopped the night feeds and slept through. But some babies may be sooner, like 6weeks or even longer like months! There is a concept called dreamfeeding which involves feeding the baby at 10-11pm to tank the baby up for the long night ahead. It didn't work for me as baby will at most sleep longer, say an hour more but will still wake up for feeding.
 
Thanks Littlefire! That's what I have been doing. Just worried that I can't pump out when I return to work...

Qns for mummies who feed on demand during maternity leave.

1)How do you prep yourself for returning to work if your baby is fed on demand?
2)Do you have to start on some pumping schedule like one week before heading back to work?
 
Hi Joshlyn,

One mth before I have to go back to work I start to introduce bottle to my boy. I try to schedule my pumping time every 6 hrs. Meaning I pump at 6am (pump one side and latch my baby on the other side), 12pm during lunch break and 6pm when I knock off from work. The rest of the evening and night I will latch and feed my son on demand. I try to work around this timing roughly 1 month before I go back to work. It works well for me.
 
wondering if there are still mommies here in this thread...need advice!

have asked around and realised there's 2 school of thots. One group telling me to latch and pump, latch and pump ie pumping after each latch feed to increase milk ss. But another group telling me as long as bb satisfy, poo and pee 6-8 times daily, shud be fine, DONT pump cos dont intro EBM/bottles to baby so soon. The pumping group say, those who jus latch, latch, latch, sooner or later milk ss will jus petered off. The latching group say, dont worry, jus latch and latch, milk ss will ALWAYS be there...

Am confused now. Dunno whether i shud pump after each latch....if i pump and my baby wakes up JUST AFTER i finished pumping, my breast would be all soft and less milk for her....how?

my bb is 2weeks plus now. Have been going total latch on. I also dunno sometimes if my bb is full or not. Jus trying to gauge on her poo and pee. But sometimes she nurse at 2hours interval, at times it's at 1hour. Sometimes can be as short as 20-30mins interval. Funny thing is when i pumped out around75ml to feed her, within 15mins, she's crying for more! But when i latch her on, she's contented after only about 30mins of sucking. Does that mean her sucking of 30mins is MORE than 75ml?

i'm also wondering if after latching on, shud i express my milk out or not..cos i never know how much to give her...plus when i pump out my milk, amount very little (after latching) but it's sufficient when she latch on. Nowadays i dare not pump as her feed intervals has become quite erratic.

Another problem is she keeps throwing up milk after eating. I read this is call posetting, and it's supposedly normal, but how do i know if she's truly overeating? The amount she throw up sometimes can be like a palmful.
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COmments on your own experiences pls?? Thanks a lot!!!
 
hello, mylife.

1stly, u should determine if u have a need to pump since, breastfeeding (aka direct latch) is the most natural way to feed ur baby unless he /she has difficulty latching.

most mothers pump after latching to increase supply. others pump in replacement of latching because of the need to return to work or due to poor latch on issues.

if your supply is established and you will be returning to work, it will be a good time to start to stockpile your milk for emergency at least 2 weeks before. personally i find it easy to stockpile doing tandem pumping, ie. u latch bb on one breast and pump the other at the same time. u should take this time to get familiar and used to your pump, to improve let down.

since your child is only 2 weeks, ur milk supply will gradually increase when he/she hits a growth spurt. it is also normal that bb can extract more milk via latching than a pump. in my experience, the most convenient way to increase supply is to keep latching. u can also increase ur pump frequency and timing, however, this means u may be spending more time bonding with your pump than with your bb. don't worry about supply and keep bfeeding. eat well and rest when you can. your bb will give u the signal when she has had enough.

i find this article useful on reflux, ie. spit up of milk.

http://www.drpaul.com/newborn/regurgitation.html

hope this helps.
 
my girl have been sleeping through the nite and is there any possibilty that i dun need to wake up and pump at nite? I'm quite worried if i did not wake up and pump at nite, my supply will drop.
 
Hi mommies,

So glad to have found this thread. Hope to get some sound advise here. I am a mother of a 3 month-old bb and will be going back to work in another 3 months time. I am very stressed with the prospect of pumping at work since my workplace is one of those that NATO (no action talk only eg they preached that they strictly believe on work-life balance, support family life and BF in particular but they also expect us, the employees to give their all includes working over time with no claims. There is no available room for expressing and there is no fridge as well).

I really hope to be able to give BM to my baby as long as I am able to. Even right now I have stretched my pumping to 6 hourly successfully without any drop in ms, so that I will only need to pump once during working (i time it on my lunch time).

One more question:
How do I transfer my EBM to the infant care? Do I pass over the frozen or chilled EBM?

I have so many uncertainties until like siao char bo, so worried that infant care will mishandle the ebm eg contamination or overheat or forgot to give, ended up giving FM to my bb.

Thanks for reading!
 
Hi Iostinthots,

I can fully understand your stress. My worplace is same like you. NATO. But I am luckier, I share a office room with my female so I can still express in the room.

Most mother pump in the toilet. I do as well cos I need to travel sometimes. So it is good you use manual pump or battery operated ones.

I store my EBM in Fridge to Go. It can last around 8 - 12hrs. i put a ice pack so that it can last longer. Mine can last 12 hours and EBM is still chill when I reach home. What you can do is put the ice block, and empty milk bottle, and fridge to go in the freezer overnight before you take to office. This can help to make the EBM chill longer. Make sure you check with fridge to go on the model you are taking. Not all models can last 12hrs. Mine was FTG 1200, like a mini fridge.

I put chilled EBM in a normal plastic bag and send to my mother in law house ( 10 - 15min). SO far no problem. Anywhere further or I need more time, I put them in cooler bag or Fridge to Go.

Hope you find my methods useful

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Blumarine,

Thanks for your advice!

At least now, I can relax a bit on the fridge part. Haiz, but pump in toilet not very hygienic like that. Think I have to be more thick skin and die die must search for a room.

Will go and search for the same model as yours.
 
pardon for my ignorance. What is a fridge to go?

i also got some problem with breasfeeding.

My bb girl is currently 2.5 weeks. I try to latch her onto my breasts directly, but i feel pain on my breasts. Initially, the lactation nurse over the phone told me cos' of wrong positioning, but i looked at website and video and followed the mtd exactly. it's still painful. this has been going about 4days. i dun have any bleeding nipples, so i just continue to latch her. also if i dun feel the pain, i dun feel her suckle. so despite the pain, to me i felt this means she's drinking.

anyone to advise?

i also bottlefeed her expressed breastmilk cos' sometimes after i latch her, she still cries for more. My husband is determined not to starve her and felt that as long as she gets her milk, it doesn't matter whether latch or express.

it doesn't seems like we are starving her cos' since she's born, her weight did not drop. She was 4 kg at birth, due to some infection, went into NICU for 5 days. Upon her discharge, she was 3.94kg. Then she went back to 4kg after 4 days. A week later, ie last fri, she weigks 4.4kg. the pediatrician said she's ok since she's gaining weight.

My concern is
1. she doesn't latch direct the time. Why is that so?
2. If i latch her and give her expressed breastmilk, will this confused her and make her unwilling to latch?
3. will expressing my milk using pump only (not latching her at all) reduced my milk supply? some pple said yes.
4. after i pump, sometimes she cries for milk. is i latch her then, will this be a waste of time since the milk has already been pump out?

anyone, pls advise.
 
missmissy,
Fridge-to-go is a portable cooler bag with built in cool pads. Very good when you return to work and still pumping: http://www.fridge-to-go.com.sg/

Breastfeeding is tough for first two months but it gets easier over time. Depending on individuals' tolerance of pain, some find latching painful. Cos your bb is less than a month old, it could be your nipple still not 'seasoned' yet. Latch her on one breast till she pushes the nipple away herself and falls back to sleep with the 'drunken' look. You mention your baby is gaining weight. That's a sign she's getting enough milk. Other signs to watch for are wet diapers and poo. Make sure she has wet diapers and poo daily.

Newborns can be quite tough to bf cos they fall asleep halfway. Tickle the cheek, or if needed, change the diaper to wake her up. If all else fails, just be prepared to latch again an hour later. Once they get enough practice, they will be able to latch shorter and fill up faster. My baby now 3.5months old just needs 15-20mins and he's done.

With regards to your questions:
1. She's still newborn. Need lots of practice and patience on your part for her latching to improve.

2. Some babies get nipple confusion but some don't. My baby is bottle fed with express milk during the first month of my confinement cos aunty is around to help. i took the chance to get my full rest. I concentrated on pumping 3hourly even at night to establish my supply. I re-latched him from 2nd month onwards and maintained one bottle feed per day cos I want him to get used to bottle feeding when I return to work.

3. For my case, with my first baby I was on exclusive pumping and my supply was good. Because from the start, I was pumping beyond her demand and i maintained it all the way. You have to be disciplined and pump 3hourly even at night. For this second baby, once I re-latched him in 2nd month, my supply dropped to meet his demand. I learn now that pumping too much can be problem too cos your freezer runs out of space and you get engorged very often. My first bfing I had to endure lots of plugged ducts cos i didn't latch her. This 2nd baby, I latch him at night now that I'm back to work and so far, no major plugged ducts.

4. Initially I also tot that after pumping the breast will not generate anymore milk. But I realise that it still can! After I pump finish, I latch my baby and I can still get letdown so means there's still milk. The baby can strip more milk than a pump. A pump cannot empty your breasts as well as baby.

Based on my two experiences of exclusive pumping vs pump/latch, latching is the best. It's convenient and prevents plugged ducts. I can go out shopping without bringing milk. Just find a nursing room. Just that latching needs ALOT of patience and practice. Once you get the hang of it, it's very easy. Over time, you will understand your baby's pattern and know when she is asking for milk and when she simply just wants to suckle for comfort.

I'm back to work now and still pumping 3hourly at work and latching him at night 3hourly (yes, he's still not sleeping thru). I use the lying down position to latch him at night so i can sleep at the same time. Hope the sharing of my experience helps.
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i'm breastfeeding my almost 1 month old baby now. like most mummies, i worry about not feeding her enough cos she's drinking 100ml EBM at night but when i pump at 3hr interval at night, i get only abt 80ml from both breast. in the day, like what Tracy mentioned, she latches on one breast till she pushes the nipple away herself and falls back to sleep with the 'drunken' look. does this mean that she's full? but she only drank from 1 breast...she usually fall asleep after BF and would wake up 2hrs(on the dot) to feed again. can anyone advise?
 
hi divine,
at one month old, waking up every 2 hrs for a BF session seems quite normal. u may want to alternate the breast for baby. just pump out excess after feeding to keep up the milk flow.
and getting 80ml for both breast is great, keep up the good work
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it will increase as days go by..

harriet
 
Hi Divine,

Your output is very good actually, could get 80ml for both breast.

When my son was few months old, he also latch on one side of the breast and fall asleep. This is normal, don't worry.
 
thanks for the encouragement ladies...i mean 80ml in total from both breast,i tot that is considered little...just worried that i can't keep up with her demand as she grows bigger
 
divine,
like wat the other mummies advised, it is normal to have 2hourly feed. Your baby can strip more milk from your breast than your pump. That's why she drinks more EBM than you can pump out. But 80ml in total is good supply. It will increase as you continue to latch. Dun worry.

My baby was stuck at 2hourly feed until he turn 2.5months and drinking 120ml. Now he is 4months and only last week increased to 130ml and drinking 4hourly.

Keep it up with your 3hourly pump and latching and you will see supply increasing
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hi Divine,

not to worry about not being able to cope with baby's demand. our own body will adjust to needs of baby, most importantly, stay happy, relax, drink lots of fish soup, water, have baby latched on frequently & viola, before you know if, your supply will exceed demands of baby
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jm2c
Harriet
 
Hi mummies,

my bb is now 4.5mths old, on total BF. Been able to latch very well since birth, with good supply since day after delivery.

However, for the past 1mth, i noticed a decrease in milk supply. My breast no longer feels engorged and there is no more leaky breast. Started expressing for storage when BB is 2.5mths, now when i pump, i notice a significant drop in the amt that i can express.

BB is otherwise gaining weight well and is active n happy. However I am very concerned about my dropping supply. Started on Fernugreek 1 mth ago 2tab/2times a day but I see no improvement and so have increased to 3 tab/3times a day for the past week but it does not seem to be increasing!

My aim is to BF as long as possible, hopefully till BB is 12-18mths old.

Help!! Any advice out there?? Am really lost at what to do already.
 
Hi Mummyjoy,

I think it's normal for you not to feel engorged coz I think your body is used to the timing and volume of feeding fr your baby + expressed BM. But if baby miss a feed, does that familiar feeling come back? Are you still latching on with your baby? If totally expressing now, think vol will decrease as no pump can match your baby.

I dun take fernugreek but I occasionally drink those herbal tea that's supposed to increase milk pdtn but whether they really work, I dunno. However, what I do when my BM vol go down is to re-do all those confinement stuff, e.g. take more soup, pig-tail/peanut soup (caution: some babies are allegic to peanuts), vinegar pig trotters and take a lot more liquids throughout the day.

But most imptly, relax
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It is a fact that stress lowers milk production

I bfd my second child till 2yrs old (1st only 4mths & with supplement formula) and am now total bfdg my 5mth old. Fr my exp with No.2, once baby starts solid in another two mths, you wun need so much stored BM.
 
Hi Nat&Nic,

I am not totally expressing, was expressing jus to keep a store, jus in case i fall ill or wants to go out without him, still feeding bb by direct latching on since i am not working yet n it is more convenient.

Baby is only on EBM at most once a wk if i wan to go do something without him, leaving him with my parents, so he had been on bottle for less than 10 times since born.

I feed BB on one breast each time every 3hrly, he is usually ok with one breast... but nowadays, sometimes he wan he 2nd breast if i offer, and he tends to tug at the breast, dunno if there is not enough milk or cos he wants to sleep, cos now he tends not to unlatch and wants to fall asleep on the breast, if he fall asleep n unlatch on his own, he will cry.

Will look for green papaya n make papaya soup again... and boil longan red date tea, hope it helps
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Hi again,

I think you are doing very well
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You really need not worry too much abt milk supply. If baby mostly take only one breast per feed, you would have ample supply to express and keep. And at 3hrs intervals too! How enviable - my 5mth old feeds rather irregularly. Once a while at 3hr interval but at most times, he prefer to snack snack at 1.5-2hr intervals.

If you really want to up yr milk supply, can express after his feed for a few days to trick your body into thinking that baby needs more.

As for not unlatching, sounds like he discovered the pleasure of being nursed to sleep. Take care... can become a sleep association that is v difficult to break. It's the reason why I din continue to bfd beyond 2yrs for my No.2 - she would wake up a few times at night and refused to go back to sleep unless she's nursed. I was working then and can't take the sleep deprivation....
 
Hi all!

Hoping for some advise on how to increase breat milk. my baby is a premmier, still in kkh scn and was encouraged to give him breast milk.

tried pumping 3 hrs at each interval but i can barely managed to hit 1/4 of the bottle. would desparately want my baby to have breast milk. any advise??
 
Try Fenugreek tablets.. although they make U smell funny.
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I take more milk plus tablets too - they work for me..

And i recently discovered that fish works great! Never been a fan of fish.. but have been getting engorged each time i take fish.. so experimented, and it's true.. it's the fish.. increases milk supply so much each time i eat it, that i get engorged!
 
oh - just to add also...

I had a lot of problems BFing in the first 2 months.. Pain and supply issues and thrush.. it just all seemed so trying..

But things somehow miraculously gets better.. by 3+months, it seems like 2nd nature, n now BB is 5 months, and all is good.. so press on new mommies!
 
Selling my Medela Pump In Style Advanced Backpack

Bought a few months ago and I've only used for 3 months. It's almost like new in perfect condition. Selling it now as I've just stop breastfeeding. It's a US set and I'll throw in the voltage converter FOC.

Price: $220

It comes in the complete set in the original box which includes:
- Instruction manual
- Pump motor
- Battery Pak
- AC adapter
- Removable cooler bag with cooling element
- 4 BPA free bottles with lids
- Double pumping kits with Personal Fit breast shields
- 1 pair of valves and membranes
- 1 pair of tubings

Self collection at my place (if you wish to try the pump motor) or at Toa Payoh MRT/ Queenstown MRT.

Please PM me if interested. Thanks!
 

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