Breast feeding advice needed

So I went to see a LC on Thursday about kevin's poor latch and ineffective nursing ...I nursed him in the office and he did not gain anything from nursing per his before and after nursing weight check

The LC advised me that for the next week or so to pump more (at least 7 times a day) and put him to breast less (like 2x a day) becasue currently, he is not sucking aggressively enough to get any milk

she feels that within a week or so, he will be less sleepy and more aggressive at nursing that I will be able to put him to breast more and pump less. I am also taking fenugreek, which I think is helping

does this sound like good advice or do you have any suggestions?

This morning, he actually nursed pretty well, or so I thought, but after nursing for 30 minutes, he was still crying from hunger

He is basically a "lazy" nurser and is using me as more of a pacifier

Re: Breast feeding advice needed

Posted by Mikismom

So I went to see a LC on Thursday about kevin's poor latch and ineffective nursing ...I nursed him in the office and he did not gain anything from nursing per his before and after nursing weight check

The LC advised me that for the next week or so to pump more (at least 7 times a day) and put him to breast less (like 2x a day) becasue currently, he is not sucking aggressively enough to get any milk

she feels that within a week or so, he will be less sleepy and more aggressive at nursing that I will be able to put him to breast more and pump less. I am also taking fenugreek, which I think is helping

does this sound like good advice or do you have any suggestions?

This morning, he actually nursed pretty well, or so I thought, but after nursing for 30 minutes, he was still crying from hunger

He is basically a "lazy" nurser and is using me as more of a pacifier

Re: Breast feeding advice needed

Have you tried nipple shields. I used those in the beginning. In conjuntion with pumping. It worked.

Re: Breast feeding advice needed

I am just so afraid that ds will get too used to bottles and not want to latch

I really want to try to BF more. I think I may try the SNS that I have heard about - it is a supplemental nursing system where you feed the baby expressed milk via a tube that is taped to your breast so he has to latch on and suck to get the milk

I plan to try this. I am getting quite stressed out and I know this is not helping my cause

I can also try the nipple shield but want to leave that as a last resort

Re: Breast feeding advice needed

I am not a LC but I am at why they would have him latching less often. I would imagine that the opposite would be better. If I were in the same boat I would be nursing around the clock and pumping afterwards a couple of times. I think with nursing (even though they are saying to do it only 2x/day) and pumping (7x/day) you will be exhausted.

I eat oatmeal everyday and still try to drink tons of water to keep my supply up.

I can only imagine how frustrated you are feeling and I wish you lots of luck (and milk )!

Re: Breast feeding advice needed

Re: Breast feeding advice needed

i didn't read the other responses so i don't know if i'm repeating advice. I counsel women on breastfeeding the babies that have the most trouble latching (preemies and sick infants) so i'll give you my 2 cents! However, I am NOT a certified lactation consultant. I am a registered nurse in the NICU, so i'm not saying my advice is better than what you got from the LC.

I think it is important to keep the baby latching onto your breast as much as possible. you don't want to give the baby nipple confusion. you want him to learn the latch so that when he's not so sleepy he is that much closer to being good at it. Drinking from a bottle takes no effort at all from the baby. They get lazy on it so to speak. the formula just pours into their mouth. With the breast they actually have to suck harder to pull it out.
With that being said, babies lose calories by expending energy on the breast. it is hard work for them. So you can't be wasting all his energy while trying to make him suck and not getting anything and then giving him a bottle. It becomes energy spent is greater than energy gained.. get it?

they have these systems called supplemental nursing systems.. they look like a hard plastic "bag" that you tape onto your chest and a skinny tube hangs from it that you tape onto your nipple. You put the formula into the bag.. or expressed breast milk and you put the baby onto your nipple.. the baby sucks, and stimulates your milk supply, but is actually getting the calories from the formula.. or expressed breastmilk. that way is a win win.. you get something and so do he.
good luck!

Re: Breast feeding advice needed

Posted by megsm3

I am not a LC but I am at why they would have him latching less often. I would imagine that the opposite would be better. If I were in the same boat I would be nursing around the clock and pumping afterwards a couple of times. I think with nursing (even though they are saying to do it only 2x/day) and pumping (7x/day) you will be exhausted.

I eat oatmeal everyday and still try to drink tons of water to keep my supply up.

I can only imagine how frustrated you are feeling and I wish you lots of luck (and milk )!

Re: Breast feeding advice needed

Posted by JTK

i didn't read the other responses so i don't know if i'm repeating advice. I counsel women on breastfeeding the babies that have the most trouble latching (preemies and sick infants) so i'll give you my 2 cents! However, I am NOT a certified lactation consultant. I am a registered nurse in the NICU, so i'm not saying my advice is better than what you got from the LC.

I think it is important to keep the baby latching onto your breast as much as possible. you don't want to give the baby nipple confusion. you want him to learn the latch so that when he's not so sleepy he is that much closer to being good at it. Drinking from a bottle takes no effort at all from the baby. They get lazy on it so to speak. the formula just pours into their mouth. With the breast they actually have to suck harder to pull it out.
With that being said, babies lose calories by expending energy on the breast. it is hard work for them. So you can't be wasting all his energy while trying to make him suck and not getting anything and then giving him a bottle. It becomes energy spent is greater than energy gained.. get it?

they have these systems called supplemental nursing systems.. they look like a hard plastic "bag" that you tape onto your chest and a skinny tube hangs from it that you tape onto your nipple. You put the formula into the bag.. or expressed breast milk and you put the baby onto your nipple.. the baby sucks, and stimulates your milk supply, but is actually getting the calories from the formula.. or expressed breastmilk. that way is a win win.. you get something and so do he.
good luck!

Re: Breast feeding advice needed

I know my SIL was having the same issues and the nipple shields worked wonders!!!!!!

Re: Breast feeding advice needed

DS was awful at latching and BFing him was just terrible for the first 6 weeks or so. I had to supplement him with formula after every feeding. Then all of a sudden, he got it, and no more supplementing was needed! I would keep letting him nurse and then pump afterwards.

Re: Breast feeding advice needed

my son was tongue tied which i eventually snipped but prior to that I tried some of the above mentioned stuff ( niplle shields, sns)
The one new bit pf advice is to try to elongate you nipples by pumping first (2-3min) and the trying to have him latch. I would definitely put hm on every1-2 hours for supply issues. Also to help strengthen his suck you can do pacifier exercises. First off you don't give him a pacifier to continually suck. what you do as soon as he starts sucking pull it out and keep doing it. Also when you're feeding him from the bottle do the same so he has to work a little harder with the bottle.
i struggled for almost 3 weeks, its some of the hardest things I've done but also the most rewarding.
Any questions reach out for help either here or with your LC
sometimes you need to know your not alone

Re: Breast feeding advice needed

My son had latching issues too. HE would suck and not get enough and eventually tire himself out and fall asleep. It got to the point that he lost too much weight and my pediatrician told me to supplement with formula and/or breast miilk if he began to cry too much during a feeding. So basically, for 3days straight we bottle feed him expressed milk every 2hours at one ounce intervals and eventually he began to take two ounces. Needless to say, he gained 12 ounces in 3 days After that, I continued to feed him expressed milk and then let him nurse a bit... then I began nursing him every other feeding. Now at 4wks he can nurse on his own and his dad feeds him a bottle in the am so I can sleep in

My only regret was not getting a double pump or renting a hospital grade one. I only have the medela swing...so it made it time consuming to pump but now I am pumping once a day so it is not a big deal.

Message edited 9/19/2009 10:48:58 PM.

Re: Breast feeding advice needed

I used the sns for one day when DS had a terrible latch. It worked in one day. I don't know if that would be the same for you but, honestly, give it a try. They are awesome.

Re: Breast feeding advice needed

DD had trouble latching and I had low milk supply in the beginning. I was told not to nurse as much and pump every three hours. I don't know if I agree to not nurse, but I think maybe you should only nurse for a few minutes and give a pumped bottle and formula for the rest. I was advised by my LC to do it this way. She said it was important to get the baby to the breast but not to let her burn calories getting very little. Why not try this until things get moving?

Re: Breast feeding advice needed

Posted by megsm3

I am not a LC but I am at why they would have him latching less often. I would imagine that the opposite would be better. If I were in the same boat I would be nursing around the clock and pumping afterwards a couple of times. I think with nursing (even though they are saying to do it only 2x/day) and pumping (7x/day) you will be exhausted.

I eat oatmeal everyday and still try to drink tons of water to keep my supply up.

I can only imagine how frustrated you are feeling and I wish you lots of luck (and milk )!

Message edited 9/20/2009 7:59:13 AM.

Re: Breast feeding advice needed

my neice had a bad latch, nipple shields was a lifesaver for my sister, they only needed them for 3 mos.

good luck

Re: Breast feeding advice needed

Posted by Mikismom

I am just so afraid that ds will get too used to bottles and not want to latch

I really want to try to BF more. I think I may try the SNS that I have heard about - it is a supplemental nursing system where you feed the baby expressed milk via a tube that is taped to your breast so he has to latch on and suck to get the milk

I plan to try this. I am getting quite stressed out and I know this is not helping my cause

I can also try the nipple shield but want to leave that as a last resort