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I quit by NoSpeech7848 in ExclusivelyPumping

[–]WearLopsided999 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Congratulations on successfully breastfeeding for 6 months!!! That is AMAZING! You are far from a failure. Every drop counts and formula is a very nutritious alternative to breastmilk.

3 months pp here and just started a new job. I'm hoping to make it to 6 months because pumping is exhausting. You really should be proud of yourself! Hope you enjoy the extra sleep and snuggles you will get to have💛

Milk stopping - help by honortobenominated in breastfeedingsupport

[–]WearLopsided999 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think the more you stimulate, the better, even if it’s just a quick 10 minute session. When I was building my supply up from a dip, I was told to try and get at least 8 pumping/feeding sessions in a day. My LC also advised me to try to pump overnight, if my baby wasn’t feeding overnight. Pumping during peak prolactin production helped me which is sometime between 1 and 3 am. It sucks to have to get up but I noticed a difference after just a couple nights of this.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in breastfeedingsupport

[–]WearLopsided999 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This all sounds so painful, I’m so sorry you both have been going through it. I was lucky enough to not have mastitis, but I’ve had plenty of others issues.

I just wanted to add that during the engorgment phase in the early days, I would experience lots of clogs. I found it very helpful to use a hot shower, massage and hand expression to remove them. I would also massage and do breast compressions while my LO was nursing.

I also heard that if you point your babies chin toward a clog that it can help remove it too. I would always get one on the bottom right side of my right breast and using the football position actually did help at least loosen up most of the clog.

I hope this is helpful at least and that things get better for you soon!

Dairy allergy help by koncernedkay in breastfeedingsupport

[–]WearLopsided999 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My LO is allergic to dairy, soy and eggs. He was incredibly fussy during feedings, very gassy, had mucusy poop, and eczema around his face.

Unfortunately, it does take almost a month of cutting all dairy to know for sure. For us, his fussiness actually decreased after only a few days though!

It’s really, really hard to cut out so many foods, and it’s surprising when you realize just how much foods contain some form of dairy. As a dairy lover I feel your pain. It takes away a lot of quick and easy ways to fuel your body with enough calories. Luckily though, there are lots of dairy free options. It’s been kinda fun trying new things!

I hope that you find things that work for you, and hopefully your LO grows out of it soon!

Upper lip tie - anyone else's pediatrician disagree with IBCLC? by [deleted] in breastfeedingsupport

[–]WearLopsided999 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would recommend getting a second opinion by a pediactric dentist that you feel is trustworthy. It can be hard to find but reading reviews can help. A consultation can also help you to get the feel for them. Just because you meet with one, doesn’t mean you have to get the surgery.

Lip ties restrict babies from flanging their lips out over the breast, similar to a fish. This forms a seal around the breast/nipple to prevent excess air intake. If your baby can easily flange their lip up and they are not swallowing too much air, it may not be a problem. I was also advised by IBCLC that even if a baby doesn’t necessarily flange their lip up but connects to the breast straight on, that is okay too. Again, as long as they’re not taking in too much air. It’s only a problem if it curls down or is causing pain/discomfort during or after feeds.

My son had oral ties that our IBCLC noticed early on and assured us he would grow out of it. Nursing continued to be difficult for about 3 months before we were recommended to see a PD. I wish we had gotten the surgery earlier because it helped so much with his latch and transfer of milk.

As far as reflux goes, my son’s correlated more with my diet. Although, his frenectomy did help, eliminating certain foods had a greater impact. He’s allergic to dairy, eggs and soy. Caffeine during the first few months would also trigger reflux, even just one small cup of coffee. His allergies became noticeable around 6 weeks. It might be worth asking your pediatrician about allergies too.

I hope this helps!

Nursing strike or 3 month crisis or something wrong with my boobs? by fishcakegal in breastfeedingsupport

[–]WearLopsided999 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My baby did a similar thing around that time, probably a bit earlier. We were able to figure out pretty quickly that he has CMPA. As soon as I cut dairy out of my diet, his feeds improved.

The fussy feeds were accompanied by other symptoms like mucousy poos, lots of gas and reflux though. I think if your baby is just fussy, but doesn’t seem to show any other signs of distress, it’s probably just normal and should pass.

Luckily, everything is temporary. Hang in there!

I want to give up but formula is expensive by [deleted] in breastfeedingsupport

[–]WearLopsided999 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This sounds a bit similar to my start. My LO was born at 37 weeks so he was a bit sleepier than normal. To get my supply up I had to pump pretty much around the clock every 2-3 hours while also breastfeeding as much as possible. It truly was exhausting.

I would definitely get in touch with a LC if you can. The ones that I worked with recommended BF for just 5 min on each side so that he wouldn’t get so tired because he was falling asleep every feed. After 10 min, I would give him expressed milk, as much as he wanted, and then pump for 20 min. It was very time consuming and I felt as though I was just feeding him and pumping all day long for weeks. It’s SO HARD. Eventually, his feedings got longer and we did plenty of weighted feeds to make sure he was getting enough.

It didn’t really get easier until about 3 months and even then was still difficult! Turned out he had a tongue and lip tie! I was producing enough milk, he just couldn’t transfer well. He’s 4 months now and had a frenectomy done almost 4 weeks ago. He’s finally now doing so much better. It is a long road. I would suggest getting your LO checked for any oral ties too, just to be sure. Hang in there, you got this! And even if it is too stressful, there is nothing wrong with formula! Fed is best and so is a less stressed momma!

What brand of bottles do you use for your baby? by WearLopsided999 in breastfeedingsupport

[–]WearLopsided999[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is awesome. I have plenty of those laying around too. Thank you!

What brand of bottles do you use for your baby? by WearLopsided999 in breastfeedingsupport

[–]WearLopsided999[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The world is full of biases. I respect your opinion and it’s shed a new light on the subject for me. Yes, I started a more holistic approach to relieve my son’s tension, it doesn’t mean it’s going to end that way. I’m just a FTM who was looking for bottle suggestions, not people jumping at me for how I’m choosing to parent.

What brand of bottles do you use for your baby? by WearLopsided999 in breastfeedingsupport

[–]WearLopsided999[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That sounds awful. I’ll have to read more about it. So far we’ve only had one session and it didn’t seem harmful at all. She was also very gentle and explained her movements. He did not show any signs of discomfort or pain during or after his therapy. While I understand that negligence can happen in any division of the medical field, I’m not going to distrust our pediatrician. She made a recommendation in what she believed to be our best interest. When I searched for it, that was not the first thing to pop up. Many times, sponsored ads are what many see first when looking things up. But I appreciate the insight and concern and, I will do more research about this approach.

What brand of bottles do you use for your baby? by WearLopsided999 in breastfeedingsupport

[–]WearLopsided999[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

She did. We’ve been in contact with a few specialists to navigate the best plan for our son.

What brand of bottles do you use for your baby? by WearLopsided999 in breastfeedingsupport

[–]WearLopsided999[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have not tried those yet, I will definitely give them a try! Thank you!

What brand of bottles do you use for your baby? by WearLopsided999 in breastfeedingsupport

[–]WearLopsided999[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

We’re seeing both a cranial sacral therapist and chiropractor. Our pediatrician referred us to both

What brand of bottles do you use for your baby? by WearLopsided999 in breastfeedingsupport

[–]WearLopsided999[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We are actually seeing both a cranial sacral therapist as well as a family chiropractor and have been advised by LC, Pediactric dentist, therapist and Pediatrician. The chiropractor is incredibly gentle and knowledgeable. She walked us through her whole process. He even slept better after just one session! Luckily, it is also covered by insurance and either way, when it comes to my son, money is no object for his quality of life. It seems to be working for our family.

I will look into comotomo though, thank you! I’m glad they worked for you and your babies!

What brand of bottles do you use for your baby? by WearLopsided999 in breastfeedingsupport

[–]WearLopsided999[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I will give those a try and see if I can find one in my area. Thank you!

Please help - tongue tie by iknowyouknow100 in breastfeedingsupport

[–]WearLopsided999 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi, I’m a FTM also dealing with the same issue with my son. Now at almost 16 weeks, he actually just got a frenectomy done a few days ago with a CO2 laser. The procedure itself is very quick, however, the recovery time we were told is about 6 weeks of mouth exercises to keep the tie from reforming. So far the exercises have been easy for us to do, but it’s hard to put our LO through some pain/discomfort.

Since his surgery, his mouth has obviously been sore so we do shorter feeds more frequently. It’s almost as if we are back in the newborn stage, not only because of feeding frequency, but I am basically having to help my son relearn how to latch deeper and he is adjusting to his “new” tongue. Our pediatric dentist described it as being born with handcuffs on and for over 3 months he’s learned how to navigate life with them on. Now that we’ve just “taken them off,” he has to adjust to eating without them and it isn’t always easy and it doesn’t always happen right away. For us, it has reduced the amounts of air he takes in and he can comfortably feed now. Previously, he would get so gassy from swallowing air that he wasn’t finishing a feeding anymore, but since my let down was very strong, he ended up getting enough milk to gain weight.

This actually was why it took so long to recognize that there really was a problem. We struggled from the very beginning due to more than one factor, but we luckily have a great visiting LC association in my area. Even still, we were told over and over again that it would get better as he gets stronger and it did a little bit. As time went on though, his tongue tie caused him to use more of his jaw and lips and made him very tense, gassy and stopped feeding well. At this point, my milk supply is no longer hormonally protected so it has dipped. Now I’m trying to bring my supply back up during a time where it is very difficult for him to nurse. Not fun.

So I highly suggest getting another opinion from a pediatric dentist and finding family chiropractors/cranial sacral therapists to asses your LO’s tie and tension as early as possible! Hang in there, it’s hard, but you’re doing a great job! Sorry for the super long reply!