Breastfeeding and Pumping - Bellevue,NE

The first week is always hard.
Question...Do your nipples invert or still stick out with the new bf swelling?
Sorry for the kinda personal question..*you don't have to answer it , just something to think about*
I had latch problems because of that with both my kids. My breasts would swell SO much that they couldn't latch. One thing that actually helped was to pump. I still breastfed, but pumped to help with the extra swelling.

When it comes to supply & demand...Your body will continue to produce as much as it feels is needed. So the more your BF or pump the more you will produce. Good thing is you can pump and freeze the milk for several months.

All babies fall asleep when eating. I would say though..feed on-demand, don't stop feeding when the baby isn't done.

So be patient, it is hard at first, but I swear it will get easier. Pump if that's what you wish to do. You can buy storage bags and freeze it. But keep actually nursing if you can. The connection is AWESOME!

Good luck!

im sorry for your baby's jaundice. :( :( nursing would help clear it up and clean her out. thats what its for. so nurse, nurse nurse.... regardless of what they tell you....

nurse nurse nurse nurse nurse nurse nurse nurse.

your pump will never get the milk that is really there. theres no way to measure that. your baby is the only perfect suction on the breast that would be able to get the right amount. no one can measure how much they truly supply.

RIGHT NOW< go to www.llli.org. contact a local or nearby leader. she will have real mom tested advice for you. shes probably going to know of someone who's been there. ;)

anyway, the more you nurse, the more your supply will be established. maybe she has a tongue tie problem. its a quick snip, and her tongue will be able to grasp the breast more. but really, she sounds like a normal jaundiced newborn. some babies are more efficient at getting the milk out and filling their TINY stomach, others take longer. just do what instinctivly feels right. :)

I had a lot of trouble with a sleepy baby too. A lactation consultant recommended undressing her for feeding -- so she was cold and would stay away. I also rubbed her back and kind of massaged her while feeding so she would stay awake. You can also change her diaper when you switch sides to wake her up and get her ready for more. It sounds like you're doing really well for just the first week. It took several weeks before I could get anything at all pumping. They really don't eat that much at that age. If you keep it up your supply will increase as her needs increase. Good luck. Breastfeeding is great!

1. Offer the other breast
2. Track wet and dirty diapers see how many per day. If you have 6 wet and 1-2 dirty she is eating enough Check w/ doctor if my #'s are right.
3. After you have fed baby pump another 5 min. each side and freeze it. This will increase your supply so you have some on the side for baby while gone at work.

While at work you want to pump as often as baby eats (about every 3 hours) pain I know I strictly pumped and fed my daughter, she would not nurse no matter what I or the lactation consultant would do. The pump does not stimulate you like baby, nother will, so you have to pump for 20 mins every 3 hours to keep your supply up. Nurse baby right before you get home and as soon as you walk through the door, and when ever it is possable.

4. Get a lactation consultant to view your latch and see what is up. There are alot of things that can be done about that but you need to correct them NOW before you get sore, and hurt (healing time puts a damper on things trust me).

1/2 oz is good right now expesually seeing you are feeding her too. relax do not stress that will deminish you production and stay away from sage that can dry you up.
Congrats, and good luck.

At one week, 1/2 sounds about right. I started pumping about 3 weeks before I went back to work to build up a supply. I feed on only one side at a time (always have), and my babies seem to get a lot of the hind milk and are roly poly things. So, I started by pumping on the non-feeding breast in the mornings, sometimes also getting a tiny bit out of the other side too. It was slow going at first, but I did it everyday (still do) and then pump from both at work. I think you can focus on your baby right now and get the feeding going before worrying about the pumping.

Have you worked with a LC? Most babies at 1 week will fall asleep. As long as they are still drinking, that is okay, if not, then burp, move her around, change her, bug her, whatever to keep her drinking until she is full.

You're doing great!!!!!! Don't get discouraged! :) Supply and demand works like this...The more demand, the more supply. So, if you're nursing more you're producing more. 10 mins at a time is good! My girls were snackers when they were little. 10 mins on, an hour off, 10 mins on, an hour off. It was rough for the first few weeks, then everything evened out. They were stronger and were able to nurse longer. The longer they nursed, the fuller they were and the longer they went in between feedings.
The size of her mouth doesn't really have anything to do with her brestfeeding or latch. Honestly, it sounds like everything is perfect!!!!
When you go back to work, pump as often as you can and nurse on demand when you get home.
Big CONGRATS on your little one and HOORAY! and high fives for choosing to give her the ABSOLUTE BEST start in life! :)

Hi there,

The first few weeks are really hard, but especially when you have other factors like jaundice.

What you are describing is normal for a newborn- they eat for a bit (10 min is great- we were at 6-8m in the first few weeks). But they get tired and fall asleep. But she didn't get a full feeding, so will be hungry upon awaking. They will eventually increase their stamina, they are still so fresh to the world! Offer the same breast again if it's within half hour, alternate after.

Try searching on breastfeeding on Mamapedia. There's so much great info. Also, try and be patient and gentle with yourself. There's so much hormonal stuff that it's easy to be really h*** o* yourself. The first month is just about recovering and building a relationship with your new baby. The slow pace is really frustrating... but try and keep calm, these days will pass.

Congrats on your new baby!

I know it seems hard right now, but keep up the good work. First off, I saw your other post about a bad latch and the nipple shield. Contact a speech therapist, lactation specialist or your nearest La Leche League to get help. The nipple shield can hurt your milk supply and you need to correct the bad latch. My son had a bad latch and no one caught it, so he wasn't getting enough milk. Since he wasn't getting enough milk my supply kept getting worse.
While you are working on the latch it's a great idea to pump after each feeding to make sure you are getting empty. The more you empty the more you will make. If you don't empty at each feeding your body won't produce as much. Pumping takes a while to get used to so stick with it. Get a pumping bra or cut holes in a sports bra. Holding your baby or eventually when you go back to work looking at pictures while you pump will help you pump more. I recommend joining the yahoo group Pump Moms for more great advice.

Be careful with giving bottles because you will cause nipple confusion and have more issues with the latch.

My son always fell asleep while nursing which I later found out was probably because of his bad latch and not getting much milk when nursing. It helped to strip him down to his diaper and do compressions on your breast while he nurses. Google Dr. Jack Newman and he has videos of proper latches and techniques.

I would put my baby in the swing or bouncer when I was pumping. If my husband was around I would hook up my pump and then have my husband hand me the baby.

Finally, don't put your baby on a schedule, if she wants to nurse all the time LET her. The more she nurses the more she will stimulate you and help produce more milk. Don't let her go too long without nurses either.

I hope this all helps. Feel free to email me if you have more questions. I had major issues with nursing because we didn't catch these problems early on. You are doing a great job and all this hard work is well worth it!