Breast feeding problems PLEASE HELP!?

Here are some indicators that the latch is not right:

nipple shape is changed after feeding

tip of the nipple is white or rough

there is clicking sound while baby nurses

dimple in baby's cheek while nursing

If you see any of these check with your LC again. But some pain in first few days are normal.

Babies are not that hungry for first few days.Colostrum is all they need.So no need to worry that baby is starving. They want to nurse continuously to bring up the supply and for comfort.

I've also had this horrible cramping pain with my second child. I just bit my lip and plow through it. Within a week it will get better. You may take some mild pain killer like Tylenol which may not help the cramps but may help with sore nipples

Hope this helps.

I don't think the pump is necessary. I think you are just paranoid. You can tell if babies are getting enough milk by how many diapers they produce. Breastfed babies eat constantly, they usually eat every 1-3 hours. So if she eats every hour that is normal. She should feed for at least 15 minutes or more at a time. You should put some Lansinoh on your nipples after each feeding. Your nipples should be sore for the first few days but it should go away. I just had my baby 12-20-09 and it was really sore but after about 3-4 days it didn't hurt anymore. Hang in there. Also its only been 2 days. I didn't fully get my milk until the 4th day after birth.

It doesn't sound to me like your milk has come in yet, which explains why your girl is wanting to nurse constantly. (Although almost all newborn babies need to eat all the time, sometimes every 30 minutes, just depends on the baby.) The lactation consultants and nurses at the hospital told me that babies will nurse often and sometimes get fussy during the first couple of days before the milk arrives. She's getting what she needs from the colostrum you're expressing, it's just rather unsatisfying as far as getting a full belly goes. And I think a little nipple pain when you first start nursing is normal, it takes awhile for that sensitive skin to adjust to being stimulated all the time...just remember to apply lanolin to them to keep them from drying out and talk to a lactation consultant if the pain worsens or doesn't let up after a week or so.

I also had horrible uterin cramps while breastfeeding right after I delivered, they gave me some kind of mild pain reliever (like Tylonel or Ibuprofen) to help with the pain...it didn't give me much relief, but the cramping didn't last long. It should go away or at least ease up in just a day or two.

I agree that is sounds like your milk is not yet in! Hang in there though, I too had a lot of problems getting started breastfeeding my son who is now 4 months, but it is finally going well. Don't be afraid to use some formula while your waiting for your milk. Contact a lactation consultant and ask them if fenugreek is something that would work for you. It is an herb I have had to take because of a low milk supply, also you can try and get a nipple shield to help with the initial pain until your nipples get accustomed to the stimulation, but it is important that you use it correctly and I would suggest that you work with a lactation consultant when you first start using it. Lastly don't wait too long to get help if you are struggling. Call the different hospitals in your area and see if any offer lactation services, I had to go twice before I was able to get it right and they gave me so much more information than the lactation consultant that was at the hospital when I delivered. Hang in there and keep asking for help. In the beginning for me my nipples were so damaged that I had to pump and give my son expressed breast milk by bottle. But I was then able to get him back on with no problem so if you have to take her off the breast don't give up because that doesn't mean all is lost. Good luck!

Some questions:

1) Did you see a lactation consultant or a lactation nurse?

2) Are you nipples painful or just uncomfortable?

3) Has your daughter ever had a pacifier or bottle?

4) How many poopy diapers did she have yesterday?

5) Are you prone to vaginal yeast infections? Have you taken antibiotics during the last month?

Some facts:

1) Your baby is 2 days old her stomach is the size of a chick pea/garbanzo bean. It can hold 5-7mL. By three days her stomach will hold 3/4 to 1 oz, that's it

2) Babies aren't born hungry, they are born with a need to be on mom's breast. Being at mom's breast regulates their temperature, heart rate, and breathing. It keeps them safe. It allows their brain to develop.

3) You can take ibuprofen for the cramps. But if they are severe it could be a sign of a problem like retained placenta.

4) Pumping isn't a measure of how much milk you make, some women can never pump a drop of milk and exclusively nurse their babies for well over 6 months and continue to nurse well beyond that.

5) Some discomfort similar to an overworked muscle is normal, pain is never normal its always a sign that something is wrong

Stomach capacity of the newborn

http://www.llli.org/FAQ/colostrum.html

http://www.drjen4kids.com/

Bringing a hungry baby into the world is a bad plan. And really, if they were hungry, can you please explain to me why my kids sucked the life force out of me in those last few weeks of pregnancy? They better have been getting food, or well, that would have been annoying and painful for nothing.

[...]

Why go on and on about this? Because more and more mothers are choosing to breastfeed. But most women don't believe that the body that created that beautiful baby is capable of feeding that same child and we are supplementing more and more with infant formulas designed to be food. Why don't we trust our bodies post-partum? I don't know. But I hear over and over that the formula is because "I am just not satisfying him." Of course you are. Babies don't need to "eat" all the time- they need to be with you all the time- that's the ultimate satisfaction.

A baby at the breast is getting their immune system developed, activating their thymus, staying warm, feeling safe from predators, having normal sleep patterns and wiring their brain, and (oh by the way) getting some food in the process. They are not "hungry" --they are obeying instinct. The instinct that allows us to survive and make more of us.

http://www.todaysparent.com/article.jsp?content=12...

“I once led a meeting where I told the mothers — all experienced breastfeeding mothers — that we were going to write the real baby book, one that told new mothers what they needed to know,” she recalls. “One woman said, ‘New mothers need to know that newborns will nurse every hour.’ Another mother spoke up and said, ‘Yeah, and the feedings will last an hour.’ Everyone laughed, and I think that laughter meant that this is a common experience. Babies don’t really nurse all the time, but it can sure feel that way — especially at first.”

[...]

Wiessinger believes that counting and timing feedings may only make a nursing mother feel more stressed about what she thinks she needs to accomplish during the day. The reality, however, might actually be quite different since, as Wiessinger points out, frequent feedings tend to be short and easy to fit around other activities.

Anthropologist Kathy Dettwyler from Texas A&M University says that nursing a lot is typical of babies around the world. She cites a study done in 2000 that looked at the feeding behaviour of infants aged three to four months in three different communities: families from Washington, DC, the Ba’Aka hunter-gatherers and the Ngandu farmers, both of the Central African Republic. They found that the Ba’Aka babies nursed 4.02 times per hour, the Ngandu babies nursed 2.01 times per hour and the American babies nursed 1.6 times per hour. Certainly the American babies nursed less often than the two African groups, but they nursed more frequently than many new parents expect.

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/start/basics/latch-reso...

Latching and Positioning Resources

No matter what latch and positioning look like, the true measure is in the answers to these two questions:

1. Is it effective?

2. Is it comfortable?

Even if latch and positioning look perfect (and, yes, even if a lactation consultant told you they were fine), pain and/or ineffective milk transfer indicate that there is a problem somewhere, and the first suspect is ineffective latch/positioning.

If baby is transferring milk and gaining weight well, and mom is not hurting, then latch and positioning are - by definition - good, even if it's nothing like the "textbook" latch and positioning that you've seen in books.

http://www.kellymom.com/newman/11some_bf_myths.htm...

2. It is normal for breastfeeding to hurt.

Not true! Thoug

Your pump probably wont ever get a whole lot out, I know mine never did. And my baby was the same way, always wanting to eat and it ALWAYS hurt. It hurt so much I would cry every feeding. All you can do hun is follow what your doctor suggests, my daughter had to switch to formula at 4 months, and other than that, just wait for her mouth to get bigger as she grows. The bigger her mouth, the less it will hurt. Also use hot packs for the cramps, it will help take the edge off the pain because of the relaxation from the heat. Good luck and keep at it, you are giving your baby the best there is and your milk will come in soon and you will be filling up your little girls tank :)

1. Talk to your doctor. Cramping is normal when breast feeding, it's your uterus going back to it's normal size - However, the pain shouldn't be unbearable.

2. Breast feeding is the absolute best option for both you and the baby - However, it isn't the only option. I breast fed my first for a year and made copious amounts of milk. With my second, however, I had a hungry baby who was always starving. I wasn't producing much milk. After three months of guilt at starving my child, I told the doctor and the Booby Nazis I was putting him on the bottle. My son is now seven and very healthy.

Some people just don't produce enough milk. For me it was weight gain. I didn't have enough during pregnancy. It's more common then you think. I suggest you try for a while, a few more weeks and see if your milk comes in. If not, rather then sit in your house feeling guilty with a hungry baby in your arms, go talk to your pediatrician and they will give you free samples of the right kind of formula and some bottles. Because breast is best, but bottles are better then malnutrition.

I gave birth on 12/13 and know just how you are feeling!! The first night was no problem at all, but boy the second night was terrible, she ate and ate and ate!! One day she had to have eaten 25 times. But they told me that is called cluster feeding which is what they do during the first week. Unfortunately I was going to give up all together but decided to do formula at night because my nipples were killing me too. The nurse that came to my home gave me a tube of lansinoh cream and it has helped a little, but when my babygirl latches on, it hurts too! All i can say is thank God she doesnt have teeth!!

Read this: http://www.kellymom.com/newman/04enough_milk.html Print it out, re-read...

Ditch the pump; it is NO indication of how much you have or are making.

Is this a lactation consultant, hospital nurse self-styled as same, or lactation consultant, certified 'IBCLC'? If the former, find proper help. 'It shouldn't hurt so much' is not proper help and the latch can be improved. How can you find a lactation consultant? http://parenting.ivillage.com/baby/bbreastfeed/0,,...