Exclusively BFing, soon to be 4 wk old

S

sblossom

Registered User
Hi moms,
Gave birth to my first baby nearly 4 wks ago come Tuesday! I've been nursing her exclusively. First 2 wks were really tough! Her little mouth just would not open wide enough which cause me terrible sore/chapped
Nipples. Things have gotten better, thou I may still seek professional Lac help. Before I do I had a few quick q's for u moms out there:
1. Is it normal to feel quick sharp pains in the breast when the milk is coming in? This is happening to my left breast only.
2. When baby is feeding and starts to drift off to sleep, she sometimes chatters at my nipple... It feels like when you are so cold tht your mouth chatters.. That's how it feels to me.. So I thk she is cold and put a blanket on her but she still sometimes cont chattering... Anyone else have this exp?
3. Anyone out there that BF but do not express? It's only been 4 wks, my mom was adamant tht I shld not pump so have not gotten a pump, but am finding it uncomfortable some nights when baby has a longer that 4 hr sleep at night and I am full and sometimes in pain waiting for her to wake so she can help release.
Lastly, we are traveling back to the uk early dec, any tips on long haul travel w newborn?
Thanks for your thoughts!!!
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Hi !
First congratulations ! I'm not an expert in bf, but I breastfed my first one during 8 months exclusively, and I'm now breastfeeding my second one who is just 4 months.
The symptoms you describe are very normal I think, and I'm sure we all experienced them.
The pain will disappear very quickly, I guess the breast ducts are "training" and it will get easier, on all at night. I had the same problem the first month, having to get up at night to express some milk, and now it's all going fine.
For the funny feeling when you baby is falling asleep, my 2 babies did the same, they eventually stop when they are a bit older, but nothing to see with a cold ;)
I haven't pumped yet... just because I didn't need to, and was always confortable with bf wherever I go. Why is your mum adamant to you pumping ??
Concerning the trip, the younger they are, the easier it is. They eat and sleep.
Think about bf when the plane takes off to release the pain of the pressure in the ears, maybe one of your blanket to put in the bassinet, a pyjama for change in case of a milk/nappie accident, and it will be fine !
 
sorry am a man and hence a bit removed from the action, but re 3) i find it hard to believe that some women do not pump. out little baby boy is sleeping at his own will and it does not always coincide with the 'feeding schedule' hence pumping is our/her way to manage.
 
I never pumped with my first born until she was about 4 or 5 months old. Even if she slept through at night, I would just manage. If the engorgement got bad then I would have a hot shower and express a little to relieve the pressure and try to avoid clogged ducts. It worked for us. I always heard that you shouldn't pump in the first couple of months when your supply is still building up otherwise you'll end up with oversupply and you just make those problems of engorgement worse. I totally believe that so I would actually advise against pumping to relieve the pressure!!

I think that #1 and #2 are normal - #1, there are sometimes a few short little "pains" when the milk comes in but if it's really severe or anything, it could be a symptom of thrush or something like that instead... #2, babies just do funny sucking things with their mouths, particularly when sleepy.

It does sound like you need some help with latch though...

All the best!!
 
The sharp pain is normal and was something that I looked forward to, as it was always a sign of a good pump ahead (I was an exclusive pumper). So is the "quivering mouth" thingy - I think that's related to the "flickering tongue" thingy, which is a reflex they are all born with.

I would definitely get a pump (at least a single electric one) as everytime when you're late for a feed / skip a feed because of your baby's sleep, you are sending a signal to your body to produce less milk - which would be a very bad thing if you are planning to BF for a long time. You can always freeze whatever that you've pumped, and it WILL come in handy one of these days (when you're a bit poorly and not up for it, when you have to be away from the LO and someone else has to feed her, when you are ready to bottle train her etc)

Boobs are not like reservoirs - if you don't use the milk it doesn't get stored away for future reference...!
 
1. Sounds like your letdown. For the first long while with FT BFing, it comes on pretty strong. It's a good sign:) but it will let up a bit in the coming months.
2. Ah, I forgot about that! I totally remember it now but don't know why my baby did it. Also seemed like a reflex thing.
3. I pumped a lot of first, less later. When I was too tired to pump and he only drank one side and I wanted to keep balance or Relieve the fullness, I would simply express it into the sink or onto tissue, as I had enough in the freezer already. Hand expression is really easy and tons come out. Often more than with my silly manual pump.

I traveled long haul with a four month old. I think the younger the better. They just feed, hang out a bit in your armsp and sleep.
Congrats and good luck:)
 
Thanks everyone for your advice and comments, really reassuring!!*

My mom is old school, she BF all four of her kids and thinks that so long as u have ur milk in, tampering w it by pumping etc will only confuse my supply, her words were "I'll start leaking like a facet since my body will thk my baby needs all that milk" fair point, but after reading all the stuff on the Internet abt plugged ducks, thrush, and other related breast problems I am fearful tht by keeping my breast at full capacity at points in the night may harm myself in the long run... Anyhow, I will look up how to hand express and see if tht helps at night.*
This may be a stupid question, but if I express and store the excess( i have dr brown bottles) if she takes the bottle, wont tht create nipple confusion? My plan is ti BF her for at least 6 full mths, then i go back to work, so will have ti transition to bottle at that time.*
Momtherhood is such an adventure, there seems to be a surprise around the corner as ever wk passes! At the end of wk 3, little tike is spitting up a lot and seems to have worst gas!! Now tht I am reading all these threads on reflux, I am worried!! I see the pediatrician for the one month chkup so will ask her abt it!
Thanks again everyone!
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I started combined feeding (went to full BB my baby when he was 2 or 3 week old), and my baby never got nipple confusion.... I do have a pump, and tried expressing and storing a little bit before, but stopped cause I really have no used for the stored milk right now. I just bottle feed my baby with EBM when I went out 2 or 3 times, but later found out it was much more convenient to just breastfeed my baby as many malls and shopping centers have feeding room.

About breast problem, I think expressing is not a way to prevent or relieve engorgement, as it will only increase your milk supply leading to oversupply. Probably it would be better for you to manually express just enough milk to make yourself comfortable again. Best way to prevent blocked ducts is to massage your breast while feeding. Make sure that your breast get soft without any lump after a feeding.

About the transition to bottle when the baby is 6 months old... actually that was my plan also. Someone advised me to give one bottle of expressed milk per day when your milk supply has been established, so that the baby would know how to take the bottle. I haven't done that since my baby already know how to drink from the bottle (or used to know... he may have already forgotten how to do that though)....I am also considering going directly to sippy cup instead of bottle when the baby is 6 months old.
 
I exclusively BFed for 6 months and am combination feeding now. The let down pain will improve it just takes time!

With regard to nipple confusion they say that if you can avoid it try not to give a bottle for the first 4 weeks - unfortunately didn't do this and gave a bottle earler with expressed milk so I could get some rest and my baby did get nipple confusion and it wasn't fun. When I tried to directly feed from the breast he would fight me and scream and refuse. With the help of a lactation consultant I was able to train him back on but it was 1 week of pain and lots of patience.

That said all babies are different and yours is over 4 weeks so if you wanted to give a bottle you shouldn't have any problems.

I found it useful to be able to get my husband to do one of the feeds so I could get a couple of extra hours sleep :)
 
sblossom said:
Thanks everyone for your advice and comments, really reassuring!!*

My mom is old school, she BF all four of her kids and thinks that so long as u have ur milk in, tampering w it by pumping etc will only confuse my supply, her words were "I'll start leaking like a facet since my body will thk my baby needs all that milk" fair point, but after reading all the stuff on the Internet abt plugged ducks, thrush, and other related breast problems I am fearful tht by keeping my breast at full capacity at points in the night may harm myself in the long run... Anyhow, I will look up how to hand express and see if tht helps at night.*
This may be a stupid question, but if I express and store the excess( i have dr brown bottles) if she takes the bottle, wont tht create nipple confusion? My plan is ti BF her for at least 6 full mths, then i go back to work, so will have ti transition to bottle at that time.*
Momtherhood is such an adventure, there seems to be a surprise around the corner as ever wk passes! At the end of wk 3, little tike is spitting up a lot and seems to have worst gas!! Now tht I am reading all these threads on reflux, I am worried!! I see the pediatrician for the one month chkup so will ask her abt it!
Thanks again everyone!
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Click to expand...

I think I have to agree with your mom on the excess milk thing, as that's exactly what happened to me. Worse, my letdown became so strong that it choked my baby and he didn't want to feed, as well as the beginning is al the foremilk, less what you want for your baby unless they are a long feeder. When I let down I had to take him off my breast and spray the milk into a tissue for a bit until it calmed down. One side was worse. It was a real bother for a while til my body adjusted. Maybe you could just express a little bit to make you more confortable.

I was also afraid of nipple confusion (he received his first feed in the hospital from a bottle behind my back and I had to ween him off it in his first few days), so I never introduced it again til 5.5 weeks. Then it was too late and I was stuck breastfeeding exclusively from then on. He actually learned how to drink a bottle once he understood how a sippy cup worked, and also then started to self wean from my breast (from 8 months).
 
I think it must be a very individual thing, as my baby is currently 6 weeks old and I'm combination feeding by breast and expressed breast milk. I haven't had any problems with the expressing increasing my milk supply to create engorgement - I have slight under-supply if anything and wish that it would give me a bit more! I can't imagine not being able to pump to relieve the pressure between night feeds - hand expressing is very easy though so you'll soon get the hang of it.

With the nipple confusion issue, we use the special Newborn teats that mean the baby has to suck harder to get the milk and she goes back and forth from bottle and breast with no problems.

Good luck!
 
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