More breastfeeding issues....

Those of you who have read my previous posts about Ava refusing the breast will know i have been struggling for weeks!!

Well i went to a lactation consultant the other day because Ava has only been feeding for 3-5 mins each side and then will cry and pull off and refuse to latch back on, getting hysterical in the process. The lc seemed to think that she is just getting more efficient at nursing (shes 2 months old) and that it isnt a problem and that the reason she crys is becuase she needs to burp (she is very gassy). I just find it very hard to believe that she gets enough in that time, esp. because she pulls off crying (shouldnt she been content if shes had enough?) and then will still be sucky!!

I tried a nipple shield today and she nursed better for a while...another mystery.

Any advice/suggestions/thoughts would be good! I'd love to continue breastfeeding, but at this rate Im not sure i can! Oh but she gags on a bottle, but thats another story!

Denise, I TOTALLY know where you are coming from as we are having the same problems - Jackson won't feed for more than 5 minutes max on each side and then fusses. He has never lost weight but is slow to gain and is beneath the 25th percentile for weight (but at the 75th for height).

I have seen a lactation consultant and she also thinks that Jackson is getting enough and is just really efficient. But, like you, I can't see how he could possibly be drinking the required 120-odd mls at each feed... it just doesn't seem possible. I tried the weighing before and after a feed, but that just stressed me out even more and I don't think that is healthy for either of us. It's too easy to get obsessed by doing something like that.

How is Ava's weight and gain? If she is gaining weight then that is the main thing. Wet and pooey nappies ok? They are the things to look for, but I know it can be hard when it's a long time between Plunket visits.

This is what I am doing to try to get Jackson to feed longer:

* Wake him up as much as possible before feeding. I play with him for a bit, sometimes put him on his change mat. Sometimes he responds, other times he just gets sh*tty.
* I have a cold cloth that I keep next to me. If he stops sucking or looks like he is going to sleep I dab it on the back of his neck. He hates it but it usually generates another 20 seconds of sucking
* Frequent burping, but only ever when he pulls off himself. I never remove him myself as I would never get him back on.

After those things, I just keep offering, offering, offering. I have found that if Jackson can stimulate a second let down, then I am more confident with the feed as he will then have another good suck.


The other thing I am really trying to do is not stress (not always with success). I figure he must be getting enough to at least be surviving (lol) and will continue to bug professionals for their opinion if he is still not gaining to their satisfaction. In the meantime, I am just trying to trust the lactation consultant and to trust Jackson as well.

Having said that, I do believe that just continuing to offer, offer, offer is helping. Sometimes feeds take an hour and a half with only 10 - 12 minutes of sucking, but it seems worth it if I can get him to eat more.

Good luck hun, I really feel what you're going through.

yep we've tried infacol and gripe water.

She is very little for her age - born at 3.075kg and now 4.14kg at 9 weeks of age. She gained 160grams in the last 7 days and plunket were happy with that. Im sick of people asking if she was premature!!!

Oh another thing - she has a dummy - that probably doesnt help but how do i get her to stop needing it?

at 9 weeks denny i think you can just stop giving her the dummy. she wont have become attached to it at this age.

oh and opposite to what kiwilaurie said i found it easier to feed them as soon as they got up. and rubbing the palm of their hand to stimulate the suck reflex. i was lucky with gabriel in that whenever i touched his nose it would get him sucking again... i called it his go button!

Ok, at the risk of sounding like a beetch, STOP getting hung up on how many ML's baby is getting. It is IMPOSSIBLE to tell with a BF baby how much is enough as obviously you can't see how much they feed. The ML's thing is only a GUIDELINE for bottle feeders (of ebm or formula) but not a rule. If baby is gaiing, baby is fine.

Annnnnd, 5 mins is fine, FINE! fine! My bubs only drank 5 mins and only took one side! the othr took about 20 mins and took both sides.

Fussy is quite possible wind, babies hide wind in strange places and need to be burped LOTS!

Trust your LC, plese do, it is her job, she really does know what is normal.

Also, FYI plunkets growth chart is for formula fed babies or mixed fed babies, so BE babies can soemtimes be on the lower centile, but in reality, for a BF baby, they are fine. Ask your LC is she has a breastfed babies centile chart.

Hang in there!! you are doing a good job, and please STOP doubting yourself and your baby!

he he I wasn't doing that per se, just "gently" reminding you that you can't measure breastmilk any way other than any gains baby has, and you need to get the big gains thing and plunket growth chart ou of your head. Plunket are great, but will do your head in...

Dr's can be a bit hard core sometimes as well. It makes it hard, as they are people you would/should trust with your life, but conflicting information is really hard, plus the fact that growth charts etc that plunket use aren't for BF babies who tend to have smaller gains. as long as your LC and MW are happy and you are too.
Maybe she is just a really efficient feeder?. She may not be gettign the fatty hind milk when she feeds, however, she may be filling up on the other stuff first? There are things you can do to help that, but if your LC is happy at the mo, don't worry too much.

Well she fed really well (no screaming or anything) late last night and again at lunchtime today (in the car in the pak n save carpark lol). With the feeds in between she did her screaming thing.

The only thing i can think of is 1) that both places where she fed well were really hot and she was sleepy and 2) i had very small (ie, not even quarter of a glass) of wine an hour or so before both of those excellent feeds. Maybe that mellowed her out LOL

Guess i will just have to go with the flow.