Followup to: What is he trying to tell me?

The only reason I'm starting a new topic is because the original thread won't let me reply. I've tried multiple times.
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Thanks for your thoughts, everyone. He still acts fussy often times after feeds (anyone else's LO do this?), but I have to believe he's getting enough based on his diapers and weight gain. All day yesterday and this morning I felt like my supply might have gone down a little, so I did a test and pumped. I was able to pump 9 oz. between both breasts in 10 minutes which I think is good (I then bottled him the milk which I've been doing about 1x/week). So, I think he's getting more than I think he's getting ;-).
We're still on a 2-3 hour feeding schedule which I look forward to stretching out a bit. These are definitely challenging days with DH back to work and me here with a newborn and twin toddlers. If I live through it, I'll be lucky ;-)!!
I'll definitely look into a wrap.

PS. I had mastitis last week. It's so miserable. I had it 2x with my older boys. If anyone has any tips on staving it off, please share. I really think I might be prone to it. My mother had it horribly (105 fever) back in her day.

 

I had problems with mastitis a few times too. I figured out that my best bet was to do breast massage under a hot shower every couple of days until the milk was freely flowing. I needed to do this even if I did not feel engorged or lumpy or hot (whatever your warning signs are). I think some areas of the breast did not get enough stimulation from nursing. It might be worth a try for you.

 

Two things that helped me a lot with DD were 1) never ever sleeping on my stomach (which was really hard for me, but I got used to it) and 2) nursing on my hands and knees over the baby with my boob hanging down-think cow. Completely ridiculous looking, and your baby might also be slightly weirded out, lol, but I read this tip online somewehre and it works wonders, something to do with putting even pressure on the milk sinuses. You get extra points if you can angle yourself so the baby's nose is aimed towards the lump.

The first was really helpful for preventing lumps and the second I did for two or three nursing sessions any time I felt a lump coming on.

 

I was somewhat following your other thread, but have you considered the possibility of oversupply and that he might be fussy because he's getting a lot of milk or maybe too much milk too quickly? That said, sometimes newborns are just fussy after eating. Their digestive systems are immature.

It's just a thought because you said you pumped 9 ounces in 10 minutes, which, honestly, is a LOT of milk from a pumping perspective. At any rate, I'm pretty sure you don't need to worry about your supply if you can pump that much between nursing sessions. It could also explain being prone to mastitis if he's not emptying the breast.

My apologies if this has been mentioned already or if you thought of it already.

I had a lot of plugged ducts while nursing my son in the first few months and I found putting one of those bed buddies (the barley things you heat up in the microwave) on the area with the lump helped it release on its own. I'd often do it after going to bed if I felt a lump starting and the ducts would unplug while I was sleeping (perhaps the combo of heat and relaxing helped?). ETA: I also did the nursing over top of baby--him on the bed, me on my hands and knees with breasts dangling--not ideal, but I think it helped.

 

Thanks for the tips, ladies. I am trying just about everything I can to prevent further mastitis.

It is taking me a while to figure this little guy out. I do now believe I have a bit of an oversupply as you suggest, j-squared. I never feel like my breasts are empty, even after DS seems satisfied and his diapers are all nice and wet/poopy. I end up pumping now and then to get some relief and to prevent mastitis.

I thought DS was having some nipple confusion because sometimes after only 5 minutes or so of breastfeeding, he'll refuse more and get really fussy if I try to get him back on. Now I believe he's just done. I guess he's more of a snacker or just very efficient at getting what he needs quickly. This isn't always good for me though. The reason I thought he may have nipple confusion is because I've recently weaned him off the shield (I was advised to use this as DS was born tongue-tied--since corrected), he uses a pacifier, and he gets bottled BM maybe 2x/week so I can take my older boys out for a while. I no longer think this is the case though. Another reason I think I may have an oversupply is because DS frequently gets too much and starts choking... unless this is fairly normal. I don't know.

As for bottling breast milk every now and then, I've heard mixed opinions (as with everything!!). Some say it's a must to prevent complete bottle refusal down the road and others say don't do it so you can prevent nipple confusion. My post partum doula said it's fine if done only a few times/week. Thoughts? I know of a girl who has EBF for 4 months and now her LO outright refuses a bottle of BM. Her DH has to bring the baby to her at work for her to BF. Definitely not ideal!

 

I don't pop in here very often, but do you think he could have reflux? I'm just wondering since he can get fussy after a few minutes and also after eating. I know my son had it and was like that.

 

It definitely is sounding like over supply could be playing a part. As for only nursing for 5 minutes at a time that's the same as Emmett. He rarely nurses for more than 5-6 minutes at a time now. I think with a good supply, strong let down & a well latched baby it's pretty normal for them to be able to finish quickly.

Unfortunately, the extra pumping is probably not helping with the over supply. Are you pumping to empty the breast or only just to comfort? Try to pump as little as you can get away with to prevent plugged ducts/mastitis.

I agree with your PP doula about the bottles. A couple of times a week is unlikely to cause problems and the problems it would cause would be sore/damaged nipples as it tends to affect latch more then nursing duration. If you are concerned about it though you can always cut out the bottles for a week & see if you get improvement.

 

I'm not convinced of reflux, although I've considered it. My older boys both had it pretty bad.

Rachel-- agreed that pumping is probably not helping my cause. I don't do it often and never for more than 10 minutes. It just gives me a bit of relief every few days as needed.
How often is Emmett nursing for 5-6 minutes? Is he giving you any long stretches at night yet?

 

Pretty much every time he nurses it's between 4 to 6 minutes. He usually nurses every 2 to 3 hours during the day with 1 or 2 4 hour intervals at night. Every couple of nights he gives me a 5 hour stretch. It's like he's teasing me with those.

 

Oversupply can be tough and can take a while to regulate. If you're pumping infrequently just to comfort, that is probably fine. And, yes, definitely a couple of bottles a week is totally fine to keep the baby used to the bottle.

It looks like your son is about 7 weeks old. Most women's milk supplies fully regulate by about 12 weeks so you might find things will start to get better eventually and your supply with even out based on his need. Plus, as he gets older, he's likely to be less fussy in general regardless of the issue (hopefully!).

Reflux can be tricky to diagnose. Some babies can have it and show no signs. I think it's called silent reflux, where they reflux into their throat but don't spit up.

 

If you google oversupply and LLL (sorry I'm in my phone) you should find info about block feeding, where you nurse on one side for two or three feedings and then the other. It getsI painful but itI works after only a couple of days. I feel like I typed this before so if I already mentioned this, sorry lol. If I remember when I'm on the computer I'll find and post the link for you. I also had an oversupply problem and this helped me a lot.

 

So sorry about the mastitis! I had it 6 times with my first 5. Luckily I didn't get it with Spencer. The first time I had a crazy high temp well over 104, and they wouldn't let me out of the ER until the shot in my fanny of penicillin started to work and my fever dropped. Sage was about a week old.

Hope your sweet little one is feeling better and the feeds start stretching out a little for you!

 

Here is the link, the relevant info is in the second half of the article. Hope it helps! http://www.llli.org/faq/oversupply.html