10/1-15 First Year Check In + Chatter

[lily]

How old is your LO?

Are you nursing, pumping, supplementing? How’s it going?



0-3 mo
Getting through growth spurts okay?



4-8 mo
How do nights look?


If you’ve returned to work, how is that transition going?



9-12mo
Do you have a BF goal and has it changed since LO was a newborn?



Questions/AW?


GTKY: if LO had been the opposite sex, what would be their name?

[peggyhill]

DS is 2 weeks and 6 days, at the moment I’m trying to nurse, but mostly pumping and supplementing formula where needed.

It’s going well, he’s gaining weight and the pedi is very happy. I just wish he nursed better. The growth spurts are hard, I just feel like I’m feeding him TOO much and I worry a lot ☹️
What is considered a good supply of breast milk to pump? I’m pumping on average 60-80mls, about 130mls after a power pump. Do any of the teas and cookies help with supply or is it mostly supply and demand?

GTKY: if DS has been a girl, she would have been Celeste Maxine. I’m sad I didn’t get to use the names!

[babystandish]

How old is your LO? 2 weeks and a few days

Are you nursing, pumping, supplementing? How’s it going? Nursing. It’s going well! He has a tongue tie, but it hasn’t effected nursing much. We are planning on getting it fixed soon though.



0-3 mo
Getting through growth spurts okay? Well he nurses 24/7 so who knows lol. He’s gained a little over a lb so far at his 2 week check.


Questions/AW?


GTKY: if LO had been the opposite sex, what would be their name? We don’t pick out a specific name before the baby is born. We have a spreadsheet of 20+ names and then we narrow it down once it’s out and decide what it looks like. Here’s our list of girl names that we would have chosen from:
Esme
Evelyn
Josephine
Lilian
Georgianna
Aisley
Charlene
Galadriel
Brooke
Felicity
Gwendolyn
Esther
Gloria
penelope
Daphne
Claire
Alice
Lydia
Emma
Amelia
Abigail

[peggyhill]

babystandish, LOOOOOVE your naming style 🙌🏻

[vvvvvfee]

peggyhill, why are you pumping so early on if LO's weight gain is good? it's usually recommended that you wait until at least 4-6 weeks to begin pumping so that you don't create an oversupply.

if you're not skipping any feedings, it's common to only be able to pump 1-2 ounces. if you are skipping feedings, i'd say 4ish ounces is about average (probably more if you're pumping in the morning if your supply is higher). average intake for an infant is approx 25 oz per day.

i don't think any of the supply-boosting things do much, TBH. certainly extra fluids help, maybe take a prenatal vitamin and just try to eat a balanced diet and get enough calories.

[courtniko]

How old is your LO? 21 weeks

Are you nursing, pumping, supplementing? How’s it going?
Nursing, pumping 2 times a day at work (going in at lunch to nirse).

4-8 mo
How do nights look?
He used to wake up 1 to 2 times a night, now he wakes up 3 to 4 times a night. It has been rough.


If you’ve returned to work, how is that transition going?
I have been back at work for 9 weeks now. It has been ok. I feel the mom guilt, but it does bot seem to have hurt breastfeeding, so that is good.

Questions/AW?


GTKY: if LO had been the opposite sex, what would be their name?
If DS had been a girl he probably would have been Claira. We have always gone in with a list of options, and we were team green with this one, but I am pretty sure that is what we would have picked.

[peggyhill]

Oct 7, 2019 11:11:29 GMT -6 vvvvvfee said:

peggyhill, why are you pumping so early on if LO's weight gain is good? it's usually recommended that you wait until at least 4-6 weeks to begin pumping so that you don't create an oversupply.

if you're not skipping any feedings, it's common to only be able to pump 1-2 ounces. if you are skipping feedings, i'd say 4ish ounces is about average (probably more if you're pumping in the morning if your supply is higher). average intake for an infant is approx 25 oz per day.

i don't think any of the supply-boosting things do much, TBH. certainly extra fluids help, maybe take a prenatal vitamin and just try to eat a balanced diet and get enough calories.

DS wasn’t getting enough through breastfeeding and wasn’t gaining weight, so the lactation consultant recommended I pump so I don’t lose my supply and I have to supplement with formula to equal his needs based on his weight. Thanks for the input on what is considered normal, it’s hard to know where my supply is in the scheme of things

[vvvvvfee]

Oct 7, 2019 13:45:15 GMT -6 peggyhill said:

Oct 7, 2019 11:11:29 GMT -6 vvvvvfee said:

peggyhill , why are you pumping so early on if LO's weight gain is good? it's usually recommended that you wait until at least 4-6 weeks to begin pumping so that you don't create an oversupply.

if you're not skipping any feedings, it's common to only be able to pump 1-2 ounces. if you are skipping feedings, i'd say 4ish ounces is about average (probably more if you're pumping in the morning if your supply is higher). average intake for an infant is approx 25 oz per day.

i don't think any of the supply-boosting things do much, TBH. certainly extra fluids help, maybe take a prenatal vitamin and just try to eat a balanced diet and get enough calories.

DS wasn’t getting enough through breastfeeding and wasn’t gaining weight, so the lactation consultant recommended I pump so I don’t lose my supply and I have to supplement with formula to equal his needs based on his weight. Thanks for the input on what is considered normal, it’s hard to know where my supply is in the scheme of things

i hope that the LC is continuing to work with you so that you can be nursing more and pumping less-- pumping is so stressful! is she working with you on latch? nursing stimulates your breasts better than a pump can (boosting supply) and baby can empty your breasts more efficiently than the pump. so how much volume you can pump is not always an accurate way to determine how much your baby is actually getting at the breast. i know i don't know the whole story here but i hope you are getting the support you need.

[peggyhill]

vvvvvfee, Thank you again for all the info! I really appreciate it! Breastfeeding has been difficult for us since I have flat nipples and DS has a lot of difficulty latching without a nipple shield. She is definitely trying to get me to have more success with breastfeeding, I see her every 3-4 days and at present she has me getting him to latch before feeding him with a bottle and seeing how he does, and grading him so we can compare when we go in and she sees his progress. He is an incredibly difficult baby in that he had jaundice that made him so sleepy he wouldn’t even wake up to feed, which made him SUCH a lazy feeder. It’s been an uphill battle dealing with his jaundice causing him to be lazy and trying to play catch up with him breastfeeding and getting enough while at the same time making sure he’s fed and supplemented and gaining weight. So much has gone into this it’s astounding, the classes at the hospital made it sound like it was easy 🤦🏼‍♀️

[vvvvvfee]

peggyhill, i'm glad you're getting good support from the LC. i had flat nipples with DS1 and i was given a nipple shield by the LC in the hospital-- i managed to wean him off it by 8 weeks (w/o the help of follow-ups with a LC bc i was clueless). so i'm sure you will be able to get him to feed without it soon-- in a few more weeks his neck will be much stronger and that makes latching less difficult. i promise it will get easier!

[peggyhill]

Oct 8, 2019 8:13:34 GMT -6 vvvvvfee said:

peggyhill, i'm glad you're getting good support from the LC. i had flat nipples with DS1 and i was given a nipple shield by the LC in the hospital-- i managed to wean him off it by 8 weeks (w/o the help of follow-ups with a LC bc i was clueless). so i'm sure you will be able to get him to feed without it soon-- in a few more weeks his neck will be much stronger and that makes latching less difficult. i promise it will get easier!

That is so amazing to hear, that gives me so much hope! Thank you, I’m going to keep up with trying and hopefully I have the same success! 😊

[vvvvvfee]

peggyhill, the tip that worked best for me RE the nipple shield was to start the feeding with it on, so your nipple is drawn out and your milk is flowing, and then de-latch and offer the breast again without the shield. if LO got frustrated, i would immediately put it back on. he slowly got less frustrated (and also grew stronger), began to nurse more often without it, and eventually was able to latch on his own. also, watch for early hunger cues (i'll put a link below) and try to nurse then. don't wait until LO is starving because then he will be frantic and impatient it will make the whole process more difficult.

kellymom.com/bf/normal/hunger-cues/
also more tips on weaning off the nipple shield kellymom.com/ages/newborn/nb-challenges/wean-shield/