My baby's stools now alternate between sometimes being orange and other times being green. (Which I've heard is an oversupply or imbalance problem.) I AM currently only feeding from one breast at a time, and will start doing it for more extended periods as I read to try. Poor E is more irritable and gassy when this happens too. He was good last night and this AM when I fed mostly from the "good" side that he always seems to like.
Fire away with suggestions/support.
Ugh this stuff is hard.
P.S. He is eating normally during the day.. every 2-3 hrs for about a half an hour on the breast. Then before bedtime he gets FRANTIC and tries to eat like a crazy man. He acts like he's famished. He usually eats about 45 minutes to an hour from me (and I mean EATS the whole time) and then when I just can't stand the drain on my nipple anymore (giving him the "bad boob" doesn't help), he eats another 2-3 oz of formula and acts FRANTIC for that. Usually that will finally fill him, but we have to be careful not to make him sick. WTH??? He will then sleep a long time without eating. Is he "tanking up?" How would his body know that?
Saturday, January 30, 2010
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6 comments:
It took us a while. We did Mylicon with just about every feeding for a while. Other than that, just one side per feeding and waiting as long as possible between feedings. I've heard some people say that they did from the same side for two feedings in a row.
And hang in there. You'll make it.
Have you read up about clusterfeeding? It's totally normal and it's when your baby eats what seems like non-stop in the evening. YES, he probably is tanking up for a long sleep. It will eventually stop, but giving formula is not the answer. I know it's hard (been there, done that), but the best thing you can do is just nurse, nurse, nurse. Settle in with your partner and watch some TV and just let the baby do his thing. For my son, this stopped around 3 months.
http://kellymom.net/babyconcerns/fussy-evening.html
As far as the green stool, it could be normal, especially as you say sometimes it's orange. http://www.drjaygordon.com/development/pediatricks/poop.asp
http://www.kellymom.com/newman/04enough_milk.html
Have you seen a lactation consultant? She may be able to ease your fears and will have some recommendations on how to correct the foremilk/hindmilk imbalance, if there truly is one.
yes i have. thanks. :) the thing is, he not only eats like that, he cries and screams and eats his fist, sputters, spits up and fights the breast when this is going on. it's painful to let him do this for hours when supplemental formula calms him and fills him up. it's also very painful for my nipples. i'm wondering about pumping and bottle feeding. he's better on the "good" boob. i've been trying all the techniques
calling a consultant tomorrow
The cluster feeding part sounds normal. I always fed for equal amounts of time on each side but I limited him to 15-20 minutes on each side, later shortening it to 10 minutes on each side. All on my pediatrician's advice - he said any longer and he would just be using my nipple as a pacifier. It seemed to work for us.
We never had green stools, though. I did have a friend whose baby just would not tolerate her breastmilk. Her pediatrician told her that wasn't possible but on BM he had horrible gas, green stools and horrific diaper rashes. She switched to formula and had a whole new baby.
Okay - I just re-read my comment and realized I didn't really answer any of your questions. Sorry!! I hope the lactation consultant was able to give you some help. Bottom line - breastfeeding IS hard. And different for everyone. I hope you and E find a rhythm soon!
I so badly want to give you the magical words of advice, but I'm just not that smart. :( I can add my encouragement to the list though - this is hard, and you're doing so great to even be trying to tough this out! I don't want to be one of those people who tell you not to give up if all you really want to do is give up, or to tell you to throw in the towel if you really just want encouragement to keep going. I'm not much help, am I? :)
But, I will tell you that with just pumping and bottle-feeding for the twins- my supply dwindled fairly quickly and I was never able to keep up with what they needed. That may have just been me, but I have been able to keep up with the bug by actually nursing, and I even have a pumped stockpile in the freezer.
Hmmm...random shots at advice...
have you tried a shield?
Have you tried extra burps? (the Bug screams early on in feedings sometimes, and if I can get him to let out a big burp, he'll settle back in).
Okay, enough chitter chatter - you need sleep sometime. :)
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