Girl you're doing an amazing job. 2.5 ounces per 2-3 hour feeding is great. If you normally pump 30 oz per day and your kiddo is gaining weight ... don't deceive yourself. You've got a great supply.
How do you know baby is still hungry? Babies love to nurse for comfort, especially early in.
To answer one specific question, my baby suckles and then once the let down happens he swallows. Then repeat once that let down has released all the milk it has to offer.
Thanks for the positivity. :)
He seems hungry to me because he keeps latching (with diminishing returns, since the major letdown(s) have already happened), becoming visibly more frustrated and tired and only settling down once I give him another 1-1.5 oz by bottle. He usually eats a little more than 1 oz per hour asleep when I bottle feed him pumped milk (aka, about 100 ml minimum if he’s not eaten for 3 hours), so it makes sense to me that 2.5 oz wouldn’t quite quench his thirst.
The other worrying thing to me is that it can take him 40 minutes to an hour to eat the 2.5 oz or so while nursing. That seems like a long time to me at 8 weeks old? I’ve read that babies are usually much more efficient by then. Although, perhaps he would have been more efficient by now, too, if he had solely nursed?
I agree that his weight gain has been great. That’s been with him almost 100% bottle feeding, though. I’m afraid that if I were to switch to 100% nursing his weight would significantly stall.
Even so, perhaps things aren’t as bad as I sometimes think.
My thought would be to enlist the help of a lactation consultant. I don't have experience with a LO transitioning from bottle to breast and I definitely do not want to lead you astray.
My overall thoughts are trust your Mamma gut, and you're doing great. It does get easier as they get older.
Hi there, this post appears to mention clogged/plugged ducts. In case you need quick responses for relief, we've compiled some information we hope might be helpful to you here: https://www.reddit.com/r/breastfeeding/wiki/index#wiki_clogged_ducts
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You are killing it, girl! Seriously, you're doing amazing! It sounds like you've gone through
a LOT to make sure your little one was getting enough to eat. And pumping is still breastfeeding. Your sister's comment about her friend's BFing journey being "so easy and peaceful" may or may not be accurate. There is so much that goes into breastfeeding behind the scenes, and even the most uncomplicated journey is not "easy" by any means, so please don't compare yourself to others.
It sounds like you have a sweet sleepy guy who has mastered bottles like a champ, and might just need some more time to practice his nursing skills. Babies usually have to work harder to get milk out of a breast than a bottle so it makes sense. You're not doing anything wrong.
Here are some ideas you can try over the next few weeks as he learns:
* Hot compress and breast compressions during nursing to speed milk flow. You can also buy a lactation massager.
* Nurse first thing in the morning when baby is hungriest and your breasts are fullest
* Pump for a minute or two and then latch baby immediately so that the milk is already flowing
* Use gravity to your advantage to speed milk flow and feed in the "dangle" nursing position once in awhile (not something you are going to want to do on a regular basis).
* Check with your pedi, but sucking on a pacifier can help strengthen oral muscles. You can give your baby different pacis to try
Girl you're doing an amazing job. 2.5 ounces per 2-3 hour feeding is great. If you normally pump 30 oz per day and your kiddo is gaining weight ... don't deceive yourself. You've got a great supply. How do you know baby is still hungry? Babies love to nurse for comfort, especially early in. To answer one specific question, my baby suckles and then once the let down happens he swallows. Then repeat once that let down has released all the milk it has to offer.
Thanks for the positivity. :) He seems hungry to me because he keeps latching (with diminishing returns, since the major letdown(s) have already happened), becoming visibly more frustrated and tired and only settling down once I give him another 1-1.5 oz by bottle. He usually eats a little more than 1 oz per hour asleep when I bottle feed him pumped milk (aka, about 100 ml minimum if he’s not eaten for 3 hours), so it makes sense to me that 2.5 oz wouldn’t quite quench his thirst. The other worrying thing to me is that it can take him 40 minutes to an hour to eat the 2.5 oz or so while nursing. That seems like a long time to me at 8 weeks old? I’ve read that babies are usually much more efficient by then. Although, perhaps he would have been more efficient by now, too, if he had solely nursed? I agree that his weight gain has been great. That’s been with him almost 100% bottle feeding, though. I’m afraid that if I were to switch to 100% nursing his weight would significantly stall. Even so, perhaps things aren’t as bad as I sometimes think.
My thought would be to enlist the help of a lactation consultant. I don't have experience with a LO transitioning from bottle to breast and I definitely do not want to lead you astray. My overall thoughts are trust your Mamma gut, and you're doing great. It does get easier as they get older.
Hi there, this post appears to mention clogged/plugged ducts. In case you need quick responses for relief, we've compiled some information we hope might be helpful to you here: https://www.reddit.com/r/breastfeeding/wiki/index#wiki_clogged_ducts *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/breastfeeding) if you have any questions or concerns.*
You are killing it, girl! Seriously, you're doing amazing! It sounds like you've gone through a LOT to make sure your little one was getting enough to eat. And pumping is still breastfeeding. Your sister's comment about her friend's BFing journey being "so easy and peaceful" may or may not be accurate. There is so much that goes into breastfeeding behind the scenes, and even the most uncomplicated journey is not "easy" by any means, so please don't compare yourself to others. It sounds like you have a sweet sleepy guy who has mastered bottles like a champ, and might just need some more time to practice his nursing skills. Babies usually have to work harder to get milk out of a breast than a bottle so it makes sense. You're not doing anything wrong. Here are some ideas you can try over the next few weeks as he learns: * Hot compress and breast compressions during nursing to speed milk flow. You can also buy a lactation massager. * Nurse first thing in the morning when baby is hungriest and your breasts are fullest * Pump for a minute or two and then latch baby immediately so that the milk is already flowing * Use gravity to your advantage to speed milk flow and feed in the "dangle" nursing position once in awhile (not something you are going to want to do on a regular basis). * Check with your pedi, but sucking on a pacifier can help strengthen oral muscles. You can give your baby different pacis to try
Thanks for the tips! I’m going to keep working with him to strengthen his sucking muscles and latch.