Breastfeeding- Will I Ever Get to the Point of Breastfeeding Exclusively?

Do'nt time her feedings, nurse her on ONE SIDE ONLY per feeding. Let her nurse on one breast only, as long as she wants, and if you are still a bit engorged, nurse her on one side for two feedings in a row.

She will be hungry if you switch sides too often or don't let her get enough hind milk. Hind milk is what makes her grow and thrive and fills her up, if you switch side she only gets the foremilk which is watery and will not satisfy her.

Tomorrow, nurse her one side only for two feedings in a row, then use the other breast for two feedings in a row. Put a stretchy bracelet or scrunchy on your wrist to remember which breast to use for the next feeding. She will be hungry unless she gets that hindmilk.

Breastfeeding is also supply and demand, so if she's only nursing for a short time or you are switching her to the other side mid feed, your body gets the signal taht baby isn't eating what you are making and it will slow production.

At two weeks old, just let her nurse hwenever she is hungry. I she's hungry twice in an hour, feed her from the same side twice. Just go with the flow mama, she won't gorge herself and if she's not back up to her birth weight you need to follow her whenever she shows even the slightest bit of hunger (rooting, finger/fist sucking, crying, etc). Feed her on HER schedule, not yours and only feed one breast per feeding, and feed one side twice in a row to get her that hindmilk. If she's still hungry after nursing, then latch her on again. She can't overeat and she's obviously still hungry, so don't boethe rwith giving her a syringe, just latch her back on.

I am currently bf my 5th child. It seems that with all of them, there was some obstacle. I kept right on breastfeeding and practicing. I was able to bf all of them successfully. My youngest is 4 months now. For me (andthis is just me) it was easier not to supplement or pump. I just kept at it until it worked out. Some of mine got the hang of it right away and some of them took awhile. My second took 6 weeks to get the hang of it. She couldn't latch on but I ended up nursing her for 2 years. Congratulations!

I had some very similar issues with my little girl who is now almost 4 months old and very much so exclusively breastfed. She had a lazy feed for the first 3 weeks where we ended up just pumping and feeding for a few weeks and then one feeding at a time got her back on the breast. It was tiring and a lot of work. and my hubby was and had to be very supportive getting up every night for every feeding to feed the baby while I pumped. Anyhow she just didn't get it right away and actually lost over a lb of weight after her birth. So they had me strickly bottle feed. She got mostly breastmilk but did have to get some formula because I didn't realize she wasn't eating right at first and my supply went down. Now at 4 months she is eating great and quickly. LOL she is a champ she just needed to figure out what she was suppose to do. I think it has been roughtly since 9 weeks that we have been exclusively BF off the boob. And I love it!!! Keep up the good work. You definately seem to have the drive to keep going. Keep it up!! and congrats on your new addition :) BTW I had to do this with a 5 yr old and a 3 yr old to take care of! It's worth the effort!

The lactation consultant should really help. I used one quite a bit for my first baby as he had such trouble nursing. I was looking through my paperwork in his file a few weeks ago and saw that we struggled with it for almost 5 weeks before he got the hang of it. He had a poor latch and was ineffecient at transferring the milk. The lactation specialist saved us and I BFd exclusively although I did pump for a while to make sure that he got enough in the beginning. One thing they did reccommend was using Dr Brown's bottles. The bottle design makes the babies really nurse with correct suction and that can help with the latch and correct nursing on the breast. I also used a nipple shield until he learned to latch correctly and that really helped. I have read that pumping both sides at the same time will increase milk supply. I am glad that you are giving it a lengthy try.

Hang in there mama! You are doing awesome. It was like this with my first, he was really jaundiced and never quite learned to latch at first so I was also pumping and supplementing. We did this for about a month and eventually got to exclusively bf which we did for 10 months and then part time until a year. So definitely get with the lc and I would keep going back a few times (it took us 3 visits to figure everything out). Also, I can't recommend highly enough the website kellymom.com although you may not agree with their parenting practices (they are avidly into attachment parenting, I am not) they honestly have the BEST advice and resources and most up to date information on breastfeeding. I credit them with saving me so many many times in my bfing relationship. Definitely check out the forums where they will answer any of your questions. In fact I would just repost this whole thing in their forums. Good luck!

My 2nd was a no latch/no suck baby. No explanation why, but I did exclusively pump for the first nine weeks. I had plenty of milk and never had to use formula supplements. The lacation consultant is a great step to take, and she can help to assess what exactly is the problem and what steps to take. If you need more milk, try pumping right after feeding.
I did get to the point at nine weeks where he suddenly starting nursing at the breast, I don't know why, I had stopped trying and stopped the mouth exercises from the lactation consultant but one day, it just happened. I was never pump free though because at that point, I was two weeks away from my return to work so I continued to build my freezer stash and keep my son accustomed to the bottle, and pumped at work every day.
Good luck

My second was a poor eater (sleepy and jaundiced). I was slowly able to cut back on supplementing and get back to 100% BF, but it took about a month. A nipple shield helped her get a better latch.

Besides a LC you could try a local La Leche League meeting. http://www.llli.org/

If you think it is low supply you could get your thyroid checked (not uncommon for thyroid issues to pop up during pregnancy or postpartum).

Good luck!

Heidi, Congratulations on your new little baby! Now take a deep breath and tell yourself what a great mom you are for being so concerned about this & what is right for your baby! Great that you are seeing a lactation specialist. Breastfeeding is a learned skill for both mommy & baby, so please be patient with yourself and with your daughter. The lactation specialist will have a lot of wonderful, helpful advise for you. As for pumping/not pumping: I want to encourage you to pump at least twice a day, so that you can store some milk and give yourself a chance to be out of the house for an afternoon every once in awhile. Pumping does not have to take up a huge amount of time during your day - pump once in the morning, when you wake up and are the most full, and then once at night before going to bed. The children will be asleep during both those times, so you can focus all your attention on yourself. How wonderful your husband is up with you and the baby at night! Good support system! Peace to you and your family! B.