BFing Concerns

[scarlett09]

Up until I went back to work last week, BFing was going well. Then I went back and started pumping 3x/day. I'm only getting just over 3oz out of the 2nd and 3rd pumps. The first pump is great (5oz +) because it was last fed off of the night before. E feeds 5x/day, with the first and last being from the breast, and the other 3 in the middle are bottles. She has no trouble with the bottles and will wolf down a feeding of around 4oz. She is STTN and usually doesn't wake to feed in the middle of the night anymore.

My nipples have been more sore since I started pumping more, and it's impacting my comfort during our two daily feedings together. I have felt them aching or stinging between feeds. I'm trying to switch between lanolin and EMAB nipple butter, but I'm not sure I'm doing it right/enough or if I'm missing something. One nipple looked like it had a blister on it, but it has gone away and left a little skin flap. We use a nipple shield and E doesn't have any teeth yet.

Any thoughts/ideas? I'd like to boost my supply a little more so that I feel like I've got enough to add to the rice cereal we will be starting in the next few days! And I'd like to not have such a visceral reaction to breastfeeding like I have been over the past few days.


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[MsSassyBaskets]

FWIW, my supply and A's feeding patterns are very similar except that she still gets 1-2 overnight feedings depending on the night.. I get plenty from the first pumping in the morning, then the next two are not as much, and I struggle to make the 3 4-oz bottles that she takes during the day. I've added a pumping session after she goes to bed. My understanding is that production is based more on frequency (of draining the breasts) than anything else, so don't keep a pumping session going on long after you've stopped producing. You could also see whether you can turn down the power on the pump and still get a good amount, for me turning it up higher doesn't get any more milk, it just hurts. I'm drinking metric shit-tons of this tea and have started eating oatmeal in the mornings as well. I think this weekend I'm going to make some oatmeal "lactation cookies" now that I've tried eating oats and it's going well. (I stopped eating oats after going gluten-free when I had a bad reaction to gluten-free oats, but it had been 6 years so I decided to try again!)

So that's what I'm trying. I'll report back!

[scrub-jay]

BFing Concerns

I'm posting on the fly, but here are a few thoughts.
Nipple soreness - make sure you have the right size horn, I have a Medela freestyle and the ones that came with never fit, I bought the sized ones and it made a WORLD of difference. Also, this might seem TMI, but grease up your nipples (with lanolin or motherbutter, w/e) before pumping so that you don't have the friction from the plastic horns. Yes, it'll make cleanup a bit messier, but it is worth it to avoid pain. I used to pump 3x at work and often once at night before bed (when mine was down for the night) and once before I went to work sometimes.
Supply - oatmeal cookies full of buttery goodness was my go-to when I needed my supply to go up.

[civilspouse]

I'm posting on the fly, but here are a few thoughts.
Nipple soreness - make sure you have the right size horn, I have a Medela freestyle and the ones that came with never fit, I bought the sized ones and it made a WORLD of difference. Also, this might seem TMI, but grease up your nipples (with lanolin or motherbutter, w/e) before pumping so that you don't have the friction from the plastic horns. Yes, it'll make cleanup a bit messier, but it is worth it to avoid pain. I used to pump 3x at work and often once at night before bed (when mine was down for the night) and once before I went to work sometimes.
Supply - oatmeal cookies full of buttery goodness was my go-to when I needed my supply to go up.

I agree with trying a differnt size. If I remember correctly it isn't necessarily related to your boob size but the size and shape of your nipple. I changed sizes and it was much more comfertable after that. I always got the most out of the first session too. Pumping is hard but you are doing great.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

so don't keep a pumping session going on long after you've stopped producing.

So I've read/experienced the opposite. Sometimes I'd have stopped lactating but if you keep the pump going, you'll have a second letdown after a few moments. If this is causing soreness though, you could pause, reapply lanolin and then keep going. When I had supply troubles, I'd leave the pump going as long as possible and saw my supply increase over a few days.

Also, supply is always better on Monday than by the end of the week because I didn't pump at all on weekends. So, try to be really frequent about nursing sessions on weekends and even offer extra in the evenings. I'd always try extra cuddles/sessions at the end of the week to encourage my body to keep up supply.

[MsSassyBaskets]

So I've read/experienced the opposite. Sometimes I'd have stopped lactating but if you keep the pump going, you'll have a second letdown after a few moments. If this is causing soreness though, you could pause, reapply lanolin and then keep going. When I had supply troubles, I'd leave the pump going as long as possible and saw my supply increase over a few days.

Also, supply is always better on Monday than by the end of the week because I didn't pump at all on weekends. So, try to be really frequent about nursing sessions on weekends and even offer extra in the evenings. I'd always try extra cuddles/sessions at the end of the week to encourage my body to keep up supply.

Ah, I guess you're right, I do usually count on a second letdown but I have a Medela with the two different settings so I always switch it back to the lighter, faster one.

I was going to ask also about the evening feedings - does she only eat once after daycare and before bed? What about "topping her off" one more time before bed? A usually eats once in the evening and again right before bed, even if it's only been an hour. Then I pump yet again a couple hours later.

[gem]

A short time after I went back to work, my kids both figured out that they prefered BFing to pumped bottles and started clusterfeeding all evening, waking up an extra time overnight, and putting in a marathon morning session. It solved the supply issues, and nursing that much they decreased their demand for bottles during the day too. I have mixed feelings about it. I loved the extra snuggle time, but on the other hand I wasn't able to do much of anything else with them as babies. Just tossing that out to for you to consider whether consolidating nursing during the time you're together is something you want to encourage or discourage.

[scarlett09]

I feel like my nipples are burning between feeds. And I just discovered a red spot on the right one. I haven't been this uncomfortable since we started 😳


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[Thirteen]

I feel like my nipples are burning between feeds. And I just discovered a red spot on the right one. I haven't been this uncomfortable since we started 😳


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Sounds like a couple of possibilities: any other sx? So sorry! :/


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[MsSassyBaskets]

I feel like my nipples are burning between feeds. And I just discovered a red spot on the right one. I haven't been this uncomfortable since we started 😳


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Oh that does sound like more than just "overwork", ouch! What about thrush? I would check with a lactation consultant or your ob...

[alotofyarn]

Ouch! If you haven't tried the PumpinPals shields, I can't recommend those enough. They were so much more comfortable for me than the Medela shields. I did power pumps to try and increase supply as well as pumping after she went to bed and on weekend mornings in between her first two feeds. Try to get some Jack's APNO from your OB if you haven't tried that yet. It healed mine almost overnight.

[SoonerTexan]

BFing Concerns

I had the best luck with 3 30 min sessions, but found later, I could almost get as much with 2 30 min sessions. Length of time seemed to be a good thing.

I agree it seems weird for you to be having pain like that now...I was a little bruised sometimes but definitely not experiencing stuff like that. Make sure you are lathering on a ton of Nipple butter and you aren't pumping on too high of a setting. And def check for thrush!

[scarlett09]

Thanks for the advice and support! Sorry I didn't reply back yesterday, it was long day in the BFing world.

Last night's feed was a disaster. I could tolerate her nursing for about 30 min before I got very uncomfortable and had to take her off. She was very upset by this, so DH gave her a 2oz bottle. Which she downed, allowed me to rock her to sleep, and slept until about 2 hours ago.

This morning I pumped a breast that hadn't been used in 12 hours and I got barely 3oz out of it. I was shocked, to say the least. I'm pumping the other one now (also not used in about 12 hours) and I've gotten nearly 5oz. E already took a 4oz bottle this AM without issue. There is no thrush. She was just at the peds office and DH doesn't see it either.

My current hypothesis is this:
Work has caused a dip in supply, and E was sucking harder to get more. That led to the blisters and discomfort/pain. I don't have as much discomfort while pumping and I'm lubing up too. So my thoughts are to pump through the weekend, drink more water, and make some lactation cookies. This will give my nipples a break while we boost my supply. I hope my thoughts and conclusions are somewhat correct. All I can do is move forward and hope for the best.


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[HouseofWool]

Can you manually stimulate to letdown? That way she isn't working so hard?

[MarissaNicole]

My supply dropped greatly when I went back to work, I just couldn't pump the same amount as baby could get out. I think you've got a good plan, try not to be to hard on yourself, sometimes I think breastfeeding (when pumping/working) can be more stressful because of the expectations we have for producing.

Wife of a PGY-5