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Old September 3rd 03, 12:28 AM
iphigenia
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Default bf help for women with large breasts

Alberta wrote:
Is there something special that a woman with large breasts needs to
be aware of when breastfeeding?


No, other than that some larger-breasted women may have areolae that are
large enough that newborns have difficulty latching.

I am having a lot of trouble with my
4 week old. I've had to supplement since day 5, and I want to stop
but she is always hungry, so I keep having to give her formula, about
6 ounces a day!


Why did you decide you had to supplement? What happens if you decrease
formula by an ounce a day and encourage more nursing to replace that
formula? Is she allowed to nurse on demand for as long as she wants to? How
often does she typically ask to nurse?

I am sure she's getting some milk, but my Ameda
Purely Yours pump gets just a trickle out of me when I try to pump.


Pumping, of course, is in no way an indicator of how much the baby is
getting from the breast.

I have to go back to work in a few weeks so pumping is important.
I've been to the LCs twice and they say things are fine but that is
under intense, controlled conditions. I've been having to nurse her
every hour during the day....she sleeps well at night and I've been
told not to wake her up so I don't, but she goes 4-6 hours without
eating at night.


Nursing every hour sounds pretty typical for the age. She may be hitting or
just getting past a growth spurt - these happen a lot in the early weeks,
and if she's still sleeping through the night during a growth spurt, you are
pretty lucky!

If you are returning to work and are having a hard time pumping, you'll want
to start working now to make sure that you've got a plan. Will your work
hours be flexible? Could you do any of it from home? Could baby be brought
to you to nurse? If these things won't work, you might want to work on your
ability to pump. Have you tried pumping one side while nursing from the
other?

I never gave any bottles, so I'm not an expert on pumping, but you might
want to check out the pumpmoms Yahoo group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pumpmoms/


--
iphigenia
www.tristyn.net
"i have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.
i do not think that they will sing to me."