New Born

Blank
Hi Everyone,

I am pretty much new to the group and I would like to share my experience with breast feeding and at the same time
ask a couple of questions where warranted.
My husband and I were blessed about a week ago with a handsome baby boy.
That's the awesome part. Now I am having problems with him latching on my breast, I am
worried that if he doesn't latch on we might loose the opportunity to bond a 100%.
I use the Medulla breast pump which is awesome. As of today (he is one week old) I was able to pump
out 170 mls which should take care of 2 feeding sessions.
I am trying to wean him out from the Formula (although which has been a huge saviour. He was loosing weight and that was worrying me a great deal too). His weight has climbed back up again and that make me proud because I know I will eventually have him on breast milk ( even if it means not being able to latch on and just using the bottles to feed him the breast milk.)

When I lay my son to sleep on his back he sometimes makes some noises as if he is having difficulty breathing. Is this
normal with new borns?

Any advice for new borns is welcome. Being a mum I notice I tend to worry alot.

Thanks,

Samantha

Samantha wrote:


Hi Everyone,

I am pretty much new to the group and I would like to share my
experience with breast feeding and at the same time
ask a couple of questions where warranted.
My husband and I were blessed about a week ago with a handsome baby boy.
That's the awesome part. Now I am having problems with him latching on
my breast, I am
worried that if he doesn't latch on we might loose the opportunity to
bond a 100%.

You will bond whether or not he feeds at the breast.

I use the Medulla breast pump which is awesome. As of today (he is one
week old) I was able to pump
out 170 mls which should take care of 2 feeding sessions.
I am trying to wean him out from the Formula (although which has been a
huge saviour. He was loosing weight and that was worrying me a great
deal too).

It is perfectly normal for breastfed babies to lose
up to 10 percent of their birthweight in the first week or
so. They're designed to do that. In some cases, it can
even be normal to lose a little more than that. By two
weeks, most will have gained it all back. There is no
need to supplement to prevent this normal weight loss.

His weight has climbed back up again and that make me proud
because I know I will eventually have him on breast milk ( even if it
means not being able to latch on and just using the bottles to feed him
the breast milk.)

Are you working with a lactation consultant? That
may help get breastfeeding going again. The difficulty
if you don't is that some women have difficulty keeping
their supply up exclusively pumping. The baby is generally
much more efficient at removing milk from the breast, so
exclusive pumping *can* (though it doesn't always) compromise
your supply over the long haul. For that reason, plus just
for convenience's sake, it's a good idea to give it a really
good try to get nursing re-established. Getting rid of
all bottles is usually a good start. If you need to feed
EBM or formula, try using a cup, syringe, finger, spoon,
SNS, etc. so that you're not using artificial nipples,
which will likely prolong the nipple confusion.

When I lay my son to sleep on his back he sometimes makes some noises as
if he is having difficulty breathing. Is this
normal with new borns?

Depending on the sound, it very well could be. Many
of them make odd noises while sleeping. If it concerns you,
though, you can always ask the doctor. I'm sure there are
some noises that are *not* normal, so if you really feel
like it's a potential problem, ask.

Best wishes,
Ericka

BlankWhen my son was born, he had lots of problem latching on. I was back and forth from the lactation consultant's office 2-3 times a week and it was just ridiculous how much time and energy it took out of me. No matter what I did, he just wouldn't latch properly. It got even worst with the nurse's and the lactation consultant's help because with them "shoving" my son into my breast, that got him even more frustrated.

Meanwhile, I pumped using my Medela pump and bottle-fed him with my breast milk. After 3 months of trying to latch and failed (miserably), I just decided to keep pumping because I didn't want to give up feeding him breast milk because asthma runs in my husband's family and I want to help put it off as long as I can in my son. So I actually ended up pumping for nearly 14 months. It was very time consuming, but it was worth every ounce of efford, not to mention the money I saved from not having to buy formula.

Although he never successful latched, I felt that we bonded 100%. The good thing is that with bottle-feeding, it gave my husband to bond with him while feeding as well.

Don't worry, I'm sure everything will work out!

Good luck,
Bessie

"Samantha" wrote in message ...

Hi Everyone,

I am pretty much new to the group and I would like to share my experience with breast feeding and at the same time
ask a couple of questions where warranted.
My husband and I were blessed about a week ago with a handsome baby boy.
That's the awesome part. Now I am having problems with him latching on my breast, I am
worried that if he doesn't latch on we might loose the opportunity to bond a 100%.
I use the Medulla breast pump which is awesome. As of today (he is one week old) I was able to pump
out 170 mls which should take care of 2 feeding sessions.
I am trying to wean him out from the Formula (although which has been a huge saviour. He was loosing weight and that was worrying me a great deal too). His weight has climbed back up again and that make me proud because I know I will eventually have him on breast milk ( even if it means not being able to latch on and just using the bottles to feed him the breast milk.)

When I lay my son to sleep on his back he sometimes makes some noises as if he is having difficulty breathing. Is this
normal with new borns?

Any advice for new borns is welcome. Being a mum I notice I tend to worry alot.

Thanks,

Samantha

BlankAll,

I think that as long as you are using a bottle -- regardless of whether it
contains formula or breast milk -- your baby will have difficulty in
latching on to your breast. Milk/formula flows out of a bottle much too
easily, compared to a breast.

We had a rough three days with our little son (he is now twelve days old!).
Concerned about the health of the baby, we turned to formula until my wife's
breastmilk came in. It was then very difficult to get the baby to latch
properly.

We then abandoned the bottle completely. Yes, we were still concerned that
the baby was not being fed properly - we used the 'finger method' to feed
him. Moving away from the finger to the breast was a simple task.

Our son is now a breastfeeding pro, after days of frustration and tears
(from both parents and baby!). It's very easy to let emotions take control
during breasfteeding training.

My thoughts:

1. If breastfeeding -- that is, baby to breast -- it is important to NEVER
use a bottle during the critical first few weeks. Babies are designed with
a 'buffer' - it is quite alright if they lose a little weight during the
first week. Of course, speaking as a new parent, it's distressing to see
your baby drop in weight!

2. If you have decided to supplement with formula until things breasfteeding
runs smoothly, NEVER use a bottle. Use the finger method (that is, a curved
plastic syringe taped along your finger; put the finger in your babies mouth
and as s/he sucks, slowly press the plunger).

3. Breastfeeding takes time. If you end up using a bottle with pumped
breastmilk, do not despair. Your baby is still getting all the wonderful
benefits of breastmilk! If your concerned about bonding, again, do not
despair. Breastfeeding is not the only way to bond with your baby!

Bessie - being a daddy, I have to admit that at first I was envious of the
mother-baby bond as a result of breastfeeding. Though we have been solely
breastfeeding the baby now for nine days, I have to say that I now feel that
I am bonding with the little guy 100%. My wife and I have already adopted a
routine where I spend a couple hours a day with skin-to-skin contact with
the baby. My wife is actually jealous that I've seen him smile more often
than she has!

As far as Samanatha's concern about breathing difficulties, we have the same
concerns. My family has a history of asthma and we're both paranoid that
our son has the same breathing difficulties. Despite the funny breathing
sounds, he does really seem fine. Consulting midwives, websites, books,
etc. we've learned that babies do indeed make funny sounds that cause new
parents to worry.

Signed,
New Dad



----
"Lil Nicky's Mom" wrote in message

When my son was born, he had lots of problem latching on. I was back and
forth from the lactation consultant's office 2-3 times a week and it was
just ridiculous how much time and energy it took out of me. No matter what I
did, he just wouldn't latch properly. It got even worst with the nurse's and
the lactation consultant's help because with them "shoving" my son into my
breast, that got him even more frustrated.

Meanwhile, I pumped using my Medela pump and bottle-fed him with my breast
milk. After 3 months of trying to latch and failed (miserably), I just
decided to keep pumping because I didn't want to give up feeding him breast
milk because asthma runs in my husband's family and I want to help put it
off as long as I can in my son. So I actually ended up pumping for nearly 14
months. It was very time consuming, but it was worth every ounce of efford,
not to mention the money I saved from not having to buy formula.

Although he never successful latched, I felt that we bonded 100%. The good
thing is that with bottle-feeding, it gave my husband to bond with him while
feeding as well.

Don't worry, I'm sure everything will work out!

Good luck,
Bessie

Actually, during the first week, we didn't use a bottle when feeding our son
with the expressed breastmilk. Our nurse taught us to just use a dropper to
feed, but then he was spilling so much plus he just didn't like the
sensation of the dropper in his mouth, we finally resorted to feeding him
with a bottle. Another thing was that he was a little jaundice when he was
born, so my doctor was quite concern about the drop in weight because he
wasn't feeding enough, with all the spills and fuss, he just couldn't get
enough into his body. She actually urged us into using a bottle and get
enough in him for his weigh to go up again THEN worry about latching.

We also bought the Avent bottles, which our doctor said, more closely
resembles the nipple and the action required to get the milk flowing, but
you're right, it's not the same. Maybe that was one of the reasons why we
just was never able to latch our son properly.

The pumping part was not nearly as time consuming as the feeding. My son was
a really slow feeder, he was able to drink about 11oz of breastmilk each
time, but it takes him about 30-45mins to finish each bottle. Sometimes if
we tried to take the bottle away before he finished, he would fuss and even
cry if he didn't get the bottle right away.

I guess my son's just one of those babies fussing about feeding. But thanks
so much for your advice, I will definitely keep that in mind with my second
one.

Bessie


"Brown Hornet" wrote in message
...
BlankAll,

I think that as long as you are using a bottle -- regardless of whether it
contains formula or breast milk -- your baby will have difficulty in
latching on to your breast. Milk/formula flows out of a bottle much too
easily, compared to a breast.

We had a rough three days with our little son (he is now twelve days
old!).
Concerned about the health of the baby, we turned to formula until my
wife's
breastmilk came in. It was then very difficult to get the baby to latch
properly.

We then abandoned the bottle completely. Yes, we were still concerned
that
the baby was not being fed properly - we used the 'finger method' to feed
him. Moving away from the finger to the breast was a simple task.

Our son is now a breastfeeding pro, after days of frustration and tears
(from both parents and baby!). It's very easy to let emotions take
control
during breasfteeding training.

My thoughts:

1. If breastfeeding -- that is, baby to breast -- it is important to NEVER
use a bottle during the critical first few weeks. Babies are designed
with
a 'buffer' - it is quite alright if they lose a little weight during the
first week. Of course, speaking as a new parent, it's distressing to see
your baby drop in weight!

2. If you have decided to supplement with formula until things
breasfteeding
runs smoothly, NEVER use a bottle. Use the finger method (that is, a
curved
plastic syringe taped along your finger; put the finger in your babies
mouth
and as s/he sucks, slowly press the plunger).

3. Breastfeeding takes time. If you end up using a bottle with pumped
breastmilk, do not despair. Your baby is still getting all the wonderful
benefits of breastmilk! If your concerned about bonding, again, do not
despair. Breastfeeding is not the only way to bond with your baby!

Bessie - being a daddy, I have to admit that at first I was envious of the
mother-baby bond as a result of breastfeeding. Though we have been solely
breastfeeding the baby now for nine days, I have to say that I now feel
that
I am bonding with the little guy 100%. My wife and I have already adopted
a
routine where I spend a couple hours a day with skin-to-skin contact with
the baby. My wife is actually jealous that I've seen him smile more often
than she has!

As far as Samanatha's concern about breathing difficulties, we have the
same
concerns. My family has a history of asthma and we're both paranoid that
our son has the same breathing difficulties. Despite the funny breathing
sounds, he does really seem fine. Consulting midwives, websites, books,
etc. we've learned that babies do indeed make funny sounds that cause new
parents to worry.

Signed,
New Dad



----
"Lil Nicky's Mom" wrote in message

When my son was born, he had lots of problem latching on. I was back and
forth from the lactation consultant's office 2-3 times a week and it was
just ridiculous how much time and energy it took out of me. No matter what
I
did, he just wouldn't latch properly. It got even worst with the nurse's
and
the lactation consultant's help because with them "shoving" my son into my
breast, that got him even more frustrated.

Meanwhile, I pumped using my Medela pump and bottle-fed him with my breast
milk. After 3 months of trying to latch and failed (miserably), I just
decided to keep pumping because I didn't want to give up feeding him
breast
milk because asthma runs in my husband's family and I want to help put it
off as long as I can in my son. So I actually ended up pumping for nearly
14
months. It was very time consuming, but it was worth every ounce of
efford,
not to mention the money I saved from not having to buy formula.

Although he never successful latched, I felt that we bonded 100%. The good
thing is that with bottle-feeding, it gave my husband to bond with him
while
feeding as well.

Don't worry, I'm sure everything will work out!

Good luck,
Bessie

On Mon, 31 May 2004 08:57:38 +1000, Samantha wrote:

Now I am having problems with him latching on my breast, I am worried
that if he doesn't latch on we might loose the opportunity to bond

Don't worry about that. Bonding is a whole lot more than nursing, and if
for whatever reason you do not succeed in breastfeeding, there are many
many alternatives to bond to the fullest.

I am trying to wean him out from the Formula (although which has been a
huge saviour. He was loosing weight and that was worrying me a great
deal too).

Why did you give him formula if you were planning to breastfeed? It is
perfectly normal for newborns to loose up to 10% of their birthweight, and
in breastfed baby's this can be even more. It is a good thing that you are
trying to wean him off now, but often times there is no need at all to
even start formula.

Any advice for new borns is welcome. Being a mum I notice I tend to
worry alot.

I cannot help you with the breathing sounds, I don't recall DS making
sounds like that. But the worrying is perfectly normal. Once you get the
know the sounds of your baby better, you will worry less.

--
-- I
mommy to DS (July '02)
mommy to three tiny angels (28 Oct'03, 17 Feb'04 & 20 May'04)
guardian of DH (33)