Trouble breastfeeding?

[Hollyadmin]

This was one of the trickiest things with Sammy - breastfeeding. It was also my favorite thing about his infancy (when it was working). Often he would bob off and on, cry, fuss, pull away frantically, etc. It was SO frustrating...I wanted to do what was best for him, but I really didn't know if bf'ing was best...I struggled with knowing whether to switch him to formula or not.

I strongly suspect now that he would have been no better (or worse) if I had switched him to formula. I did try soy formula once, and he projectile vomited all over my mom immediately after. That was the end of that experiment

I'm SO glad now we stuck it out, even through all the struggles (including a 3.5 week total nursing strike). I knew it was time to wean him when, at around 15 months I tried to bf him and he shook his head and said 'sippy cup'!!!

[sheeshoo2]

Breastfeeding for us got off to a rocky start for the first 4 months.  After seeing about half a dozen lactation consultants in addition to our family doctor and an ENT (to rule out tongue-tie/tight frenulum) we were left with zero reasons as to why Cole was hurting me constantly and doing severe nerve damage.  After exhausting message boards and breastfeeding support sites, I finally contacted a local chiropractor.  My husband and I have never been to a chiropractor for anything, and my husband (a third year medical student) calls them witch doctors, lol.  But because we had looked to traditional medicine and came up with no answers, I opted to look into chiropractic for cranio-sacral therapy.  There have been a few preliminary studies indicating that cranio-sacral therapy, when done as early as possible on an infant, can vastly improve breastfeeding, specifically if the mother is having pain.

We went to the local chiropractor a few times and I saw very minor improvements (haha, one time I stopped bleeding...big whoop).  It was at that point that I called a lactation consultant AND cranio-sacral therapist in Ohio that I had read about earlier while researching frenulum issues.  She had done so much research and I was still convinced that perhaps Cole did have a posterior tongue-tie that the ENT was not able to recognize but that I was CERTAINLY feeling every bit of.  We made an appointment and drove 3 hours to get there (not fun with a 12 week old who absolutely HATES the car and screams 24/7). 

She was our saving grace.  She immediately diagnosed him with Torticollis (his neck would turn to the right and his head would tilt back naturally), most likely due to my accidental VERY early epidural (given at 4 cm).  After two visits with her, an hour long each, Cole was suddenly nursing at least 50% better and I was actually starting to heal.  We continued going to the local chiropractor for maintenance, as she suggested, and went back to her two more times (4 times total).  By the last visit my pain level had gone from a definite 8 out of 10 all the way down to a 2!

We are still nursing and plan to at least until he is a year, perhaps a bit longer as he is very high-need and I doubt he will give it up very willingly.  There was a time when every day I would say to myself "just one more day, I can make it one more day."  I am SO glad I pushed through the pain, if only because of the convenience of it all.  And I would say to anyone out there pumping to bottles---good for you!  Do NOT feel bad for having to do this, even for an extended amount of time.  Cole figured out how to transition from breast to bottle and back during the first 4 months when I would HAVE to pump to give myself a break from the pain.  Also---don't be afraid to ask for second, third, and fourth opinions.  We had to go through quite a few health care professionals before ending up with someone who actually was able to solve our issues!

[Hollyadmin]

Wow, good for you Amanda for sticking it out so long. I think most moms would have given up a long time ago (and no one could blame them!). You're an inspiration 

[fbsurvivor]

That is the most impressive BF story I have ever heard.

[sheeshoo2]

Thanx guys, and trust me, there are worse stories ;-)  I am in awe of those ladies who pump for months and months---there are a few people in our weekly breastfeeding support group who have been pumping to bottles full time for over 9 months.  THAT is dedication! 

[Hollyadmin]

Love it Marie!!  Good for you for making it to 4.5 months. Many would have given up.

For a society that prides itself on being 'natural' and 'organic', many people still don't really understand breastfeeding. I guess you can't blame them...what 65 year old man is going to pick up a LLL book in his spare time   It is hard sometimes when people criticize, because you don't know exactly how much milk the baby's getting (as opposed to formula feeding). So you can't say with certainty that they got 'enough'. The wonderful thing about our bodies though is that in the vast majority of cases, a bf'ing mom

-has enough milk for their baby
-has the right balance of foremilk/hindmilk
-doesn't have overactive letdown

It's mainly about us learning to do it right, and then being confident in what we're doing.

[civano]

Thank goodness for this post. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one that I know that has the issues I do with my fussy kids. My youngest Miles has been really frustrating at breastfeeding. He constantly pulls off, cocks his head back when breastfeeding (ouch!) and fusses at the breast. I also feel like he's a lazy eater...if he has to work at it he just gets frustrated and pulls off and tries again. I'll squeeze my breast and milk does come out but perhaps not at the volume or rate he is wanting. I breastfed my first and enjoyed it until he became a biter at 6 months and then stopped breastfeeding. With Miles, I often just get frustrated and want to give up and probably would have if he didn't refuse (for the most part) bottles.

[fbsurvivor]

My daughter had no problems latching on, but we had real problems getting her to gain weight.  I think a large part of it was that she used the breast as a pacifier.  She wanted to be attached 24/7 and it was so soothing that the minute she got on the breast she'd pass out, and then not get any milk.  It took a real commitment to stick with it, even though, both my mother and mother-in-law had breastfed their kids.  I was highly motivated partly because there is obesity and deafness from ear infections in the family.  We did supplement some at first because she wasn't gaining enough weight.  However that backfired because we ended up overfeeding her and she was throwing the milk back up.  Then, later, when I was pumping, I couldn't produce enough.  One of my biggest issues was breastfeeding in public.  I didn't want to expose myself in public, so it made me nervous.  Because I'd had a C-section I was taught the football hold and my daughter was completely attached to that hold.  Not only that, she wanted to be in the exact location that she was at home with the Boppy and everything.  She would not let me put a nursing cover over her.  So, I'd try to nurse her in public.  I was nervous, she'd pull off, because she was mad at things not being exactly right, scream at the top of her lungs, I'd flash everyone, and my husband would start freaking out.  So, in the end the entire family was upset.  They told me at La Leche League to practice different positions at home.  It took awhile for me to do that, because since my dd wasn't gaining weight I was afraid to try anything new, but over time I got her to change.  I still flashed everyone, though- no nursing cover.