Nursing Troubles

My daughter had very similar reflux. She would loose at least half of what she took in at every feeding, sometimes while she was still nursing. I remember days where I changed her 5+ times before noon because she soaked her clothes in spit up. She was also gaining weight well, but otherwise fit the profile for reflux. We went to a pediatric GI specialist and she did not do any testing on her. We decided to give her the Zantac because I have reflux and know how much it hurts when it bubbles into your throat. One of the things they suggest when your baby has reflux is to feed less more often, so she may be trying to do that on her own. My daughter was also very curious, try feeding her in a quiet area where nothing is going on. She also may be getting fussy while feeding because she is uncomfortable and things are trying to come back up into her throat. You may want to see a pediatric GI dr and get their opinion, the medication was a lifesaver for us, when we tried to take her off of it at 9 months she was even spitting up she solids, but by 11 months was just fine and hasn't had a problem since she is now 21 months. I also do not like to throw medication at every little thing, but if it made her more comfortable and took away all the horrible other things that happen when they get reflux. If you decide to look into it further and decide to get the medication take it to Rite Aid and have them flavor it, that stuff tastes nasty.

All my girls got very efficient at nursing. I have a 5 month old right now who also nurses only 5 minutes per side (and usually only one side at a time). She does nurse every 3 hours still. Since I'm not bothered by the frequency, I let the pattern be. I think that at a certain age, they are able to just suck it dry fast :)
As for the sore nipples, I had the same thing at the very beginning of nursing all three of my girls. The only thing that worked for me was applying generous amounts of Lasinoh (can get it pretty much anywhere where there's baby products) and cover my nipples with nipple shields - they allow the lasinoh to not get rubbed off by your bra.
Hope it all works out for you soon - I know that toe curling pain all too well!

Ok, first I'm wondering why you introduced solids before 6 months. Many studies have shown babies really can't handle solids before 6 months.... and oatmeal is sort of heavy to start. I would have started with rice cereal and then moved on to Oatmeal. So, that could be causing some tummy troubles.

Ok, sore nipples... Medela Pure Lanolin ... awesome. Also, you can go to www.earthmamaangelbaby.com and get some of their nipple cream. It is all natural and works great as well. A little pricey...but worth it.

The pulling off sounds more like baby is frustrated. Question, did you have an overabundance in the beginning? Were you engorged alot? If so, then by now, your body has adjusted to what baby is taking and now she has to work a little harder to get it. That makes her frustrated. I went through this with my daughter about the same time. For the first 4 months or so I had enough milk to feed a third world country and it would let down almost immediately. We had many many issues those first 4 months, included sore, cracked and bleeding nipples. So, I KNOW the pain you are talking about. It is excruciating! I cried through just about every nursing session for 3 months. Seriously.

Keep at it. Pay very close attention, if you feel like she is going to pull away, then take your finger slip it into her mouth and remove her before she has the chance. In addition, if you can leave some milk on your nipple and let it air dry for just a couple of minutes afte rshe nurses, it will help tremendously. Breastmilk has amazing healing properties!!! Truly! And, just so you know, about 2 'good' days and your nipples will feel SO MUCH BETTER!!! It doesn't take long.

Now, if you feel like baby just won't be patient enough to get to let down, then you can do a couple of things. First, try to on off thing to see if you can encourage her to just nurse through it. If that just isn't working, you can try pumping a little so that let down occurs faster. The other thing you can do is massage your breast while baby is nursing. That will increase the flow and baby will be getting the copius amount of milk she is seeking.

Keep in mind, around 5 months they go through a growth spurt. So, she may be demanding more.

The distractions... yes, that is something else entirely. My daughter was HIGHLY distracted. Oh my goodness. I couldn't even nurse in public because she would be so distracted she just wouldn't eat. Everything else was SO much more interesting. Their eyesight at this age is really starting to come into focus. So, literally a whole new world just opened up to them. They can see beyond 12 inches in front of their face. In addition, their hearing is opening up as well. So, lots of new sights and sounds and WOW! So exciting!!! Look mom! Did you see that!! ;-)

What I had to do was make sure all noises were shut off... no radio, no TV, windows closed, curtains drawn to get it a little darker. That helped a lot. The more distractions you can control, the better the nursing session will go.

This phase lasted about 1-2 months for us. After that she was used to the noises and sights and nursed like a champ. Keep in mind, if the sessions are short...that's ok. She may just ask for more of them during the day. Baby WILL eat when she is hungry. (barring any medical conditions that would cause her to not eat, but really I don't think the reflux is an issue here. My daughter had a bit of it too.) Baby is a basic needs person. She will eat when she is hungry, she will sleep when she is tired, etc...

Just relax. If baby isn't following her 'normal schedule'....that's ok. They change it up from time to time. Growth spurts, emerging skills, new sights and sounds ... all of that can disrupt baby's schedule and throw things off. We can't try to conform them to a rigid schedule. General schedules yes...but trying to keep them doing what they always did will just frustrate you both. Things change as the situations and contributing factors change.

It really sounds like everything is completely normal. You just have a couple of issues to work through... and you will.

I have found www.kellymom.com a very useful site.

Good luck and happy nursing!!!!

My advice is to call the hospital you gave birth at, and get a direct number to the lactation consultant. I put her number in my phone book and called her all the time. She was sooooo helpful. You may have an infection, she will tell you if she thinks you should go to the Ob-gyn. Definitely nurse alone, I used to go lay on my bed. I would turn a nursey rhyme video (on demand) on for my 2 year old. And go take a few minutes to nurse alone. It helped. It will pass and you will go on to nurse for a year. I thought my son was gonna self wean at 8 months. It lasted for 2 full days, I followed the lactation consultants advice and he started up again. Hang in there. Good luck.

Make sure you don't have mastitis. That's more painful for you though and I'm notsure how that would make her not want to nurse. Keep asking questions, read books and keep nursing. Don't give up in these frustrating time! I remember one or two of my kids doing the arching things and I didn't know why. I can't remember, I''m sorry, but I do know it was frustrating because, as a mom, you want to make it better but you dont' know why.

I hope you figure out soon.

I'd second the other mom.. very normal... just continue to offer especially in a quiet room without distractions.

Are you sore because she's not nursing enough? If so you could express or pump a little if that helps.

You might also want to consider cutting down on oatmeal.. perhaps introducing the solids has caused some issues too. La Leche League I believe recommends NO solids till 6 months. You can look more on their site, but they are the leading lactation experts worldwide..

Just keep going! Nursing has helped get through some small bouts of sickness for my son.. he had fever and throwing up once and all that helped was nursing.. he couldn't keep anything down. He's never had an ear infection either..

Lots of good suggestions and possible explanations for your problems already sent in. Good for you for being committed to breastfeeding! I too wonder why you're messing with cereal so soon, but some moms do this, I know. Also, oats are pretty fiber-y for such a small baby. I started mine on mashed banana, baked potato, sweet potato etc. It occurs to me that teething may be part of the issue, along with developmental growth (discovering the world around this age). I do agree with everyone that this won't be long-term. Hang in there. Try nursing when she's sleepy and perhaps get the milk flowing before latching her on. Don't know where you live, but there are LaLeche League groups and lactation consultants in lots of places. You can go on www.llli.org and look under Resources then check the Answers section for more ideas, and you can find a local group too. Many of them meet the first week of each month, which would be next week!

Hang in there. Obviously you are a very loving and conscientious mom. Your little ones are blessed!

Your sore nipples are most likely caused by the frequent latching and unlatching. However, one other cause might be a clogged milk duct. I always had a lot of pain right before the more apparant symptoms of a clog showed up. You could try warm compresses on the breast before you nurse. It'll help the let down come sooner, too.

Hii M. ... here are some resources from my daughter who is an advisor in the LaLeche League in Illinois. Sorry it took me so long to catch up on my emails.

Sounds like you've already received lots of help.

Hope this helps you or other moms... Breastfeeding is the best - I loved it for my kids and now my daughter for her three kids... Enjoy!! ... ~M

Resources:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/older-baby/index.html

especially The Distractible Baby, and many other articles directly related to your concerns.

Also some added information:

http://ameda.com/breastpumping/most/

has links on the right for:
Getting a Good Flange Fit
When to Pump
Pumping Tips
How Much Milk Should I Expect to Pump?
How to Pump More Milk

also: http://llli.org/NB/NBpumping.html

and: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pumpmoms which is a very supportive group.

*************

your baby is completely normal.. it is not a sign of reflux or anything else.. just normal development.

Right around this age.. the baby gets very interested in their world..

When they are tiny newborns... they just want to eat and can tune out the world when they nurse..

At about 5 or 6 months I took my kids upstairs to their dark bedroom to nurse.. only in the dark quiet room could they concentrate on nursing.

My 18 month old.. nurses only 8 minutes total (both sides) and that is enough for him.. Older babies get very efficient at nursing and can really empty the breast pretty quickly.

Also you will find that interest in nursing will wax and wane.. My son will almost lose interest for a few days.. and then really want to nurse for a few days. This is normal in the older nursed baby.

you are doing great.. continue to nurse for as long as you can. MY son is 18 months and has never been sick..

Your little sweetie is at the age that things can be distracting. Be sure to feed her in a quiet place where she doesn't want to pull off and check out the activity. Sore nipples are the worst! All I can suggest is quiet and patience. This is ALL normal. You are doing the best thing for you and babycakes. It will get better.

M. ~
For the sore nipples .... use pure lanolin cream. It can be put on after the baby nurses and doesn't need to be washed off before the baby nurses again. Also, try tea bags. Take a tea bag and put it in warm water like you're making tea, take the bag out, squeeze it and place it on the nipple. You'll probably need to use a breast pad over it, so that it doesn't stain your clothes.
It doesn't sound like reflux with the pulling away. My grandson had reflux, and he would eat with no problem, but it would come back up....even hours later. Try wrapping a warm towel around the breast before she nurses, see if that will help you let down faster or easier for her. Does she maybe have any sores in her mouth, or teeth coming in? Maybe there's something in her mouth causing her discomfort.
good luck!
D.

I also had very sore nipples from nursing my daughter, she was a very hard sucker,(she was born with a blister on her hand from sucking on it in utero!). My lactation specialist recommended I use a shield on my nipples. You can buy them at Babies R Us. It saved me. I would still contact your lactation consultant at the hospital you delivered at first. Mine were very helpful.

Good luck,
A.