My cousin just had a baby (1 week old) and she is having some meltdowns with nursing problems...like a lot of women do. She is looking to me for advice since I am the only one in our family who has breastfed before --- but it has been about three years and I really don't remember everything --- so I am turning to you all!!
She is producing a TON of milk. She has been "leaking" since her 7th month of pregnancy. After her milk came in, the baby was having a hard time latching on so one of her friends who is a pediatric nurse practioner came over to help her. The NP told her to pump because she was so engorged that the baby couldn't latch on. She pumped for 4 minutes and had over 6 oz (3+ on each breast) and that was the first day her milk came in?!?! I told her I thought you only produced what the baby ate, but she said she has not only been feeding the baby but will also pump (to relieve herself) after the baby eats and she has already filled all of her storage bags --- again, this baby is only 1 week and 2 days. She is also kind of emotional because she feels like she can't just hold and cuddle her baby like others can because everytime she picks her up, the baby starts getting fussy and going for the breast...so she feels like all she is a food supply and it is interfering with her bonding and just being able to cuddle and hold her baby while sitting on the couch watching TV, walking through the house, just everyday normal things.
Have any of you experienced either of these issues with nursing and if so...is there anything she can do?
I told her to keep covered up more (bra, sweatshirt, etc) when she was not feeding.
Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks!!
I would pump a little bit before feeding, and then let her try to latch on. Then i would try the cuddle time when te baby has a happy tummy. And if she is worried about the amount of excess milk, there is an organization called the Le Leche League. They have all kinds of advice, support, and they accept donated milk.
I just wanted to respond quickly to the woman who posted about donating breast milk to Haiti. Unfortunately, the American Red Cross and other agencies are urging women not to donate breast milk as they can't use it due to safety concerns (they can't test the breast milk for viruses, bacteria, etc., to ensure a safe supply).
Girl! Can I relate to that!!! My family jokingly refers to me as the cow. I could easily feed my baby and a few others! LOL! First things first, it WILL get better! I promise! Right now her body is just adjusting to how much milk she needs. My first two weeks, with both my girls, were terrible. I was so engorged that neither of my babies could latch. I could pump for 10 mins and fill two 6 oz bottles! My advice is to cut down on the pumping. The more she pumps, the more milk she'll make. If she can possibly hand express before she nurses that will help. Hand expressing is very simple. Just tell her to lean over the sink and squeeze her breasts just until the pressure is relieved. Right now her baby is very very tiny. It's natural for the baby to want to nurse all the time. Just tell her to keep nursing on demand. Breastfed babies normally need to eat more than formula fed babies. If she wants the snuggle time (and don't we all!) have her snuggle her baby after nursing. Trust me! Nursing IS bonding! Mom probably is on an emotional roller coaster from all the hormones and lack of sleep. I would suggest that she takes a little time during the day for herself. Have someone else watch the baby so she can just take a bath and relax. I swear, my first child was attached to me 24/7 for the first 5 months. I thought I was going to go crazy! My husband had no experience w/ babies so it was all me all the time. I FINALLY had my mom come over and watch the baby for a few hours just so I could be alone. It worked WONDERS for me! If she has any other questions, please feel free to contact me! I've "been there and done that' so I can relate :D
I had this same issue with milk supply. I couldn't believe how much I was producing off of just one side when my kids were just 2-3 weeks old. My doctor was concerned that they weren't getting enough milk just because of how long I told them they fed on each side and that they would never eat off the other side in one sitting. Gaining weight just fine but still they were worried. I went into the hospital where they weighted my son before and after eating and found at just 2.5 weeks he was eating 3.75 oz on just one side. I think pumped after that feeding and got another 2 ounces out. (lol totally surprised me cause I have small breasts!) I for about the first 5 weeks needed to pump for just a minute or so to decrease the milk in each breast and make the let down slower before each feeding. A hassle yes but eventually my supply became more comparable to what he needed. I had at least a month supple in the freezer by this time. It's crazy!!! As far as the baby wanting to eat every time she hold him/her. Reminder her that the baby will do this with anyone that holds him/her and not just her babies breast fed or bottle fed root around for food all the time at this young age.
My experience was similar to Amanda's, she wrote pretty much everything I was going to say. I would be hesistant to try the cabbage leaves right away though, for fear of drying it up too much. She should at least call the La Leche League or her hospital should have provided her with a name and number for a lactation consultant. If not, she can call them or her pediatrician's office to get some names. I talked to L.C.'s over the phone twice in the first year, they were a big help. Your cousin needs to inform the pediatrician of what is going on, because at some point she will probably need to start nursing on both breasts after her milk regulates itself. My ped is the one who had me nurse on one side for a week or two based on his growth, but then when he stopped growing so fast she had me go back to both sides. It's important the doctor knows about all feeding issues like this to be able to monitor how well the baby is growing and thriving.
Getting more hind milk will help with the baby's fussiness and constantly wanting to nurse. Right now your cousin is going crazy, but she will be so grateful she produces so much in a couple months. She might have some postpartum depression or baby blues going on also, the 7-10 day timeframe is when I got really overwhelmed and miserable too. If she doesn't feel better in a week or so, she needs to mention it to her pediatrician. I remember a couple months ago I went to see my neighbor's new baby and she was at 9 days and I walked in the house and she just started sobbing over everthing. It is totally normal, as long as she starts to feel better soon. Good luck to her!
This is a benefit, not a problem! Nursing is cuddling and bonding. Feeling like a food supply is normal, but its got to be better than feeling helpless that you can't feed the baby.
I was also a super producer, for a while, then I wasn't. Once I went back to work my supply started dwindling slowly and eventually all that milk I had stored can in VERY handy!
So the advice I have is, this too shall pass!
P.S. I also have a brand new niece who I can't hold because all she ever wants to do in eat when with me! I have not nursed in nearly 2 yrs, but my right breast still produces little drops from time to time! SO she smells it and she starts screaming to eat!
I over-produced. First thing first, she needs to only feed the baby on one boob, and only on that boob, for a good number of feedings. I seriously would feed my daughter on the same boob for 3-5 feedings --but I didn't pump. Then, when that boob is empty, move the baby to the other boob. This will help control the milk production and it will DECREASE. The baby will also get more hind milk, which will help the baby settle down and want to just cuddle. It sounds to me like your cousin is in the midst of post-par-tum depression. She just needs to hang in there for another few weeks and then the baby will do more than just eat, pee and sleep.
She needs to ask her local hospital(s) if they have lactation consultants. Also, if she can find a local La Leche League they will be of great help.
In the beginning you want to be producing more than your baby needs. As long as she doesn't pump until she's empty and only until she's comfortable, her body won't get signals that the baby is taking it all and needs MORE.
Tell her to sit reclining either in a recliner or laying back on the couch or against her head board in bed. The have the baby sort-of on top of her. The gravity will pull the milk back toward her body so that the let-down isn't as strong.
Here's where she can find out if she has a LLL chapter:
http://www.llli.org/Web/Illinois.html
Let her know how fortunate she can feel. With her baby being so young it can all be extremely overwhelming. It take a few weeks or even a couple of months for milk supply to be regulated. It is a supply & demand issue. Suggest that she continues to pump & store it or donate. Is she going back to work? If so this might be a great opportunity to stock pile it. I had a great suppply but as soon as I went back to work it dimished greatly. I now am not able to pump enough during the day but have used milk from a friend. Because of my daughters health issues it is important that she as much breast milk as possible. I have been blessed by a friend & possibly the perspective of blessing someone else will help. About bonding - she is definitely bonding. For a while she is the only person who can give her child the best nutrition possible. Her baby definitely knows that. If the down feelings continue or get worse make sure she gets help. Depression is very real butcan be helped. Get the help of a lactation consultant that will come to her house. It is a more relaxing environment for mom & baby. My consultant is a huge help if nothing else but to reassure me.
I have an awesome Lactation consultant who can help. She is wonderful! Her name is Linda Rodrequez
Her work # is ###-###-####
call any time. She leaves a pager # on her voicemail at work. She will answer calls after work hours from her pager.
She is a lifesaver! She understands the urgency of breastfeeding a newborn. She will even coach over the phone!
Well she is lucky to be producing so much milk. She will need to give it time. She might want to pump before feeding just to there is no so much at the time. after a few weeks her milk should regulate. Is there a lactation consultant near here? The hospital should have some info. They can also work with her. Tell her to save the milk, she might need it later. Congratulations on nursing and tell her the same. It has really made a big difference for my son.
I was a huge over-producer from the get-go as well. In fact, one of the La Leche League leaders said she'd never seen anyone produce so much extra milk. I pumped FOUR extra GALLONS by the time my daughter was 6 months old--three of those went to a baby whose mom was having supply issues. I also was working at the time, so I wasn't doing TOO much to reduce my supply, but I still had to get through the day not changing my shirt 10 times!
Because the baby is still so young, it waill take some time to regulate. A couple of strategies:
-pump before nursing just enough to get the breast soft (BEFORE...it helps clear some of the watery foremilk--which can make the baby gassy--and ensure the baby gets the fattier hindmilk)
-only nurse on one side per session. Burp the baby after 6-8 minutes and latch back onto the same side. This helps reduce supply. If the non-nursed side is unconfortable, pump just to soften. Keep track of which side you're nursing on to keep them even.
-cold cabbage leaves in her bra will help relieve some of the discomfort and reduce some of the supply...be careful not to overuse.
If her baby is mainly getting foremilk, it will want to nurse more often. The foremilk is carb rich and the baby needs the hindmilk to be satisfied. But, even then, a breastfed baby can easily nurse every two hours...especially during a growth spurt.
It can be nice to have ample supply and easy let-down. It means you don't have to get into 20-30 minutes nursing sessions. I breastfed my daughter until she was 18 months old, and unless she was sick, she never nursed for more than 8-10 minutes per session.
Here is the tough love...she is a food supply. That baby has very few needs right now and nursing IS a major way the baby bonds. Take the time to relax and cuddle with the baby...even if it wants to suckle for a while. You can't spoil a newborn.
Good luck. I know it is hard. La Leche League was a lifesaver.
Have her pump her breast milk, freeze it and/ or donate it to the children of Haiti. She is Blessed!
Be thankful she could have been having a problem with not having her milk come in and feel like she had failed at breast feeding and her baby would have had to be placed on formula. Formula is so expensive.
Babies work on a demand basis. She needs to relax and know that things will settle down for her and she will get plenty of bonding time when she is be able to just hold her and play with her.
Whether she realizes it or not the times her daughter nurses is a bonding time. There is nothing else
that compares to it. Babies: Eat, sleep or not sleep, cry, pee, poop and eat again-Facts of life!
Eating a lot in the beginning is normal but it gets easier. Reassure her that she is doing a good job and for the minor inconvenience now it will reap greater rewards for her daughter in the long run. She is giving life to her daughter by feeding her even though she feels like a real milk cow. lol It's only for a season and it will pass where it will be a memory. She will definately have some stories to tell her daughter when she gets older.
The first part of nursing is she is building up her childs immune system with antibodies that are in her mothers milk that will help her daughter fight off diseases. Also, remember her body is adjusting to the supply and demand and will eventually get regulated but in the meantime pumping, freezing and or donating her mothers milk is an option. There are a lot of children in Haiti that could benefit from her excess mothers milk where she can make a difference and save a childs life. Just a thought.
Just like you said she needs to be dressed not going around bra-less, wear a nursing bra, tripple pads, keep on pumping, storing and freezing the excess. God sure made us in a wondeful way because anytime she is near her little daughter her body goes into the feeding mode, baby gets fussy, there is always an ample suppy of milk. Go momma!
Have a wonderful day!
D. in West Chester, Ohio
