Monday, February 22, 2010

I NEED IDEAS

As I've mentioned before, THE MONKEY has been teething like something fierce, lately. Well, now it's getting so bad that he's refusing to nurse. He acts VERY hungry, to the point of screaming his poor little head off but when I put him to breast, he'll latch on for a good second and a half then unlatch and start crying again. It seems as if he goes to latch on and feels the pressure on his gums so then he changes his mind because it's so uncomfortable.

The problem is... he won't nurse, at all. No matter how hungry he gets, he just won't nurse. He went a good stretch of time, this evening, where he just wouldn't nurse and would get so tired from crying and fussing that he'd just pass out. I felt so bad. I had to do something so I unfroze my last 7 ounces of milk, out of the freezer, and gave that to him. He sucked down 5.5oz of it and passed out.

The problem now.. I'm engorged and he's still sleeping. It never ends, I swear. How can I convince him that he needs to nurse, instead of taking it from the bottle? I don't want my supply to dwindle or dry up because I'm exclusively pumping because his gums hurt? Speaking of.. anyone know how long it would take to dry up if you were exclusively pumped?

I'm nervous because he went through a day or two where he just wanted the bottle a while back and pumping for that long caused my let down reflex to stop completely. It took FOREVER to get my milk to let down, IF it even did. After a while, I couldn't get it to let down, at all. I was constantly engorged and it took him nursing the next couple days, every hour or two, to get my milk to come back like it was.

I'm afraid that it's going to affect it again.

I'm not really sure what I'm looking for or what I want you guys to say... I guess I'm just venting. Why can't breastfeeding be easy? Like.. instantly make milk, as much as baby needs, when baby needs it. WITHOUT ENGORGEMENT!!

Stephanie M.
jrsmama2009@gmail.com

3 comments:

  1. One of my friend's daughters just wouldn't latch - really ever. She breastfed for a year by exclusively pumping. So.. .theoretically, you should be able to just pump rather than latch and not dry up. It's not as efficient a way to go, but remember that that's what Mom's of premies do, so it can work.

    They do say that bottle feeding can lead to nipple confusion, as the bottle works so much more efficiently as a delivery mechanism. You could try looking for info on nipple confusion? (Sorry - I don't know much about it.)

    As far as his gums go... We've had to resort to motrin and on occasion oragel with the munchkin as the molars come in. I know you don't really want to go "chemical", but you could try that on occasion if you think the gums are causing a latching issues. I have to say, it's kind of odd as I thought they usually liked to bite on things when their gums hurt (teething rings or teething crackers).

    OK, one last out there thought... is there any chance you could be pregnant? That changes the taste of your milk and can cause the baby not to want to breastfeed.

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  2. Oh no, you poor thing. I can offer some advice, I don't know if you've tried it or not, but here it goes...

    - Try to pump in a relaxing environment. I know husband is leaving you next week, but do you have someone who can give The Monkey his bottle while you pump? It could help your letdown to see him feeding, to hear his feeding noises, etc.
    - Have you tried a different pump? Like using an electric double pump instead of a manual hand pump? Or vice versa.

    As long as you're successfully pumping, you shouldn't have a problem with your supply dwindling... However, I know there are certain things that can help increase milk supply... Oatmeal (the real cooked oatmeal, not the instant kind), beer (it's the yeast in beer, so even non-alcoholic beer should work), and supplements like Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle.

    I also use this website often, http://ca.answers.yahoo.com. It's a wonderful website, full of women who just want to help. This website is also incredibly helpful for me, http://www.kellymom.com.

    If you need anything, just let me know. I'm more than willing to do some legwork for you and The Monkey.

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  3. Hmmm... I didn't think that you would dry up when you are just pumping. As long as you are consistent with it, your body should pick up on that cue, shouldn't it? I hear you with the engorgement... S slept for a little longer than normal and I got mastitis... suuuper, thanks.
    Anyhow, have you ever heard of an amber teething necklace? Might want to gve that a shot. Check out 'Inspired by Finn' on Hyena cart. Google it.
    Hang in there!!

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