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BFing ?
Has anyone been successful at EPing for a significant amount of time? Any tips? I have a feeling that we are headed that way.
LO is now 7 weeks old. For the past week he has not been nursing. He just screams and flails every time he nurses. With every suck he gags and screams. I am pretty sure that my milk is coming out to fast. I am tried 3 different nipple shields to help. I spoke with the LLL ladies and she said to block feed to get my supply down, side nursing and reclining while nursing. However, LO will not eat from me at all so I am kind of stuck.
I have been pumping for every feed for about a week now. I still try to get him to nurse a couple times a day but he only lasts a minute before the screaming starts. So he has been getting bottles for all his feeds.
Re: BFing ?
I went through similar issues - forceful letdown and fussiness. A few things that worked...
If you think he's pulling off because of forceful letdown, t's a big hassle but I'd pump for 1 min prior to nursing.
It's also possible that, since it's 1 min into nursing and I assume he was actively eating until that point, that baby is impatient waiting for the next letdown. He may be accustomed to eating from a firehose.
At around 9 weeks DS went through this stage where he was crazy fussy, would latch on and off and was seemingly wired/frantic. I also noticed this was more common later in they day. The LC suggested that he was overstimulated and/or adjusting to all the new things that he was slowly becoming aware of. She suggested nursing in a dim, quiet room and start doing skin to skin again. After a day or two of doing this I saw immediate improvement. Then we were back to normal within the week.
kellymom.com is also a great resource. While I'm sure it's totally possible to EP, I think this early on it's not your only option. Unless it's your preferred option. GL.
No - have not had this problem.
Are you near Abington? You may want to stop by Breastfeeding Resource Center's support group. There is a session weekly with an LC there where you can ask your questions, bring baby, etc. for free. They have saved my sanity countless times.
So I'm wondering if it's the opposite problem - that he's getting frustrated by a slow flow.
Other then the crying/flailing, what other signs might lead you to believe it's coming out too fast?
The reason I ask is that when they drink from a bottle it comes out very quickly and they don't have to work hard at all. When you use a nipple shield it's much much harder for them to get the milk out. He might not be eating when you're using a nipple shield b/c he's getting pisssed the milk is not right there as it would be with a bottle. He might be screaming/flailing when you first put him to the boob b/c you haven't had your letdown yet and the milk isn't easily available.
What I might try is this:
1. try to feed before he is crying. Look for early signs of hunger and try to catch him maybe 10-15 minutes beforehand when he's still calm.
2. Start the feeding by feeding him through a bottle. Use the slowest flow nipple to make him work for it.
3. At the same time, hook your boob up to a pump to get your milk flowing. Once you have your letdown, try to remove the bottle, pop yourself off the pump, and latch the baby.
If you have an overactive letdown/fast flow, this could still help b/c you're putting him on after the letdown.
Good luck.
I EP for probably a year or so, and let me tell you that is NOT the way to go if you don't have to...you seriously get caught in an endless cycle of pumping, feeding, cleaning everything to get ready for the next pumping session, etc. if you do, make sure you invest in the highest quality pump you can get (i actually had two...one at work and one at home), and get extras of everything (valves, tubing, etc), good luck!
Ditto this! The BRC is awesome. Once a month, they have a nighttime support group and a weekend support group - check the calendar on their webpage. Also, you can schedule a meeting with an LC where they will evaluate a feeding.
#1 12.11.11
#2 10.23.13 EDD
Check with your insurance, too. They might cover a meeting with an ICBLC.
We had this same problem around week 7/8 as well. I would "predict pump" before I fed him. Like if he typically eats every 2-3 hours, around hour 1:45 I'd pump on the faster side so that I'd already have more of a let down and then feed him after the initial pumping let down. So I'd only have pumped an ounce or two, but my pump had the "fast flow".
Once he had better head control around week 10 it was much better. Good luck to you.
Also FWIW I pumped during the day with DS#1 from months 3-7 and the site: workandpump.com was SUPER helpful on pumping tips.