breastfeeding
Spice started out nursing from birth like a dream. Now, on days like this, it feels like our nursing future is headed for hell. She’s picked up this nasty habit in the last few days of opening her mouth and rooting back and forth frantically while the nipple is in her mouth. It takes a while for her to figure out to clamp down and start sucking and I have no idea how/why she’s doing this. Additionally, she sucks for maybe 20 seconds, then backs off and squirms, then starts over with the open-mouthed rooting over the nipple. It takes a good 5 minutes for her to figure out to stay latched on, and it’s driving me crazy!
Add to that she doesn’t burp easy and spits up almost a full feeding if she isn’t burped properly. That she has killer gas and almost every feeding results in at least an hour of the poor thing writhing in agony trying to get it out one end or the other.
From random googling, one possibility is that I have an overactive letdown, and while she starts out hungry, the milk is coming too fast for her and she backs off, then attacks again in hunger. All the advice for this mentions pulling her off for the letdown and letting it spray into a towel or burp cloth. But I tried this and I’m barely dripping during letdown. *sigh*
I’m going bats and on days like this, I’m left swearing to the spouse that I can’t do it, that it’s just not working, etc. I can see now why something like 40% give up breastfeeding in the first two weeks. Between the hormones, the sleep shortage, the labor recovery, sometimes it feels downright impossible to continue and that’s with having a complication-free labor and a healthy term baby!
On a slightly more humorous note, I learned the hard way just how all sorts of things end up in breastmilk. I was taking my prenatal vitamins and my previously-customary fish oil supplement and was rewarded with two days of fishy breastmilk and spit-up! Those of you that know spit-up know that rather than landing neatly in the middle of a burp cloth, it’s more likely to end up on the baby’s clothes, your clothes, bedsheets, etc. And about the same with leaking breastmilk. All we have for detergent is un-dyed, un-fragranced stuff, so it took about 3 hot water washes and indoor sunlight drying to get the smell out. Never, never again. *shudder*
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Breastfeeding is an art. I was fortunate enough to have two good “latchers”. Remember that babies have to be taught EVERYTHING. Be patient and try not to stress out. Spice will feel the frustration and stress. Once she gets the hang of it, it’ll be a piece of cake!
I BF my 4YO for a year. I’m on month six with my 6MO. It’s a lot cheaper than formula, is more beneficial for baby, and is easier than making bottles for a screaming baby at 2:00 AM! Plus it’s such a wonderful bonding experience.
Things will work out. Take it one day at a time. Take a deep breath…remain calm…enjoy your precious bundle of joy.
Gretchen
June 12th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Thank you SO much for posting this!! This is my life right now too and as well as having a good laugh at hearing it expressed so eloquently I gained some perspective. We are not alone, and even though I am sure you and I both give each other the same self-soothing talk at 2am, 3:30am, 4:30am etc that this is the best thing for our babies and this too shall pass, it still helps to know that we are not the minority, and we will persevere. One moment I swear I’ll never have a second, and that the smell of sour milk will live with us forever, the next I’m thanking any deity that will listen for my little Ethan.
I take an Omega supplement too, and find that it affects the smell of my milk too. One thing that was recommended to me was to soak the laundry in a little extra detergent and some Oxyclean overnight, then put some white vinegar in the rinse cycle. This seems to be working (and I’m still taking the supplement) so hope it works for you!
Cheers,
Michelle
June 18th, 2009 at 11:44 pm
Wow, thanks for the oxyclean recommendation. I used it a long time ago, but I totally didn’t think of it for this. :-)
Congrats on breastfeeding! For the vast majority of moms I know, it really DOES get easier. :-) Spice and I are almost at one year and as she moves on with solids, I find I’m clinging to those nursing moments more and more.