After the twins were born, I wrote a post about our breastfeeding experience and what I would do if I could do it all over again. When Baby Brother was born, I got a chance to do just that. My experience this time has been so different, and we’ve been much more successful. Looking at my previous post, however, has taught me one important thing: your breastfeeding journey will be different with every baby. Sure, I learned from my last experience, but this time I had a new set of challenges and not one of the things I would have changed last time applied this time.
Baby Brother was born at nine pounds two ounces. He came out hungry, ready to eat, and had no interest in slowing down anytime soon as opposed to his brothers, who were born at 36 weeks, only ate a few milliliters at a time initially, and were put on supplemental donated breast milk and eventually formula from Day 1. With the twins, I was never able to get my milk supply anywhere close to enough to feed them. With Baby Brother, I’ve had the opposite problem. And while I never would have thought I would say this, yes, too much milk can be a problem, too.
At a little over three months, we are going strong and I’m enjoying the experience. That said, there are a few things I would do differently.
1. Be consistent about giving a bottle once a day. Obviously there’s a risk of nipple confusion, but I’d still do this differently if I could. Baby Brother loves him some boob. Only boob; nothing else will do. We gave him a couple of bottles in the hospital and one or two after we got home, but only after he breastfed and was still screaming with hunger. I really, really wanted breastfeeding to work this time around and I wanted to wait to push bottles until everything was well established. Plus, Mr. Blue was working a lot of late hours the first couple months after Baby Brother was born and was often working during the bedtime bottle. It was just so much easier to feed him then to pump and then bottle feed. So, I didn’t. Fast forward a few weeks. We were getting ready to travel for a wedding in which I was a bridesmaid and the twins were ring bearers. We started trying to give him bottles so my in-laws could feed him during the wedding and reception. Many bottles were borrowed or bought. There was pleading, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. I tried. Mr. Blue tried. My mom tried with me out of the house. My in-laws tried at the wedding. Yep, we have a complete bottle refuser over here. I’m so thankful that breastfeeding is working . . . But, man, it would be nice to get away for a couple hours now and then.
2. Not having enough milk sucks. Having too much milk sucks. Actually, anything but the right amount of milk sucks. The first time around, I remember hearing people talk about having a freezer stash full of milk, and I hated them a little because I was trying so hard to breastfeed my two babies, was miserably failing, and feeling ridiculously guilty (don’t feel like this if you’re in this position by the way–breastfeeding is a great option and so is any other way you feed your baby). This time around at about two weeks post-partum, I noticed that Baby Brother would pull off and milk would spray allllllll over. Thus, started our joyous journey into the world of too much milk. My poor little guy would choke and cough and sputter and cry every few sucks because the milk just came out too much and too fast. He was also super gassy and had to burp every few minutes because he took in so much air while trying to manage the flow. Though much more minor, it also made me super uncomfortable and I leak alllll the time. And as for the freezer stash, that didn’t happen either because everything I read said not to pump since that would just increase my supply and . . . oh, yeah, my kid refuses all bottles.
Even with the over-active let down and a really stressful few weeks of a nursing strike, this time around has been so much easier and better. I’m really thankful for that.
What was breastfeeding like for you the first and second time around?
wonderful kiwi / 23653 posts
I just have my first but I def will keep up with the bottle with future #2… I was too lax and we all panicked when she refused bottles before I had to go back to work! She eventually took it but she is still on & off fussy with it!
guest
I am on my second bottle-refusing baby! I vowed to do things differently with the second and offered a bottle every day for 7 weeks straight (yes, I counted!) and every single day he chewed on it, smiled and didn’t drink more than a half ounce or so. Both babies were offered a multitude of nipple options, people holding the bottle, positions, temperatures of milk, times of day, with mom at various distances away and nothing ever worked. So don’t beat yourself up about item #1, you may tried and still had a bottle-refusing baby!
I went back to work after both my babies and they have survived on very little milk while I am away (3-5oz total all day). I think it’s called reverse-cycling when they just wait for mom to come home to eat and get the majority of their calories when I am around, mostly at night, so my baby is happy and growing just fine. The upside is that I am able to donate a lot of the milk I pump while at work.
I totally agree that each nursing baby is different! I struggled with low-to-start-supply with my second and an abundant supply with the first.
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
Yes and yes to both your points! I’m thankful I got to breastfeed both kids, but each came with their own issues. With my first, her latch was strong right off the bat, and I was so scared of nipple confusion that I didn’t introduce a bottle until a month in. She took it just fine, but I was inconsistent. I didn’t bother again with a bottle until I needed to go on an overnight trip when she was 6 months. Prior to that, I would just rush home every 2-3 hours between appointments or errands to nurse her (another source of stress for me). Well, she hated the bottle and it was so stressful getting her to take it, but luckily she eventually did. And since I didn’t pump all that much, I didn’t have much of a stash to build a milk supply – I could only pump enough to replace each feeding. Whenever I needed more milk on top of a feeding I’d have to squeeze in an extra session.
2nd time around I vowed to introduce a bottle right away, and pump right away. I gave a bottle at least once every day, and that was great. No regrets there. But because I pumped once a day on top of feedings it led to a massive oversupply. The first 3 months were stressful as J sputtered and choked on all my milk. I always had an oversupply until I weaned, but luckily after 3-4 months my milk stopped being so crazy, and J had better control when it came to drinking it. Weaning and trying to dry up on an oversupply was no fun though.
It’s so hard figuring out just the right amount, but in the end, I think I’d still rather have an oversupply. I was able to donate over 500 ounces to mom’s in need once I weaned, and it was such a good feeling meeting other mom’s, hearing their stories, and being able to help them in that small way.
cherry / 108 posts
I had the same issue with oversupply (although not as blessed as yours
). I used sources like kellymom to really help bring it down without completely loosing it. I also just bore the engorgement discomfort so my body would finally get that I didn’t need it to produce at that certain time! If it got really bad I would hand express just a little for comfort and that was it. Here is a link I think I used, hope it helps: http://kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/supply-worries/fast-letdown/
guest
I had HUGE issues feeding my first. He was really jaundice and didn’t latch well, which caused him to be in the hospital for the first week of his life. Luckily, with the help of lots of trips to visit the lactation consultants and a shield, we figured it out. But I always battled supply and by 8 months I had to supplement some with formula because I wasn’t pumping enough during the day. With my second, he latched like a pro and his thighs and booty are living proof. But I struggled with oversupply and got mastitis 3 times. The bonus was, I was able to donate hundreds of ounces to the hospital. I only pumped when he would be taking a bottle at home, but I always pumped 3-5 ounces more than he drank. It was definitely easier having an oversupply in my opinion.
kiwi / 623 posts
Thanks for sharing your experience. LO 2 is coming soon and since its been 3 years since BF, I’ve been trying to read up on BFing as a refresher. I was one of those with a good-oversupply and woke the baby every 2 hours to nurse because I didn’t want him to get jaundice.. Luckily he didn’t but BFing definitely was a learning experience (ie: avoiding clogged ducts, hind milk/fore milk balance, chugging water, getting rest, etc). I would probably introduce the bottle sooner this time around… I waited until after a month because I was afraid of nipple confusion.
guest
Breastfeeding was a disaster with my first — she was very small and had a poor latch and just couldn’t suck. We worked with several LC’s and a neonatal physiotherapist and in the end, it just didn’t work. We supplemented from almost day 1 and ended up on formula. LO 2 was born 2 1/2 pounds bigger and just wanted to eat. And eat he has — from me and his weight gain is proof that things are going great (from 6.13-over 9lbs in 5 weeks)! I did start fenugreek and blessed thistle preventatively on day 2 with LO2 and I’ve started to pump a few times to get a freezer stash going. We haven’t introduced a bottle yet, but we need too — if only so that we can go on a date night every now and again.
pomelo / 5621 posts
DS refused bottles. We tried so many different types and he just refused. We tried different temperatures and even formula but nothing would satisfy him but the boob.
I’m glad you are having success this go around.
pear / 1547 posts
I had too much milk as well! I actually added in a pumping session before her first morning nursing session because that was the worst of the gushing. It built my freezer stash and calmed down the most overflowing session for her (she’d nurse 30-60 min after), and then after my milk was able to regular better and she was able to handle the milk fountain I dropped the daily pump and just pump at work. There were a few hiccups along the way but it seemed to work well! And at least my oversupply has allowed me to pump very infrequently at work, which is not conducive to pumping at all, and still get more than she needs while I’m gone. So I’m thankful for that!
blogger / pomelo / 5361 posts
@Chicfro: Yes, that was one of the first places I looked. I love kellymom! I didn’t try to do much to mess with the supply because I wanted to wait until closer to 10-12 weeks,and then we were in the middle of an awful nursing strike, which was extra sucky since he wouldn’t take a bottle, either. Things are going a little better now, so I’m starting to work on reducing supply a little to see if that helps.