Water while breastfeeding - conflicting advice

I agree, water as soon as you start solids.

expressing and giving ebm once back at work - more questions!

Frozen breast milk defrosts surprisingly quickly in hot water, about 10 mins if you keep jiggling it. Or you could keep a fresh extra one in the fridge in case of emergencies and then just use and replace. You can keep fresh milk in the fridge for a few days.

There's no reason why you can't cut down to three feeds a day when you go back to work. My DD was only on three at that age, it's fine as long as they've got sufficient dairy in their diet. Just a thought - it'll make all the pumping a bit easier.

Sorry I can't help with quantities - I've no idea!

Good luck.
Mrs B xxx

help, she wont take a bottle advice please!

My DD refused to take a bottle and in the end after trying every type of sippy cup you can buy she drank from one of those bottles with a flip up, squashy, silicone straw.

I'm pleased she didn't take a bottle in the end as she progressed easily to drinking out of all sorts of things and I never had to wean her off a bottle.

Good luck!
Mrs B xx

Lots of questions!!

You're doing the right thing by feeding off the same side a few feeds to make sure she gets the hind milk. I do this with my DS but it really varies from day to day - you just get a feel for when they've done with one side and then swap to the other for the next feed.
As long as her poo is yellow you're getting it right!

I'm not an expert on expressing but I would wait until your supply calms down otherwise you'll produce more and it won't help your fast let-down. But if you need to express so you can leave your baby then do it after a feed.
According to the information from my midwife you can store it for 5 days before freezing but I'm not very comfortable with this as it seems a long time, so I won't leave it longer than 3 days.
Remember you can add to it, so if you don't get a whole feed in one sitting you can keep expressing throughout the day and add to the same bottle in the fridge.

Don't worry about stocking up the freezer, the composition of your milk changes to meet your babies needs and while it won't do any harm giving milk you've expressed now in a month's time, it's just not as good as expressing it freshly.

Glad things are improving for you both.

Mrs B xxx

Lots of questions!!

Some excellent advice here - just wanted to add that 4wks is very young to be having a bottle and the problem with the latch and coming on and off could be due to a bit of nipple confusion. Persevere without the bottles and she'll get the hang of it again quickly.

Another possibility is that she's struggling to cope with a fast milk-down (my DS has this problem at the moment) but you'd know about it because she'd be sprayed in the face with milk when she came off and you'd both end up soaked!

They can also struggle to stay latched when your breasts are really full. Your breasts are still sorting themselves out at this stage and if they've just increased your supply this could be the issue.

Just keep feeding and keep expressing to a minimum and it'll sort itself out!

Mrs B xxx

PS.
Chuck Gina in the bin (personally I just can't accept any advice and especially BF advice from someone who has never actually BF or had a baby!)and get this one instead...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Food-Love-Formula-Successful-Breastfeeding/dp/0954930959/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330240409&sr=1-1

... it's fantastic and always answers all my BF questions!

anyone use medella electric pump or mam anti colic bottles?

I had the same problem with my Tommee Tippee elctric pump - there was a little valve that used to get stuck shut and cause the back flow.

Making sure it was perfectly upright helped but otherwise I'd listen carefully to the sound it was making and when it started to go up in pitch I knew it was stuck and I could stop in time, give it a bash to free up the valve and then carry on. VERY frustrating.

I wouldn't expect that to happen with the Medella as I've always thought it's a better pump because it's more expensive.

Have they got a helpline you could call?

Mrs B xxx

Bra issues

I have simiar issues and discovered Anita underwired nursing bras when I was feeding DD and have bought more this time.

Have a look on www.figleaves.co.uk - they're not cheap but well worth it. If you go for the smooth one get a cup size larger than you actually are.

Try this link

http://www.figleaves.com/uk/department.asp?dept=Womens_Maternity_and_Nursing&searchhandle=A%3dwomenswear+not+in+olet~B%3dwomenswear+not+in+olet~&answerhandle=11879&departments=&page=1#term=&dept=Womens_Maternity_and_Nursing&answerhandle=11879&searchhandle=A%3dwomenswear+not+in+olet~B%3dwomenswear+not+in+olet~&pageno=1&sort=8&pagesize=28&colours=&sizes=&brands=ANITA+MATERNITY~&maxprice=205&multioptions=NURSING@usage~UNDERWIRED@underwire~&deptcat=&minprice=0&islmin=0&islmax=205&fo=ItemTypes--NURSING~ItemTypes--UNDERWIRED~Brand--ANITA+MATERNITY~&cups=&bra=&clothing=&cosmetics=&shoes=&productid=&productcolour=&bboost=&gender=&rating=undefined

Mrs B xxx

OWWWW!

Thanks for your replies - I have managed to get to the BF clinic although the pain is easing now and they think I have a really forceful let-down in my left breast and my little man has decided that the best way to control it is to bite my nipple!

Have been feeding lying back which is helping a bit but hopefully it will continue to improve as my supply sorts itself out.

Mrs B xxx

OWWWW!

My DS is only two and a half weeks and has fed really well since birth - he had already gained 11oz at 10days and I BF my DD so I know what I'm doing - but he clamps really hard when he's feeding from the left breast and it hurts!

I don't have any visible nipple trauma but it feels severely bruised and when he's finished feeding the end of my nipple is white.

He's a big hungry baby but I have plenty of milk and there isn't a problem with the right breast.

Any suggestions? My DH is back at work and I'm going to struggle to get to the BF clinic with my DD as well.

Many thanks
Mrs B xxx

Baby been in hospital, too late to establish breastfeeding?

Have a read of this and maybe do a bit more research - I wish I'd heard of it when I had latching problems with my DD. Apparently it can be really successful but I don't personally know of anyone who has done it.

Got to be worth a try though!

http://www.lactationconsultant.info/rebirth.html

http://www.diaryofafirstchild.com/2010/11/02/rebirthing-for-emotional-healing-and-breastfeeding-success/

Mrs B xxx

OWWWW!

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