Beth's milk came in around Sunday evening, Day 3 for Edward, and he's now on full rations. On Monday he was weighed and had made up some of his original weight loss, up 2oz to 7lbs 10z, so we're headed in the right direction.
It was tera-jerkingly painful for Beth at first, but now she's less distressed and only in trouble if he loses his latch. We know this is very good progress for these early days, and are celebrating out luck in having such a good baby.
Our main concern right now is that he gets lots of milk. Breast milk works on a supply and demand system, so if he doesn't drink it, production will slow down. Midwife Coleen says we need to keep pumping it into him, not just letting him satisfy himself and stop. This is difficult when he falls alseep immediately after a feed, and we're both busy tickling his feet, rubbing his back, and doing anything else we can think of to keep him awake. We're just doing our best, and on her next visit tomorrow we'll see if he's continuing to gain weight and stay on the curve.
Burping before and after feeding is recommended, but we're not getting many burps, or much spit-up. Breastfed babies take in less air than bottle fed, so this is OK. Still, this is my duty so I'm doing it and having fun, and when we have to start using breatsmilk in a bottle I'll have some burping experience.
Possibly your midwife will have made this suggestion as to feeding positioning, but a good latch without excess torsion is essential to mother's comfort. I experienced pain to the point of a fissure my first go-round until finally, a few weeks in, the La Leche League lady showed me a better hold. It has to do with supporting the feeding breast with the opposite hand, four fingers underneath, and thumb just above the nipple applying just the slightest pressure needed to cause the nipple to angle up slightly. This seemed to improve latchability and reduce wear and tear.
ReplyDeleteThanks Emily. By "underneath" do you mean from my perspective or on the chin-side of whatever angle the baby is approaching from?
ReplyDeleteYour perspective. Your hand supports the bottom of your breast.
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