On Breastfeeding

(Originally posted May 20th, 2009)

I had hoped to have this figured out by now but after 7 weeks we're still having issues. From about week 3 to week 4 it was going great, now not so much.

He latches on just fine and eats for about 5 minutes. After that it all goes down hill. He pulls off and screams. I burp him and try to put him back on but the remainder of the feeding is generally a battle. And we've tried everything. I talked to a lactation consultant who told me to try pumping a little before I feed because maybe he's getting too much too fast. Now we have a freezer full of milk and it doesn't seem to make a difference. I'm still doing it simply so that he gets more of the hind milk. The milk they get first is more sugary and satisfies hunger, the back milk has all the good fats for brain development and it keeps them full longer.

Not every feeding is so difficult but I can't figure out what makes the good ones good and the fussy ones fussy. I'm writing everything down but I have yet to see any kind of pattern. Either way he's always coming un-latched.

I could go on and on about everything we've tried. Lets just say we're both frustrated.

He has a little bit of a rash on his face so we went to the doctor today thinking maybe that was causing pain. His doc wasn't in so we saw someone else and she thinks it's reflux. His doc is going to call me tomorrow but the one we saw today suspects he'll give us a prescription. I don't want to put him on medicine but I'm willing to try it to see if that's what's going on.

I'm going to call the lactation consultant Again and see if she can observe us. I only hope that he has a fussy feeding so she can see what it's like.

I'm also holding out for him to hit 8 weeks. Maybe when all these crazy growth spurts are over he'll calm down. I hear lots of people say that around 8 weeks it gets easier.

I just feel so bad for him. Clearly something hurts, he's still hungry but all he does is scream. Poor baby. I'm also a bit worried about my supply. If he only nurses for 5 minutes every 3 hours then we're going to eventually have a supply issue.

The one good thing is that his weight gain is fine. He's gained 34 oz in 36 days which is right on track. He's dropped from the 75% to the 50% for weight but he's still just right.

I'm just praying that we get this figured out before both of us pull our hair out.