Y'all... there is so much freakin' information out there regarding breastfeeding. Parent directed? Baby directed? Everything seems to say different things... Feed only for 20 minutes... never more than 30... NO! feed as much as baby wants until baby pulls away! It's so dad-gum confusing, that I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. I've tried all of them, and they seem to work and then not work... My problem is Shepherd is constantly falling asleep at the breast, and I have to encourage him to keep eating. So if I wait until he pulls off, he may pull off too soon because he's asleep. Then again, sometimes, he will fall asleep and keep suckling and then I have no idea how long he needs to eat because 45 minutes later, he's still "eating".
What seemed to work for a few days was feeding 10 minutes on each breast, 3 hours apart. However, today that doesn't seem to work with him, and tonight.. I can't tell if he's hungry, fussy, or what, but he just won't go back to sleep. I offered the breast to him again after feeding on both for 10 minutes, and he took it, only to promptly fall asleep.
Y'all... I know that there are those of you out there who are experts at this stuff... What do you do?! What works for you?
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5 comments:
There is WAY too much "different" information out there about everything that has to do with bring up a baby. Pretty funny, I just did a post about this myself.
Logan was good at first (only for a couple of days though). He ate every 3 hours, 10 min on each side (I was watching the clock because he fell asleep too, but he also has an incredible sucking reflex. If I let him stay there on the breast, he would be there all day. The nurses in the hospital suggested that we try a pacifier. It's a life saver (also a nipple saver).
Well, then my milk came in & everything changed. Once we figured out how to overcome that challenge, another one pops up. That's the frustrating thing, it's never the same each week. So, when it comes to "the best technique", there isn't one. It's whatever works best for you & Shepherd. It's all trial & error.
The first couple of weeks are the most difficult because it's a constantly changing guesing game. Hang in there though, it will click & everything seems a little more smooth than the previous week.
I was constantly on www.kellymom.com There was a ton of help on there. Also, calling a lactation consultant never hurts.
Just know that you are a great mom doing the best thing for your cute little son!
Thank you for asking for my advice. But...I have no advice. Except..."good luck" (and I go with Chris on this-ask the consultant!)
Oh, and let us all know what you find out. Because? I am sure I'll have the same questions and concerns here in a few weeks!
We went through the same thing with Lilly. At first, she kept falling asleep. Then, she needed to nurse in order to fall asleep! Then she wanted to nurse 24/7! After consulting the lacation support group at the hospital and her doctor, we gave in and started giving her a pacifier if we knew she wasn't really hungry but was asking to nurse. It didn't work very well at first, but now the pacifier is really helping! The last two nights have been awesome. She eats every two or three hours during the day and every three or four hours at night! And... Rather than pretend sucking, she sucks for real when she knows she only gets 15 minutes on each side. We're also trying to keep her up more during the day and only turn on one dim light at night. Nights are as borning as possible and days are for walks, reading, baths, etc... It took almost three weeks to get to this point though.
You know, the thing I learned is that no book can tell you how to do it. Every baby and family is different and you just have to experiment and find out what works for your family. It does seems to get better as time goes on though. Of course, tomorrow she'll probably go on strike and I'll say I don't know anything about babies!
It does get easier. I remember so well. Just remember shepherd will be pretty good at telling you what he wants - in his own way. Also, you have to pick what works best for you out of all the information. There are way too many opinions out there & NEVER let anyone make you feel bad for a decision you've made about YOUR baby!!
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