Breast feeding question

Sorry, quick reply, on the run. For engorgement info and suggestions (note especially Reverse Pressure Softening if you think engorgement might be preventing your LO from latching on): http://www.llli.org/faq/engorgement.html For an approach to positioning which allows baby's natural latching instincts to kick in, you might like to try laid-back nursing: http://www.biologicalnurturing.com (click on For Mothers for description and video). Hang in there! And stay in touch. xx

I had somewhat same problem with my ODS..there were times when he would just not feed from one side..I would say keep trying..they get a hang of it. I know it hurts a lot but u just have to keep him giving the right side at times..and try increasing the number of times you pump from that side. Also while taking shower express some milk from that side and let warm water fall on it...regarding his tongue, just leave it the way it is..my doc told me not to do anything for the tongue and mouth..and is it the lips that are dry? If so then he might be dehydrated..keep on feeding him then..u can never over feed a breast feed baby :) and as for MIL let her opinion rest with her..just listen and ignore u r the mother u knw what is good for your baby.... These days will fly away so soon....enjoy them don't take stress...

You can safely take panadol for the pain if you need to too. Once he is feeding properly from both sides the engorgement should start to ease, your supply will keep adjusting and by the time he is 12 weeks old your breasts will most probably NEVERr really feel "full" (and then you''ll start getting paranoid that you don't have enough milk, lol ;) )

Good advice below although I think maybe your MIL is not being snide, she is just worried about him getting nipple confusion/preference with being being fed EBM by bottle and eventually rejecting the breast in favour of the bottle. She's not actually wrong in worrying, it can often happen and ideally you will definitely be trying to work towards getting him to feed directly from both sides to avoid this risk. At the same time, you don't have that much choice, if he won't latch from one side then you do need to get the milk out so that you keep producing from that side. Have you had a good lactation consultant help you try and fix his latch? I had the same issue and it took a week or more to my son feeding well from the left side in my case. I found that it did help if I used a dfferent hold (google cross cradle and cradle hold) as sometimes its just the way you are holding them that can cause them to feel uncomfortable. You might also want to get the Dr to check for [url=http://www.bubhub.com.au/info/articles/baby/torticollis_what_can_you_do_to_correct_it_if_your_baby_has_it.shtml'>torticollis[/url'> which is basically a tightening of muscles on one side of the neck that can make it diffiuclt or uncomfortable for them to turn their head one way. (in which case yes the football hold would be a good one to try) Torticollis is reasonably common in newborns and 1/200 and can cause problems with developing flat spots on the head as well as BFing. Also have a good look at your nipples, it might be that one side has a flatter nipple or is harder to latch on it for some reason (this is very common) and it might help to give the nipple a little tweak or hand express/pump a little from that side before offering it to your baby so that it is more drawn out. Once you've been breastfeeding for a while, flat nipples tend to resolve themselves and don't remain a problem. Using a nipple shield can help too as it gives the baby the feeling of "something" in their mouth and gives feedback to suck. Make sure you try with the right side every time you feed, try before you offer the left and again after you offer the left. In theory you could eventually make enough milk for him feeding only from one breast without pumping the other (we are designed to be able to feed twins) but you would find your right breast would be much bigger than your left. Both your mum and your MIL are giving good advice, as contradictory as it may seem. The best step is to keep doing what you are doing but make sure you are doing everything you can to try and get your baby to feed from the right side, he will get there but spending a little money now on a good lactation consultant will make your life much easier in the long run. Its normal to produce too much milk at the start but its worth getting the lactation consultant to check that he is getting to the milk effectively when he feeds and draining them as well as he can. Cold green cabbage leaves inside your bra and cool compresses after a feed help relieve engorgement. Hot showers and massage are good too but keep these for right before a feed as they encourage the milk to move down to the nipple where your baby can drain it. As far as cleaning INSIDE the mouth, no you don't need to and risk infection by sticking anything in there. Leave his tongue alone. <em>edited by kiwispiers on 29/04/2012</em>

Also, if your breasts are still painfully engorged try putting frozen cabbage leaves on them. Good luck! <em>edited by coffeebuz on 29/04/2012</em>

Both Gra and Lilli34 have given you some wonderful practical advice. I would just like to say well done and keep up the good work. It takes a while for both mum and baby to get the hang of breastfeeding so hang in there. Mother in laws' comments can be tough at the best of times and even more so when you have a young infant to look after so try to politely 'tune her out' where you can.

If you're producing a lot of milk from the right side, it may be 'too full' for him to get a proper latch onto. Try hand expressing a small amount before putting him to the breast, just to soften the areola...therefore making it easier for hom to latch onto. Also, try and 'trick' him into thinking he's on the left side. This is hard to explain without physically showing you so bear with me...... When he's feeding your left side, he's lying on his right arm. You want to try the 'football hold'....did you get any leaflets from hospital that may explain this? It's basically holding him under your right arm, with his body tucked up & around your ribs & his head reaching the nipple. He should be lying on HIS right side. This picture might help you - http://www.babycenter.com/0_positions-and-tips-for-making-breastfeeding-work_8784.bc Also about the dry mouth....is he dehydrated a little? He may need a bit more feeding? Is there air con on all the time in room he's in? The milk you hand express could be used to moisten his mouth before feeding as a dry mouth can make for an uncomfortable feeding experience. And finally, no you are not doing wrong in what you're doing! Ignore the snide comments! He's still getting all the breast milk, so what's the big deal which way he gets it? You may need to increase that pumping to more than once a day til you get a grasp of the football hold though, as you will only end up producing enough for one feed a day if you continue only pumping once. The body will supply enough milk as to what is demanded of it, if that's 10 feeds then it will produce enough for that, but if it's only one & you want to continue exclusively feeding you need to demand more from it to be able to supply it! You will not notice a difference immediately but over a few days it will build up Best of luck, hope this helps & all makes sense!!! :)

Try to get him to latch on the right side as well. Otherwise there might be a chance that your breasts are different sizes during the time you nurse. same happened to me. For some reason my first preferred the left side, or I found it easier to hold her to the left side - I don't remember which came first... in the end, although I got her eventually to take the right side, too, my left breast was always bigger than my right while I nursed. I am sure it has no impact on your baby"s health or yours, but just for your comfort it might be better to have both breasts used equally. I wouldn"t use any ointments or so in your newborns mouth unless prescribed by a doctor. why not use breastmilk on the dry areas of your baby"s mouth? It is supposed to be really soothing with cracked / sore nipples so it might be beneficial on newborns skin, too. Otherwise, just continue to feed your baby on your breast on demand and don"t listen to your mother in law,. If there are no health reasons from mother or child breast is better than any formula in the world, and unless you wish to introduce a bottle, the easiest and most convenient way to feed is directly from the source, no sterilizing,, no cleaning up , no fuss. As for the excess milk: that is normal in the early days, your body needs to adjust the milk production to your baby's needs. eventually it will produce just the right amount and you will not feel excessively engorged or leak that much anymore. If you are super uncomfortable in between feeds you could pump a little between feeds, but just enough to relieve the worst engorgement, otherwise your body will continue to produce more milk. Or you can relieve pressure with a warm shower - again, just enough to alleviate the worst engorgement. edited by Lilli34 on 29/04/2012 Edit to add: Sorry I misread the part about your mother in law. I understood she wanted you to quit nursing and give baby bottles. But in any way , you shouldn"t listen to her or feel bad. although I do think it would be better to try and get your baby to latch on both sides, until it is happening the best thing to do is pumping on the right side to keep the production up. Have you seen a lactation consultant? Does the hospital you delivered at have one? <em>edited by Lilli34 on 29/04/2012</em>