Breastfeeding questions

[NickyA]

Hi ladies,
I gave birth to my first baby almost 3 months ago. I did a high raw pregnancy which was AMAZING and had a completely natural hospital birth.
I have been breastfeeding only and would love to hear about your breastfeeding experiences:

How often do you feed?
How long each feed?
Do you let baby just suck?
Are there any raw foods/superfoods/supplements that you feel produce more/richer milk?
What are your bf menus like?
When did your babas start on solids? My baby already seems interested in mine and hubby's food. She loves watching me eat mangos and when hubby drinks young coconut water she loves smelling it and then licks her lips.

During the afternoon and evening, my baby seems to want to feed almost constantly, often even until midnight and then she'll sleep between 6-9 hours straight. That makes me wonder if I'm producing enough milk. She's gaining very well and has a very efficient digestive system. How do you know whether you're producing enough milk apart from baby's weight gain and diaper situation? I don't pump much, but when I do I seem to pump around 100ml in about 10-15 minutes from one side when breasts are full, less between feedings. I never want to pump between feedings because I'm worried that baby won't have enough at her next feed and I don't want to frustrate her.

Would love to hear from you!

Love,
Nicky

[margoss]

Mine was 6 weeks early so she was small. still BF. She nursed every hr for a long time. When they suddenly start nursing longer or more frequently, it's usually a growth spurt. Bottle fed babies would suddenly take more oz. It took me a while to realize she was using me as a pacifier. I don't think it's a good idea bc it will continue when they get older. I BF for 13 months, she quit then I pump for 5 more. Wasn't getting much so I quit. Wish I had continued bc 6oz bm is better than none. Didn't have much support including the peds once she was 12mo..time to quit & start cow's milk..no thanks. She was lactose intolerant in the hospital, don't think cm would be good. She never really had dairy except for small amts & they still want her to have it. I didn't introduce food for 6 months and that's bc she started grabbing in off of my plate! I made most of it. You can do your own juices & dilute them. Your brain produces the milk according to the times it's expressed from the body. When the nursings decrease, it will make less. pumping should not decerase amt, if anything it will make more. I'd do it again if I had baby. Glad you're doing it. It's good for all of you. Many are against it bc it's inconvenient but I think it's easier.

[NickyA]

Thanks for sharing Margo! BF is the best!

[Aleesha Sattva]

if your babe is gaining weight and thriving then that's the sign you are producing enough milk. babies love to nurse and often for extended periods of time. this will change with age and then they'll come back to nursing a lot again. ebb and flow.

trust your body and follow your intuition with eating. adding in spirulina, avocados, hemp and flax oils... is a good idea if you feel the need to. remember the more nutrition you take in the more your babe gets.

(((hugs to you and your babe)))

[Aleesha Sattva]

oh and your babe using you as a pacifier is part of what breastfeeding is all about. allow this... don't discourage it. :)

[lrpurro]

Hi NickyA,

Congratulations on your new baby!

You might want to check out this website:

http://www.kellymom.com/

it is a WONDERFUL site with an amazing amount of breastfeeding info all in one place!

I am a breastfeeding mother [currently of a 2 1/2 year old] and a lactation counselor. I am also trained as a midwife although I am not a practicing midwife. I will share the info I have as both a LC and a Mom!

Some thoughts on your specific questions:

It is completely normal for babies to nurse anywhere between constantly and 2-3 hours.

They might be quick nursers and "empty" [your breast are never actually completely empty] your breast in just a few minutes or they may be the type of baby that "savors" the nursing and take a L-O-N-G time, both are completely normal.

Breastfeeding, or nursing, is about much, MUCH more than just taking milk in. Children receive nutrition, security, attachment, comfort, and LOVE from their time at the breast.

Plenty of water, lots of greens and high quality oils or EFA rich foods like flax seeds/hemp seeds, etc. help with bountiful milk production.

Around 6 months is usually the earliest an exclusively breastfed infant should start food. Infants younger than that do not have the digestive maturity for other foods and their hunger should be satisfied with the complete nutrition of breastmilk.

"Cluster feeding" [those all-evening long nursing sessions you described] are COMPLETELY NORMAL.
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/fussy-evening.html
Some reasons can be: baby is tanking up for that long sleep session, biologically mom's milk flow may be slower in evening [prolactin levels are lower], or just plain fussy!

A nursing mother should NEVER try and determine how much milk she is producing by judging it on how much she pumps! Babies are more effective at removing milk [and stimulating more milk production!] than ANY PUMP can ever be. Rest assured that if your baby has appropriate weight gain and wet/poopy diapers-----he or she is receiving enough milk!

Pumping can be used to help increase milk production when baby is already nursing completely "on demand" and mom adds in a pumping session IN ADDITION to all of the nursing the baby is already doing :)

Also, it is possible that pumping can decrease milk output because it is simply because it is not as effective as a baby at removing milk from the breast. The removal of milk from the breast is what stimulate the body to up the production! When the breast is "empty" the continued sucking of a baby is what tells the body more is needed! Isn't it a great system?


Happy nursing and enjoy your new baby!

Lisa

[NickyA]

Wow Lisa you're AMAZING!!! Thank you so very much!

[Raw Hope]

Very informative thank you

[Anais]

I heard they should start solid foods once they have teeth to chew it. Our daughter had most of her front teeth at 10 months, which is when we started her on solids. Never had any problems with allergies or digestive problesm.

[Azaria]

I heard they should start solid foods once they have teeth to chew it.

Some babies seek out food before they have teeth, or some babies have teeth for ages before they express an interest. Each baby will know when they want to try out substances other than breastmilk and this will vary considerably. Then they might very well grow up to be an adult who, despite a mouthful of teeth, may choose to fast as well as eat ;)

[katchmoleen]

I wasn't raw while breastfeeding, but I can answer the other questions. I breastfed 6 children for over a year each,

I nursed my children when they wanted to. When they were tiny it was about every 1-3 hours. But there was usually an extended period in the evening when they were more fussy and wanted to nurse more often. This is VERY common. I learned just to keep them on one breast longer so they didn't get as much milk.

I let them feed till they were done.
I did learn once my milk was well established, to use one breast per feeding. This allows the baby more access to the rich hindmilk and they will be more satisfied and maybe go longer between feedings (MAYBE!).

I let them eat solid food when they fussed while trying to grab my own food. That let me know they were interested. Bananas and applesauce (raw) were always their first food.

If your baby is growing and pooping and peeing, you are producing enough milk. I always had trouble pumping, but I produced huge fat babies by nursing. Our baby feeding equipment is fearfully and wonderfully made! Have fun feeding that baby. I loved nursing my babies and now my youngest is 8 and my nursing days are long gone (I still can't believe it sometimes).

[twinyoga]

I just woke up and ran to the computer to post a thread on breast feeding and saw this thread. Great advice! I'm still going to post a thread but I just wanted to say I love this support.

[coco]

Little man nursed as much as I would let him. He NEVER wanted to let go! Little girl will suck in her sleep but switches to her thumb when I feel that her drinking has morphed into suckling and I detach. They are all so different, there is no "normal".

Babies are good with just breastmilk until between 6 and 12 months, it totally depends on the baby. There are readiness markers like being able to sit unassisted, grasping food and bringing it to the mouth, loss of the tongue thrust reflex etc. I didn't give food daily to small man until he was 1 year, with the girl there were more tastes earlier but still nothing by mouth except breastmilk (and I do mean nothing, not even water) until after 6 months. And I avoided starchy foods like avo and banana until after 1 year when the digestive enzymes for starch have developed. I know those are "recommended" first foods but so is rice .

[rawbabymama]

How often do you feed?

I fed him whenever he was hungry, which was nearly continuously the first few months, and I coslept, so he drank milk freely while we were sleeping.

How long each feed?

Until he was done. He would fall asleep or. later, start to play and lose the latch, so I knew he was finished.

Do you let baby just suck?

Um...yes.

Are there any raw foods/superfoods/supplements that you feel produce more/richer milk?

Kale increased my flow, garlic was lovely and I craved it. I drank enough water...big difference when I didn't. Essential fatty acids are very important - you want a source of Omega 3's in your diet. I used flax oil instead of olive oil much of the time.

What are your bf menus like?

When 100% raw: I ate 2-3 huge green salads per day, figs, nuts, seeds...a handful of each usually, one or more avocados, etc. I just made sure I had enough nutrients, and went by hunger after.


When did your babas start on solids?

He ate 1/3 of an avocado at 3 or 4 months of age. After that, he like very thin pieces of dulse and chewed up veggies, little sips of smoothies...no more than 5% of his diet was non-breastmilk food before one year.

I was 100% raw the first 4 months and 80%-100% thereafter . I breastfed for 3 1/2 years, child led weaning, and he was always at 95%- 100% for height & weight, from about 6 weeks onward (was born at 50%; his father and I are 6'3" and 5'10", respectively).

[LotsaRaw]

When you were breastfeeding - how old was your little one when you two stopped?

I am a huge fan of BF - for little ones under about the age of 3 - but my niece is 4 1/2 - and still gets BF, and I have my concerns about her attachment to my sister and her social development. I have seen shows on TV where kids up to age 7 are still BF, but I just shake my head.

Of course I don't nag her or anything like that - but Mom & I do voice our concerns to each other.

Help!