https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 12 Apr 2026 17:26:41 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2818102 Tue, 24 Apr 2018 00:16:15 +0000 mrsbubbletea 2818102@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@periwinklebee: such great news :heart: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2818090 Mon, 23 Apr 2018 21:09:42 +0000 periwinklebee 2818090@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@SweetiePie: Thanks! There's only one medical group that we are allowed to use, but we are switching to a different nearby office. I kind of doubt it will be dramatically better - I think most pediatricians are just not that knowledgable about breastfeeding even if they try to sell their practice that way - but we haven't been overly pleased in general so might as well see if we like the other office better. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2818088 Mon, 23 Apr 2018 20:59:51 +0000 SweetiePie 2818088@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@periwinklebee: great update! So happy to hear.<br /> Curious if you will stay with your pediatrician? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2818084 Mon, 23 Apr 2018 20:21:05 +0000 periwinklebee 2818084@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Iced Tea: Thank you - it is such a relief, things were feeling pretty unsustainable before... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2818053 Mon, 23 Apr 2018 18:42:46 +0000 Iced Tea 2818053@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@periwinklebee: That’s so great! I’m thrilled that you’re feeling so much better. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2818029 Mon, 23 Apr 2018 16:48:40 +0000 periwinklebee 2818029@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@gingerbebe: @DesertDreams88: Thank you!</p> <p>@snarkybiochemist: I'm looking forward to solids, and not so much to teething :silly: I hope E feels better soon, and that the solids make up for some of the discomfort </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2817975 Mon, 23 Apr 2018 13:22:55 +0000 DesertDreams88 2817975@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@periwinklebee: yay!!! So glad things are better. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2817957 Mon, 23 Apr 2018 12:29:27 +0000 snarkybiochemist 2817957@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Good E has just started solids which is fun, she is teething which is a little less fun </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2817950 Mon, 23 Apr 2018 12:17:39 +0000 periwinklebee 2817950@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@snarkybiochemist: Thank you :heart: How are things going for you? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2817929 Mon, 23 Apr 2018 11:46:00 +0000 snarkybiochemist 2817929@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@periwinklebee: Awesome update, so happy for you guys </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2817904 Mon, 23 Apr 2018 10:42:48 +0000 gingerbebe 2817904@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@periwinklebee: Yay!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2817899 Mon, 23 Apr 2018 10:34:49 +0000 periwinklebee 2817899@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I just wanted to give another update that we've seen night and day improvements since clipping my LO's tongue tie about two and a half weeks ago. His weight gain has been great, he took twice as much in a weighted feed (at the same time of day) in less time then he did before, and i haven't had a clogged duct in 2 weeks. I think he's more comfortable now too - perhaps gas and reflux are improving as a result of a more effective latch - because he's been such a happy, smiley baby. I feel physically much, much better, and think I may have been battling a persistent infection from all the clogs before. As I've mentioned, the pediatrician's office dismissed our concerns, but it's clear in our case that this was causing major issues - the latch feels completely different and so much more effective now. I know there will probably be other challenges along the way, but Im so happy that breastfeeding is feeling more feasible now. :grin: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2815298 Mon, 09 Apr 2018 17:40:44 +0000 periwinklebee 2815298@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrsbubbletea: :shocked: I tell my husband he better just get used to us all being sick all the time, he's not happy about it :silly: </p> <p>@snarkybiochemist: thank you! it sounds like she has an awesome immune system! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2815294 Mon, 09 Apr 2018 17:16:08 +0000 snarkybiochemist 2815294@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@periwinklebee: 5 months old and 2 months at daycare. It could be a lot worse </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2815293 Mon, 09 Apr 2018 17:08:55 +0000 mrsbubbletea 2815293@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@periwinklebee: so glad it sounds like a lot of little steps in the right direction! Awesome. My daughter has had like 8 colds so far! And she’s not even in daycare. But it’s preschool germs passed on from her big bro </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2815289 Mon, 09 Apr 2018 16:57:56 +0000 periwinklebee 2815289@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@snarkybiochemist: she's around 5 months now, right, so in daycare a couple of months? That doesn't seem horrible... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2815284 Mon, 09 Apr 2018 16:40:49 +0000 snarkybiochemist 2815284@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@periwinklebee: 2 colds 1 at 6 weeks before daycare that my husband gave her and one at 14 weeks after being at daycare for 2 weeks. She is generally more congested but not really sick but she is also starting teething so I'm not sure what's causing all of her congestion now. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2815283 Mon, 09 Apr 2018 16:35:20 +0000 periwinklebee 2815283@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@snarkybiochemist: ugh, how often has she gotten sick? Google told me to expect kids in daycare to get sick every two weeks for the first year, and given that a cold often lasts a little more than a week, not a happy thought...Both DH and I have it and think it's pretty bad - poor baby, though he seems much less upset by it than I would have expected. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2815279 Mon, 09 Apr 2018 16:09:29 +0000 snarkybiochemist 2815279@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@periwinklebee: moving in the right direction is good. Baby colds are the worst, when E had her first one she barely at all so I wish you luck with feeding during this time. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2815266 Mon, 09 Apr 2018 15:21:26 +0000 periwinklebee 2815266@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@snarkybiochemist: @mrsbubbletea: Thank you all - you guys are the best :heart: </p> <p>I'm hoping that we're moving in the right direction, I'm feeling him sometimes get a better latch - and he's much less like to slide off of it - though he is often still not latching great. I think there will be a relearning and strengthening process, and he has his first cold (which he also passed to me), so probably not the best time to learn. In an attempt to avoid clogs, I pumped after every daytime feeding session this weekend (ugh). I was typically getting one to two ounces out (after feedings where he would end frustrated, wanting more, and we'd top him off with a bottle). So there's definitely still aways to go, but hopefully we'll get there. The spectra does seem to be helping with the clogged ducts, now getting them every few days instead of every day, and knock on wood they've been smaller and much easier to get out, though it's a huge time commitment, as I'm also doing a bunch of massaging and compressions during pumping. Right now it feels like we really can't leave the house - or have people over - when every feeding session involves a long time at the breast, then pumping, and a top up. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2815111 Sun, 08 Apr 2018 21:30:40 +0000 mrsbubbletea 2815111@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@periwinklebee: I just saw you got the tie clipped! I hope things are getting better and baby boy is improving s little bit. I am still so amazed by your dedication and strength! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2815096 Sun, 08 Apr 2018 20:05:46 +0000 snarkybiochemist 2815096@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@periwinklebee: how is it going? Is your guy eating faster?<br /> Pumping full time sucks but it does mean you know exactly how much they are eating. Don't get too sucked into the numbers game of pumping and allow yourself to do what works best for you and him. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2814689 Fri, 06 Apr 2018 06:52:44 +0000 periwinklebee 2814689@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I wanted to give an update. </p> <p>Yesterday we had LO's tongue tie corrected by a pediatric dentist. From looking at pictures online, it was pretty obvious to us that he had a tongue tie, and the dentist agreed that he had a very clear tongue tie. I spent too much of my week on the phone with the medical group that provides our pediatric care trying to get a referral to an ENT. to correct it, which would have been covered by our insurance. In the end, the best they would do is to provide a referral to an ENT in the same medical group, who could not get us in for nearly two months. We chose to go to a dentist because they have a clearly posted price, whereas I could not get blue cross/blue shield to give me a timely estimate of what it would cost to see an ENT without a referral. The mouth is apparently one of the main contested areas of the body, with dentists and ENTs having strong and opposing views about who is the most qualified to address issues beyond the routine dental stuff that may arise :silly: </p> <p>The dentist said he would get quite fatigued eating for the first few days while trying to develop new muscles in his tongue but should adjust well within a week. So far this has been true for us, though the latch already feels somewhat different. We have to do stretches and PT exercises four times a day for a month to keep the tissue from reattaching and to strengthen the area. </p> <p>I initially didn't think tongue tie because the latch looked good from the outside and everyone told me he had a great latch. When I did ask at the pediatrician's office about it, I was told by the lactation consultant there that he did not have a tongue tie because he can stick his tongue outside his mouth. Neither of these things are true, the dentist told me that the look of the latch from the outside is more determined by range of motion of the lips than the tongue. All common symptoms that we should have noticed: sliding on and off easily/not staying latched on if I moved even slightly, wanting to cluster feed all day and night, slow eater, needing me to do lots of compressions to take a fuller feed, noisy eater with lots of gulping air, reflux, and clogs and mastitis for me. </p> <p>I've been using the spectra and my output has been slowly but steadily increasing with it. I think to prevent clogged ducts at this point I would need to pump after every single feed since he never empties me out. I pump as much as I can, though it's not always practical when it takes him an hour to eat and then he often needs to be topped up with a bottle afterwards - I literally spend pretty much my whole day dealing with breastfeeding. But they are a little less common and have resolved much more quickly since I switched from medala to spectra. </p> <p>I'm hoping that we'll see improvements in the efficiency of feeding before I start back to work full time in two and a half weeks. If not I'm worried that for feasibility we'll need to switch to exclusive pumping, which I'd prefer not to do, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2813806 Mon, 02 Apr 2018 19:45:23 +0000 MrsSRS 2813806@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>That clogs and dairy being related theory is interesting. My first baby had mspi so I was off dairy and had no clogs. Second baby I ate tons of dairy and had clogs until I went on a ton of lecithin. Like, popping handfuls of those horse pills. I'd never considered a dietary culprit...interesting. Good luck!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2813364 Sat, 31 Mar 2018 14:43:18 +0000 periwinklebee 2813364@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@nana87: ugh, this sounds really stressful, and having a good lactation consultant is so important, I'm sorry you had a bad experience but it is encouraging that it ultimately worked out to nurse as long as you did!</p> <p>@LemonJack: That's awesome and very encouraging that it helped! </p> <p>I'm really, really holding my breath on this one, as it's been another not great day with feeding... after getting a painful clog out yesterday, I had another one form overnight that is just getting worse, and spent the better part of the day nursing and massaging (ouch), then pumping after each session and supplementing him with the pumped milk. We got in with the ENT we wanted to see on Tuesday b/c she had a cancellation - the pediatrician agreed he should see an ENT but their policy is to refer to an ENT in their same medical practice, who the lactation consultant warned us against based on negative experiences of her other clients. I sent a request to the practice's referral office and am just holding my breath it will go through... It really annoys me because the ENT I want to see is in-network for insurance but just doesn't happen to be in the same group as the pediatrician... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2813341 Sat, 31 Mar 2018 12:33:55 +0000 LemonJack 2813341@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I’m another one chiming in about tongue ties. After our first DD was born a nurse said she had a minor tongue tie. Our doctor said correction was up to us. We waited a couple of weeks, but nursing was horrible! We had it clipped and it really did help. She had to learn to relatch, and nursing was still painful for quite awhile, but it did get better and I ended up nursing her over a year.</p> <p>We had DD2 checked in the hospital and she didn’t have a tongue tie. Nursing with her was so much easier. She was able to latch well.</p> <p>You’re doing a great job! Breastfeeding is so, so hard! If you need to supplement or switch it’s not the end of the world, but I totally understand the disappointment. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2813333 Sat, 31 Mar 2018 12:13:49 +0000 nana87 2813333@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Oh bee this is so hard! You are such a champ for working so hard at this!</p> <p>I had a rough time with nursing my first. I had mastitis around 6 weeks and it just tanked my supply, I think, and at her 2 month wellbaby visit we found out she had fallen off the growth chart (she was born at 3rd percentile). I saw the worlds meanest lc who was super discouraging, and started combo feeding. Lo1’s weight picked up at she’s been around 25th percentile since. We combo fed til 1 when we dropped formula for wcm. I kept nursing her til 22 months. Lo2 has been way easier! Still nursing now at 13.5m </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2813305 Sat, 31 Mar 2018 07:11:46 +0000 periwinklebee 2813305@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@bees_knees: Thank you - this is super interesting. My son makes all sort of gulping and gasping noises at the breast and likewise has really bad gas and reflux. I thought it might be dairy causing the gas so I tried cutting it for about a month, then after I had mastitis and the antibiotic totally screwed up my GI, I started eating yogurt again. I read somewhere that you can prevent clogs by cutting saturated fat, which apparently makes the milk thinner (and dairy can have saturated fat I think) but IDK, maybe it's worth a try. It's really encouraging that this made a huge difference for you. </p> <p>@looch: wow, that's crazy! One of the tests the IBCLC did was side to side, and my LO scored particularly poorly on that. She said that the latch can look good if side to side movement is a problem so it is often not considered. I know that as a baby I wanted to be on the breast all the time and was never satisfied - and later had to be in speech therapy for a couple of years - so I wonder if I had an undiagnosed tongue tie and my son gets it from me... I'm really glad you were finally able to figure things out, but sorry you had to go through so much first :sad: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2813296 Sat, 31 Mar 2018 06:38:25 +0000 looch 2813296@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@periwinklebee: My son had an undiagnosed tongue tie, but not the traditional one that they test with the thrust out, he had really thick muscles that prohibited side to side movement. It was finally diagnosed when he was 6, you read that right, and he had release surgery last year. I am convinced that if the hospital he was born in had checked for that, we would have been able to nurse and he wouldn't have needed 3 years of speech therapy. Good luck to you. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-struggled-with-breastfeeding-at-first/page/2#post-2813273 Fri, 30 Mar 2018 22:48:50 +0000 bees_knees 2813273@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@periwinklebee: I just skimmed the replies so sorry if any of this is repeat info or not applicable. </p> <p>I got clogs all. the. time. with DS1–he ended up having MSPI and after I cut out dairy I didn’t get a single one! Interestingly, I also feel much better when I don’t eat dairy (but only have the willpower to do so when it’s for a LO :silly: ) so I wonder if I have some sort of intolerance that was causing minor inflammation and therefore the clogged ducts? I dunno. DS2 and DS3 were/are also MSPI so I haven’t had dairy in 3 of the last 4 years—and no more clogs!</p> <p>Also, DS3 is about the same age as your DS (I think? 9 weeks) and he had a tongue tie release at 5.5 weeks old. Tongue tie wasn’t even on my radar at first because he was gaining weight really well and nursing wasn’t uncomfortable for me—but he had AWFUL gas and reflux and it was totally due to his crappy latch and taking in too much air. We had an ENT do the release and it was an awful 5 min procedure but made a WORLD of difference—he’s like a new baby!! Feel free to wall me with any questions! :) </p>