I'm going to look into joining a La Leche league around here. I thought I would write to you guys since you guys are experienced in breastfeeding by now. I'm having issues with Isabella's sleep schedule and feedings times just since Sunday and I'm not sure why.
I've been using the lansinoh cream for my breasts and it helps ease the initial pain when she latches on.It had been very painful last week and then got better last weekend when I shortened the breast time and now it's back to hurting again. As for the baby, she's been really fussy this week. It all actually started when I started feeding only 15 mins on both sides (as the pediatrician and nurse suggested) , instead of 30. I'm not sure if that's the reason she's been fussy though. I ate Mexican food too on Sunday and Tuesday so maybe that's a part of the problem. All I know is that she doesn't want to sleep long at all and wants to eat every two hours, if not sooner! My boobs can't handle that demand. They get too sore, so we've been supplementing with formula every now and then. I tried pumping, but I don't get much at all. After ten-fifteen minutes,I only pumped like 3 quarters of an ounce. Maybe I need to keep pumping to get my boobs used to it.
What do you think the problem is? I try to put her down to sleep and she cries like five minutes later or she sleeps for a half hour and is hungry again. Maybe she's not getting enough in the fifteen minutes? I know books say not to watch the clock, but I want to make sure she has equal time on both sides. I don't "watch" the clock in terms of when to feed, cuz she gets hungry veryyy often. I have to feed her when she wants to be fed and I do look at the clock to see how long it's been, but I don't put the feedings on hold b/c it's too soon. My sister-n-law said to feed until my boobs get soft b/c then you know your milk is gone. What do you think? She also suggested using nipple shields to help ease the pain. It is a bit painful when she latches on, but it's only for like three seconds. After that, I don't feel any pain. I can keep her on my breast for a while if I had to, which wasn't the case last week when I was on the verge of crying b/c it hurt so much to breastfeed.
Just at 6:45 tonight I fed her 15 mins on both sides and put her to sleep afterwards. She wouldn't go down to sleep and Kieran's mom had to rock her to sleep. She was hungry again at 8:20, which isn't even two hours from the time I started. Maybe she's just hitting a growth spurt, but I wish I really knew. I'm going to try to nurse longer, using a nipple shield towards the end. I just know that if I do nurse every time she's hungry (recently), I'll be back to square one with my nipples in agony and me on the verge of crying.
Well, let me know what you guys think I should do. I'm going to call a lactation consultant too to get some more advice.
Have a good day!
Patsy
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