I just really need to vent.
My daughter was doing amazing for the first two weeks. Great sleep. Great demeanor. Short feeds (like only ever one boob at a time, and chugging so would stop around 4-5min before going to sleep) but gaining perfectly.
I was worried about the short feeds, so kept seeing lactation in case she was dropping weight. She wasn’t, despite only being on the boob about 2hrs a day at most. She just needed to be burped A LOT. No tongue tie. Great looking stool. So we figured things were ok and maybe the issue was just overproduction. I was told to block feed and lean back with a cross cradle hold to help control let down.
She’s 6 weeks now and has only gained 18 oz in 26 days. She went from 35th to 15th percentile. I started panicking, pediatrician wasn’t super concerned yet but she’s been even fussier at the breast despite all the advice from lactation. Some days I can only get her on the boob for an hour at most. She just screams at it most of the time. It’s becoming really freaking hard.
I cut out dairy, soy, egg and nuts. Dairy & soy due to poor weight gain (recommended by lactation despite the fact that her stool looks pretty good most days). We had one green mucus diaper w/ blood and food journaling made it seem like egg was the issue. Oats and nuts were from linked vomiting episodes. Both resolved with cutting the foods.
I’m still not sure about the food allergies. My son did have several and his stool was very clearly affected unlike hers. Lots of bloody, mucousy green diapers. He never had issues with gaining and was the exact opposite at the breast. He never wanted to be away from it or stop nursing due to the protein allergies. He was nursing for 8-9 hours total on the bad days of reactivity, 4-5 on the good days where he was recovered.
I’m going to work with a feeding specialist next week, an allergist the following and have an apt with G.I. but it’s not till January. I’m going back to lactation next week, too. But wow. I’m super freaking overwhelmed right now. I don’t want my daughter to fall into the failure to thrive and I don’t want to give up breastfeeding. Especially if she does have protein allergies, because formula is still experiencing shortages and it’s expensive AF. I’m a SAHM. I should be able to do this. My son nursed till 22months! I feel like I’m failing.
My supply is great. I’m now trying to offer both breasts but most of the time she just isn’t interested. We’re doing a little better with feeding for longer sometimes, but I’m still worried. I don’t want to keep trying if it’s going to hurt her to not switch to formula.. but I don’t understand what’s going on? Why isn’t this working when I have a good supply and I’m cutting out foods? There’s no tie? I’m just confused and upset. This is so much harder than it was with my son!
My daughter was doing amazing for the first two weeks. Great sleep. Great demeanor. Short feeds (like only ever one boob at a time, and chugging so would stop around 4-5min before going to sleep) but gaining perfectly.
I was worried about the short feeds, so kept seeing lactation in case she was dropping weight. She wasn’t, despite only being on the boob about 2hrs a day at most. She just needed to be burped A LOT. No tongue tie. Great looking stool. So we figured things were ok and maybe the issue was just overproduction. I was told to block feed and lean back with a cross cradle hold to help control let down.
She’s 6 weeks now and has only gained 18 oz in 26 days. She went from 35th to 15th percentile. I started panicking, pediatrician wasn’t super concerned yet but she’s been even fussier at the breast despite all the advice from lactation. Some days I can only get her on the boob for an hour at most. She just screams at it most of the time. It’s becoming really freaking hard.
I cut out dairy, soy, egg and nuts. Dairy & soy due to poor weight gain (recommended by lactation despite the fact that her stool looks pretty good most days). We had one green mucus diaper w/ blood and food journaling made it seem like egg was the issue. Oats and nuts were from linked vomiting episodes. Both resolved with cutting the foods.
I’m still not sure about the food allergies. My son did have several and his stool was very clearly affected unlike hers. Lots of bloody, mucousy green diapers. He never had issues with gaining and was the exact opposite at the breast. He never wanted to be away from it or stop nursing due to the protein allergies. He was nursing for 8-9 hours total on the bad days of reactivity, 4-5 on the good days where he was recovered.
I’m going to work with a feeding specialist next week, an allergist the following and have an apt with G.I. but it’s not till January. I’m going back to lactation next week, too. But wow. I’m super freaking overwhelmed right now. I don’t want my daughter to fall into the failure to thrive and I don’t want to give up breastfeeding. Especially if she does have protein allergies, because formula is still experiencing shortages and it’s expensive AF. I’m a SAHM. I should be able to do this. My son nursed till 22months! I feel like I’m failing.
My supply is great. I’m now trying to offer both breasts but most of the time she just isn’t interested. We’re doing a little better with feeding for longer sometimes, but I’m still worried. I don’t want to keep trying if it’s going to hurt her to not switch to formula.. but I don’t understand what’s going on? Why isn’t this working when I have a good supply and I’m cutting out foods? There’s no tie? I’m just confused and upset. This is so much harder than it was with my son!
