Your Questions Answered on Breastfeeding!

Amy Spangler

How can I get my daughter to accept the breast at all feedings?

My 5 week old has had latch on problems from day one.  I started pumping on day three to maintain my milk supply, mainly as "insurance pumping," so that I could eventually establish a breastfeeding relationship.

Amanda is at the point now when she nurses when she feels like it, about once a day usually at her 5 a.m. feeding.  For the rest of her feedings she will reject the breast in favor of the bottle.  I am using Avent bottles.  Also, when she does nurse she will only nurse on my left side - she consistently rejects the right (the nipples are so different they may as well belong to two different women).

The pumping is a lot of work and this is not how is imagined my breastfeeding experience.  How can I get Amanda to accept the breast at all her feedings, instead of just one?  Also, any suggestions on getting her nursing on the right?





First of all, congratulations for your patience and persistence. Amanda is lucky to have such a wonderful mother!  Most women have breasts and/or nipples that are different sizes and many babies develop a preference for one breast.

Because Amanda is accustomed to a bottle you will need to transition her to the breast using a nipple shield or a nursing supplementer.  Because breastfeeding devices should only be used with supervision, you will need to contact a certified lactation consultant (IBCLC) in your area for assistance.  Amanda may breastfeed readily with the nipple shield since she is accustomed to the bottle nipple. You may need to pump your breasts before you begin each feeding to initiate a let-down so that milk is readily available to Amanda when she comes to the breast.

I have also found that if you start a feeding on the breast the baby will accept and then slide her across to the opposite breast after a let-down occurs, you may trick her into thinking she is on the original breast. Good luck!

Husband nursing is part of lovemaking - is this OK? 

When my husband and I finally had the time and energy for romance after my baby's birth, I leaked quite a bit at first, especially during orgasm. To my surprise my husband didn't find it a turn off - he liked it so much that his nursing my milk is a now part of our love making on a regular basis.  I don't know how common an issue this for others but I wondered if there was any reason to keep him from nursing my milk during sex if my milk supply is plentiful and my daughter is gaining weight and healthy?  I wonder about transmission of germs from him to my nipples to the baby being a possibility (I always wash before I nurse her again).





How refreshing to find a couple that are so comfortable with one another! There is no reason for your husband not to nurse at your breast as long as your milk supply is plentiful and your daughter is gaining well.  As for your concerns about germs, any germs your husband has, both you and your daughter have been exposed to already.  In addition, your breastmilk provides protection for germs that are specific to your surroundings. You can wash after sex and before you breastfeed your daughter but it isn't necessary.

Can my baby re-learn a proper latch-on?

My baby always makes these smacking sounds when she's at the breast, and it doesn't seem like she's getting a good latch.  I try not to accept these latches but she seems to do it consistently.  It wouldn't be a problem, but sometimes I don't feel like my breast is being drained completely, and she also ends up swallowing a lot of air. Why does she do this? Is there anything I can do to help her re-learn her latch on?





Some babies are noisy when they breastfeed, but the smacking sound you describe could indicate a poor latch.  It would be helpful if a knowledgeable health care provider (nurse, doctor, lactation consultant) could observe Ayla at the breast.  In the meantime, you can use your breast nipples as a guide.  The nipple should look the same before and after you breastfeed - smooth and round (not creased).  If your nipple is creased, the baby's latch is too shallow.  Make certain Ayla is on her side or sitting up facing the breast.  The football hold can make latch-on easier.  Wait for her to open wide, like a yawn, then quickly place her on the breast.  When she is positioned well, her nose, cheeks, and chin will touch the breast and her lips will roll out like a fish!  You can go to the corner of her mouth and roll her lower lip and upper lip out in an effort to deepen the latch.  Keep her snug against the breast.

Can I eliminate the nighttime feeding?

My 7-month-old baby has suspected GER and was nursing every two hours round the clock.  I have had to be dairy free as we suspect a milk allergy because of blood in his stool when I drank milk.  He refused solids until just recently and will not take soy milk in a bottle or eat cereal mixed with it. He now eats 2-3 oz of carrots, sweet potatoes, bananas or pears twice a day, and occasionally will tolerate some cereal mixed with fruit.  Is it unreasonable to delete his nighttime feedings?  I have tapered them from every 2 hours at night to every 4 hours, but he still wakes up and cries at 2 hour intervals after the first feeding, even though I haven't been feeding him at these wakings if 4 hours has not passed.  Is he getting enough food and nutrition if I feed him on demand during the day with only the minimal amount of solids?





If Joshua feeds on "demand," I like to say "request," during the day, you can decrease the number of nighttime feedings.  But know that some babies will not request to eat as often as they should, so you will need to watch his weight gain/loss to be certain he is getting enough to eat.  In the event his weight gain falters you may need to offer solid foods three times a day rather than twice and increase the number of breastfeedings by 1-2.

Source of breastfeeding information

I am preparing a quiz entitled "How Much Do You Know About Human Milk and Human Milk Substitutes," using multiple choice and true/false questions.  I intend to submit it to my local paper for World Breastfeeding Week, as a "gift" from the coalition
for breastfeeding of which I am a member.  I want to make sure I know the sources for everything I use, and I can't remember where I read that the closest mammalian milks to human milk are pigs' and otters'. Do you know where this is?  It may be in "Breastfeeding: Biocultural Perspectives," but I can't find the reference.  Thank you! (BTW, I think your book is great.)





What a wonderful idea! The comparative information that I am familiar with appears in Breastfeeding A Guide for the Medical Profession by Ruth Lawrence and was taken from the Pediatric Clinics of North America, 1977.  It compares the composition of milks of different mammals and the growth rates of their offspring. I did not see any information on pigs or otters, only horses, cows, reindeer, goats, sheep, and rats!  A separate table compares lactose concentration with human milk being most like that of the horse.

I'm delighted to hear that you like my book!




 

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