Chandler, Arizona
Sweet Pea ​Births
Sweet Pea ​Births
...celebrating every swee​t pea their birth
...celebrating every swee​t pea their birth
Blog
In Their Own Words: Kelly
Posted on August 9, 2013 at 9:22 AM |
![]() |
Overcoming Breastfeeding Challenges
Posted on March 23, 2012 at 7:01 PM |
![]() |
I also want to put my Bradley Method® teacher hat on and
state each family needs to evaluate their situation and decide which path is
right for them. This is not a judgment
on parents who choose to formula-feed – they have their reasons and that
decision is right for them. My goal with
this post is to encourage the families who want to breastfeed because that is
the choice for their family, and let them know that other people have been in a
tough place and made the choice work for them. These are examples taken from our last two classes in Fall
2011 and Winter 2011-12. I also have examples
of working moms for you to take inspiration from – you can read their stories here and here. Mom 1: Mom showed
signs of pre-eclampsia and was having gall bladder issues. At their doctor’s advice, they decided to
head in for an induction at 38 weeks since mom’s blood pressure kept climbing
higher and higher. They had an emergency
cesarean section when the induction sent both mom and baby into distress. Baby was born at 5 pounds, 3 ounces – not bad
for a pre-term baby, yet still pretty small.
Mom started nursing in the hospital, and the staff insisted they
supplement with formula since they felt he was loosing too much weight. It soon
became apparent that Baby wasn’t getting enough either way since he lost too
much of his birth weight and didn’t gain it back within the first ten days of
his life. They finally got baby’s weight
back to an acceptable level so they could cut out the formula. It seems like maybe the issue is a tongue-tie
– they’ve been to four lactation consultants and one pediatrician so far with
no definitive answer…yet another appointment is on their schedule to see if
they can get the information/help they need to get baby latching properly. Guess what? At the
time of writing this post, Baby is seven weeks old…mom knows he isn’t getting
enough at the breast, yet she has committed to giving him breastmilk. She is pumping and bottle-feeding and this
kiddo is thriving. He is weighs over
eight pounds now and is just as chunky as can be.
I think the secret to her success is her attitude. She calls her pump her best friend. Mom 2: This Mom went
into pre-term labor at 35 weeks and five hours later she was holding a 3 pound,
12-ounce bundle of joy. Being so little
and so early, he did not have a strong sucking reflex. Because he was small,
he was in NICU for observation and parents were very limited on the time Mom
could hold him and attempt breastfeeding. The staff mentioned it was
highly likely supplementing with formula would be insisted on, depending on
breastfeeding/pumping results. Despite
the “no pressure, but” attitude, mom nursed, and then she pumped and was able
to produce enough colostrum and then breastmilk for baby during their extended
hospital stay. No formula necessary! The parents found out Baby was
tongue tied when he was 3 weeks old (after a lactation consultation) and had it
fixed at 4 weeks. In order to ensure baby
was getting enough calories until the procedure, Mom continued to supplement
breastfeeding sessions with bottle-feedings of pumped milk. At four weeks old,
Mom reported Baby was up to 5 pounds, 11 ounces. Since then, he has had his tongue-tie
procedure and Mom reports his latch is already much improved. Today’s update: he
is now 5 weeks old and weighs 6 pounds 1/2 ounce!
There are some residual latch issues as baby re-learns to nurse…yet mom
is keeping up a positive attitude and is working on getting Baby exclusively
breastfed. Mom 3: This Mom
attended our classes while pregnant with Baby 2. With her first child, she visited 5 different
lactation consultants for help. The
fifth one was the charm – and she and her daughter ended up having the
breastfeeding relationship they wanted; even what some people would consider an
“extended” nursing – daughter was nursed until she was two years old. Fast forward to this birth:
Baby seemed to be nursing vigorously in the hospital, but the scale told
a different story. Mom was incredulous
that she was going to have to do this the hard way again. With this baby, it has been a nipple fit
issue – and I learned something new. We
teach in class that it is possible for women with different sized breasts
and/or nipples to feed their babies. I
didn’t know it meant sometimes that means feeding with a bottle until the
baby’s mouth is big enough to take the breast into the mouth and be able to
nurse efficiently. From Mom: “My actual nipple is too big for his mouth to latch on properly
to - lovely. The even more ironic part is that my nipples are flat and inverted so outside
of nursing I never even really have nipples and then when I need them for what
God created them for and they have to exvert - they are too big!! Aaagghhh, we are hanging in there though and
little guy has gained over 3 pounds of all breastmilk so I am truly thankful I
have been able to feed him still. Although, it's not the perfect experience I
was hoping for, I am still hopeful and each day he is doing a little
better!” There is also a suspected tongue-tie with Baby; so Mom is
investigating that possibility as well.
To bring it back to the topic, Baby is almost five weeks old, and mom
has found success nursing in the side-lying position and supplemented with
breastmilk bottle-feeding to keep Baby growing and thriving. Mom 4: This is mom
with two kiddos at home (4 yrs. old and 2 yrs. old) plus a newborn. Baby is one week, five days old at the time
of this post. From Mom: “Breastfeeding started out strong, with a few clicks during a
feed but no problems. By day two, the
problems with her latch and suck started to show themselves in the form of
stripping my nipples. By day three, Thursday, it was apparent she was not
getting enough, a fact that was confirmed by a scale during a visit with the
lactation consultant. I started finger feeds Thursday night because she
wasn't getting enough at the breast and I was in excruciating pain. If either factor had not existed, I would
have persevered. Saturday night, it was after 9pm and I still hadn't had
dinner, so I gave [Coach] a bottle to feed [Baby]. She took pretty well
to it. It took her another day before she'd take a bottle from me.
She had problems with it flowing too fast, despite the preemie nipple,
but there was less waste, so I switched entirely to bottles. By Monday or
Tuesday the clicking was a regular occurrence on the bottle. Each day has
shown a steady decline in her ability to eat from the bottle. Some
sessions result in only a tiny fraction of an ounce of milk consumed.
Today, Friday, day 10, we took her to get her tongue tie clipped.
We did not know that the doctor changed his policy and no longer does the
clips on the same day as the consult. We are happy to note she is back at her birth weight (she never
lost much, really, even less than many properly-fed babies), but given her
difficulties on the bottle, I feel I need to switch back to finger feeding.
Every day that passes increases the risk that she won't breastfeed.
Not only is the stress of this risking my milk supply, but the whole
pumping-feeding process is taking away from her and my other children.” Going through this experience plus mothering her two other
children – it has opened my eyes to what a mom is really capable of doing if
she sets her mind to it. Thank you Mamas, for helping me to write this post. I am grateful that you are willing to share
your stories with other families who are seeking encouragement out on the Internet. All of these mamas are my heroines. They have committed to pumping their breasts,
and then washing and sterilizing their equipment and their feeding
systems. It is a major undertaking to do
this several times a day. If you are having challenges breastfeeding, take heart that
it can be done. I definitely encourage
you to read the IBCLC blog post on what
to do when breastfeeding isn’t working out.
You can also take heart in these stories – you are not alone. There are other families out there making the
choice to provide their babies with Mom’s breastmilk the hard way. It is my fervent prayer that all mothers who
want to feed their babies breastmilk will be able to find a path to do so
joyfully, and from their breast if at all possible. No matter how you
deliver the breastmilk, your growing baby is the best reward for the time
and the effort. In the time period when
our children were exclusively breastfed, it was awesome and humbling to see them
growing and thriving on my milk. If that
is what you want to do, I wish the best breastfeeding relationship possible for
you, too. Do you have a breastfeeding challenge that you overcame? Please share your story with us. Programming note: Debbie Gillespie, IBCLC, RLC, will be back next month for another installment in her Breastfeeding 101 series. To see her other blog posts, click the Breastfeeding 101 blog topic link. Disclaimer: The
material included on this site is for informational purposes only. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. The reader should always consult her or his healthcare provider to determine the appropriateness of the information for their own situation. Krystyna and Bruss Bowman and Bowman House, LLC accept no liability for the content of this site, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided. This blog contains information about our classes available in Chandler, AZ and Payson, AZ and is not the official website of The Bradley Method®. The views contained on this blog do not necessarily reflect those of The Bradley Method® or the American Academy of Husband-Coached Childbirth®. |
Categories
- Why we chose the Bradley Method� childbirth classes (14)
- Birth center (34)
- Birth Centers Phoenix AZ area (8)
- Birth place options (36)
- Bradley Method� outcome (44)
- Managing or coping with natural labor (33)
- natural labor coping mechanisms (35)
- Natural labor coping techniques (35)
- Pain management (23)
- Pain management natural labor (18)
- The Bradley Method� pain management (19)
- First stage labor (29)
- Birth plans (72)
- The Bradley Method® (68)
- Birth Story (33)
- Bradley Method® birth story (16)
- Birth Circle (9)
- Midwife (36)
- Midwifery Care (32)
- Cesarean Birth (35)
- Cesarean Surgery (27)
- Doulas (50)
- Second Stage Labor (21)
- Acupuncture (5)
- Parenting (63)
- Use of vacuum extraction (1)
- Breastfeeding (232)
- Chiropractic Care (10)
- Webster Protocol (3)
- Breastfeeding support (154)
- Information Center (101)
- The Bradley Method® classes (57)
- Placenta Encapsulation (11)
- Postpartum Depression (31)
- Breech presentation (8)
- Breech turning techniques (6)
- ECV (6)
- External Cephalic Version (6)
- Infections and Pregnancy (7)
- Bradley� Coaches (47)
- Coach's Corner (14)
- Coaches (47)
- Coaching (39)
- Exercise (18)
- Modern Mommy Boutique (10)
- Nursing and Maternity Bras (4)
- Transition (11)
- Postpartum Plan (29)
- Grief Counseling and Support Services (3)
- Miscarriage or Stillbirth (8)
- Pregnancy Loss (4)
- Variations and Complications (17)
- Going to your birthplace (9)
- Homebirth (58)
- Hospital Birth (57)
- Informed Consent (29)
- Patient Bill of Rights (2)
- Dehydration and Pregnancy (5)
- Fluid Retention (3)
- Heat Comfort Measures (7)
- Hyperthermia and Pregnancy (2)
- Pre-term Labor (4)
- Swelling in Pregnancy (2)
- Full term (9)
- Past due date (6)
- Postdate (7)
- Postmature baby (2)
- Crying (8)
- Newborn Care (23)
- Fussy baby (11)
- Support Groups (17)
- Pregnancy (69)
- Avoiding harmful substances (32)
- Toxins, pesticides, chemicals and pregnancy (18)
- Starting Solids (14)
- Drinking during labor (11)
- Eating during labor (12)
- NPO (2)
- Nutrition (37)
- Due Date (9)
- Planning for Baby (34)
- Child Spacing (3)
- Sibling Preparation for Newborn Arrival (9)
- Breastfeeding 101 (24)
- Debbie Gillespie, IBCLC, RLC (8)
- Circumcision (2)
- Lactivist (3)
- In Their Own Words (36)
- NIP (25)
- Nursing In Public (28)
- Childcare (17)
- Infant Classes (5)
- Photographer (5)
- Epidural (15)
- Depression (12)
- Allergies (3)
- Dairy Allergy (2)
- Breast Pumps (19)
- Postpartum Doula (11)
- Jaundice (2)
- Newborn jaundice (1)
- RSV (4)
- Postpartum (55)
- Labor Marathon (20)
- Labor Sprint (17)
- Belly Cast (2)
- Maternity Keepsake (1)
- Natural birth (34)
- Obstetrical Care (16)
- Engorgement (2)
- Uterine Rupture (3)
- Berman's Law (1)
- Back Labor (3)
- Healing (8)
- Hearing Screen (1)
- Perineum (4)
- Herbalist (2)
- Tandem Nursing (5)
- Breastfeeding Challenges (91)
- Tongue Tie (2)
- Tongue Tie Procedure (2)
- Bradley Day Family Picnic (5)
- Cephalo-Pelvic Disproportion (3)
- CPD (3)
- Failure to Progress (10)
- Fetal Distress (2)
- FTP (5)
- Pain (4)
- Prolonged Labor (3)
- Baby games (4)
- Playing with baby (5)
- Sensory games (2)
- Cesarean Support Group (16)
- Baby blues (8)
- NAP (5)
- Natural Alignment Plateau (6)
- Baby-led weaning (2)
- BLW (2)
- Comfort Measures (15)
- Flower Essences (4)
- Relaxation practice (4)
- First Foods for baby (2)
- Babywearing (21)
- Nursing (31)
- Sling (2)
- Soft-structured carrier (1)
- Wrap (2)
- Weaning (2)
- Co Sleeping (6)
- Family Bed (6)
- Relaxation (6)
- Meet the Doula (24)
- Bradley Method® (37)
- Bradley Method® for next baby (4)
- Bradley Method® for second pregnancy (5)
- Bradley™ classes and the next baby (4)
- Bradley™ classes for next pregnancy (3)
- Bradley™ classes for second pregnancy (3)
- Next baby (5)
- Next pregnancy (7)
- Repeat Bradley™ classes (1)
- Bedtime Routine (5)
- Children's Books (3)
- Breast Pumps and Workplace (10)
- Breastfeeding in Public (37)
- Communication (8)
- Labor Support (25)
- Amniotomy (5)
- AROM (6)
- Artifical Rupture of Membranes (5)
- Bag of Waters (5)
- Premature Ruptture of Membranes (4)
- PROM (4)
- ROM (4)
- Rupture of Membranes (4)
- La Leche League (8)
- Nursing Strike (2)
- Galactogogues (1)
- Increase Breastmilk (2)
- Milk Supply (2)
- CIO (4)
- Cry It Out (4)
- Teething (1)
- Hyperemesis Gravidarum (1)
- Morning Sickness (3)
- Nausea (2)
- Eclampsia (1)
- Healthy, Low-Risk (16)
- Pre-eclampsia (5)
- Rights for Homebirth (6)
- Traditions (2)
- Midwifery Scope of Practice Committee (5)
- Scavenger Hunt (1)
- Sweet Pea Births (5)
- Cassandra Okamoto (6)
- Mommy-Con (9)
- Phoenix Mommy-Con Mini (2)
- Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (18)
- Vaginal Birth After Multiple Cesareans (10)
- VBAC (21)
- Monitrice (1)
- Baby Concierge (4)
- First Birthday (1)
- Oxytocin (2)
- Warning Labels (3)
- Inside Look (19)
- Induction (12)
- Induction of Labor (8)
- Labor Induction (11)
- Episiotomy (3)
- Info Sheet (22)
- Information Sheet (22)
- Augmentation (4)
- Labor Augmentation (9)
- Cord Clamping (2)
- Delayed Cord Clamping (2)
- Immediate Cord Clamping (2)
- Birth Mantra (19)
- Rally to Improve Birth (4)
- Eye Drops (1)
- Eye Ointment (1)
- Eye Prophylaxis (1)
- Neonatal Eye Drops (1)
- Neonatal Eye Ointment (1)
- Neonatal Eye Prophylaxis (1)
- Wordless Wednesday (37)
- Big Latch On (1)
- Blog Carnival (3)
- IBCLC (11)
- Lactation Consult (3)
- Lactation Consultation (3)
- WBW2013 (1)
- World Breastfeeding Week (51)
- Thoughtful Thursday (3)
- Family Fun (18)
- Weekend Activities (1)
- Upcoming Events (81)
- Breastfeeding Awareness Month (76)
- Sleep Sharing (1)
- Newborn (12)
- Newborn Procedures (3)
- Preemies (4)
- Twins (1)
- Vitamin K (1)
- Vaccines (3)
- Fertility (10)
- Premature Baby (4)
- Babymoon (4)
- Green Nursery (4)
- Gowning (1)
- Affirmation (20)
- Birth News (5)
- First Trimester (1)
- Membranes (3)
- Stripping Membranes (2)
- Sweeping Membranes (2)
- Fear-Tension-Pain Cycle (2)
- Third Trimester (2)
- Baby (26)
- Infant Care (9)
- Contest (1)
- Family Fest (9)
- Giveaway (1)
- Birth (33)
- Nursery (3)
- Bradley® Dads (3)
- Mantra (8)
- Waterbirth (3)
- Essential Oils (1)
- Gestational Diabetes (1)
- Q&A with SPB (23)
- NICU (3)
- Placenta (4)
- Birth Story Listening (1)
- Meditation (3)
- Birthing From Within (3)
- Ask the Doula (1)
- Monday Mantra (4)
/