This mother has given me permission to post her story to Lactnet. I am not
working with her personally but I hope that some of you can offer some
suggestion of what is going on here.
I have recommended Rescue Remedy but she hasn't used it yet, asking about
the amount of brandy that is used as preservative. I have replied with a
question of whether she cannot consume alcohol. There is RR in glycerine
for people who are avoiding all alcohol but it must be ordered from the
distrubutor.
She has not resumes menses.
So, what does it look like to you?
Pat Gima, IBCLC
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Hi Patricia, thanks for writing to me. Let me tell you what is exactly going
on with me and see if you can assess the problem. My son is seven months
old. He was a preemie and in the NICU for a couple of weeks, so we got off
to a rough start as far as nursing goes. We kept at it using the S & S with
not much success. It took him upwards of two hrs to nurse, he was so little
with a weak suck and my supply was not the greatest. He did not gain weight
adequately and after several tests that returned results that he was not
absorbing all the sugars and had a very high acidity, the doctor decided to
put him on a predigested formula.
I stopped nursing for a month, but kept pumping and slowly started
reintroducing breast milk in a bottle. He had further tests and finally
outgrew the absorption and acidity problem. Then I decided to try nursing
him again WITHOUT the S & S. He did surprisingly well. So I started nursing
him once a day and worked up to three times per day. I have been taking
fenugreek and my supply increased. He did better and better and I could tell
he was getting a lot of milk by his slow drawn out suck and I could hear him
swallow. He got to where he would almost completely drain my breasts. I
always pump
after every nursing session so I will be completely empty. He could almost
drain me and could accomplish this in 15-20 minutes each side. This was
great and life was livable again! This went on for months and we established
a routine. He had three bottles during the day (with human milk fortifier
added) and I nursed the other three times.
Then all of a sudden two weeks ago, after 4-5 minutes of him sucking, my
flow stopped. I was still very full, and he was still hungry. If he was
awake, he would get frustrated and pull off and try again repeatedly. If he
was tired, he would fall asleep when the flow stopped until l would switch
him to the other side where he could start drinking again. If I could keep
him sucking on and off for about 10 minutes, I would let down again, and he
would resume eating. How frustrating!
I also noticed this when I would pump. I would pump and pump and initially
my let down is always fine, but then would stop. I could not pump anther
drop. I was still full so I kept pumping and anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes
later, I would let down and start to flow again. Sometimes this will happen
as many as 3 times during one pumping session. I can't believe it! Again
this just happened out of the blue! Needless to say, I am very frustrated
and stressed which I know just exaserbates the situation. Again, let me
stress that I don't ever have a problem with the initial let down when
nursing or pumping. A few seconds after my son starts sucking, my milk comes
in, then just stops. I have tried pumping once my flow stops and then
nursing him again, which works if he is not asleep, or out of the mood to
eat by that time. I have tried the deep breathing, thoughts of my baby, any
relaxation technique I can think of. But again, where my initial let down
is not a problem, I'm not sure what to do!
One thing I need to add that I thought was a little strange; From the time I
started nursing/pumping, I have always had a milk duct on my right side that
ALWAYS is swollen and I have to rub it out every nursing/pumping session. It
has never been a problem because I can always rub it out with relative ease
and it is not painful. When this whole flow-stopping problem started, I
noticed that the swollen milk duct was suddenly gone every time I pumped or
nursed. Strange. Well, night before last, things went better. My son nursed
for longer initially and my flow didn't abruptly stop like it had been. He
practically drained me again, and I thought we were on the home stretch.
Also, the swollen milk duct was back! Everything felt normal again!! This
lasted for 24 hours, then the flow stopping came back and the swollen
milk duct was gone! I know this must sound strange, and maybe it was just a
coincidence, but I don't know. That swollen milk duct was like clockwork. It
was always there whenever I pumped or nursed. Always in the same place and
It was ALWAYS there.
I don't know what to do. I know that with the initial let down, that my son
is probably getting the foremilk, because with the second let down 10-30
minutes later, I get a lot of milk, which I'm sure is mostly the hind milk.
This is not good, since he has a terrible time gaining weight anyway. My
son has a good strong suck, so I know that is not the problem, especially
when everything went so well for months!! Well, as I am sure you can
imagine, I am very frustrated and need a solution. Do you have any idea what
could be going on?
Also, I need to mention that I always use breast compression and massage
when I nurse/pump. I pump roughly every 2 to 2 1/2 hours during the day.
When I nurse my son I wait 4 hours then nurse right before bed, then again
at 4:00 am, then at 10:00 a.m. So I go 4-5 hours between nursing sessions. I
don't think I am engorged, because I am not in pain, I get a little
uncomfortable when I am full, (always have) but I always pump no matter what
to make sure I am completely drained. But I really don't know what is going
on. Like I said, it went so good for months! He just kept improving and
taking more and more and consistently sucking (the long drawn out kind) for
longer and longer periods. Then this suddenly happened.
I am using a Medela Classic Pump and a Pump in Style. I am wondering about
oxytocin. I know that it is no longer available in the US, but I have also
read where sometimes it is possible to have your druggist compound it. I
want to ask my druggist, I just don't know the prescribed dosage for this
type of a situation. Please let me know if you know what the dosage would
need to be. Any help you could give me would be appreciated. It is such a
stressful situation. Sorry for the LONG email, I just thought you would need
some background in order to help. Please let me know if you have any
suggestions.
Stacie
On 10/10/02 6:27 PM, "Patricia Gima" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Stacy, Becky wrote to me about your interest in Rescue Remedy. I use it
> extensively for facilating a let down for my clients. It is particularly
> effective for reluctant let-downs with engorgement.
>
> The dose is 4 drops. The little droper in the bottle is made so that one
> squeeze on the rubber top makes 4 drops come into the dropper, so that you
> don't have to count. You put the 4 drops under your tongue and begin
> pumping or feeding your baby and the let down happens.
>
> Another way that I use it is for a mother to put the 4 drops into
> everything she drinks throughout the day. This helps to prevent the anxiety
> that her milk won't let down the next feeding. You probably know what I am
> talking about. The tension around that fear can inhibit the let down but
> drinking liquids with Rescue Remedy in them will lessen that worry. You can
> then put the drops under your tongue before you feed or pump, and soon you
> will erase the concern and can stop using it. When your milk is letting
> down all of the time with ease you can begin to reduce your use of it. And
> you will just use it on the occasions that you are tense.
>
> Rescue Remedy is a combination of calming herbs and is created for stress,
> frustration or anything that creates tension. It is made up of 5 flowers
> and is in spring water with a bit of brandy for a preservative so that it
> won't spoil.
>
> RR, as we fondly call it at our house, has many uses and I use it with most
> of my clients for general calming. I does not sedate but if one is having
> trouble falling asleep RR will help her to relax so that she can go to
sleep.
>
> I will send you a couple of posts that I sent to Lactnet a few years ago
> about one of the worst cases of engorgement that I have ever worked with.
> It is an amazing story in itself but the role of the RR is dramatic.
>
> I will send the posts as separate mailings because they are long. I hope
> that you don't mind a long "lactation consultant" story. It is one of my
> favorites.
>
> I hope that this information will encourage you to take advantage of what
> Rescue Remedy can do.
>
> Pat Gima, IBCLC
>
> Mailto:[log in to unmask]
>
>
Mailto:[log in to unmask]
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