I have seen this frequently and it is very distressing to the mother.
In most cases I've seen, oversupply and tongue-tie have combined to make
feeding uncomfortable for babe (but maintain good weight gain for some
at least early on).
I've found that baby-led/laid-back/biological nurturing has been very
helpful in regulating supply. This is anecdotal, but I've talked about
it as one way to block nurse with mothers for a number of years now (and
used it myself) and there have been glowing reports on how it helps
regulate supply. Babe decides which side s/he wants and it's as simple
as that. They seem to know better than I do how to get the supply under
control. I started this with my youngest set of twins when they were 3
months old and it was the first time I ever normalized my supply.
Sometimes both babies would nurse on one side for 7+ hours before
switching. A length of time I didn't dare try with block nursing, but
finally we had normal stooling and much happier babes.
As a side note I was diagnosed with celiac disease when they were 18
months old. So now I do mention to mother's with significant oversupply
that they may want to keep that in mind. And again, a number of women
have gone on to get tested and discovered they are celiac.
I'm not in the position to do research on these things and I always say
that it's anecdotal and I make sure to give multiple options (block
nursing by feeding and by the clock etc), but I do feel compelled to
mention this as an option because it has been met with such enthusiasm
and success.
I've seen a number of PTT/LT babies recently who have a very hard time
managing at the breast and later on with complementary foods. I've seen
3 babies who all didn't really eat complementary foods well until almost
or over a year old because it would go in and come out again -- not
because of their gag reflex, but because of tongue tie. In 2 cases when
they had the tongues and lips clipped they immediately, right after
surgery (both flew to see Dr. Kotlow), ate completely differently. I
expect that these babies also struggled at the breast (1 was a frequent
breast-refuser and as a result did have significant weight gain issues)
because they couldn't manage flow etc. The 3rd was my own son, who is
now 10. I only realized this past year that he has a PTT and that his
slow weight gain after the first couple months, unwillingness to eat
solids, anxiety, not meeting milestones, clamping at the breast, speech
issues etc, were all likely related to this. He probably only got milk
because his brother and 3 year old sister were also nursing. I so
desperately wish I could go back in time. But I'm glad this information
is finally getting out there to help mothers and babes now.
Anyway, I hope some of this is helpful. Take what works and leave the
rest.
All the best,
Kirsten Goa
LLLL & IBCLC
Edmonton, AB Canada
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2012 00:15:37 -0400 From: Christine Staricka
<[log in to unmask]> Subject: Emotions of Breastfeeding... Wise ones,
I bring this question and its accompanying story to you for your
thoughts and feelings because the mother in the story is my sister. She
has given me explicit permission to post her queries/observations
because she is seeking answers, solace, and maybe even community for her
situation. On January 23, 2012 my sister gave birth to her 4th child via
planned cesarean delivery. (Her delivery history: unmedicated vaginal
birth #1, unplanned cesarean following unmedicated labor due to fetal
heart decels and nuchal cord, uneventful and unmedicated VBAC for #3.)
This cesarean was thoughtfully planned following breech presentation
from 26 weeks on. An ultrasound was performed immediately before the
surgery which revealed baby still breech and very low amniotic fluid.
The cesarean was gentle and peaceful according to my sister, and baby
healthy. As she was stitched up nurses (for unknown reason) tested blood
sugar and said it was low. As my sister had exclusively breastfed all 3
previous babies for, respectively, 1 year, 3 years, and 3 years (also
tandem during this pregnancy), her husband politely declined to have
nurses feed "just 10 ml of formula," instead opting to ask my sister's
friend and doula, a nursing mother of a 4-month old, to breastfeed the
baby just for a few minutes while my sister was incapacitated. This went
beautifully and within a few minutes baby was put to his mother's
breast. He fed well always right from the beginning and had far more
than the 4 stools I generally see from the first 24 hours. Nursing has
been easy; managing milk supply has been an unexpected challenge for her
as she has a huge supply unlike any she ever had before. She has battled
some plugged ducts all along and pumps as needed to keep it moving. To
complete the picture, my sister is also an identical twin, and both
twins are LLLL's for about 5 years. Both are extremely knowledgeable
about BF and practice attachment parenting and babywearing. They are
excellent role models to their peers and have influenced so many people
in their parenting. The true question lies herein: my sister asked me a
few days ago what I thought about the following: "So have you ever heard
of a baby who refuses to nurse unless he is hungry. He does not want to
comfort nurse at all because milk comes out. He will only take a finger
when he is not hungry. And after he is done (filled up from his nursing
session) he wants off and only wants to comfort suck on a finger. I have
been trying to get him off this since he was born, but I just can't seem
to change his mind about boobies. He also will not sleep for me - he
will only fall asleep for the night with Daddy or Big Sister who give
him a finger, not a breast! It is so frustrating and sad to me." My
first response was to validate her feelings and acknowledge that she is
feeling like this experience is "less" than with her other babies. I
encouraged her to step into baby's shoes and feel what he feels - he
does not like to feel "forced" to eat and he wants to be in charge of
his eating.I also reminded her that he was born into a large, busy,
loud, and wonderfully caring family who entertainment him much of the
time. (His siblings are 8, 6, and 3 and very loving and helpful with
him; they are also homeschooled and spend almost every minute of every
day together. Daddy is in the military so works long hours but is not
deployed.) I also mentioned the fact that his very first feeding was a
high-flow experience (from the doula) and that her milk supply is high
and sometimes her MER is really strong; I posited that he may have
imprinted a stronger idea than many babies about needing to control his
eating. Finally I stressed that this type of parenting is really
beneficial for Daddy (having the opportunity to soothe and to put to
sleep) since he has missed some of that with other babies. She
definitely appreciated that sentiment. My sister mostly wants to know if
she can reasonably expect this to change or if she should even try.
Emotionally she feels she can work through her self-defined frustration
and sadness; she welcomes any and all thoughts on her situation. Thank
you kindly, Christine Staricka, IBCLC, CCE [log in to unmask]
> ********************
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