Dreamfeeding my striking 6 month old

[@llli*ryanandjoshsmom]

Thank you!! It does help to know someone can relate. And yes, I sometimes feel like my OS is under control and I'm so scared to pump in case her 5 or 6 hour long stretches are helping to regulate. But my letdown is also painful. Is that not normal? It depends on the time of day and how tired she is and her mood on how she responds. She rarely screams and pushes away anymore. Now, she just rolls to her belly. I have two letdowns also. The 1st one is painful, not toe curling, but just intense, the second one is almost unnoticeable, I just hear her swallowing more often. Are multiple letdowns also a sign of OS or OALD??

I'm not sure about the letdown thing. I guess I assumed that since it hurt/painful during letdown, that meant that the milk was coming super fast, thus causing the problems with nursing while alert/awake. I think a painful letdown *can* be within the range of normal. Hopefully someone else will chime in if not the case.

I think the biggest problem is not being able to nurse on demand. I have to schedule/manipulate her feedings just to get her to nurse. So yeah, how many/often does a baby who is striking need to feed?? Since they are refusing to nurse, it's almost a guessing game. Praying that these babes can get back to nursing while awake and be happy doing it!!

[@llli*midwestmama2010]

Okay, today I'm wondering if pumping is not such a bad idea... It would boost my supply, and possibly make my milk letdown quicker...

Today, I layed down next to her on the bed and pulled her thumb out with real slow brute force and then slipped my nipple in and she nursed a little while, maybe 30 seconds, but of course I didn't have a pillow behind my back and my elbow was in a funny position so I couldn't relax so my letdown was taking forever. She popped off before my milk letdown. But then I sprayed and then when it was just dripping, I pulled her thumb out and latched her and she actually stayed on. And she was awake.

I can't really ever get my milk to letdown to a pump unless I'm like watching TV or something. Never with the the baby nearby. And I can get milk to express with my hand but not a letdown.

Also, a bonus is that my SIL is bringing home a gestationally 35 week old baby to foster that was born to a cocaine addicted mother, so I could give her the milk to supplement his formula!! I might have to post somewhere else asking advice for this too.

[@llli*jah73]

As you know, I have had ver similar problems to you with D1 and now D2. Both times, I have found that nursing improved when I started them on solids, and it seemed to make them nurse more often! I did BLS both times, I think doing that rather than purees, they take what they need rather than what you think they need. Also I think that it is more gradual as it takes longer for them to actually get a substantial amount down. BLS has definitely helped my striking situation both times! With my 1st,she wouldn't nurse when I offered before offering solids, but for some reason would want to nurse immediately after! After 6 months of striking with her, she ended up not really taking that much solids till well after 1yr old and nursed till almost 30 months. If you have anything like the experience I have had,then BLS will help.
Regarding letdowns, I think that it is normal to have more than one letdown per feed,but with OS/OALD, it is more likely that you will feel them. I think that the average is 2 to 3 per feed.

[@llli*midwestmama2010]

Really need some encouragement right now. She's starting to wake up all the time as I'm nursing her. Getting her into position and then reclining while she's asleep is so difficult. She even arches her back in her sleep. I'm so sick of this. I'm just exhausted about worrying about her. I can't even enjoy her. I'm just taking care of her. And I am just hating my breasts. Why is it still spraying?!! I'm constantly scared of not making enough milk but then I'm still spraying. I'm going to wait to give her any food til she can sit up all the way unassisted. Right now, she can hold it for a minute or so and then she falls over. I can't let her sleep at night. I have to nurse her at night every 2 or 3 hours to make sure I get "enough" milk into her. So exhausted and my head is throbbing today. I wish she would just understand what I 'm saying to her. I tell her all the time "pop off if you need to - don't be afraid of it. Just get back on when it stops." Six more months of this feels like misery. I am wishing away the first year of her life and I feel so guilty about it. I am looking forward to being done nursing her.

[@llli*mommy2lilah]

Also, a bonus is that my SIL is bringing home a gestationally 35 week old baby to foster that was born to a cocaine addicted mother, so I could give her the milk to supplement his formula!! I might have to post somewhere else asking advice for this too.

Did you decide to do this? If so, you need to check with the laws in your state - it may be illegal to give a foster baby your milk.

[@llli*mommy2lilah]

Really need some encouragement right now. She's starting to wake up all the time as I'm nursing her. Getting her into position and then reclining while she's asleep is so difficult. She even arches her back in her sleep. I'm so sick of this. I'm just exhausted about worrying about her. I can't even enjoy her. I'm just taking care of her. And I am just hating my breasts. Why is it still spraying?!! I'm constantly scared of not making enough milk but then I'm still spraying. I'm going to wait to give her any food til she can sit up all the way unassisted. Right now, she can hold it for a minute or so and then she falls over. I can't let her sleep at night. I have to nurse her at night every 2 or 3 hours to make sure I get "enough" milk into her. So exhausted and my head is throbbing today. I wish she would just understand what I 'm saying to her. I tell her all the time "pop off if you need to - don't be afraid of it. Just get back on when it stops." Six more months of this feels like misery. I am wishing away the first year of her life and I feel so guilty about it. I am looking forward to being done nursing her.

I'm sorry mama. Does she drink out of a cup? I wish I knew how to help you, but I don't.

[@llli*djs.mom]

I M SO sorry you are having a rough day. You are really doing great. I bet it's not like that. I bet you enjoy her all day when she won't eat. I bet she totally loves you! Keep at it Mama. It can only get better!

[@llli*ryanandjoshsmom]

Really need some encouragement right now. She's starting to wake up all the time as I'm nursing her. Getting her into position and then reclining while she's asleep is so difficult. She even arches her back in her sleep. I'm so sick of this. I'm just exhausted about worrying about her. I can't even enjoy her. I'm just taking care of her. And I am just hating my breasts. Why is it still spraying?!! I'm constantly scared of not making enough milk but then I'm still spraying. I'm going to wait to give her any food til she can sit up all the way unassisted. Right now, she can hold it for a minute or so and then she falls over. I can't let her sleep at night. I have to nurse her at night every 2 or 3 hours to make sure I get "enough" milk into her. So exhausted and my head is throbbing today. I wish she would just understand what I 'm saying to her. I tell her all the time "pop off if you need to - don't be afraid of it. Just get back on when it stops." Six more months of this feels like misery. I am wishing away the first year of her life and I feel so guilty about it. I am looking forward to being done nursing her.

Uggg....that stinks mama! So she is waking up when you are dreamfeeding at night now? How is it going during the day? Are you able to *let* her go a longer stretch at night, like maybe 4-5 hours? or would that cut out too many feeding opportunities? Don't beat yourself up mama! You are such a trooper working thru this strike!!! I know it is alot of work and is emotionally and physically draining....hopefully she will learn how to cope with the flow soon!!!

[@llli*midwestmama2010]

update: it's going a smidge better. For one, I got back on my DHA supplement I had been taking. I guess it makes me a little more level-headed... I still need to pick up more of the vit D I was taking too. She has started to allow me to nurse her to sleep. This is a VERY HUGE IMPROVEMENT! She still pops off after my milk letsdown. But now, she does attempt to nurse through it.

This is how it goes:

I catch her VERY 1st sleepy cues, i.e, scratching the back of her head, sucking her thumb, rubbing her nose. Then, lights off, sound machine blaring (I loathe that thing now), I lay her on the bed and we play and cuddle a little bit. Sometimes skin-to-skin if removing her clothes doesn't rouse her to much, KWIM? And then I pull her thumb out and many times, she rolls right *TO* me! I might have to continue to get her thumb out of the way still sometimes if she gets wound up again. She's still so hyper. But I'm able to nurse her side-lying. I think she feel less restricted since she's not in my arms. My milk letsdown and she tries to keep up, but then pops off, but most of the time wants back on pretty calmly. Sometimes she will still put her thumb in, but most often she lets me remove it and then i nurse her some more!

This is good because 1) it tells me that maybe she does find comfort in nursing. She hasn't nursed to sleep in almost 4 months! 2) It's also good because she gets more sleep now. So many times, I was waking her up as she was nursing, or when she was done. So she would only get 20 minute naps. 3) Another really good thing is that I only have to leave my toddler once during a feeding now. Before, I had to leave my toddler to lay the baby down, and then work hard to not really engage her for 10 or 15 minutes while baby fell asleep, and *THEN* I would sneak off the nurse the baby and pray my toddler didn't do something really loud in the liv room or destructive to wake the baby up.

Baby takes three naps during the day, so I am still having to wake up 2 or 3 times from like 11pm - 6am. And now we co-sleep full time so I don't even really have to move her much to nurse her in her sleep. She was sleeping next to us in a side-car crib arrangement for half the night and then in our bed for the rest of the night. And I've mastered the side-lying dream-feed in our squishy bed too. [sigh]

Still haven't offered any solids yet. I think I'm just kinda waiting on a little peaceful feeling telling me to go.

However, I have seen that boost in my supply again. What gives?? I haven't got AF back, but I wonder if I could be ovulating without AF??? I keep going back and forth on the caffeine and it really seems like that could be it. Like the caffeine suppresses it a little... I am off it right now and leaking like crazy again and having random letdowns at the slight jiggle or bump.

[@llli*mommy2lilah]

That is GREAT NEWS Mama!!!!