New here with a few questions! :) Vit. D, supply, duration..

[@llli*mommylove]

Hi there. I'm new here. FTM. SOOOOO glad I found this forum! There isnt a LLL group in my city, not to my knowledge, so this communication tool will be critical for me. I was advised by my pediatrician to give my 5 week old vit d- 1 ml per day. Is this a common practice for ebf babies? and Safe?
Also, I am questioning my supply- I have struggled off and on this 5 week nursing journey with many typical questions and concerns from oversupply to under supply, blebs, short nursing sessions and frequent nursing sessions mixed in. !!! After nursing, I can only produce 1.5 ounces from both breasts. I stopped pumping a couple weeks ago bc I felt like it was making me engored but now I feel like I am losing my milk so I am just pumping once a day. ? Plus I really want to EBF but I am getting nervous about how long I can do it so I would like to get some back up milk going. I have been super anxious and with the assurance from my pediatrician I am trying to relax, go with the flow, and actually enjoy this precious experience with my baby! LO has been gaining weight and thriving well- 75 percentile at 1 month check up. Thanks for listening and I hope to hear from you!

[@llli*auderey]

hi mama, welcome and congratulations! there are a couple of very recent vit d threads (past week or so) that you can check out.

producing 1.5 oz AFTER nursing is pretty good. why are you pumping? it makes everything harder, and unless you have an exceptional circumstance, you really don't need more than a bottle or two's worth in the freezer. even if you're going back to work soon, you really only need the first day's worht of milk.

it is normal for supply to regulate and many moms mistake this for drying up - it's not! as long as your baby is happy, gaining, and has 6+ wet diapers a day, and until 6 weeks a couple poops a day, you've got enough supply. relax and enjoy it!

EBF gets easier and easier and easier the longer you do it. so if you've made it successfully to 5 weeks you are honestly mostly over the hump! remember that back-up milk in the freezer has to be used, donated, or thrown out after 3-4 months, so you don't want to get too much going. do you have specific concerns about why you think you might need to quit at some point?

[@llli*mommylove]

Hi there! Thank you for replying! I will def check out the vit d threads. Well, as far as pumping, I agree, it has made things kinda complicated. I dont plan to return to work anytime soon, God willing, and would like to ebf for ? Baby led weaning would be ideal. I feel the need to pump for a few reasons.. to keep my supply up? It is all out of fear I suspect that I will lose it. Also, I have been adivsed by TOO many different ppl and now I am just relying on The Womanly Art of BF -BOOK- wish I would have just stuck to it and nothing else) and I was told to have some as a stash for bottle feeding. ? for Hubby?
Also, at 5 weeks old, is it normal to have 3-5 hour stretches at night? We are co-sleeping sort-of, he is in Arms reach co sleeper attached to bed, sometimes short naps with me, but I was advised by fam/urged more like it to NOT put baby in bed with me. (Tragedy in Family years ago- not sure the details) I am kinda back and forth with the sleeping.
He has as many at 10-12 wets and 6-10 poopies a day. But the poopies are starting to be smaller-still barely an ok sign, but I worry bc he is a speed feeder sometimes! barely 5 min and then he's out! Thanks thanks thanks!

[@llli*aprilsmagic]

Yes, it is normal.

If your baby is having wets and poops normal in color, consistency and frequency, just follow baby's leads.

For th vitamin D, that one tastes terrible. Try Carlson's Baby D drops. You can order on Amazon.

[@llli*auderey]

on safe-cosleeping, look here: http://www.nd.edu/~jmckenn1/lab/ he's the world expert. he has a really accessible book, too. one takeaway is that it's unintential/infrequent cosleeping that's the most dangerous (like falling asleep on the couch wiht baby).

quit with the pumping, nurse on demand and you won't lose your supply. there's lots of things hubby can do to bond with baby! and if you do need or want to be away at some point for a couple hours, you just pump a day ahead to have a bottle. fresh milk has the best nutritional and immunological properties anyway.

after 6 weeks, EBF babies can go a week or more between poops and it's entirely normal as long as they're happy.

[@llli*phi]

He has as many at 10-12 wets and 6-10 poopies a day. But the poopies are starting to be smaller-still barely an ok sign, but I worry bc he is a speed feeder sometimes! barely 5 min and then he's out!

Based on diaper output, your baby is getting plenty of milk. Poops get less frequent as babies get older, and some perfectly healthy babies will have only one poop every week +. Mine was a super fast nurser too. Just a few minutes on one side and he was done. Some babies just get really efficient and are all business for awhile. It's nothing to worry about.

[@llli*phi]

For th vitamin D, that one tastes terrible. Try Carlson's Baby D drops. You can order on Amazon.

You can get them here. You can just put a single drop on your nipple and nurse your baby to administer. Or make sure your baby gets adequate sun exposure with respect to skin tone if you choose not to supplement.

[@llli*mommal]

Co-sleeping with baby in a sidecar crib is actually very, very safe. Probably the safest of all sleeping arrangements, since mom is right there to attend to her baby's needs and listen to his breathing, but baby does not share the same sleep surface (the bed) with the adults.

The big co-sleeping dangers are:
- unsafe sleep surfaces (couches, chairs, waterbeds- anything that has voids that baby can fall into and become trapped in, or overly soft and yielding surfaces which can create large depressions)
- unsafe bedding (lots of fluffy pillows, comforters, loose bedding)
- unsafe sleep partners (people with sleep problems like insomnia, apnea, narcolepsy, people who are not baby's mommy, people who are using drugs or alcohol, smokers)

Pumping is not necessary to successful nursing. Do you want to use bottles, do you dearly want to have your DH bottle-feed your baby? Do you intend to leave baby for significant periods? If so, bottles are part of your future. If not, no worries! Lots of mamas, particularly those who can stay home with their kids, never use bottles and never pump. And I know some people declare that you must pump so that dad can bond with baby by feeding him- but that's a load of bull because there are plenty of ways to bond with an infant that do not involve putting food in his mouth, and non-bottle-feeding dads bond just fine with their offspring.

[@llli*raejoy]

Just wanted to butt in and say My LO is only a week older than yours. Personally I'm jealous you have a fast eater (or that you don't have to go back to work soon)! DS takes forever. Anyways, I've found the women here to be incredibly helpful and supportive and I hope you do too

[@llli*phi]

And I know some people declare that you must pump so that dad can bond with baby by feeding him- but that's a load of bull because there are plenty of ways to bond with an infant that do not involve putting food in his mouth, and non-bottle-feeding dads bond just fine with their offspring.

This is really important. Bottles are so much more trouble than they are worth if you don't truly need them!

My husband never fed our son a single bottle when he was a newborn. He fed maybe 3 bottles total throughout our son's infancy. The lack of bottle feeding has had no impact on their relationship. Recently my son has been all about daddy when he is home. He'll be playing with daddy, run to me to quickly nurse, push away, and run back to daddy.

Babies tend to cling to mommy when they are infants, not because of breastfeeding but because of instinct and familiarity (9 months in utero will do that). However, they do bond with daddy over time quite well without a bottle.