SNS

[@llli*jabez]

Hello,

My baby is almost 5 months and still supplementing. I never got my milk to be sufficient.

I work during weekdays and spent my weekends breastfeeding my baby. I pump in the office every 3 hours and breastfeed my baby throughout the night. Although my baby doesn't throw tantrums for being hungry, I always feel that the milk she's getting is not enough. The only time I feel she's happy with the milk quantity she's getting is when I have mild cases of clogged ducts or I was not able to pump for like 4 to 5 hours.

So, I want to address the weekend breastfeeding effort by buying SNS. Do you think it will still work now that she's 5 months old - she's so active and can now 'manipulate' my (.)(.). Like she can hold it and put in her mouth, etc. Recently, she will latch and use her hands to push herself away - end result is that she's on my nipple rather than my whole (.)(.). I would take her back from time to time and hold her hand instead so that it cannot move..

Thanks in advance for your inputs and insights.

[@llli*maddieb]

Hi jabezz!

So, I have seen lactation aids used fine for babies this age and even much older. toddlers even.

However, that is no guarantee it will work well for you and your child. It is simply too individual a thing to predict.

But I am confused about something. In my experience, babies do not "throw tantrums"/ When a baby cannot get enough to eat at the breast, baby may get frustrated, push on the breast, knead the breast, pop on and off, cry, etc. Is that what you mean?
Those things can all be caused by other things, or just be normal fussy baby behavior. Or they can be due to a slow flow/not enough milk. But the best way to tell if a baby is really getting enough at the breast is by weight gain.

Especially at this age, many babies seem distracted or not entirely happy nursing. It is kind of a thing. LLL calls it the "four month fussies" of course it can happen anytime, usually between 2 and 6 months.

Also if milk flow is the issue, breast compressions often help.

If your breast needs to be full for baby to be content, that could be a latch issue- does baby maybe need a full breast to get a good seal?

More on lactation aids. There are the sns and the LactAid brands, there is also a way to make homemade ones, but I do not have link specifically on that. http://www.asklenore.info/breastfeed...lact_aid.shtml and http://cwgenna.com/clinicalcornerpage.html

[@llli*jabez]

Thank you, maddieb, for replying.

But I am confused about something. In my experience, babies do not "throw tantrums"/

When she was still newborn, she once cried inconsolably. And this is after how many hours that she is on my breast.

When a baby cannot get enough to eat at the breast, baby may get frustrated, push on the breast, knead the breast, pop on and off, cry, etc. Is that what you mean?

She does that a lot lately! Well, I have long accepted the fact that my milk is not enough that's why I am thinking to try the SNS.

If your breast needs to be full for baby to be content, that could be a latch issue- does baby maybe need a full breast to get a good seal?

I think she is most satisfied when I have lumps in my breast which only she can suck out. There are times that my breast will be hard as a rock, I cannot hand express nor use pump to suck the milk out. But once she nurses, even it's painful at times, I feel happy that she seems satisfied.

More on lactation aids. There are the sns and the LactAid brands, there is also a way to make homemade ones, but I do not have link specifically on that. http://www.asklenore.info/breastfeed...lact_aid.shtml and http://cwgenna.com/clinicalcornerpage.html

Thanks a lot for the links.

[@llli*maddieb]

When she was still newborn, she once cried inconsolably. And this is after how many hours that she is on my breast.

Ok. I guess it does not matter but usually tantrum refers to episodes of extreme screaming, hitting, kicking, basically loosing control by toddlers and preschoolers because they are uncomfortable for some reason (hungry, thirsty, tired, need to use the restroom) and/or because they do not get their way over something. Like they wanted a toy or to not get in the car seat or not leave the park or whatever.

When a baby cries and cannot be comforted no matter what you do, typically we say that baby is colicky, or it might be baby is in pain like from an earache or tummy pain or something. Colicky would be indicated if this happened once or more a day for more than a certain number of weeks (I forget how many,) If this happened one time, pain would be my best guess.

I think she is most satisfied when I have lumps in my breast which only she can suck out. There are times that my breast will be hard as a rock, I cannot hand express nor use pump to suck the milk out. But once she nurses, even it's painful at times, I feel happy that she seems satisfied

I certainly understand being happy baby is satisfied! But unfortunately, letting your breasts get even a little full is not good for milk production. Letting breasts get rock hard or develop lumps is terrible for milk production and also puts mom in a situation where she may become very ill with a breast infection. So this is not a great state of affairs I fear. Your 5 month old baby should not need a hard breast to nurse effectively and get enough milk. Very few mothers ever experience hard, very full breasts at 5 months, yet their babies get plenty of milk and nurse fine. I think something else may be going on, but I have no idea what. I would strongly suggest having a consult with a lactation consultant. Here is some info about what to expect in that situation: http://www.cwgenna.com/lconsult.html Of course an LC may also be able to help you figure out if an sns is a good fit for your situation.

[@llli*jabez]

Thanks again, maddieb.

I don't really intend to let my breast get hard as a rock and i don't know how. I cannot even single out the circumstances that makes it like that. I pump regularly, like every 3 hours at the office. At home, whether I feel like I have milk or not, my baby is at my breast. If I am able to stand up after she nurse at my breast at the wee hours of the morning, I pump. The LC said probably stress which I tend to believe because I read somewhere stress causes milk not to come out.

Thanks thanks a lot!