u/shelbypreble

When I had my baby I thought breastfeeding was just putting them to breast and letting it happen. I thought if they suck- milk comes out. I knew nothing about letdowns. I’m 8 weeks pp, my period came back due to birth control and i have nearly lost my supply. I am now overthinking EVERYTHING.

1. Is it normal to only have one letdown per nursing session? My baby triggers a letdown at the beginning very quickly. I can hear him swallow and tell he’s getting milk for a minute or so and then it just seems like sporadic sucking and breaks with not much if any swallowing. I’ll switch him to the other side but i’ve never had 2 letdowns.

2. This question ties in with the first question. When I pump my letdowns seem to be about an ounce on each side. If i pump for upwards of 30 minutes I can get another letdown but it’s typically less. Is my baby really only getting an ounce per side?

3. Did anyone else get their period back and notice a dip in supply during period? (I typically exclusively breastfeed, but pump on occasion and get around 3oz. I have been pumping extra and doing everything i can and am getting maybe an ounce combined.)

I’m feeling really discouraged. He’s a pretty fussy baby so this whole time I’m wondering if he’s been underfed. His weight gain is totally normal and he has the correct amount of diapers. But i’m stuck on the fact that i’m “supposed” to have multiple letdowns. I feel like i’m failing at feeding my baby.

My son is 8 weeks old. I only nursed my first son for a few days and gave up because i was unaware how hard it actually was to nurse a baby. When i got pregnant with my second, I did alot more research to feel prepared and we’re going 8 weeks strong. Here’s the issue.. I can almost never get my baby to sleep without nursing & even then, it’s quite the fight and often ends in tears from me because it takes 2 hours to get him asleep. Once he’s asleep if his face isn’t touching my nipple he wakes up. Night time sleep is also rough. He will sleep in the bassinet for about 30 minutes (after fighting him for an hour or more) and then i have to nurse him and rock him for an hour. He will then typically sleep for 2 hours. After that, he’s awake every hour or less. My husband can almost never get him asleep because he doesn’t have magic boobs. I go back to work in 3 weeks and I’m starting to get worried about how the sitter will get him asleep as she has other kids as well. He will not nap independently at all and i’m struggling. I know some of it is his age and i’m not expecting a miracle, but i’m wondering if breastfeeding is causing this much of an issue for me. I genuinely feel like my whole day is just fighting him to take a nap. He is not the type of baby that will “fall asleep if he’s tired enough”. My other issue: if he’s awake he’s mad unless he’s on the boob and even then that doesn’t always work. I’m not kidding when i say there has been maybe a handful of times where he’s has been content enough for me to set him on his playmat or in his bouncer. He’s typically screaming to be held and again, seven if i pick him up he isn’t always happy. I’m feeling really defeated. He has laryngomalacia and struggles more on bottles so we’re typically are always directly breastfeeding. We have introduced a bottle a day and plan to increase that so he is ready for the sitter. I don’t know what i’m doing wrong, but no matter what i do i have an angry baby.

I am so desperate for help or a solution. My son started at an in home day care at 10 months old. A few months later was bitten a few times by a kiddo. No big deal. He has now become the biter at 20 months. Every now and then he would bite, but wasn’t consistent. He is now biting someone daily. Totally unprovoked and out of nowhere. Showing no signs of frustration. He communicates and talks VERY well for his age and we don’t feel like the issue is his lack of being able to communicate.

His sitter is amazing and had done everything she can to help us come up with a solution but this is starting to wear on all of us.

We have tried to reprimand him by being stern and explaining we don’t use our teeth on people, and that our friends like kindness. We have watched videos on biting and why you shouldn’t, we have gotten him a necklace that has a toy on it that is for chewing (which he uses well, but continues to bite). As a last resort, I reached out to his pediatrician to ultimately said she’s not concerned and there’s nothing to do.

I feel terrible every day for his sitter, and feel awful sending him somewhere where I know he’s being mean to other kids and it’s causing me so much stress that I can’t sleep at night. I’m worried that I am going to soon become liable for someone else’s medical bills.

I went as far as making a post on facebook asking for advice, to which i was only met with “bite him back.” He is not showing any signs or trying to bite his dad or I so this is not a solution.

Any tips or tricks are really really appreciated.