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Hello, my nine week old baby spent the first seven weeks of his life in hospital during which time he eas fed through an IV an then an NG tube. I expressed my milk to maintain my supply, and when he was seven weeks old began to breastfeed. I realise that breastfed babies gain weight slowly and he gained 60 gams during our first week. My baby appears to be constantly hungry and he can only go a few minutes between feeds. I think that I have plenty of milk as I can always squeeze some out and I can see milk around baby's mouth while he is feeding. I try to ensure that our position is as good as possible and baby seems to spend a lot of time sucking. Do you have any suggestions for what I could do to ensure that my baby's tummy is filled enough to allow him to go a little longer between feeds as he is missing out on so uch as he is either feeding or screaming for another feed.

Thank you

Cath, I think you need to talk this through with a breastfeeding counsellor as there are lots of things I would want to ask and suggest and email is a difficult way to do it.  I'm assuming your baby was premature and you may need some good local support with feeding for a while as you get feeding established.  You may have an infant feeding specialist at your maternity unit who will be able to offer some expert support, you could also ring the NCT Breastfeeding Line and not only talk to a counsellor but also find out if there is a local NCT breastfeeding counsellor near you. The number is  0300 330 0771.  You might also find the book "Breastfeeding Special Care Babies" very useful - your library should be able to get copy for you.

I hope this helps,

Best wishes,

Jenny Lesley - Breastfeeding Counsellor

Should my wife eat feta cheese in Greece? She is at about week 7 at the moment. Cheers, Gary

Hi Gary,

Thanks for contacting NCT,

It is only ok to eat feta cheese if it is made from pasteurized milk. The following page gives some more information on foods that should be avoided during pregnancy :

http://www.nct.org.uk/info-centre/information/view-90#foods

Hope this helps,

Kirstie,
Antenatal Teacher

Can you recommend any massage therapists in South Edinburgh who are specialised in pregnancy massage?

Thanks.

Hello Anna

Thanks for your email.

The NCT doesn't hold details of massage therapists, so I'm afraid that we can't help you directly. You could try contacting your local branch for the chance to speak with others who may have the sort of local knowledge and experience which can be so very valuable. Your midwife may also know some useful possibilities.

I'm sorry I can't provide you with anything more useful - I do hope you find some options which help.

Kirsty Nicol

 

I have a pre-term infant, who I've just brought home from the hospital. Her due date was July 31st, but she was born on June 5th. Which formula brands are most recommended for my infant, and how can I compare them to each other?

Hi, Tracy.  Thanks for posting to NCT. I bet you are delighted to have your little girl home at last.

 

Options for feeding a baby born several weeks pre-term are best discussed with the staff who have been looking after your daughter in special care. Your baby may have special nutritional needs.

 

Normally, and speaking generally,  the choice for a pre-term baby would be to breastfeed solely, or to breastfeed with milk fortifier added (this is a specialised product added to breastmilk to boost the calories for babies who need it), or if not breastfeeding to use a specialist pre-term formula, moving on to standard formula later. 

 

There is no independent, evidence-based, non-commercial assessment  of formula brands available, so we can't give you any information about that .  However, if  your baby is now on standard formula and not breastfeeding, then you can be confident that the different brands differ very little from each other, so choosing one you know you will be able to buy locally is probably a sensible move. 

 

I hope this helps. Your midwife and/or health visitor should be able to give you some information as well. 

 

all best wishes

 

Heather Neil

My baby is nearly 20 weeks old, over the last few weeks she has started fussing at the breast, latching on and off and crying through the feed. It is becoming increasingly difficult to feed her in public and even in a quiet environment.

At night she was regularly sleeping from 8 til 5-7 with the odd night waking earlier for a feed, however over the last couple of weeks she has started waking for a feed between 1am and 4am nearly every night.

I am worried my milk supply has reduced and she isn't getting enough milk?? I try and feed her every 3hrs so she is getting what she needs during the day but it doesn't make a difference and she still wakes at night?

She has always been slow to gain weight, but over the last month she seems to have slowed down further only putting 3-4lbs on a week.

Hi, Katie. Thanks for your post to NCT.

 

I can understand your concern because of your baby's changed behaviour - we tend to think that babies' sleeping patterns always change in a regular way, with sleeping periods extending as the baby grows. In fact, it is really, really common for babies to behave in exactly the way you describe, with a change happening for some unknown reason which results in the baby waking more, not less, for a time.

 

It's also not at all unusual for babies of around this 4-6 mths stage to start fussing and messing about - it's almost as if they are undergoing a confusing stage where they are 'driven' to take notice of the world, to react to their surroundings in a way they simply didn't when newborn, and to become very, very distracted. Yet at the same time they do want to snuggle in and feed - result is confusion and frustration.  Seeking a quiet environment is something mothers often do - you might try to do this in advance of the feed if you can, so she doesn't get a chance to wind herself up! 

 

It is a phase that normally resolves itself after a little while. 

 

Her weight gain (3-4 oz a week, you said) is on the normal spectrum. It is normal for weight gain to slow as babies get beyond newborn. 

 

Perhaps it will help you to speak to a breastfeeding counsellor and to visit a breastfeeding support group, Katie - other mothers are certain to have gone through the same experience as you, and this can sometimes help. You can also speak to your health visitor, who should be able to assure you that your little girl is basically healthy and thriving. 

 

I hope this helps a bit and that feeding becomes a bit easier soon!

 

all the best

 

Heather Neil

Hello,

We are formula feeding our 9 week old son, who currently weighs 16lbs (9.1lbs at birth), after I experienced persistent problems with milk supply, blocked ducts and mastitis while breastfeeding, which I did until 6 weeks. For the first couple of weeks on bottles, James was downing six 8oz feeds per day, but in the last fortnight his eating pattern has become much more random, and sometimes he's fighting the bottle every step of the way. He seems hungry (rooting, trying to eat his hands, etc), but after eagerly taking the teat starts to kick, squirm, go bright red and cry before spitting the teat out, to the point where it is distressing for all of us. Obviously we don't force feed him - when he stops making hungry signs we stop trying. And some feeds he just sails through. The obvious thing seems to be that his stomach hurts, but this is not readily relieved by gripe water or infacol. I realise that 8oz per feed is more than the recommended amount for his size and age, so was wondering if his stomach could have become irritated by overfeeding? We've used the same brand of formula throughout. My next course of action was going to be to try reducing each feed by a couple of ounces to try and give his belly a bit of a break. Does that seem sensible? Is there anything else you could recommend? My GP and Health visitor have just suggested changing the formula, but didn't seem to think the amount was the problem.

I'm frustrated by the shortage of bottle feeding support groups, whereas there is no shortage of support for breastfeeding in my area. Are there any support services available, free or paid for?

Many thanks,

Liz

Hi,  Liz. Thanks for your post to NCT. I am sorry to hear of the difficulties you're experiencing, and it sounds as if feed time can be uncomfortable for James - not surprising you are trying to work out how to make things easier for him.  Some of the questions you ask verge on the medical, and so they're outside our boundaries - it makes sense to ask the HV or the GP about these, but I read you have already done so without much joy. Would it be possible for you to speak to another HV or GP about this, I wonder?

I am a breastfeeding counsellor, and not qualified to talk about different formulas, or whether changing your brand would be an option, or amounts offered. However, we can talk about baby behaviours and I wonder if James' distress and fighting on some of the occasions  is not a response  to the actual milk causing him discomfort (because the response, when he makes it, is very soon after he starts to feed, and this seems very quick for any pain to happen). Something abut the teat, the teat hole, the way he is held, or looked at, the fact that at that time he wants a cuddle but not a feed...could any of these be upsetting him, do you think? Is he trying to engage you in some way, or wanting quiet and calm on some occasions?

Is there a health visitor who could observe a feed and make some suggestions? Some health visitors have a special interest in infant behaviours and relationships - maybe there is one in your area who would see you?

My feeling as an experienced breastfeeding counsellor is that puzzling difficulties with feeding like the ones you describe (and which may have had something to do with your difficult breastfeeding experiences, too) are not well-addressed by support groups (apart from the opportunity to have the encouragement and sympathy of a peer group). We have a baby here who is healthy, thriving and growing, so not presenting any medical emergency  - but who is clearly uncomfortable and upset at some feeds. Something's going on - is it something the baby will grow out of as he  gets used to  communicating more effectively just what is up? Or can it be alleviated now? 

I know this isn't going to help much - hard to do anything by email. Help in real life would be hard to find if you were breastfeeding, too, I think, for this sort of challenge.  But I think it's worth explaining to your HV (at least) that you want to speak to someone else, that James is not happy, and that you want to resolve it. Some places - especially London - have access to services that take a close look at infant behaviours from a psychodynamic point of view. I have no idea if this would be helpful to you and James, but you could find out more about it and see if it would be possible for you to access it.

Feel free to post again if you wish and all best wishes.

 

Heather Neil 

 

 

My baby is 11 weeks old and I feed her SMA Gold Ready Mix milk. She weighed in at 14lb 5.5oz at 10 weeks. Average feeds are 5oz 6 times in 24 hours. But sometimes she seems to be hungry and takes another ounce (occasionally she only takes 4oz). But when she takes extra she ends up sicking it back up again. Should I put her on milk for Hungry Baby? I have asked my health visitor, but to be honest, they are very understaffed and don't have mcuh time to talk to individual mummies at clinic!

Hi, Siobhan. Thanks for your post. It's good you are in touch with your clinic and HV, and maybe this is a question you can put to them more assertively - explain it's on your mind, and you need the chance to talk it through, and can you have a proper appoinment?

Different formulations of formula milk are something that's best discussed with a healthcare professional who knows you and can assess your baby individually - it's not within our area of knowledge or training, sorry, and without knowing the birthweight and weight gain history of your baby, and other health factors, we can't make a comment on what your baby needs.

Usual advice on formulation is to stick with whatever suits your baby, and bringing milk back is really, really common and not normally a sign there is anything wrong with the type of milk.  Hungry Baby milk has less modified protein in it, and takes longer to digest, and for this reason, most healthcare professionals would avoid it for younger babies. However, it is approved by the department of health for use from birth - again, all this is something you can talk to your HV about, and talking to individual mothers is an important part of their job!

 

Sorry we can't help you more specifically. I hope you find the opportunity to get the answers you need soon. 

 

best wishes

 

Heather Neil

I have been in pain for the past 3 weeks due to torn muscles in my lower stomach. I am 35 weeks pregnant and have got to the point where I can barely move around due to the pain and discomfort. I am worried that I may go past my due date as I can hardly cope as it is, What would be the chances of induction on or around my due date

Hi Gemma

Many thanks for contacting NCT with your concerns and questions.  It sounds very much like you are struggling with the pain caused by your abdominal muscles and it must be extremely uncomfortable for you.

Induction around your due date could be a possibility if you are in so much pain and after careful discussion and agreement with your consultant.  It is very important that you talk to your midwives and your consultant about all of this as induction itself has implications for labour, such as a greater likelihood of needing further interventions such as artificial hormones to speed up labour and pharmacological pain relief.  Whilst some women go on to have normal vaginal births after induction, with the strong recommendation of a managed third stage rather than physiological, evidence shows that women who are induced are more likely to need assisted births (ventouse, forceps) and are, thus, more likely to have an episotomy and, ultimately, a cesarean birth.  This is all because being induced with artificial hormones interferes with the production of a woman's own natural hormones which 'tell' her body what to do in labour.  

If your cervix is ready, your midwife may do a membrane sweep ealrier than usual, and again, this is something that you need to discuss with her.  This may help start labour and does not have the same implications as the above mentioned pharmacological induction.

I do hope the above helps and wish you well for the remainder of your pregnancy and birth.

Louise Smith

I am 16 weeks pregnant and wondering if it is safe to go hiking. We are thinking of hiking up a few Munros which are mountains over 3000ft. I am already pretty fit and run and cycle and am experienced in hiking in the mountains. All the advice I can find is a bit conflicting so not sure if the it is safe.
Thanks
Kelly

Hi Kelly,

Thank you for contacting the NCT and congratulations on your pregnancy. 

Keeping fit during pregnancy is important and walking is a great way to do this.  Hiking to 3000ft is not considered to be walking at altitude and of course you are only at 3000ft or more for a relatively short part of the walk.  

You may find that you are starting to enter a phase in your pregnancy where any morning sickness has worn off and you may be feeling a little less tired.  As long as you are having a healthy pregnancy, don't overdo the exercise and are guided by how your body feels, taking rest days if you are tired, there is not really any reason why you shouldn't go hiking.

Kelly I hope this reasures you and I hope you have a great time with no rain, no midges and plenty of fantastic views.

best wishes

Clare Charlton, antenatal teacher

I have been breastfeeding my two week old son with some difficulty. He appears to be latching on well now. The problem is I have developed a blister on the edge of one of my nipples which is making feeding really painful, what can I do to get rid of the blister?

Congratulations Louise on your new son. You must be so pleased with him, but it sounds as if the pain is exhausting. It doesn’t have to be like that, and a little bit of tweaking of the position is probably all it needs to reduce the soreness, and hopefully get rid of it. It’s probably best to ring the NCT breastfeeding line, and one of our breastfeeding counsellors will help you with this.  0300 330 0771 from 8 am to 10 pm every day.

Meantime you would probably find it helpful to cuddle your baby, skin to skin if you like or if you can, as much as possible.  This can help harness your baby’s instincts and improve the breastfeeding. Mothers usually enjoy it too. Some of the pictures  on this site show how it can help.

 

The pictures on pages 8 to 11 of this book are very good in showing how babies need to attach.

 

Best of luck Louise and I hope the pain goes quickly, so you can enjoy your new son all the better.

 

Eithne Murray, NCT breastfeeding counsellor

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