That's the Ticket!

I posted about how Lily gets tummy aches a lot...  and I think I've figured out the reason.

First of all, I was switching sides too often while nursing.  In the hospital they told me to nurse for 20 minutes on one side, then if Lily was still hungry to let her have the other side. Lily's doctor said to nurse for 8 minutes on one side, then switch.

I read that if you switch sides too soon and too often, the baby gets too much foremilk (thin, watery milk) and not enough hindmilk (the creamy, higher calorie, "dessert" milk).  This causes the baby's tummy to get full before the baby gets enough calories.  So then the baby either spits up, or digests too much milk at one time (causing a tummy ache), and to be hungry a lot more often than if she gets enough hindmilk.

So, I went back to how I was nursing in the first place... 20 minutes on the first side, then offering the second side if Lily is still hungry.

Well, that caused another issue.  Lily was gagging, coughing, and milk was coming out of her nose.  So now I have a problem called hyperactive let down, or something like that.  It means my milk lets down too easily, and that I have too much milk.  So, once again, Lily is getting too much foremlk and not enough hind milk.

So now I've started expressing a bit of milk before I feed her, and things are a lot better.  She's not choking or gagging, and she's not hungry every hour, and she's not getting tummy aches.

Thank friggen goodness!

Now the next issue... she's still fussy all day.  But that's just because she's a poop.

Free baby, anyone?