Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
Dec
12
Posted by My OB said WHAT?!?.
“She’s Nursing So Much Because She’s Starving…”
“She’s nursing so much because she’s starving. Give her a bottle until your milk comes in.” – Pediatrician to mother of a one day old baby.
There are 23 comments to this post.
Um,no. She is nursing so much because that is what babies are supposed to do. They are supposed to nurse lots so that Mom’s breasts know to make lots of milk. If she gets a bottle, she won’t nurse and Mom won’t make milk.
Stupid pediatricians…
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road2vba2c had this to say,
Dec 12, 2011 @ 5:01 pm (Quote)
Wow, comments like these are toxic to breastfeeding relationships. OP, I hope you didn’t fall for this horrible advice!
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As an RN working L&D, I would tell new moms:
When your stomach is the size of a chick pea…all you need is colostrum initially. Giving a full bottle is like telling an adult to drink 4 gallons of milk all at once. Then as the babe’s requirements increase…the frequent feeds ARE WHAT TELLS THE MOM’S BODY HOW MUCH MILK TO MAKE. So it stands to reason…if you give a bottle….the babe no longer frequent feeds and Mom’s body doesn’t make the amount the baby needs….because of the interference of the formula.
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Lisa Reply:
December 12th, 2011 at 6:36 pm (Quote)
CC, thank you for being one of the smart ones. I seriously wonder if nurses and doctor’s are employed by the formula companies since they seem to deter us so much from breast feeding.
I had to formula feed my son at about 3 weeks, but it was because he wasn’t feeding well (3oz in 3 weeks), I was trying to pump so we knew how much he was getting but then stressed myself out so much about it that I went to formula. I was crying on the phone to midwife and she kept telling me that I had to do what’s best for the baby. Luckily, formula only lasted for about 2 months, maybe a bottle or two a day until I finally got the breast feeding to work for us. I’m happy to say that at 9 months old he is still on breast milk!
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Liz Reply:
December 13th, 2011 at 11:54 am (Quote)
Sounds familiar to my story, Lisa, only it was 7oz in 2 months (and he was 4 months old). Even then, our pedi asked if I would be ok with supplementing and suggested I call our breastfeeding center. I also had DS at a Baby-Friendly hospital, so that influenced everything, I’m sure. Even the nurse practitioner at my OB’s office told us about the size of baby’s stomach.
Now, DS is 15.5 months old and still nursing. 
You’re doing a great job, mama!
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Sonia Reply:
December 13th, 2011 at 2:49 pm (Quote)
WOW you guys are doing a fantastic job for your little ones! My youngest had a severe tongue tie and had to have it clipped. I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful nurse who had nursed TWINS until they were a year old each! She got me pumping and we syringe fed him that and gave him a little formula, but when we got home it was allll me! He went on to nurse until he was 16 months old!!
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GAH. And meanwhile they tell me since my milk is starting to come in that obviously he’s getting enough and they can just soothe him, he’s just comfort sucking.
My milk being partly in means he feeds for shorter periods. It doesn’t change the size of his stomach! And trust me…it was not all the way in when that was said. Leave. The baby. With me.
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I guess I was super lucky…in the NICU where my daughter was in, they were very much pro-breast milk as long as momma could support it (as in, if momma was just not making it, chose to breast feed, etc.). They only went to formula if absolutely necessary (if the child was in desperate need/if that’s what the parents chose). And they made sure every nurse that came on a new rotation was aware of which child was exclusive-breast milk by putting tags on the babies’ beds that said “I Eat at Moms”.
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I just took my 11-day-old to a pediatrician, who informed me that I shouldn’t nurse any more than 10 minutes at a time.
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Sonia Reply:
December 13th, 2011 at 2:52 pm (Quote)
That is crap! You let that baby nurse how ever you want and what is comfortable for him. I never could buy into that stuff, my son would nurse on one side and fall asleep and then I would offer him the other side and he wouldn’t nurse, so the next time I offered him that side and he would and so on…do what come not only naturally to you, but comfortably to you!
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Kathleen Reply:
December 13th, 2011 at 5:38 pm (Quote)
Definitely, Sonia! Of course, this is my fifth baby, and I help mothers breastfeed as a vocation, so I went ahead and ignored him. It worries me, though, that he’s telling mothers that.
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Sonia Reply:
December 13th, 2011 at 6:14 pm (Quote)
I took a ton of information like this from my doctor’s with my first son and only lasted three months, with my second I ignored EVERYONE and just did my own thing! After he had his tongue tie clipped he went on to nurse till he was 16 months old. I doubt you will think it’s strange, but I miss the closeness and cuddling and relaxation of nursing a little one…
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Carrot Flowers had this to say,
Dec 20, 2011 @ 6:33 pm (Quote)
I can’t believe myobsaidwhat.com is advertising Aptamil!!!!!
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A newborn will nurse every 1-2 hours. Mine cluster fed every 20 minutes for the first day or so.
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Kristin Reply:
December 12th, 2011 at 3:00 pm Kristin(Quote)
Also, a newborn’s stomach is between the size of a marble and a ping pong ball. It holds just a few drops at first, and then expands enough to hold more later…
I’m not a doctor, or a nurse, or a lactation consultant. And even I knew that much…
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