I had never heard of hypotonia in relation to breastfeeding. I did know that a late pre term infant (preemie) would be different from a full term baby mostly because this was my 3rd pre term infant. My first one was 36 weeks, she was healthy and normal but had an ear infection at 3 weeks and had not regained birthweight and by the 4th week I was feeling pressure to give up breastfeeding so she was bottle fed. I vowed that would not happen again. Then my 3rd child was 35 weeks and he had severe reflux which did not get treated...the screaming and the puking that poor child did...I still vividly recall. He gained weight slowly and at 2 1/2 had to have speech therapy, which tells me he might have had the same problem.
With the baby I latched her on and she seemed like she was nursing well, however, she would nurse for a couple of minutes and then stop, then come back for more in about 45 minutes. So she would nurse for 10-15 minutes (possibly comfort nursing for at least half of that time) then take a break for 45 minutes then latch back on. My 3rd child was similar except he could go an hour in between. It took him until he was 6 months before he could go an hour and half. Very similar to this baby. Nobody thought anything of him not gaining well, just figured it was hereditary.
Unfortunately, I did not have insurance when this baby was born so getting to a lactation consultant without having payment up front seemed out of reach for me. I didn't know anybody in LLL and had not involved myself with the organization because I felt that it was not for me. All of my knowledge came from a message board on AOL that was closed down years before. I did remember that Dr. Jay Gordon had a website and ivillage and kellymom.com were good resources, so I just kept plugging along. If I would have known how important pumping was to getting through this I would have gone that route. I didn't know what the problem was until she was 16 months old. Looking back on the situation I knew that there was an issue but didn't know what it was called or what I needed to do. One thing I noticed the baby doing was pinching her cheeks and she would stick her tongue out but in a way that looked like something a down's syndrome child would do. Down's syndrome children have this problem and in the past their mom's have been told that they can't breastfeed them. Actually they can but it is a learning process.
How unfortunate that in the beginning of my journey I did not know this part of the puzzle. I did know about malabsorption which can come from allergies. I did know about reflux issues and that silent reflux was her issue. I also knew that hereditary factors can impact weight gain. I kept telling the doctor's over and over that it is not one issue it is many (a whole constellation of factors). Did it fall on deaf ears, yes!! Did it stop me, NO!!! I did have to supplement, but she wouldn't let me supplement a whole lot, she would just spit it out. I never used a bottle, I cup trained her at 5 months. Would I recommend someone do this? Yes, and no. First I would say, work with a lactation consultant or a LLL leader. They know their stuff and will help get you through it. Do not walk this path alone, it is frightening and intimidating and will make you doubt yourself.
What I learned is that if a child has this issue it is important to pump. I honestly could not figure out how I would fit pumping into the back to back nursings. I could have pumped one side while she was nursing the other side and this would have helped because then I would have had pumped milk to show that I can produce milk. Plus I could have supplemented her with it. She probably would not have spit it back at me either. Of course the very act of pumping would have increased my supply also.
If you want more information on Hypotonia you can find it here: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/hypotonia/hypotonia.htm
Check my helpful breastfeeding links page for information on reflux and allergies.
With the baby I latched her on and she seemed like she was nursing well, however, she would nurse for a couple of minutes and then stop, then come back for more in about 45 minutes. So she would nurse for 10-15 minutes (possibly comfort nursing for at least half of that time) then take a break for 45 minutes then latch back on. My 3rd child was similar except he could go an hour in between. It took him until he was 6 months before he could go an hour and half. Very similar to this baby. Nobody thought anything of him not gaining well, just figured it was hereditary.
Unfortunately, I did not have insurance when this baby was born so getting to a lactation consultant without having payment up front seemed out of reach for me. I didn't know anybody in LLL and had not involved myself with the organization because I felt that it was not for me. All of my knowledge came from a message board on AOL that was closed down years before. I did remember that Dr. Jay Gordon had a website and ivillage and kellymom.com were good resources, so I just kept plugging along. If I would have known how important pumping was to getting through this I would have gone that route. I didn't know what the problem was until she was 16 months old. Looking back on the situation I knew that there was an issue but didn't know what it was called or what I needed to do. One thing I noticed the baby doing was pinching her cheeks and she would stick her tongue out but in a way that looked like something a down's syndrome child would do. Down's syndrome children have this problem and in the past their mom's have been told that they can't breastfeed them. Actually they can but it is a learning process.
How unfortunate that in the beginning of my journey I did not know this part of the puzzle. I did know about malabsorption which can come from allergies. I did know about reflux issues and that silent reflux was her issue. I also knew that hereditary factors can impact weight gain. I kept telling the doctor's over and over that it is not one issue it is many (a whole constellation of factors). Did it fall on deaf ears, yes!! Did it stop me, NO!!! I did have to supplement, but she wouldn't let me supplement a whole lot, she would just spit it out. I never used a bottle, I cup trained her at 5 months. Would I recommend someone do this? Yes, and no. First I would say, work with a lactation consultant or a LLL leader. They know their stuff and will help get you through it. Do not walk this path alone, it is frightening and intimidating and will make you doubt yourself.
What I learned is that if a child has this issue it is important to pump. I honestly could not figure out how I would fit pumping into the back to back nursings. I could have pumped one side while she was nursing the other side and this would have helped because then I would have had pumped milk to show that I can produce milk. Plus I could have supplemented her with it. She probably would not have spit it back at me either. Of course the very act of pumping would have increased my supply also.
If you want more information on Hypotonia you can find it here: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/hypotonia/hypotonia.htm
Check my helpful breastfeeding links page for information on reflux and allergies.