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Park City Utah
2 years ago
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Breastfeeding Advice?
Okay, so I did something that you are not supposed to do. . . I supplemented with formula. Not that formula is bad, but I know once you start supplementing, you'll never keep up with your baby. For the past week or so, Abigail has started getting really mad while nursing. I think she's getting impatient waiting for the second let down when a bottle provides a constant flow. And I can tell that she is just so hungry. And for the first time since we brought her home, she lost weight. ( I weigh her every other day.) So, after nursing her for 30 minutes and having her scream, I fed her a bottle that she sucked dry. Then, she happily continued nursing. I'm not sure how to increase my supply other than nursing, pumping and drinking water. I'm trying to relax and sleep as much as I can, but i don't have a lot of control over that. The other day, she literally nursed from 10:30 am to 3 pm. And THAT didn't even seem to help. So any advice to boost my supply? I planned on nursing her for a full year, but I don't know how I'm going to keep up. She is an eating machine! LOL! She's also 2 months old today and about 9 lbs. But, I'll have the official picture posted another day. But this is how happy she is with a full tummy! And in the second picture, you can tell her sister has been playing with her. :)
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10 comments:
I never had a problemm with milk supply so I really can't help a lot. Do you have a lactation consultant that you can get some advice from? My Pedi's office has one in the office and it was a great help.
Oh! My Sister In Law used a special tea to help produce more milk. She got it at Babies R Us.
All I did was pump, pump, pump, pump. I was pumping every 1.5 to 2 hours for the first 9 months. ALL day and ALL night. Exhausting but I managed to supply my twins with milk pretty much exclusively. I did occasionally use formula- the premeasured packs when we were out and about because they never were good nursers so I was pretty much an exclusive pumper except at night. I know there are supplements and teas that are supposed to work, but I never tried them, so no help there!
I would see if you van talk to a lactation consultant. I read recently that many moms think their supply isn't enough, when it is fine. However, if she lost weight, that might be the case. I would do what you need to do to keep a happy baby...even if that means supplementing and nursing. This time around I just want it to stress me out less!
I breastfed all my girls for ca. 1 year and never supplemented with formula. However I really struggled with not 'having enough' milk at about 8 weeks with each child, and again at about 16 weeks. This is because the babies go through growth spurts around these ages (google growth spurts in babies). I went through many days where I felt I might as well plant my ass on the sofa and let the baby feed all day long. The baby was restless and cranky and cried a lot, but so many people told me to accept these stages as they come. By allowing the baby to nurse (seemingly) non stop actually helps to eventually build your milk supply again. My only advice to you is to stop weighing the baby so often. I understand your fixation with weight having had a preterm baby, but with an almost full term baby, this isn't so important. Maybe go for once a week until she is 4 months old and once a month from there on. Abigail clearly is not under nourished!!! I know it can be tricky with a 5 year old and a baby, but Olivia is also old enough to learn that Mommy has another baby now and she sometimes has to wait her turn. I am the mother of three girls aged 10, 8 and 5. I'm no doctor, but all of what you have written is so familiar to me. Good luck
Since this is basically new to you this time around, it is easy to get frustrated and be afraid that you aren't making enough milk. I agree with the comment about growth spurts. I had plenty of milk for the boys, (I had to work when Claire was a baby, so my milk supply went down)but they still had those days when they would just scream and cry. The way to see if the baby is getting enough is by diapers. Is she having wet diapers and dirty diapers? I know giving her formula to supplement quiets her down, but it could also work against you can cause you really not have enough milk.
I had to give up on breastfeeding because I never had a milk supply. Talk about complete guilt! But, my pedi told me that I was under a lot of stress from other things and not to stress out about it one minute further. He said that formula fed babies tend to sleep better anyways because you control how much you give them and you can give them an ounce or so more at night. And, he said I needed my sleep anyways. He was right. My baby slept through the night at eight weeks. So, I really hope it works for you with breastfeeding. It was something I really wanted, but couldn't do. However, if it doesn't with everything you guys have going on, don't stress too much. She is a perfect baby!
Keep breastfeeding, supplement with formula when needed and don't feel bad about it. I have 3 kids whom I nursed all for +/- a year each. I did not have a large volume milk supply, nor did I have enough milk to freeze when I worked part time. On average all my babies got about 1 bottle of formula a day. They were happy with a full belly, and I was able to get a little break while my husband gave them the bottle. It also made going back to work part time after they were 3 months easier because they were used to taking a bottle. I would pump if I missed more than one feeding a day. By my 3rd baby, she would nurse when I was around and take formula when I was gone. I didn't even bother storing the little milk I was able to pump at work. Yes, I dumped that "liquid gold". But for my sanity, it worked and she nursed for a year. Any breastmilk is better than none. Your baby gets more breastmilk when they nurse than you can pump.
My pedi told me to try Fenugreek. I bought it at Whole Foods. I have been taking it for about a week, and it seems to be helping.
Fenugreek! You can get it at GNC, or any natural food store. You know that you are taking enough when you smell like maple syrup. Yeah, kind of weird, but you could smell a whole lot worse lol!
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