I just need to word dump about this and would appreciate hair pats and/or advice.
BFing started great with DS2, but just like last time, somewhere around 4mths my boobs stopped making enough milk in the evening. There was some there, but not nearly enough to fill him up. Cue his sleep going to shit. I chalked this up to the 4mth wakeful and eventually tried to sleep train just to get back to him only waking 1-2x a night. I had no idea though how much my supply had dropped in the evenings. FYI, you can't sleep train a hungry baby. And if you try because you don't realize he is hungry, you will feel like utter shit about it in hindsight.
I finally realized what was going on a few days before his 5mth appt. He only gained 6oz in a month and has dropped from 30th to 10th percentile for weight. Pedi isn't overly concerned, but obviously doesn't want the trend to continue. I now have him on a formula bottle before bed (~4oz) and then he nurses afterwards and gets whatever I can produce. I wasn't overly confident that he was getting enough during the day, so I tried to supplement after nursing sessions, but no dice. He would get just enough from me to take the edge off and then wouldn't take anything from the bottle. Oh, and his sleep is still crummy, but it seems that most of wake-ups aren't to really eat, but are just to be pacified back to sleep.
At this point I'm just frustrated and tired. So tired. I've started having him start with the bottle even during the day and then nurse afterwards. I know that is so backwards and will likely cause my supply to further dip, but I can't in good conscious try to sleep train again until I'm 100% confident that he is getting enough milk during the day and can survive with only 1 feeding at night. He takes the bottle with gusto before bed, but he fights me on it during the day. I'm not sure if I'm even ready to wean completely, but I feel like offering the bottle first is the only way I can make sure he is getting enough milk.
Neither of us is getting enough sleep at this point and my patience with DS1 is so unfairly low right now. Something has to change, but I'm just feeling overwhelmed and frustrated by the whole situation.
This also might be a post and run because I'm going to try to get a bit of sleep before the first wake up of the night. Sigh.
I had supply issues from go with DS1 and did a ton to increase my supply. And he still wound up on a formula supplement at 4 months old and I threw in the towel altogether at 9 months when he got distracted and I was over it.
I'm actually not upset at having to supplement. I think I'm just frustrated that he is fighting me on the bottle, especially since I know I'm not making enough for him right now. And I really need him to take enough during the day so I can try to get the night wakings under control without being scared that he's crying because he's legitimately hungry.
Starlily and Farmer - thanks gals. I'm so mentally okay with combo feeding, but figuring out the practical stuff has been more complicated than I thought.
Post by prairiedawn on Mar 4, 2015 10:16:03 GMT -5
two things:
1. statistically, moms who supplement with formula go on to breastfeed much longer than women who are hardcore about EBFing. you're doing great.
2. there are over 3 million live germ killing cells in each teaspoon of breast milk. i have a LLL friend who only produces about a teaspoon a day and thinks of it as giving her baby his "medicine." any amount of breast milk is a gift and is hugely significant.
okay 3 things
3. your job is to feed your baby. as long as it's not a ham sandwich, you're doing it right! you are doing an outstanding job! unlike many BFing moms, you are able to see the whole picture of your baby's overall well-being. sure, breast milk is great for development, but so is sleep...and not looking like a baby from a "save the children" ad. you are doing everything right. chin up!! you will feel better when you get some sleep
You could try a supplemental nursing system. I used one with O when he was only about two or three weeks old and it was frustrating, but it might be easier with a four month old--part of my problem was keeping his hands out of the way while trying to get the nipple and tube into his mouth. It'd let you supplement but still give him what you have to offer, and still give you stimulation for your supply.
You could try a supplemental nursing system. I used one with O when he was only about two or three weeks old and it was frustrating, but it might be easier with a four month old--part of my problem was keeping his hands out of the way while trying to get the nipple and tube into his mouth. It'd let you supplement but still give him what you have to offer, and still give you stimulation for your supply.
dude! i would love to talk with you about your experience with this someday. i have stopped suggesting it to people because nobody ever freaking does it!! this is awesome!
You could try a supplemental nursing system. I used one with O when he was only about two or three weeks old and it was frustrating, but it might be easier with a four month old--part of my problem was keeping his hands out of the way while trying to get the nipple and tube into his mouth. It'd let you supplement but still give him what you have to offer, and still give you stimulation for your supply.
dude! i would love to talk with you about your experience with this someday. i have stopped suggesting it to people because nobody ever freaking does it!! this is awesome!
I think I only lasted two or three weeks using it. I had a low supply and was trying everything, and trying to bf, pump, and use the sns was all very stressful at the time. If he had been a little older, or if I had swaddled him it probably would have gone better for us. When I got everything in his mouth okay, it was fantastic though.
If I start having the same issue this time, I'd definitely try it again though.
prairiedawn - I'm so happy you chimed in. Thank you for your kind words - they actually make me feel a lot better. I think I'm so wrapped up in the details right now that sometimes I forget to keep looking at the big picture.
statistically, moms who supplement with formula go on to breastfeed much longer than women who are hardcore about EBFing. you're doing great.
Do you have any sources for this? One of my BFF is really struggling with pumping/keeping up, and we've talked a lot about combo feeding. But I can tell she's worried introducing formula = no more nursing based on some things she's said; I know statistics/data would ease her mind a bit.
we learned it in my lactation specialist certification course and i heard it from my own pediatrician as well. it's somewhere in this big ass book!
statistically, moms who supplement with formula go on to breastfeed much longer than women who are hardcore about EBFing. you're doing great.
Do you have any sources for this? One of my BFF is really struggling with pumping/keeping up, and we've talked a lot about combo feeding. But I can tell she's worried introducing formula = no more nursing based on some things she's said; I know statistics/data would ease her mind a bit.
kellymom has great resources on ways to supplement that protects breastfeeding
You could try a supplemental nursing system. I used one with O when he was only about two or three weeks old and it was frustrating, but it might be easier with a four month old--part of my problem was keeping his hands out of the way while trying to get the nipple and tube into his mouth. It'd let you supplement but still give him what you have to offer, and still give you stimulation for your supply.
dude! i would love to talk with you about your experience with this someday. i have stopped suggesting it to people because nobody ever freaking does it!! this is awesome!
a) I MISSED YOU AND YOUR BOOB WISDOM when I was in the midst of the most hellish days!
b) I was SO GLAD I had a nurse in the nursery who told me about this. We did it in the hospital when DS's sugars were too low, and I really really think we would've had problems if we did a bottle that early (just because of his specific issues, not that I think it's a bad idea in general).
Post by hopenotlost on Mar 4, 2015 11:51:00 GMT -5
I had some issues with my youngest (who became my only successful BF baby). I would nurse for 10 minutes, then feed her a bottle of either bm or formula, and then pump 20 minutes. I did this every single time she ate. It made my milk supply sky rocket. After about a month, she refused the bottle, and would only nurse, so I was still pumping because my supply was nuts. I ended up donating everything I pumped before I gave up pumping.
1. statistically, moms who supplement with formula go on to breastfeed much longer than women who are hardcore about EBFing. you're doing great.
2. there are over 3 million live germ killing cells in each teaspoon of breast milk. i have a LLL friend who only produces about a teaspoon a day and thinks of it as giving her baby his "medicine." any amount of breast milk is a gift and is hugely significant.
I am sorry to side track off the thread topic but I have a quick question regarding the bolded. My daughter just got over a nasty bout of RSV (she is 5 months). Her cousin who is the same age and with her everyday did not get RSV. Both my sister and I breastfeed but I exclusively pump and refrigerate all DD's milk before feeding. Is it possible that refrigerating the milk is killing off the germ killing cells?