Afraid to lose my supply - kinda lengthy...sorry

Dianne - posted on 05/27/2009

Jamie...my pediatrician suggested giving her the watered down breastmilk to encourage her to use a sippy cup. She hates juice and plain water. It has nothing to do with nutrition...just sippy cup training. Over the last 10 days or so the amount of breastmilk added to the water has steadily decreased and she is now taking virtually straight water from her sippy cup. The only reason I am even bothering with the water is because she is chronically constipated. She won't drink juice, so that doesn't help her go. My ped said that the fiber I am giving her in her diet via veggies, fruit and whole grains is excellent for constipation, but that it is water soluable. There is water in breastmilk, of course, but obviously my daughter needs just a bit more in her system to get it to work. She gets 3 oz of water a day. It's more then I would like to give, but it's what works. Any less water and she gets really backed up again. Bowel issues run in my family. I was hoping that the breastfeeding would curb any chances she had of having any issues, but clearly it didn't...though she is fairing far better then other kids in the family. I will do my best to pump as early as I can in the morning and see how that helps. Just since I posted my original question, my supply has increased. I am now able to pump three 6 oz bottles a day....where as I was only able to pump two 5 oz bottles before. Ideally I would like to get it up to three 7 oz bottles and be able to maintain that until she turns 1 in August. At least I'm on the right track...

Kristyn - posted on 05/27/2009

Pumping isn't as effective at draining you as a baby is so when you pump your supply goes down. I had the same problem because I was pumping a bottle for my son to have a daycare each day. The bottle kept getting smaller and smaller. I asked a lactation consultant and she recommended pumping each breast twice or even three times. So if you started with your right then you would do the left, then right, then left again. What this does is trick your body into thinking you have twins so it will boost your supply. It worked for me in a few days, but it could take longer since every body is different. Just be diligent and pump even if nothing is coming out.

Jamie - posted on 05/27/2009

Expressing is very hard. I just got some advice from my lactation consultant and the doctor I see at the clinic. Try pumping an hour after she eats in the morning this is the best time to pump. I usually get about 7 ounces. My daughter is 8 months in two days and has had problems gaining weight so she is nursing every 2 hours to get beef her up. Its tricky you don't want to take away milk from your baby. The ealier in the day you pump the more you will get. Try this and let me know it worked for me. Another question I have is why are watering down breastmilk that is a definate no no. just give her breast milk in her sippy cup or give her water! My doctor said never water down breastmilk or formula. I hope my info helps so try to pump earlier in the day like I said an hour after she nurses in the morning! good luck its so challenging feeding and expressing

Jennifer - posted on 05/26/2009

Ah! One more small but helpful tidbit from my lactation consultant: mint will reduce your supply!

Guggie - posted on 05/26/2009

Quoting Renee:

If it is your supply that you are worried about, then it is your schedule you should be looking at. You are going for eight hours from the time you drop her off until you get home from work. That's a long time. I worked pretty much those same hours when my daughter was nursing. I spoke to my supervisor at Target and I was permitted to go into a stall in the fitting rooms and take as long as I needed to pump my baby's bottles. The women were very supportive, and the men were too embarrassed to discuss it, so they let me have the time I needed to keep my supply up. It was a hassle, but it was totally worth it. My daughter nursed until she was 15 months.

Wow! You rock!

Dianne - posted on 05/26/2009

I was able to pump as often as I needed to at work until about 2 months ago. I work in a very busy emergency animal hospital. During the slow season, it's not a problem. Unfortunately, when it is the busy season, I am unable to step away even for a restroom break most nights. I work 7 hour shifts, so I usually do not get a break but I always tote along my pump and sometimes I will just sneak away for 5 min and pump in the bathroom. After I posted my original blurb...I started pumping after she nurses and then 15 min on 15 min off, while she's napping. I think it's helping. I love the idea of napping with her. I might try that when my supply is up a little bit again. We co-slept for the first 4 months...until I had to go back to work (my hubby didn't feel comfortable sleeping with her alone and I worked overnights at the time)...and it was wonderful. She's just "get up and go" right now that I fear her falling off the bed. Also, apparently it sounds like I'm feeding her A LOT of solids. I don't think I am. I am very careful to measure her food because I realize that it's not about feeding her nutritionally...but more about learning. Yogurt is about 1 oz, Protein is 0.5 oz, veggies and fruit are 1 oz, toast/bread is about 1/4 - 1/2 of a thinly sliced piece of bread. The bread is probably the most filling thing she eats. She's a carb hound. She loves her bread. In total she eats about 9.5 oz of food a day. I make sure she's never eating more then 3 oz at a meal. She never finishes all that is offered anyway. I will also start nursing her before she eats...I'm sure that will help. Thanks for all the input ladies! It's wonderful that there are so many breastfeeding mamas out there!

Renee - posted on 05/25/2009

If it is your supply that you are worried about, then it is your schedule you should be looking at. You are going for eight hours from the time you drop her off until you get home from work. That's a long time. I worked pretty much those same hours when my daughter was nursing. I spoke to my supervisor at Target and I was permitted to go into a stall in the fitting rooms and take as long as I needed to pump my baby's bottles. The women were very supportive, and the men were too embarrassed to discuss it, so they let me have the time I needed to keep my supply up. It was a hassle, but it was totally worth it. My daughter nursed until she was 15 months.

Karla - posted on 05/25/2009

it says in your schedule you only pump twice a day. if you want your milk to come back try pumping a few more times a day then you already do. try taking your pumping stuff to work and pump for a few minutes while your on breaks. you need to pump at least half as much as she feeds. if you pump more it is putting more demand on your breasts to produce milk and eventually you will be able to get it to where you want it.

Jennifer - posted on 05/25/2009

Sounds to me like you really are doing everything a-okay...and that is confimred by the fact that your daughter is HAPPY and HEALTHY. :)



But if you are concerned, here are two more thing I did that I also found calming and comforting. A few times during the day and/or when I went to bed at night I would place heating packs on my breasts. Heat will also stimulate milk production. And at those times when time allowed, say on the weekends (I work full time) and my supply was down (especially when I had my period), I would nap with my son during the day. The human body is an amazing thing, and that close contact will also stimulate milk production. Plus, it forced me to rest.



But most importantly, do what makes you and your daughter comfortable and happy. :)

Rebecca - posted on 05/25/2009

What my lactation consultant said to me with my first (i had a low supply) is to nurse first before feeding any solid foods. She said the breast milk is still their main supply of nutrients until they are a yr old regardless of what solid foods they eat. This will also help maintain your supply. Even though you are pumping you are not getting the stimulation from her that you need to keep your supply up. When you pump or nurse with a nipple shield your supply will go down after time because you dont have that skin to skin contact from her. Try to nurse her at the breast more often then giving bottles if you can. Expecially the days that you work because you are going so long without it durring the day.

Vanessa - posted on 05/25/2009

please remember you are supposed to be supplementing her BREASTMILK diet with small amounts of FOOD for learning......NOT supplementing her FOOD diet with BREASTMILK at 9 months of age.

as you are experiencing....too much food too soon leads to early weaning.

if you are commited to breastfeeding (seems you are).....less food, more breastfeeding!

Emily - posted on 05/25/2009

I get the oversupply thing...I had an oversupply and am nursing twins. When my body finally started to regulate itself I felt like I had no milk, pumping got harder, and my girls started nursing much faster. I was constantly convinced that I wouldn't have enough milk. I have continued to nurse, nurse, nurse and be quite conservative with solids (probably a little too conservative). My twins will be a year June 4. We are going to make it YAY!!!!



If your daughter is satisfied after nursing you are fine...You are just so used to all the things that come with oversupply that it seems like there is nothing now in comparison. You'll make it! Great job!

Guggie - posted on 05/25/2009

I think if you keep offering nursing throughout the day and night that even if your supply drops, it won't go away. The more solids you give her, the less she will drink. It's a supply and demand process.

Dianne - posted on 05/25/2009

Thank you all so much. I'm just so close to that twelve month mark. I just want sooo badly to make it. She deserves the best start possible, and I am firmly commited to the breastfeeding biz. I'm going to just hang in there. My sweet, loving, supportive hubby just tells me I need to relax and take my cues from our precious girl. She is always satisfied after she nurses and he has said that when he tries to feed her more then her 7 oz bottle at night...she never eats the extra. Formula is a great thing for mommies who can't breastfeed. Everyone in my family is formula fed, and so is everyone in my husbands...but just watching how healthy my little one has been and how advanced she seems to be compared to other kids her age that were strictly formula fed, just makes me want to make it that last 2 1/2 months. I tend to over analyse things. I think I need to just remember that breastfeeding is a beautiful and natural experience. My baby knows what she needs and in turn my body knows how to provide that for her.

Charlotte - posted on 05/25/2009

It sounds to me like she is getting plenty of breastmilk. Don't judge what you can produce by what you can pump; she is going to be *far* more effecient than a pump at her age. From what I have read, a baby her age only really needs to nurse 3-4 times in 24 hours to get all the fat and protien than she needs, and it sounds to me like she is getting a lot more than that recomended minimum, so I wouldn't even consider suplementing with formula at this point.



Relax, you are doing great! You said yourself, "she seems happy and content"; that's the best indicator in my oppinion. :)

Amy - posted on 05/25/2009

It's like we're living the same life! :) I noticed that as soon as my son started solids at 6 months, he was nursing less. I was kind of excited about it - he's small for his age, and he eats an inordinate amount of food! I was hoping he'd gain weight. He did, but he's just been generally cranky and never satisfied. I knew, but I hadn't thought about it, but until they're a year, the majority of their nutrients and calories need to come from milk. The point of solids is not to fill them up or to meet their nutritional needs - it's to get them used to eating solids so that when they're not nursing, they will eat actual food! For some reason, I lost sight of this. The thought had crossed our minds that he wasn't getting enough to eat, even though he was eating solids like crazy, and just like your daughter, he was was eating VERY well. His diet was varied and included proteins, fruits, veggies, fats, etc. But he still didn't seem satisfied. He has only been breastfed, and I tried to pump once instead of nursing him to see how much milk I was producing (we just fed him extra solids instead), and it was sad! I DID NOT want to use formula - I'm almost morally against it (haha not really, but you know what I mean). So for weeks, I just fed him extra solids and made sure he nursed every 4 hours, but he still wasn't getting what he needed. Finally, my sweet husband brought up that maybe we should supplement. I flipped out on him (poor guy)! I just felt like a failure - why can't I give my baby what he needs? He kind of dropped it for a couple weeks, but as Noah was getting progressively more cranky, he brought it up again, and this time I'd been thinking about it. Noah's almost 10 months, and for another 2 months, his main nutrition still needs to come from milk.

We decided that we would give him formula after he nursed, then see where he stood on the solids after he'd had his fill of milk (which is how it's supposed to be). However, I refused to give up on breastfeeding (and my husband told me that this is what he really meant when he said we should supplement). I take fenugreek and alfalfa, drink the mother's milk tea, will soon be taking brewer's yeast, and am pumping every 2 hours. He nurses every 4 hours, so every time I feed him, I pump after. He gets frustrated when I don't have much milk and stops nursing after a couple of minutes, so I pump afterward to make sure the ducts are being emptied completely. Formula is not, by any means, a permanent solution. However, my son has been a different baby the last week. It's incredible what happens when he's satisfied. The human body is an amazing thing, and so much can happen when its needs are being met. Solids just cannot meet the basic nutritional needs of a baby under a year. Since Noah has been more satisfied with milk, he has cut his solids intake by about half, and he's been much, much happier.

So I'm increasing my milk supply slowly, but surely, and once it's back up, we'll stop the formula. I hate the idea of giving formula, and I even researched giving goat's milk or almond milk, and while goat's milk is easy to digest and is digestively closest to human milk, it can't come close to the nutritional value of breastmilk, and neither can almond milk. And while formula isn't close to breastmilk, it comes as close as you can get.

What finally changed my mind about the formula thing is this: what am I sacrificing so that I can stand on my principles and not give formula, and so that I can say he was only breastfed? Is it worth it to be starving my child (it sounds harsh, but that's essentially what has happened) in order to be a proud breastfeeding-only mom? When I thought of this, I burst into tears. But it makes me feel much better to know that I'm not giving up. Giving formula isn't the end-all of this thing - it's a temporary solution while I'm getting my milk supply back up. I haven't given up!

Next time, though, I will for sure do the solid foods thing differently. My milk supply was fine until solids - we were just over-anxious, I think, and so excited that he loved them so much! But I will not try to fill the next one up on solids - breastmilk is still the main source of nutrition. I've actually heard that many people wait until a year to start solids instead of 6 months. While I don't plan on doing that next time, it's good to know that it's possible, and it's a good reminder that breastmilk is really all they need for a year.

I hope this helps - I know it's a lot, and I know it's hard to come to terms with giving formula. Trust me, I'm the world's biggest breastfeeding proponent, but at the end of the day, when Noah is hungry and I can't provide the milk he needs, I have to do what's best for him. I think for each person, it's a journey to get over the guilt. It feels like you're failing as a mother and you're not giving your baby the best opportunity. But if you take a step back, what is really best for the baby? I wouldn't recommend just giving more solids - that's just not what she needs. She needs the nutrients found in breastmilk.

Good luck, and I totally, totally feel your pain.

Bobbie - posted on 05/25/2009

Sounds like she is getting all she needs. Your daughter eats a lot of solid food so you should not worry to much. It looks as though she is getting plenty of breast milk so really you should be so hard on yourself. If you are really concerned you could always power pump on the weekends between feedings to try and up your milk. I heard it works but never tried it myself. If you have further concerns call a lactation consultant, but really I think you have nothing to worry about. If your child was not eating solid food then I would be worried but your child seems to love food so just let it be.

Jessica - posted on 05/25/2009

have you tried pumping immediately after you feed her? my lactation consultant told me that if I could even pump five minutes on each side, even if I'm pretty much empty, that will help bring the supply up. If your breasts are completely empty, it signals your body to start producing more. Good luck!

Janelle - posted on 05/25/2009

The amount of milk a baby who eats that many solids needs is often going to be at least 1/2 of what she used to need. When my daughter was between 8-12 months, she only drank a total of 4 oz the whole day while I was at work--basically 2 2 oz bottles (from 8-5)!! That's all I could pump, and that's all she drank! (granted, she's very tiny...) Prior to 6 months (no solids) she would take 4 oz every 3 hrs like clockwork.

Just relax, stop forcing it, your body only wants to make what she needs, and she obviously needs less. And don't give her formula, just more food IF she needs it.