Help!!! I dont know what to do.....

Nicole - posted on 01/13/2009

Quoting Sarah:

she didnt lose 8 oz he just calculated that at the recommended 5 oz a week she should be gaining that she is behind by 8 oz

I totally do not get the suggestion to supplement then.  That is freakin' crazy.  She is gaining weight and that is what matters.  Not all babies are the same, so to apply a generalization like that stinks.  It would be one thing to suggest that if she had lost weight, but even then... nurse more, don't supplement.  But, where she hasn't even lost weight and is still gaining, even if it is slow or evening out for a little bit, that's ok.  Nurse around the clock again for a few weeks and I bet with almost 100% certainty she will be gaining just fine again.  Best wishes!

Lisa - posted on 01/13/2009

I agree with you, I didn't want to give my son formula either.  But I could not get him to latch on for over a week, so formula with whatever I could pump was what he got until he "got it".  He was not getting enough for a while, and I pumped for 5 min per breast AFTER each feeding to increase my production.  thisworked for me, and he hates formula now. plus if you pump you can freeze it & suppliment with that.  Just thoughts...good luck!

Stephanie - posted on 01/13/2009

Your baby needs to have hydration since she is sick, so keep offering your breast. I would not use formula to supplement. Take extra time when you are feeding her to cuddle and soothe her. Good luck and hang in there!

Debbie - posted on 01/13/2009

Quoting Sarah:

 (maybe I am just imagining that this miraculous instant recovery is due to my constant TLC lol)......thank you all so much for the support I am so glad I joined this group xoxo

Of course your TLC healed her ... nothing is better than a mommy''s love and undivided attention to heal all wounds ... why else does a kiss on a boo-boo make things all better. Mommies have magical healing powers! LOL

My 6 year old often asks me to "rub some love" on his boo-boos.

Brie - posted on 01/13/2009

I went through something similar with my daughter. For whatever reason, my body has just never been able to produce enough milk, and I didn't know it, until we discovered my daughter was not only not gaining weight, but losing weight. I felt so awful, and my doctor said that at that point, my daughter was so underweight, that she was considered "failure to thrive", and that I needed to supplement with formula. At first I was really upset because I felt like a failure at breastfeeding, and I had wanted to desperately to be able to nurse her. But, I realized this was my daughters health, and she was not well or happy. I started giving her formula, and her weight shot up. She has been doing formula, and breastfeeding combo since she was 2 months old, and she's 5 1/2 months old now. She still breastfeeds (mostly for comfort) to this day, which makes me happy that we still get to have that special bonding time. I was worried at first that she would prefer the bottle or formula, and would stop nursing...but she didn't! :)

So, I think if your daughter's health is at risk, I would try supplementing for now- and if she gains quickly enough...you may be able to wean her back off the formula.

Heather - posted on 01/13/2009

Nurse, nurse, nurse. Just like everyone else has stated.

After reading through the comments it seems like you are doing everything just fine.

Kayla - posted on 01/13/2009

I dont know why doctors puss formula so much i was in the same predicament. I would say keep nursing eat alot of green vegtables aperently the iron will help if your baby has a cold and keep taking your materna vitamins!

Emily - posted on 01/13/2009

I agree with everyone - just keep at the nursing and offer the breast more frequently.

I don't know if you've read Jack Newman's book but he goes on at length about how uneducated the vast majority of health professionals are about breastfeeding.

When my son was slow to gain at the beginning the paediatrician told me to feed every two hours around the clock - he caught up just fine.  Don't be afraid to ask for a second opinion if your doctor doesn't get on board!

Good luck!

Sophie - posted on 01/13/2009

I'm glad your little one is feeling better.  My daughter had a cold when she was about 5 weeks and I was worried about her vomiting after nursing (probably due to swallowing mucas and/or trapped wind) and then not wanting to eat again for a while.  She gained weight just fine though.  You have to remember that babies are just little people and when we get colds we also may just want to sleep and not eat much!!

Pily Herrera - posted on 01/12/2009

That can help you with your milk supply

Pily Herrera - posted on 01/12/2009

I fed my daughter 20 min each breast, in that way she can get enough, I never had problem with her weight. Now she is 16 months and I just stop breastfeeding her. Try feeding her a longer period of time.

Kaytee - posted on 01/12/2009

i would feed her more often even if you have to feed her every 2 hours instead of three or four, also i would try to feed her when she is half asleep as well like kind of wake her but not totally wake her.  If that doesn't sound appealing then i wold pump and give her supplements of breast milk instead of formula if you can

Christy - posted on 01/12/2009

glad to hear that she's eating and feeling better!!

Lorilynne - posted on 01/12/2009

Oh I know exactly how you feel!  When I was still in the hospital with my daughter, she didn't want to wake up to breastfeed.  She wouldn't latch on and she was pretty jaundiced.  It was about 2 am and the nurse came in and told me that my daughter wasn't going to be able to get what she needed and if I insisted on nursing than I needed to supplement with 2 ozs of formula at each feeding.  When she left the room, I cried.  My husband was taking a shower at the time but when he came out I told him what happened.  He was so mad.  He just kept helping me try to feed our daughter and when our doctor came in the morning we asked what to do.  He told me not to supplement, of course.  I agree with everyone in this post on the constant nursing and kudos to you for sticking it out. 

Amanda - posted on 01/12/2009

i'm glad she's feeling better

Sarah - posted on 01/12/2009

You ladies have all made me feel SO much better about this situation......I have pretty much LITERALLY been feeding my daughter non-stop all evening lol.....she has been munching like a little monster and now that she had her bath and so much to eat she isnt so sleepy and it seems like she may be feeling better......she is barely even coughing or sneezing anymore (maybe I am just imagining that this miraculous instant recovery is due to my constant TLC lol)......thank you all so much for the support I am so glad I joined this group xoxo

Sarah - posted on 01/12/2009

WOW.....thats really good to know thank you!!! You would think a doctor would know that and not base EVERY baby's growth expectations on it!

Quoting Debbie:

Nurse, nurse, nurse.

Growth charts are based on FF babies ... BF babies gain weight differently than FF babies. If your baby is wetting 6-8 diapers a day then she is getting enough. My babies have been "slow gainers" and as long as they stayed on the same growth curve my doctor was fine with it.

Emily - posted on 01/12/2009

An article that may be helpful

http://www.drjacknewman.com/help/Slow%20...

Kerry - posted on 01/12/2009

WOW Just goes to show you that doctors are human too and they also make REALLY STUPID SUGGESTIONS AND DECISIONS!!!

Listen to all the other great advice you have received here and hope your little one feels better soon

ps she will probably have a massive growth spurt when she feels better

Debbie - posted on 01/12/2009

Nurse, nurse, nurse.

Growth charts are based on FF babies ... BF babies gain weight differently than FF babies. If your baby is wetting 6-8 diapers a day then she is getting enough. My babies have been "slow gainers" and as long as they stayed on the same growth curve my doctor was fine with it.

Shanyn - posted on 01/12/2009

I second, third and fourth everything all of these wise women have said! Nurse, nurse and then nurse some more! The weight gain lag is probably because she's sick and may be loss of water weight, which will pick back up again once you nurse her. Hang in there!!

Christy - posted on 01/12/2009

DO NOT SUPPLEMENT!!! Geez doctors really don't know what they're talking about sometimes!

Rachael - posted on 01/12/2009

I am starting classes/training to become a lactation consultant and I have breast fed (currently breast feeding our daughter) my kids. It is pretty normal for appetites to go down when they have a cold or illness. I would suggest NOT supplementing.

Stimulation from nursing your daughter is what tells your body how much milk to make. The more you breastfeed them or the more they eat...the more your body will make. Pumping after she feeds or pumping in between feedings can help to increase your supply so that she IS GETTING ENOUGH FROM YOU. There is no need to supplement. Nurse on demand whenever she is hungry (since she is sick you may need to offer it more or wake her up so she is getting enough). Also nurse her for as long as she wants you don't need to switch sides in one feeding unless she unlatches and is still acting hungry. The stimulation from keeping her on ONE breast for the duration of the feeding will help COMPLETELY empty the breast and tell your body that it needs to make more, if she runs out but continues to dry nurse on that side for the feeding. I would suggest nursing for longer that ten minutes. Nurse as long as she will stay on (to an extent mine would stay on forever if I let her) but sometimes babies will nurse as long as 20-30 minutes per side. Again the longer they are on there the more stimulation will occur signaling your body.

Once you start supplementing not only may she take preference to it but your supply will go down even more. Formula takes longer to digest so babies don't eat as often. Therefore she will not be nursing from you as often and you will not maintain your supply and it will go down even more.

As helpful as pediatricians can be they are not alway pro breastfeeding because it can't be measured and not every baby nurses the same so it is hard to track the intake. Our bodies were made to feed our babies and unless there is some other medical problem you shouldn't need to supplement at all no matter what age your baby is. I hope this helps sorry I wrote a novel. Let me know if you have any other questions. I hope your daughter gets feeling better soon. Her appetite may not get back to normal until she gets over her cold.

User - posted on 01/12/2009

Yes! Breastfeed--no bottles. Drink lots of water between feedings. And definitely wake her during the day to feed. The more you breastfeed, the more milk you'll make as long as you give a couple hours between feedings to produce more. Don't offer the breast as a pacifier--it will interrupt your milk supply and she'll only be getting the less-filling/less-nutritious milk, not the good stuff that takes a while to produce.

Sarah - posted on 01/12/2009

she didnt lose 8 oz he just calculated that at the recommended 5 oz a week she should be gaining that she is behind by 8 oz

Laura - posted on 01/12/2009

Continue to breastfeed her as often as you can. If you have a breastpump, use it to keep your milk supply up so she can have her regular amount when she's feeling better. You can freeze the milk and use it later. I hope she feels better soon!

Sophie - posted on 01/12/2009

I agree.  If you supplement with formula your milk supply may diminsh which means your baby won't be satisfied when she is feeling better. 

Also, during the first ten minutes of breast feeding your baby is only getting foremilk which quenches their thirst.  It takes abit longer to get to the rich hindmilk so your baby would probably still be hungry after 10 minutes on each side even if she were feelng well.

Another reason to keep up the breastfeeding is all the antibodies you are passing onto your daughter through your milk!!

Sarah - posted on 01/12/2009

I know I felt like crying.....I gave up breastfeeding my son around 3 weeks because the lactation nurse at my hospital made me feel SO guilty for the fact that my milk flow was too fast so he would pull off....he started losing weight and I started supllementing only to give up completely a couple weeks later.....so when he suggested supplementing it was like a flashback that almost brought me to tears....thank you for the reinforcement and support! xoxo

Jodi - posted on 01/12/2009

I completely agree! Do not supplement. There is no reason for it. You do product enough it is just that maybe your not giving it enough time because she is a slow eater. My second daughter could nurse for a good 45-60min. She took her time and some times I would just stop after 20 min because I had some thing to get done and she stopped gaining weight and once I started giving her plenty of time and nursing more often if I didnt have time to sit down that long for one feeding my supply increased and she started gaining again. Good luck!

Nicole - posted on 01/12/2009

I am with Michelle- Breastfeed like crazy and sorry, but don't listen to your Pedi in this case. First of all the important thing is she is still gaining weight. Or did she actually loose the 8oz? At any rate, start waking her again to nurse and nurse like crazy. If you supplement then your milk supply will only decrease. Especially when your baby is sick the best thing possible is breast milk as it has antibodies. Sounds like your Pedi is "old skool" and may even need to be fired. Nurse, nurse and then nurse some more! Do not give her formula!

Michelle - posted on 01/12/2009

Breastfeed , breastfeed, breastfeed.
I cannot believe that your own doctor would suggest supplementing with formula , I would feed you little one as often as possible - even if that means waking her up to nurse every 2 hours until she begins to put on that weight .