breastfeeding need help?

Question

i have a one week old and i was feling engorment on my breast and sudenlly im fewling empty all the time i was suplemwnting my baby with formula because to my understanding after she finished she kept crying like she was hungry but by me doing this my milk suply has decreased or going down a lot because sometimes because i give formula i have to wait more until breast feed her im really tryiong to make breastfeeding work but i need help from someone experience another problem i hae is that the baby sleep a lot during the day and when i comes the night she wants to feed more because she as been sleeping mostly all of the time today i been waking up my babay every two hours to feed her but i feed her and she keep looking for it like is not enoguh she is almos two weeks she is really loves to eat a lot i need help fast io want to continue breatfeeding please mother help fast what can i do at night too when she is most hungry and seems like i dont have enough milk help?

Answer 1

First of all when you stop breastfeeding your baby and take her off, your telling your body that it made enough milk and that it doesn't need anymore because the amount was met. Instead even though your baby is crying, keep her on your breast so that she can keep stimulating your breast and that will tell your body that it needs to make more milk. Change her from breast to breast if you have to and eventually within a couple days you will produce more milk. Also drinking lots and lots of water is very important. You need lots of it to produce milk. Eating Quacker Oatmeal atleast twice a day also helps. There are also some teas(Mothers Milk tea, feenugreek and reglan are some) that you can buy at a health store that you can drink too, to increase your supply. I was doing the same thing with my daughter when she was born. She kept crying too so I started supplementing because I also thought I wasn't making enough milk for her. But like the above people have mentioned, your milk is still coming in and all that so don't panic. I contacted La Leche League and they helped. Plus being in a forum for MOms on the internet helped me out a lot too because there are lots of moms that breastfeed there that had already been through this. If not for them I would have stopped a long time ago. I don't know if I can post there website or not, but the group is in www.forevermamas.com. Hope I helped you some!!

Answer 2

Contact La Leche League right away - look online for a contact number in your city. Perhaps in the phone book even. They can give you very detailed advice and perhaps come to your home and/or tell you of someone who lives by you. Once you start to supplement with formula, it can get very tricky. I dont know how much you are offering now, but whatever it is you need to gradually lower it while increasing the # of times she's nursing or else your supply will GREATLY suffer. It's best not to offer supplements before your milk supply is established, and it certainly isnt this early. Her tummy is very small, and it doesnt need much to keep it full. Sometimes babies can seem unsatisfied even after eating enough, there are lots of reasons why a baby can be upset. Usually at the end of the day it is the worst, this is quite common. It doesnt mean you have a poor milk supply. You need to become confident that you can produce enough for your girl, as you CAN... it's a matter of proper latch-on, and offering the breast as often as your girl seems to want it. This is quite often the first few mths, I admit. It can take a few weeks for your milk supply to adjust to the proper level, but in the meantime try to reduce the formula you give to zero. Try offering just a tiny amt after each nursing, so that you dont see her going longer between two. Offer by spoon as well, you dont want to create nipple confusion in your little one. Engorgement isnt suppose to last very long, either, so just because you dont feel your breasts full as before it doesnt necessarily mean you are lacking the necessary amt of milk. Breastfeeding is all supply and demand as I hope you've heard, so keep offering to your girl! Good luck. If you ever have another ?, feel free to send me an email. I took a breastfeeding class, have read a thousand articles on the subject, and have nursed my girl for her entire life (12mths)!

Answer 3

Be patient, sweetie. I've been there. The baby is only a week old, so you're just now getting started good. Your milk supply has only been there for maybe three of four days now, and both of your bodies are trying to adjust to life outside the womb.
It's a supply and demand thing. The more or less she wants, the more or less you produce. Pretty soon, you'll both have a routine and it will be second nature. Try not to worry about it at all, because it will work itself out naturally, and stress can interfere with everything. Mother and baby are meant for this, and it's been done for millions of years. I'd lay off the formula for another few months, because that will only cause you to produce less milk, and she will require a greater supply that you won't have.
Good luck, and everything will be just fine. ;^)

Answer 4

First of all, I am assuming your milk supply has come in. That happens within the first week. And once your milk supply is in and established, it tends to feel like your breasts are empty and not that engorged fullness feeling. They are fine. If you are eating well, drinking enough---then chances are, your supply is fine. Just keep feeding her. Your milk supply should fall into a cycle like your baby, it should replenish what you need, and even leak when you haven't fed her around the same time you normally do or miss a feeding. So when you supplement, your body will soon learn to not make milk for that time you are supplementing or not make as much milk. For ex, if you nurse her for 20 mins then give her a bottle, your breast will only make enough milk for what she is taking in. Could she have nursed longer? Are taking her off your breast or if she's coming off on her own? Is she latched on?

Growth spurts tend to change nursing habits too. During growth spurts she will nurse more frequently...and then when the spurt is over, they sleep a lot...and nurse left often--and you are engorged because your body is trying to keep up with the growth spurt. Common times for growth spurts are during the first few days at home and around 7-10 days, 2-3 weeks, 4-6 weeks, 3 months, 4 months, 6 months and 9 months (more or less). They last a few days....maybe longer. Also, sometimes feedings can take a long time---mine would last 45 minutes easily. Don't take her off the breast, let her come off when she's done or falls asleep. If she is crying, it could be how she's latched on, it might be another reason...such as being wet, needing to be burped, uncomfortable, cold....etc. It could even be the position she's in. Sometimes I would have to try a bunch of positions now and then. When my kids got slightly fussy, they liked the football position. Also, it is said that babies can taste certain foods thru your milk supply...so keep that in mind if she's not nursing a long time.

BTW, it's ok to supplement if that works out for you. Do what you feel is best. Just understand how it works with breastfeeing. And you just have to trust that your baby will come off your breast when she's done. Now, if you think she's not getting enough, take her to her pedi. They can monitor her weight gain and will ask you questions about urine and poop. If she's not gaining properly or wetting or pooping the normal amounts, your pedi will discuss further action.

As far as getting her on a sleep routine...she's still young, she's going to wake up a lot during the nights for the next 3 months or so. Some babies do have night and day confused, that tend to work itself out somehow naturally as they get older and have more awake time, tummy time...etc...during the day. But for now, if I were in your shoes, I think I would start over. Go back to feeding her every 3 hours--like in the hospital. Also breastfeeding---the more you have her suck, the better your supply will be. Then, let her fall off your breast when she's done. Make last nursing around 11-12pm. Then, don't wake her in the middle of the night, let her wake on her own. Hopefully she will go longer during the nights for you, and if she does--that's ok...enjoy it. After awhile, just let tell you when she's hungry...but every 3-4 hours will soon be normal during the day--except during growth spurts. If you are going to continue supplementing...try before bed, and the middle of the night. I breastfed two of my three children. One child would not latch on properly. But--breastfed babies, in my experience wake up more during the night and take longer to sleep thru. Perhaps this is not 100% true---but it was in my house. Breastmilk is easier to digest, hence, they are hungrier more often. My bottle fed baby slept thru the night around 5-6 months. One more thing, SWADDLE her, swaddle snuggly. It helps!

Hope all of this helps.

Here is a good site for breastfeeding moms...
http://www.kellymom.com
Here's a good article on growth spurts.
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/normal/growth-spurt.html

Answer 5

Just keep feeding her. I hope this answer was help enough. I truly am sorry, but i do not breastfeed. Therefore, i do not know how to treat this situation.

Answer 6

I have alot experience in this area, but I'll need some pictures first in order to pinpoint the exact problem.

Answer 7

maybe you should ask your doctor is more qualified to answer this question they we are