Breastmilk Supply?

Question

My son is goin on 2 months My breastmilk supply is going down..I am breastfeeding him at this point and have been since the day he was born... I was advised by my sons doctor to start supplementing with formula and sooner than later my son will have to be on formula. Because he is not gaining enough weight just on breast milk since im not producing alot .I was wondering did any mothers have this problem as well as not producing enough milk for there baby and had to start formula when they did not want to. How did you go about it. did you just start your baby on formula..did you baby have problems going to the bathroom..any advise would be great..im a first time mommy...

Answer 1

I breast feed both my kids for a year, with never using formula. As the baby needs the breast milk with make less/more. It's a supply and demand thing. I would not use formula, unless you want to. If you are afraid of lose in milk, just pump a few times in the day to keep it going. Also, to get more milk, drink lots of water, and pump, pump, pump...... Good luck!

Answer 2

Breast feeding is demanding. By that I mean supply and demand. The more the baby demands the more you will supply. Formula is more "filling" than breast milk and so baby will demand less. It is a vicious circle. In my experience, babies have a sudden growth spurt and start demanding more which can mean it takes a few days for you to "catch up".

Breast feeding also needs you to be well nourished and relaxed when you feed. Hopefully not on a diet or massive exercise regime. Also, try using a breast pump to get the supply going again. Breast fed babies often need to feed every couple of hours, then 4 hours then 2 hours again. At the end of the day you might think you don't have enough supply, your body is telling you that you are possibly overdoing it. Sit down, relax have a small tipple, some high protein snacks, a bit of cheese and enjoy your snuggles.

You don't feed yourself by the clock, when you are hungry you eat, when you are thirsty you drink. Weight gain is not the only thing that matters, it's easy to get obsessed about the charts but weight gain comes and goes in fits and starts. Is baby peeing ok, have healthy skin, good reactions, and is otherwise happy? Docs do not always know best. Speak to a midwife or a breast feeding counsellor. You can do it!

Answer 3

If you have a pump do that in between to start to build up the supply, but you may have to supplement with some formula for a bit.

Also try fenugreek. That helped my build mine back up when I started taking the minipill (I also stopped taking the mini pill and practiced safe sex for a while longer)

If you need formula choose one of the ones that is for sensitive stomachs at first. This might limit the issues. Honestly when I began to supplement I did not see any problems. The poops came as scheduled, although a bit smellier and browner, oh well that day was coming anyway, and mine did not have any issues going between milk and formula. I was pumping all the time so they got both in the bottle.

Lastly. Do not fee like you have failed if you end up having to supplement with formula. You have given you child the best part of breastfeeding already and you are trying your best. Sometimes it just does not work out as you have planned and you will have to be able to adjust. But I promise that you are not a bad mom or a failure!

Answer 4

The only thing I've heard of that helps is oatmeal. There are other things you should do to keep your supply up: -drink plenty of water -eat balanced meals, and don't be afraid to take in some extra calories since breastfeeding burns so much -try to stay relaxed and not stress out about the breastfeeding too much -feed your baby directly from the breast every single time, although this can be exhausting. If not, pump at least every 2 hours for about 15 minutes at a time. A hospital-grade double-electric pump is best. Hope this helps!

Answer 5

Everyone seems to be on the same page . . . Pump pump pump!!!!! Your son obviously needs more nourishment which is why the doctor suggested formula, however, he failed to mention what you should be doing to increase your supply. It is going to be time consuming but worth it. Try pumping every hour and as long as you can. Be sure to lubricate your nipples to prevent them from getting sore or irritated. I use Lansinoh and have not had any problems with cracked or irritated nipples (breastfeeding 8 weeks).
The more you pump the larger supply you will produce. Also, it is VERY IMPORTANT to be relaxed. If you are stressed out, your milk supply decreases. The moments you sit down to feed your baby, make sure it is quiet and you are calm. Play calming music if it might help.
Best wishes and congrats on your baby!

Answer 6

That was almost certainly extremely poor advice your doctor gave you. And I'm sorry you got it.

Doctors are not taught much if anything about breastfeeding in medical school. I would seek out the advice of a qualified (eg, certified) lactation consultant for a second opinion.

Did you ask your doctor why he thought formula, which comes with its own set of risks, was somehow more nutritious for your baby than your own milk? Many breastfed babies do not gain weight along the same curve as formula-fed babies; that is normal.

Supplementing like that will decrease your supply, period.

However, there are ways to bring it back up and get your baby off the formula.

"Increasing Low Milk Supply"

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html

"Weaning from formula supplements"
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/decrease-formula.html

"How might I increase baby's weight gain?"
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/growth/weight-gain_increase.html

You can also contact La Leche League for (free!) help:

http://llli.org/

See also:

"How to Know a Health Professional is not Supportive of Breastfeeding
S/he does not try to get you help if you are having trouble with breastfeeding. Most problems can be prevented or cured, and most of the time the answer to breastfeeding problems is not giving formula. Unfortunately, many health professionals, particularly physicians, and even more particularly pediatricians, do not know how to help. But there is help out there. Insist on getting it. “You don’t have to breastfeed to be a good mother”, is true, but not an answer to a breastfeeding problem."

http://www.drjacknewman.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=50&Itemid=76

You might want to check out "supplemental nursing systems" while weaning your baby from the formula -- pumping is good for supply, but no pump is as effective as a baby. See

http://www.selfexpressions.com/supnursys.html

for an idea.

Answer 7

Many pediatricians are not strong advocates of breast feeding. I would suggest you contact a lactation consultant about ways to improve your milk supply. If your son is a sleepy baby and goes more than 3 hours between feedings during the day, you may want to try waking him up to feed more often. My youngest was a terrific sleeper, but she would go too long between feedings and she wasn't gaining weight at all. We see a family practioner and she suggested waking to feed 2-3 hours during the day but letting her sleep as long as she wanted at night. For us, that did the trick and by 3 months old she had started to gain weight again. I breast fed her exclusively for 7 months - no formula supplements and no solids - and continued to breast feed her until she self-weaned at 14 months. As long as your son is being fed on demand and has a good latch it is not likely you are not producing enough milk. I suggest you do not begin a formula supplement if you don't want to and contact a lactation consultant for advice instead. My grandson is 7 1/2 months old and just recently began supplemental feedings with formula since my daughter is a teacher and hasn't been able to pump enough at work to keep her supply up. His bowel habits changed considerably just like they did when he was introduced to solids 2 months ago. His bowel movements became rather hard and more difficult to pass with a lot of fussing. I take care of him and I try to mix his formula with breast milk at every bottle as that helps him stay more regular. We had to decrease his solids to only once a day instead of twice as well. Many moms think that there milk supply is dwindling at about 2 months because they don't experience engorgement. Engorgement decreases considerably in the first couple months as the natural supply and demand feature of breast feeding kicks in. With a decrease in engorgement also comes a decrease in leaking which can also lead a mom to believe her supply has decreased as well. It will help also if you eat healthy and drink plenty of water.

Answer 8

Maybe the baby isn't getting as much milk as you think cause usually as long as the baby continues feedings by breast the milk will reproduce itself. I have three children and i breast feed the first two for about 2 months but, then switched to formula cause it was better for me at that time. You might want to try using a breast pump and eating well balanced meals, because if you aren't eating right the baby won't have a significant nutrition balance. I have been told by the doc after have my children that breast milk can sub-stain for 5 yrs.

Answer 9

have you seen a lactation specialist? something similar happened to a friend of mine. she only nursed her son, and he ate constantly, but wasn't gaining any weight. there was a problem with her milk production. when he appeared to be eating he actually wasn't getting much of anything. i don't remember exactly what they did for her, but it helped. they didn't have her feed him less, they helped her milk production. he gained like 8 lbs in 6 weeks. formula can cause a baby to become constipated, if you keep using the formula you might want to dilute it a little more. you should pump your breast milk to mix with the formula. good luck =)

Answer 10

Before introducing formula, try feeding your son more frequently. (I'm assuming you don't have him on a schedule ... if you do, definitely stop, and start feeding him whenever he's hungry.) If he can't/won't nurse more frequently, try pumping. The little Avent hand pump works pretty well for me.

Also, are you on hormonal birth control? I've heard many women say that this makes their milk supply drop.