Breastfeeding?

Question

I am breastfeeding my daughter. She will be a month old on the 15. However, this past week I had surgery to remove my gallbladder. Right up until the surgery I was pumping every 3 hours or so to keep my milk supply up. However for over 24 hours I was unable to pump because of the severe pain I was in. During this whole ordeal, we had no choice but to give her formula (this surgery was tentatively scheduled for Jan so I had not stocked up enough breastmilk yet). I dont seem to be producing as much milk anymore, and while she loves the breastmilk, she won't stay latched on very long. Does anyone have any advice?

Answer 1

the more she nurses the more milk you produce, offer it often. Also there are lots of tips and advice at kellysmom.com. good luck

Answer 2

You'll want to stay in bed with her and get her to nurse as often as possible for a day or two. This should help you build your supply back up. As for making sure she is getting enough, you can cup feed her or syringe feed her. I did this with my newborn while he was in the hospital ( he had to be on formula the fisrt day and I was afraid he may refuse the breast if he'd been bottle fed first). Here's a link that explains how http://www.breastfeeding.com/helpme/helpme_tips_supply8.html. They're whole site is new to me, they've even got videos showing how to get a correct latch on, etc. This is a link to their homepage http://www.breastfeeding.com/. My newborn ( now over 2 mo old) had to wind up staying in the hopital the entire first week and had to use bottles (I was ok with syringe feeding for one day, but was afraid the nurses wouldn't want to all week and may take it out on him somehow. Riduclous I know.) I breastfed him when I could be there, but I have two other children at home. I spent at least five hours a day with him, but he still had some nipple confusion. I just only offerred the breast and when he was hungry he did take it. You'll have to be persistant for a short time, but before you know it this will be a thing in the past. I read an interesting article about some of the herbs used. I'm sure some are great, but it does warn about different types and not using too much. Here is the link: http://www.breastfeeding.com/reading_room/herbs.html
I'd read this before taking any herbs. There is also a prescription to increase milk supply called galactagogue and there are different ones available. Here's a link to Kelly mom with those listed: http://www.kellymom.com/health/meds/prescript_galactagogue.html
This is a link to their website about increasing your milk supply: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html

Good luck! I hope I've helped! Get better soon

Answer 3

La Leche League (http://llli.org/ ) might be very useful for you. They'll help in person, and for free.

Hanging out with your daughter in bed for a few days and doing nothing but nursing might be the thing to do. Even if she won't stay latched for long, can you at least get her to nurse *frequently*? My daughter is teething right now and fussy and nursing frequently, and if you just hang out in bed together with your baby, you should get a frightening amount of nursing done (and get a very happy baby what with all the cuddle time, too).

Pumping will bring your supply back up, and a lot of women swear by (1) drinking water, (2) eating oatmeal, (3) drinking dark beer. Scientific evidence for any are a bit dubious at best, but so many women swear by them... Fenugreek is also worth looking into.

Worthwhile reading:

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

http://www.drjacknewman.com/ also has good advice (and videos of latching techniques)

Two other things you might want to look into: a *certified* lactation consultant (a lot of people here seem to end up with bad advice from nurses with a half hour of extra training calling themselves lactation consultants), and a "supplemental nursing system," eg:

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

And I'm sorry you had to go through that. Best of luck.

Answer 4

Nursing often is the best way to keep your milk supply up. Even if she doesn't want to nurse for very long, just keep offering. Also, keep in mind that after the first few weeks, it is normal to not feel as 'full'. It doesn't mean you're not producing enough, just that you've gotten past the oversupply of the early weeks. It is also normal for some babies to become more efficient and nurse only for a short time at each feeding. If you're nursing on cue, and the baby has at least 4 or 5 wet diapers a day, she's getting plenty.

I hope you feel better soon!

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/index.html

Answer 5

Good for you for breastfeeding! It's best for your baby's health and yours. I'm sorry about your surgery. That's intense to go thru with such a young baby. OK, I'll get to the point. My son stopped breastfeeding for a day when he began teething and my supply dropped a bit. I talked to a La Leche League leader and was told to just keep offering him my breast as often as possible. Also skin on skin time (AKA Naked time together) will inspire baby to nurse more.
I also found a tea from a company called Traditional Medicinals. The tea is Mother's Milk. I had two cups of it in a row and my breasts felt engorged. I don't recommend taking two cups! But the tea does work.
I would also wean your little one off formula (if you're still using it).
Your baby will eat as much breast milk as she needs, if you feed her on demand (as opposed to a schedule).
I know it's scary, but these little beings of ours are pretty smart. They know what they need in their bodies, and will manipulate our bodies to respond to their needs. My son nurses A LOT during his growth spurts, and my production shoots way up. After a few days he'll nurse less, and if I don't pump off the excess, my production will go down to meet his demand again.
If you need more help, use the la leche league. You can find leaders in your area who will answer your questions over the phone, or even come to your house. And it's all free! I like them because they have meetings near me and I get to see other moms and babies and socialize.

The websites below are the La Leche Leagues Q & A page, their home page, and the website for the tea.
I hope everything works out well for you. Good Luck!
K

Answer 6

wow sorry to hear about having surgery right after having your baby no fun at all. i would try to pump or feed her every three hours to try and get your supply back up. they have these things at target-walmart called nipples for breastfeeding there soo good with latching on. you put it over your nipple then put the baby on. once she gets hang of it again take it off. i used it with my baby in the beginning and now he has no problem latching on. i hope this helps you good luck with the new baby. i no breastfeeding is hard but just no its the best thing for your baby. even though its stressful sometimes its worth it

Answer 7

Nurse frequently - on demand - to bring your supply back up quickly.

When she unlatches, switch sides. Switch sides 5-6 times in a feeding. (Called switch nursing)

http://www.llli.org

Answer 8

It sounds like she has almost weened herself from your breast...? You can just keep pumping regularly to try to get your production up again. But there is no guarantee that this will work. I hope you don't feel guilty at all about formula. Some people just don't have a choice. It is nice that the breastmilk is free, being that formula is so expensive, but each year formula is getting better and better. Good luck! And congrats!

Answer 9

spend one or two days in bed just nursing as much as possible. your milk supply will build up again, just keep at it and pump too.
ask a lactation consultant for more advice if you need it.

Answer 10

you have to keep putting her on and having her suck, the more she sucks the more she will draw out, then you will produce more, supply and demand. good luck, I also suggest calling a lactation consultant for some more help and advice.