What would you do?

OK - all the stats :-)

The boys just turned 5mo old. They are still nursed on demand. I work
full-time. They have been drinking more then I can pump for the last 4
weeks. I pump twice at work if I come home at lunch to nurse and three times
if I don't. The pump resistance happened at 4mo with Luke too so I'm not
surprised.

OK the problem...

I'm concerned that my supply isn't enough to keep them content on the
weekends because they are drinking so much more then I pump when I'm at
work. They were fussy today and seemed hungry to me. I may be imagining
that because I'm so ****ed I can't pump enough ;-) This week they also
started waking up at night to eat. Brock once and Ben at least twice. They
have been sleeping 8hrs for quite some time so this is notable.

Tomorrow or Monday I'll try some fenugreek. I already eat oatmeal. I drink
like a fiend. Rest is a lost cause, lol. Pumping more probably isn't going
to happen.

OK - finally on to the question.

Would you start solids a little early to see if they take to them or go with
the bottle? Right now I'm leaning to starting the solids and continue to
let them have the bottles of formula while I'm at work but only nurse when
I'm not. I'd nurse before solids of course. Bottles might make them
happier but I'm worried that it will cause more trouble then it solves if I
give them one on the weekends.

It was a long day today and they didn't nap very well which makes everything
worse because they want to be carried around when they are tired.

--
Nikki, mama to
Hunter 4/99
Luke 4/01
Brock 4/06
Ben 4/06

Nikki wrote:
OK - all the stats :-)

The boys just turned 5mo old. They are still nursed on demand. I work
full-time. They have been drinking more then I can pump for the last 4
weeks. I pump twice at work if I come home at lunch to nurse and three times
if I don't. The pump resistance happened at 4mo with Luke too so I'm not
surprised.

I have nothing helpful to suggest, but I just wanted to tell you that I
think you're a superwoman!!! I hereby resolve not to whine about how
busy/tired I am with 1.5 kids and 0 nursers.

Em
mama to Micah, 11/14/04

Nikki writes:

: Tomorrow or Monday I'll try some fenugreek. I already eat oatmeal. I drink
: like a fiend. Rest is a lost cause, lol. Pumping more probably isn't going
: to happen.

3 600 mg caps 3x daily. Since you are feeding twins you might go higher,
but I would try this for 4 days first, and see what the results are.

: OK - finally on to the question.

: Would you start solids a little early to see if they take to them or go with
: the bottle?

Make sure you have a problem before you fix it! I would continue with the
bottles of formula during the week and nurse exclusively during the weekend.
If you can tolerate it yourself, night nursing will actually help your supply.
The best time for them to nurse to increase your supply is during the
second half of the sleep cycle, say 3 to 7 AM.

: It was a long day today and they didn't nap very well which makes everything
: worse because they want to be carried around when they are tired.

You are doing absolutely great. Good luck,

: --
: Nikki, mama to
: Hunter 4/99
: Luke 4/01
: Brock 4/06
: Ben 4/06

Larry

Nikki,

Is there any chance you can get hold of some domperidone or reglan to
see if that would help with supply?

If it were me, I'd probably try the solids. You don't want to risk
bottle preference, you want them to keep nursing on the weekends as
much as possible to build supply, and besides, what a pain to have to
fool with bottles when you don't have to!

Leslie

Nikki wrote:
OK - finally on to the question.

Would you start solids a little early to see if they take to them or go with
the bottle? Right now I'm leaning to starting the solids and continue to
let them have the bottles of formula while I'm at work but only nurse when
I'm not. I'd nurse before solids of course. Bottles might make them
happier but I'm worried that it will cause more trouble then it solves if I
give them one on the weekends.

I'd probably go ahead and start the solids and see what happens.
I would worry about bottle preference and further jeopardizing your
supply with bottles on the weekend.

Do make sure you are drinking enough. A big glass of Mother's
milk tea an hour before nursing might help (that's what I did
for weekend afternoons, well and my afternoon pump too.)

Well done, Nikki! I can't believe they are 5 months already.

Mary W.

"emilymr" wrote in message
oups.com...

Nikki wrote:
OK - all the stats :-)

The boys just turned 5mo old. They are still nursed on demand. I work
full-time. They have been drinking more then I can pump for the last 4
weeks. I pump twice at work if I come home at lunch to nurse and three
times
if I don't. The pump resistance happened at 4mo with Luke too so I'm
not
surprised.

I have nothing helpful to suggest, but I just wanted to tell you that I
think you're a superwoman!!! I hereby resolve not to whine about how
busy/tired I am with 1.5 kids and 0 nursers.


:-) Thanks but it mostly feels that I do a lot of things not very well.
I'd rather do less better!


--
Nikki, mama to
Hunter 4/99
Luke 4/01
Brock 4/06
Ben 4/06

"Leslie" wrote in message
ups.com...
Nikki,

Is there any chance you can get hold of some domperidone or reglan to
see if that would help with supply?

Is this something you get from a doctor or do I just buy it somewhere. I am
sure that I'll manage to continue breastfeeding either way but I'd feel a
lot better if I had a more abundant supply.


If it were me, I'd probably try the solids. You don't want to risk
bottle preference, you want them to keep nursing on the weekends as
much as possible to build supply, and besides, what a pain to have to
fool with bottles when you don't have to!

Exactly! Thanks for the reply. I think I'll test them out on a few solids
today. Even if they do like them it will take a while to get them ramped up
to where it actually makes a difference.


--
Nikki, mama to
Hunter 4/99
Luke 4/01
Brock 4/06
Ben 4/06

"Mary W." wrote in message

Do make sure you are drinking enough. A big glass of Mother's
milk tea an hour before nursing might help (that's what I did
for weekend afternoons, well and my afternoon pump too.)

Oh - thanks for the reminder. I think I actually have some in the cupboard
that I totally forgot about!

Well done, Nikki! I can't believe they are 5 months already.

I know! They are doing really well and growing fast. I just cleaned out
their clothes to pack away yet another size today. It goes so fast!

Dh was thrilled to know we'd be trying out some solids. He thinks they are
ready.


--
Nikki, mama to
Hunter 4/99
Luke 4/01
Brock 4/06
Ben 4/06

Nikki wrote:
"Leslie" wrote in message
ups.com...
Nikki,

Is there any chance you can get hold of some domperidone or reglan to
see if that would help with supply?

Is this something you get from a doctor or do I just buy it somewhere. I am
sure that I'll manage to continue breastfeeding either way but I'd feel a
lot better if I had a more abundant supply.


They are both by presecription. Reglan is the easiest to get here, and
insurance will cover that. Domperidone works better (at least it did
for me) but you have to get it from a compounding pharmacy and I had to
pay out of pocket for that--$80! But if there is someone here from the
UK who is willing, it's OTC there and quite cheap. Jean sent me some
and I believe I only had to pay $20 - $30.

Leslie

They are both by presecription. Reglan is the easiest to get here, and
insurance will cover that. Domperidone works better (at least it did
for me) but you have to get it from a compounding pharmacy and I had to
pay out of pocket for that--$80! But if there is someone here from the
UK who is willing, it's OTC there and quite cheap. Jean sent me some
and I believe I only had to pay $20 - $30.

it's not cheap OTC, I think it's about 4 pounds a pack and a pack would only
have about 2 days supply in the dosage you take for maximising milk
production, it does work really well though, I was given it for nausea and
boy my boobs felt big and I wasn't taking the max dosage. I'm slightly
nervous about it's lack of availability in the US, not from the
breastfeeding point of view, just in case I have any digestive trouble, I
have a pretty violent and frightening reaction to Reglan, which required
speedy location of the antidote.

If someone does find a UK website that will do it cheaper than our local
pharmacy, as long as you act fast, I'm happy to take delivery and either
post it from here, or bring it with me to the US in 3 weeks time and post it
there (not sure which way will make it faster!).

Anne