UPDATE: baby on the breast all the time

KC writes:
: Today my baby is sleeping the day away instead of nursing all day, so
: hopefully the worst is over. I am not used to having free time with
: no baby attached to my chest :-)

This is exactly our experience of what happened after our babies
had a growth spurt. The next thing that we noticed was that when
they woke up, they looked like they were an inch longer!

: What I think happened is that right after the 6 week growth spurt my
: body (unbelievably to me) got ready to have a period! only 7.5 weeks
: post-partum! I started af today. I had read before that pending af
: causes supply issues, but I would have never suspected I was going to
: get af this early.

It may be, but is not likely the return of your regular period. Monika
had a bleed about 8 weeks postpartum although she got her period back
at 4 1/2 montths the first time, and 7 months the second time.

: So, for those of you who get regular periods while bf, how do you
: handle the dip in supply every month? Maybe I could pump and freeze
: ahead of time, so my baby doesn't have to be so hungry every month.

Tell us is you get another period in a month. In reality, the dip is
not that much, and it resolves it an a couple of days. It is better
to just keep putting her to the breast when this occurs. At least
maybe you won't time a growth spurt and flow at the same time! :-)

: I did end up giving her 1.5 oz of formula last night because she was
: crying at my breasts and looked so hungry. Hopefully that little bit
: of a supplement won't hurt my supply considering what was hormonally
: going on right then.

Oh, I'm sorry. It's too bad that you feld that you had to do this, but
the good news is...

The damage caused by formula is dose related, and 1 1/2 oz is not that
much. The most likely thing you have done is to change the stomach
environment to encourage more gram negative bacteria. It should take
several weeks for the environment to stabilize again. This danger is
greatest before 2 weeks, so since your baby is quite older, it is
probably not a big deal.

The second thing to watch out for is possible sensitization to cow's
milk protein (possible allergy). The first exposure often does not
cause a reaction, but the second might. You are best off waiting til
past one year to introduce unprocessed dairy products, but if you
must use formula in the meantime again (not likely, hopefully),
watch to see if there are any allergic reactions. If you are drinking
dairy, and there are no reactions, then the danger is much less.

: KC
: Caitlin 12/25/99
: Jessica 5/18/03

Good luck,
Larry

KC writes:
: Larry McMahan wrote in message ...
:
: The damage caused by formula is dose related, and 1 1/2 oz is not that
: much. The most likely thing you have done is to change the stomach
: environment to encourage more gram negative bacteria. It should take
: several weeks for the environment to stabilize again. This danger is
: greatest before 2 weeks, so since your baby is quite older, it is
: probably not a big deal.

: What would be the danger of encouraging gram negative bacteria in the
: stomach? I'm not really a zealot on the dangers of a bit of formula.
: I think it is super tempting to put tasty things into babies hungry
: little mouths, so I can just imagine that for much further than human
: history there have been people putting food in babies mouths, and
: we're all still here. I am a zealot on worrying about my supply
: though since I have such issues with it, so I definitely try not to
: give formula on that ground.
:

: KC

Kathy,

Here is an excellent article talking about the undesirable gut flora
changes in babies supplemented with formula. It is in outline format
without a lot of discussion of the points, but it contains references
to the original research which you can go to if you have questions.

http://www.health-e-learning.com/bre..._breastfed.htm

Happy reading,
Larry