ARGH!!! (Vent and questions)

My little one is 4 weeks old today. Breastfeeding has been hit and miss at
best. I never did get 'engorged' when my milk did come it. I had a tiny
tiny bit of leaking, but not much. She has only once actually nursed to
satisfaction. She generally can nurse from 20-40 minutes per side and then
take 2-4 oz of formula. She's latching on properly, nursing VERY
vigourously (I've worked w/a lactation consultant as well as taken a couple
classes). This is so frustrating!

I know she's getting some breastmilk. Her stool hasn't 'formed up' or
gotten darker like completly bottle fed babies do. It's still the very wet
mustardy yellow color. I've tried pumping, I have an Ameda hand pump, and I
get maybe 1/2 a teaspoon per pumping session. I can manually express a bit
of milk, but again, not much.

I've used Fenungreek and 'Mother's Milk' tea, I drink enough (8, 8oz glasses
of water) I'm working on getting myself properly fed daily. (still pretty
hard) I hate having to supplement so much w/formula. Any suggestions??

TIA,
Wendy

Hi -

Your baby is SUPPOSED to be constantly hungry for about the fist 8
weeks. That's how you build up your milk supply. Her nursing makes
your body create milk.

If I were you, I'd cut out the formula and just nurse. (If she's taking
more than 1-2oz per day, cut it out at the rate of 1 oz. every 3 days.)
Yes, your baby will nurse ALL the time and never seem satisfied. But
that's how it's supposed to be. The only good way to see if she's
eating enough is to check her diapers. She should have 6-8 soakers
every 24 hours. (I'm not sure about poopy diaper frequency at 4 weeks
of age, but I'd think every day or two at the least.)

Drink lots, let someone else wash the dishes, and nurse, nurse, nurse.
Over time you'll realize that she's going longer between feeds.

My two cents,
--Beth Kevles

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.

NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the AOL one if you would
like me to reply.

My 1st baby's typcial feed was never less than 40 minutes. And that was just
one side. It can be hard to accept, but some babies fall outside the norm and
really take a long time to feed. They are savoring every suck!

Drop the formula and let the child nurse on demand for as long as he wishes.
Not being engorged and not leaking are not indicators that you aren't making
enough milk, but continuing to give formula will ensure that your supply will
never catch up.

dibsfree wrote:
My little one is 4 weeks old today. Breastfeeding has been hit and miss at
best. I never did get 'engorged' when my milk did come it. I had a tiny
tiny bit of leaking, but not much. She has only once actually nursed to
satisfaction. She generally can nurse from 20-40 minutes per side and then
take 2-4 oz of formula.

Your baby is not nursing enough! Babies that young are
almost _constantly_ nursing. Don't give her formula.
I nursed about 45 minutes per hour EVERY hour. I had
15 minutes to myself, then it was back in the glider.
I read a lot of magazines and watched a lot of TV with
the closed captioning on (to keep it quiet).

Pumping got me drops at that time. I didn't get anything
substantial pumping until after 3 months.

-- Anita --
--
SUCCESS FOUR FLIGHTS THURSDAY MORNING ALL AGAINST
TWENTY ONE MILE WIND STARTED FROM LEVEL WITH ENGINE
POWER ALONE AVERAGE SPEED THROUGH AIR THIRTY ONE
MILES LONGEST 57 SECONDS INFORM PRESS HOME CHRISTMAS.

AskeyKO -uh wrote:

My 1st baby's typcial feed was never less than 40 minutes. And that was just
one side. It can be hard to accept, but some babies fall outside the norm and
really take a long time to feed. They are savoring every suck!

Drop the formula and let the child nurse on demand for as long as he wishes.

Whoah. This is truly dangerous advice to hand out over the internet to
someone you've never examined, a baby you've never seen feed, and a
woman who may for all we know have a genuine biological reason for low
supply such as insufficient glandular tissue or hormonal issues. Not
every mother in the world can just "nurse, nurse, nurse" and guarantee a
100% supply. Commonly-bandied-around figures such as "95%" or "98% of
mums can fully breastfeed" mean that millions of women cannot, even with
all the help in the world. Rule One: feed the baby.

Any dropping of supplementation this far down the track needs to be very
closely supervised by an IBCLC, with regular assessment of latch, feeds,
nappies, weights etc. Yes, chances are some improvement of supply will
take place over time with careful management; but it isn't going to
happen overnight and there is no absolute guarantee that it will happen
at all.

Lara

"dibsfree" wrote in message
news
My little one is 4 weeks old today. Breastfeeding has been hit and miss
at
best. I never did get 'engorged' when my milk did come it. I had a tiny
tiny bit of leaking, but not much. She has only once actually nursed to
satisfaction. She generally can nurse from 20-40 minutes per side and
then
take 2-4 oz of formula. She's latching on properly, nursing VERY
vigourously (I've worked w/a lactation consultant as well as taken a
couple
classes). This is so frustrating!

I know she's getting some breastmilk. Her stool hasn't 'formed up' or
gotten darker like completly bottle fed babies do. It's still the very
wet
mustardy yellow color. I've tried pumping, I have an Ameda hand pump, and
I
get maybe 1/2 a teaspoon per pumping session. I can manually express a
bit
of milk, but again, not much.

I've used Fenungreek and 'Mother's Milk' tea, I drink enough (8, 8oz
glasses
of water) I'm working on getting myself properly fed daily. (still pretty
hard) I hate having to supplement so much w/formula. Any suggestions??

TIA,
Wendy


I agree with what almost everyone else said...important question, is she
gaining weight on just breastmilk? If she is, then STOP supplementing. If
she's wetting diapers and pooping, she's fine. I was NEVER able to pump
very much, even the few times I did get engorged (which in 13 months of
nursing was maybe twice) and I always thought my supply was dipping...until
I grabbed my son's thighs or spoke to the pediatrician about how much weight
he was gaining.

Bottle feeding is a sure way to sabotage your breastfeeding relationship,
particularly at this early stage...given that she IS gaining weight and
wetting with just breastmilk...then there's no other proof you need.

wrote:

I agree with what almost everyone else said...important question, is she
gaining weight on just breastmilk? If she is, then STOP supplementing.

I had the distinct impression from Wendy's post that at EVERY feeding, pretty
much, the baby was breastfeeding and then getting 2-4 ounces of formula. ("She
has only once actually nursed to
satisfaction. She generally can nurse from 20-40 minutes per side and
then
take 2-4 oz of formula.") If so, given that many babies of this age don't eat
all that much at a feeding, the formula could be a lot of her calories.

--Helen