Please tell me this will help :(

[ashleymelynn]

I'm falling victim to the easy-to-do formula feedings. I was told I had to supplement after nursing my DD by her doctor.

Well, I knew that would mean less & less bfing. We have been battling it out with formula vs breast milk since she was 3 weeks old. She is 9weeks today.

Little by little, I am nursing less & less, I think right now I only nurse 1 maybe 2 times per day now I hate it. It makes me sad because I know she prefers boobie.

I would love to be able to nock my supply up to what she needs but I;m not sure how.

I rented a lactina, just bought some MMT and some fenugreek tincture.

How much of what and how often should I be doing everything? I would love to wean her off the formula :[ It makes her gasy and her poop rank.

any other suggestions as to what to do?

[CrunchyMama0607]

for ya

[nocturnalmama]

I would just nurse her every time she shows hunger cues (rooting, sucking on her hands)... I'd say at her age, it would still be every two to three hours during the day. That will bring your milk in better than a pump...

Your supply will get lower and lower the more you supplement. Often dr's suggest supplementation, but that could often hurt your supply leading to the situation you find yourself in right now.

I'd suggest contacting La Leche League and attending some meetings...

Good luck... as easy as formula may seem - breastmilk is far superior nutritionally and it is WAY easier to latch a baby over preparing a bottle!

Robin

[mamoo3]

I've heard that oatmeal can help increase supply, and drink lots of water. I've had good luck with drinking mama milk tea, I would think you should follow the directions on the fenugreek bottle.
Nursing your baby will increase your supply more than pumping will, so maybe you can concentrate on more nursing sessions and slowly decrease the amount of formula. My baby's usually eat every 45min. to 2 hours at that age, but every baby is different.
GL. I hope it works out for you.

[Calideedle]

Originally Posted by mom2chloesophie I would just nurse her every time she shows hunger cues (rooting, sucking on her hands)... I'd say at her age, it would still be every two to three hours during the day. That will bring your milk in better than a pump... Your supply will get lower and lower the more you supplement. Often dr's suggest supplementation, but that could often hurt your supply leading to the situation you find yourself in right now. I'd suggest contacting La Leche League and attending some meetings... Good luck... as easy as formula may seem - breastmilk is far superior nutritionally and it is WAY easier to latch a baby over preparing a bottle! Robin

I agree with everything above.

Start nursing her every few hours and dont offer the bottle/formula. Your supply will come back up (take fenugreek, drink water, eat oatmeal)

Not sure how fomula is easier but breastfeeding is so much better for both of you!

Many DRs tell Mothers to supplement when they do not NEED to! Now sure of your situation.

Just nurse nurse nurse as much as you can and get rid of that bottle!

HTHs

ETA & OT: But I see your BF just got back from OIF - MANY soldiers find it VERY hard to get back to normal life after going through things over there. My DH has been there 3 times and after he came back the first time he was a different person until he was diagnosed with PTSD. Just throwing it out there. SOmetimes they dont know how to deal with things after being through that!

[Suzanne]

Nurse, nurse, nurse! Check out Jack Newmans website, he is the best!

[Sweet_Fantasy_Fox]

I agree with the others, cut the bottle and just start nursing mama.
when i had nathan, i was worried he wasn't getting enough milk from me so i was both breastfeeding & started giving him formula right after his first week of life, he just always seemed hungry and i thought for sure somethings wrong. our new ped talked to me and asked what I wanted to do and to choose only one. so i said i wanted to only bf, so he then told me toss all the bottles I may own and start nursing the baby as much as he wants. the baby was nursing for 45min-1hour at a time and then wanted to eat again in an hour which is why i thought something was wrong.
so i went ahead and nursed the baby after the appt, went home and put some lanisoh cream on as i knew i would be in for some soreness. the ped asked me to come back in 3 days and only breastfeed, i did and came back in 3 days and my son had gained weight!! I was soo excited and that stopped me from going to formula, i no longer had doubts and my suplly just boosted right up, i can hear him gulping and he wets and poops just fine. oatmeal will help your supply, i eat it, it is fattening but tastes good and helps with your milk so its worth it..hehe
lots of water, however much your drinking now, whether you think your taking in enough~DOUBLE THAT!
goodluck mama and you CAN do it!
right now i am worried about my supply again because of the birth control i'm on, i'm just not sure if anythings changed, i'm kinda paranoid but it should be fine

[xois]

the best advice I can give you is get her on the boob...that's gonna help more than anything

it's hard...but you can do it

even if there is no milk in there (and there usually is) get her on the boob every 3 hours!

You can do it!!!

here's how I made my supply go crazy

I would pump 1 hour before nursing my daughter then nurse her....3 days of this and I was producing enough milk to feed an army!




oh and please call an LC! Mine was incredibly helpful!

[Griffinsmom]

ITA with the others bfeed bfeed bfeed. Ditch bottles and pacis. Try to get her to feed on both sides with each feed. If you have a feed where she will only feed on one side and she actually got a decent feed, pump the other side. Pumping ups my suplly quite a bit on a couple days.
Get as much sleep as you can, eat healthfully and drink lots of fluids.
It's so much easier when you can exclusively bf. No bottles to wash, no formula to make and no $$$ spent. It gets way eaiser too I promise. It's only hard work in the beginning.
Oh if you're having trouble with things def call a LC make sure you've got a good latch.

[ashleymelynn]

Originally Posted by calideedle I agree with everything above. Start nursing her every few hours and dont offer the bottle/formula. Your supply will come back up (take fenugreek, drink water, eat oatmeal) Not sure how fomula is easier but breastfeeding is so much better for both of you! Many DRs tell Mothers to supplement when they do not NEED to! Now sure of your situation. Just nurse nurse nurse as much as you can and get rid of that bottle! HTHs ETA & OT: But I see your BF just got back from OIF - MANY soldiers find it VERY hard to get back to normal life after going through things over there. My DH has been there 3 times and after he came back the first time he was a different person until he was diagnosed with PTSD. Just throwing it out there. SOmetimes they dont know how to deal with things after being through that!

All he wants to do is party with his boys and drink. he completely ignores me. we have not seen him once and he has been home for a week. He was even partying and gone on xmas when i went by his house. The stress he's giving me is no way helping my supply by keeping me stress-free

I totally prefer nursing, I think I just got n the habit of doing the bottle. Night time, I generally nurse though.

I argued with the dr when she wanted me to supplement for 3 appointments and then she handed me the formula and made me feel like I was depriving my daughter by not giving it to her since she was slow to gain.

Originally Posted by xois the best advice I can give you is get her on the boob...that's gonna help more than anything it's hard...but you can do it even if there is no milk in there (and there usually is) get her on the boob every 3 hours! You can do it!!! here's how I made my supply go crazy I would pump 1 hour before nursing my daughter then nurse her....3 days of this and I was producing enough milk to feed an army! oh and please call an LC! Mine was incredibly helpful!

I feel like I'd be starving her if I do this How would I fill that void since for a few days she will clearly be getting less milk than she is used to?

I like that pumping idea. We're working on her shallow latch, so to be honest, the pump actually works better than her mouth!! but even now I am not getting that much with the lactina anymore