So I wasn't sure whether to fb this or blog it...so I blogged it because I think a lot less people read my blog than fb. Anyways, I'm currently nursing Louie. I'm curious though, how do you know if you're losing your milk? I've never had this problem before...so I'm not quite sure. I guess I lost my milk with Emmy...but I was supplementing with formula so it was a gradual shift to her taking formula over breast milk. With Louie I'm just breastfeeding her. She sleeps all night. Sometimes she wakes up at 4 ish to eat, but for the past week & a half she's been sleeping all night (knock on wood). In the morning when she wakes up she'll eat for a long time...like 20+ minutes. But after that at each feeding she eats for maybe 4-5 minutes per side. It's usually not long after her feeding (maybe an hour) that she acts hungry again so I give her cereal with fruit or veggies. She nurses about every 3 hours. She also seems small. I don't have records of Elle's weight, but I remember her being just about equal to Emmy's weight. Louie is about 2 lbs smaller than Emmy was at 6 months. It just seems like a big difference. Any thoughts?
I'm not waking her up at night to feed her more often. I'm exhausted enough as it is....please don't recommend that.
5 comments:
So I know I definitely don't have the most experience since this is my first time nursing a baby, but I did just have a lactation consult so I can at least tell you what they told me.
I also was recently worried that I was losing my milk (I hadn't started any cereal yet). I still nurse Bennett every 3 hours but he was starting to wake up at night hungry or act hungry between feedings. I talked to the lactation clinic and they recommended that 2-3 times a day I supplement my milk with cereal. Sounds like what you're doing, except they said to nurse Bennett and then offer him cereal immediately to top him off. They said if you offer cereal in between nursings it gets the baby in the habit of snacking constantly and then they aren't hungry enough to take a full feeding the next time to you try to nurse. . .which does lead to decreased milk supply.
Anyway, hope that helps, it seemed to help us. Bennett is back to sleeping through the night and my milk supply seems to be back up (I haven't even had to give him any cereal the last couple days, the milk has been enough).
you know my opinion. as long as she's not lethargic or acting hungry, she is getting enough.
morning feedings are always the longest (at least in my experience). both my #2 and #3 only ate for 5-10 minutes at a time. if you're concerned about her weight add butter to her diet, that's what my amazing pediatrician recommended :)
i wouldn't worry. but then i'm also the only mom who doesn't run in to check on a sleeping baby... so maybe i'm not the one you should be asking advice from. :)
If she is like my E, she could be a champion nurser and not need to nurse for very long during the day. E only nursed for ten mins total by the time she was 4 months. But morning feedings ere usually the longest (empty belly). She was a small baby, too, but both of our families have skinny babies :) I wouldn't worry too much unless your doc is worried about her growth.
Call your lactation specialist TODAY. I lost my milk with Mayci when she was just 4 months and was crushed. I just thought I dried up because that had never happened with my boys...but it can be SO MANY things that prevent you to produce. There are supplements and vitamins and all sorts of things you can do to get it back...if you want to. Good luck, and get on the phone! :)
Thanks for the advice. I'm trying a few things to see if that helps. I've started adding formula to her cereal just to help her out too. I have a hard time pumping.... Her Ped appt is next week and her pediatrician also works a lot with lactation, so I plan on talking to her. I know I am making milk because I feel the let down. Anyways, I'll talk to the doctor next week about her weight and growth, etc. You'd think after so many children you'd have it figured out...but that doesn't appear to be the case!
Post a Comment