Frustrated with the Feeding Frenzy

Hi J...

I used the Enfamil Lipil/AR for my baby and I really liked it. I thought it worked! If they truly have reflux you may need to put them on meds, but I'd try this first! I would also suggest using gas drops. They are safe to use at every feeding and/or in every bottle, they might help...worth a shot!

infamil gentlease is what I gave my little guy. He was really really gassy until we started on that. I never really got the opportunity to breastfeed because my milk never came in. The gentlease worked really well for my little one. every now and then we used the mylicon for excess gas. Good luck

I have found with little ones finding formula is trial and error, I know the one we switched to said something about broken down protiens to ease digestion? It has been a while...but I do know one thing that worked wonders for us was gas drops the generic work just as well, the name brand is something like Milacon drops? Good luck I hope her tummy troubles get better soon.
B.

Breastfeeding works on supply and demand. If you supplement there is less demand so your supply will go down. I am not sure how to train your milk to come in at a certain time. I know you say you have zero time to pump, but can you talk to your employer? Any employee is entitled to breaks and lunch time. As your baby is older and eats solids she will need less milk. I know people of different professions including teachers who have somehow made it work. Obviously some professions are harder than others though.

Breastfed babies poop is soft and they are notoriously loud poopers. However, if it is really watery and maybe even a little green and she is irritable, it could be that she is getting more foremilk and less hindmilk. The foremilk is the more sugary watery milk (that can cause gas); hindmilk is fattier and more filling. For this make sure you breastfeed as long as you can on one breast.

If she is fussy while breastfeeding you could have letdown issues. It can be very forceful and hard for the babies to control. It will work itself out as the baby and you both become more experienced nursers. Either of these issues can look like reflux. They both can contribute to gassiness. A lactation consultant and/or La Leche League could help with these issues along with ideas of breastfeeding while going to work.

Many people think that breastfeeding should be easy, after all it is something natural. In many cases it is. However, sometimes mothers and babies need more practice and a period of adjustment. Sometimes babies cry in the evening for no apparent reason and they call it collic. There is often nothing wrong. There is no official diagnosis. The baby will outgrow it. For my son, some of it was learning to sleep at night and nap during the day so he wasn't overtired by evening. This seems to come when they get a little older closer to three months or four months.

Good luck. Despite your thoughts that breastmilk isn't successful, if your baby is growing and healthy you are doing a good job. Maybe with help from LLL or a lactation consultant you can resolve some of your frustrations.

I went back to work part time, and my body did adjust to only producing milk 1st thing in the morning and again in the afternoon/overnight. The first couple days were really uncomfortable, but that subsided. You just have to be prepared with pads (I used lilypads, a fabulous investment, in my opinion!)

Since I was only working 4-1/2 hours, I couldn't take out 20-30 minutes to pump, just not an option. We were able to use the Enfamil Lipil, the yellow and gold can. They also have a formulation just for colicy babies - it's easier to digest. We never needed it though. In most of the articles and tests I could find, Enfamil was the closest to providing all the nutrients of breast milk. There's nothing that's really a complete replacement, but your baby will be fine on formula! So, don't feel guilty about it. That you want to continue to nurse at all says a lot about the bond you want to keep.

Just be aware that with an 8-9 hour break in the day, you may not be able to produce a reasonable amount of milk to continue nursing. It's an adjustment, but you really can still find attachment in bottle feeding. Keep all the same routine as when you nursed, quiet darkened room - mommy and baby time. It's still special. Just different.

I would also suggest talking to your pediatrician about her stool. Though, she's still really young so she won't have "stool" yet. It will be runny until she starts on solid foods, closer to 6 months. The screaming and the grunting is reason for concern though. I had a friend who's Dr. just had them dosing a little bit of mylanta before feedings and it made a big difference... it could be simple, but you should get a Doctor involved in an opinion on that one.

If it's breastmilk, not formula that's causing her problems, you should look at the foods you're eating. When I was breastfeeding I couldn't eat cabbage or broccoli or it passed thru the milk and made my son very gassy! I never would have considered that much impact, but it was a big deal!! We used Hyland's Colic Tabs to help ease his discomfort. They were a life saver!!

I hope all that helps! Best of luck to you.

T.

Make sure U are NOT giving her formula s with Iron.They will constipate her and give her gas.Try Isomil a soy basd formula see if that helps but Please ask your doctor if its ok,Best of luck.My child is now a teen but was always constipated when litttle.

J.,

Look up La Leche League in the phonebook, or go to www.llli.org. You will get the best possible answers to your breastfeeding questions through La Leche League. They will help you continue successful breastfeeding on your terms. You can find a local La Leche Leader by calling the phone number in the local phonebook, or by using the feature on the website called "Find local support..."

La Leche League is made up of women who have successfully breastfed their babies, and many of them encountered difficulties like you're facing, but succeeded in spite of that. Some of them stay home with their babies, and some of them are in the workforce part-time or full-time.

Concerning your baby's fussiness after a feeding, I don't know anything about formula choices, but I do know that adding a bit of Reliv nutritional products to the bottle has helped lots of babies with digestion problems. Call me if you want to know more about that. I have a friend with adopted twins who used this, and I know several other moms who were very happy with the results of adding Reliv to their babies' bottles.

Blessings,
M. Stump, ###-###-####, ###-###-####

when I was breastfeeding and my kids were gassy, it was the spices that I was eating (love that Mexican food). I love spicey food and didn't realize that my baby was eating them too. My doctor told me to cut down on the spices and diary for a while. Then we used the Walmart brand of infant gas medicine. Our doctor said to give it to her before I fed her to help with the gas. If the food gives you gas it can give your baby gas too. We used the enfamil brand of formula and never had a problem with it. They do make one for gassy colicy babies. Don't remember what it's called but it's made by enfamil. As for your not pumping...your body will keep producing milk at the time you need it if you keep nursing at that same time. I put my babies on a schedule and I wouldn't produce until the scheduled time. When I started weening the same thing happened, I would only produce when it was time to feed them. This worked with both my girls. Hopefully your baby is a strong sucker and will keep the flow going. Hope this was somewhat helpful. Good luck and God Bless.

Hi J., you have gotten a lot of great advice on here! I love this site! My son had acid reflux really bad and we tried so many different formula's and the one that worked really well was soy. I think it helped him a lot because it's thicker. oh, and about the breast feeding thing, I would try and watch if you eat anything spicy and then you could try and take diary out of your diet. I heard from a lot of people that it works. I breast fed my son for three months and would have gone longer if I could but he had other health issues also and had to have surgery at 5 weeks old. I wish you the best of luck!

Hi J.! Mom of 4 here, and breastfed all 4.

The feeding frenzy, is probably, she's hungrey, and your milk might not be coming "down" quite as fast as she wants. I had this with my kids. Do you change her diaper before you feed her? Most of the time, with close watch, you can tell when she is starting to get hungry, change her diaper, but do it as fast as you can, then start feeding her. When she is starting to nurse, don't let her gulp, or she'll get too much air, let her take the nipple, but to slow her down, take it away when she starts her frenzy, not away, but break the "seal". She will slowly get the idea, the food is there, she wants it now, she'll learn she can relax too, and the frenzy should stop. Later on, you can get her to cry to eat, but until she gets the idea, you want to be ready. Also, have a drink ready for you, to relax and re-hydrate you. The frenzy will create the gas problems, and I'm sorry, but I never had these gas drops, and always hated medecine when we don't need it, me or my kids. If it's gas, she will pull her legs up to her tummy, the frenzy, creates gas, calm her, and slow her down, and don't forget to burp, nursing babies need to burp too. (I'll shall climb up on my soap box now, These so called "Natural" meds, I wouldn't use them, after all Cocaine is natural too!) Oh, and the crying, gasiness, could be something you ate, this does go through to the milk. My sister-in-law loves spicy food, but had to quit it when she was nursing, the babies had upset tummies, and she had 5!

As far as dropping the day nursing and going to bottle feeding. It's really easy, slowly drop the feedings she will get at day-care. For example, If she's there from 8 to 4, and she usually eats at 9, 11, 1, and 3, drop the easiest one first. For me, that would probably be the 9, when you don't feel full anymore at that time, then drop another time. After 3 - 4 days, you'll again lose the full feeling for that time, then, drop another, wait again, then drop the final one. (This is how I stopped nursing, and never had the terrible feeling of engorgement the older ladies talked about.) If you can, have someone else feed her at those times, it will be easier on both of you. She won't understand why you're not nursing, and it could confuse her, and I have heard of babies who quit nursing when given the bottle. Bottles are TOO easy!

Good Luck!

Hi J.!
Sorry if Im repeating, I didnt read your responses, but I dont think no blood in the stool rules out allergies. Another thing to think about is lactose intolerance. My son had a lot of the same symptoms your little one has, we took lactose out of his diet and he completely changed. Good luck!

good morning, i hear you on trying to feed an acid reflux baby. Tips: dont lay her down for a few hours after you feed her, have her crib matress propped up to about a 45* angle and talk to your doctor about acid reflux. Do a bit of research before you talk to him becaseu my son's first doctor claimed he didnt have it becasue "breastfed babies dont get acid reflux" it was bunch of B*&^ Sh*t. My son had acid reflux. (he was Dr. fernando fernadez) and how, if u have a diagnosis of acid reflux, WIC will pay for a special formula called infamil ar. its thicker for babies who have acid reflux or spit up alot.

Good luck

Part 1....I first have to ask why you are not going to just pump at work and then use that breastmilk to feed her during the day? I do not know of any way to train your milk to come in at certain times. I can tell you if you got 8+ hours in between feedings, you will be VERY uncomfortable and possibly develop an infection if you keep that up. Or, your milk supply will drop as your body realizes that there is not need to produce that much milk. I would suggest feeding her before and after work and then pumping during the day. I started off pumping 2-3 times a day and then eventually went down to 1x a day.

Part 2: Sounds like your daughter may have colic or gas. Maybe the milk (breastmilk or formula) gives her gas and maybe she is unable to pass it. I would talk to her pediatrician about this. He may suggest some sort of drops of a different way to hold/burp her.

Good luck!

Just wanted to say that it could still be milk allergy, though there isn't any blood in her stool. You should eliminate milk, even the smallest trace, from your diet for 2 weeks, to see if it makes any difference. My son had the same symptoms as a newborn and when he got to be 5months old he couldn't tolerate breasmilk anymore (the pediatrician still denied it being a milk allergy) and had to be switched to formula. Soy formula ended up working great for him, but if you suspect an allergy, you might want to be careful about soy too.

She could be squirming like that because she has acid reflux. My 18 month old daughter had the same problem when she was small. She would scream and cry and squirm after eating for qutie some time and we finally figured out it was acid reflux. Talk to her doctor about it because you can try Mylanta or they can give her an Rx. It will make a world of difference in her attitude after eating.

The feeding frenzy only lasts for a little while....a few weeks out of a lifetime in the end.

Have you tried giving the baby Mylicon drops? (Double check with your doctor) This helps with gas and such. You might want to check some items in your diet such as dairy - I had to cut back to about a cup of milk a day when I was nursing or it bothered my baby. Talk to a lactation consultant and they will be able to help you!

It doesn't sound like a good time to switch to formula. Are you able to pump a little extra now to freeze for her use?

Hi J.,
I have an eleven week old boy, and an eleven year old boy, I can tell you from experience that breast and bottle a lot of time do not mix well. I am back at work and I pump my milk to ensure that my son has milk at day care. You would be surprised how much milk you can produce and store. I only pump three to four times a day however I pump two nine ounce bottles at a time. I mostly bottle feed my son so that he is used to the bottle and doesn't fuss at daycare looking for me but the bottles contain my milk. with my oldest son I took him completely off of breast milk when I went back to work because he was passing stool the size of an adult. It was very painful for him and for me to watch, so I just kept him on strait formula, a very light formula and it worked well, at times he would still get a bit upset however a bit of Karo syrup in his milk once every other week worked very well. Long stories short, I would ween your child from the breast early which is not the worst thing, however if you want to continue with the breast do all breast and have formula for a back up in case you milk runs low only.

before you go back to work you want to get your milk supply lower so start skipping one feeding at a time a few weeks before you need to so you won't be engorged at work and be in pain or leaking everywhere. I fed my kids both and enjoyed b/f in the am and before bed so yes it does work. Are you eating spicy foods or other foods that tend to be gassy? That could be making your baby miserable. My daughter had colic for 5 1/2 montha and would cry everyday from 3:30-8 pm and nothing seemed to help her much.
My youngest was a bit fussy in the evenings but not as many hours.
Our babies used prosobee soy formula because the regular ones would make them more constipated and fussy. Oldest child spit up everything he ate even when I was bf so didn't matter what he ate but he did seem to gain a little weight when we switched his formula to soy.

Hi J.,
My little one did the same thing with squirming around some times after feedings. I was a big milk drinker, so I cut almost all dairy out of my diet and we no longer had the problem, so it's something you may want to try.

When I've gone back to work, I've pumped for about 6 months. When I've attempted to do formula at the sitter's and just nurse at home, I really didn't seem to have much milk left....but I think that's more of what my body was doing than anything else. After about 6-7 months, I just couldn't keep up anymore.

For formula, I'm using the Sam's brand that's supposed to be a knockoff of Enfamil. My little one couldn't handle the Enfamil, but he's fine with the Sam's version (I'm not at home so I'm honestly not sure of the name.)

Good luck!
R.

You need to set your feeding schedule to match your work schedula as soon as possible. The feedings you give her during the day you need to bottle feed her with formula if you do not plan to pumb. That way your breast milk will still come in during other times. You need to do this slowly like maybe a little breast milk and then bottle for the 1 or 2 feeding you give her during the day. Be prepared for a battle with the bottle if you have exclusively breast fed.

You need to talk to your doctor about the gas and acid reflux. There is so much they can do for babies now to make them more comfortable than they used to. They also will let you know best formula. Also you should not be eating onions, cauliflower, brocolli etc because things like that will cause real gas build up in baby.

Good Luck!!

Hi J.,
Did you know that by state law,companies have to allow you time to pump at work? You might want to look into the MO breastfeeding laws.If your company isnt aware of them,maybe you could 'bring' it to their attention.
I wouldnt try to 'train' your milk.Its there for a reason.
I only got to BF for a month before mine dried up. We had trouble latching on and keeping a good suction.But I was told the most important part is the colostrum,so you have that covered.It sounds like she might have acid reflux or be lactose intolerant.Maybe even have a milk protien sensitivity. Have you spoken to her periatrician?

Enfamil and Similac both have the Alimentum,which is hypoallergenic. And they both have soy based,scid reducing formulas. you can go to their websites and read about the dif formulas and what they are designed to do.

We tried a couple dif ones before we settled on Similac's Isomil Advance.It seemed to work the best for us.We did have constipation problems tho.So,I would be aware of that.BF babies have very loose stools.
Good luck!

Your body will realize when the milk is needed and adjust accordingly. Your daughter is probably going through a growth spurt right now. The feeding frenzy is an effort to get your milk production up.

As far as her being fussy after she nurses, have you thought about removing dairy from your diet? Dairy sensitivites are VERY common and often all the mom needs to do is remove the dairy from her own diet. If she does have a dairy issue, then most formulas are probably going to be troublesome for her as well. I do not have experience with formulas though, so I will let someone else recommend specific formulas or brands.

Good Morning J., you can use gas drops whether you are breastfeeding or using formula. Store brand just just as well as name brand. You can put it in her formula bottle or her mouth directly.

I have no idea how to train your self for milk flow.
My daughter in law pumped and saved up for me to use during the day for quite a while and would pump also at her office with the door locked. So I am sorry I am no help in that area.

God Bless you and your precious little Princess
K. Nana of 5

Hi J., No suggestions for how to get your milk to come in on schedule, but I had gassy, reflux babies. We used Carnation Good Start the soy version. We tried several kinds and that one seemed to work best. We also had to give them Zantec for the reflux. Good luck!

My son did wonderfully on Enfamil Gentlease. It was a lifesaver. There's a generic for this as well (about $10 less), made by Parent's Choice, I think. We switched to this and had no issues. Good Luck!