Keeping up with Demand with Breastfeeding

As a self-professed formula snob, I feel your pain and you sound like me just 2 months ago. I work full time and exclusively nursed my daughter. She's my 3rd and last and it was important to me to keep that up. However, I was having to pump 24 ounces a day. She took 4 six ounce bottles!! If I got stuck in a meeting she would be short the next day and then I had to find time at work to pump double to get my supply back up. I stressed myself out about it so badly I'm sure it hurt my supply even more. My daycare kept gently suggesting adding formula in to which I would cry NO!

Well, at 7 months I finally did it and now I'm wondering what took me so long! I should have started at 6 months and saved myself the stress. I give her 3 ounces of formula and 3 ounces of milk in her bottles for daycare. I nurse her in the morning, evenings and throughout the night. She's a happy little baby and I'm not hooked up to the pump all day while I work!

Even with those 12 ounces of formula my daughter at 8 months old has yellow mustardy bf poops so I know she's getting mostly milk but that 12 ounces I add in sure do make us all happy!

Be kind to yourself, you've done good Mama! Formula isn't the devil LOL (that was from my husband when I was whining about it)

G.,

I have a now 18 month little boy and breast feed him until he was about 13 months. He went through some crazy growth spurts demanding tons of food, then would slow down. And over the next couple days / weeks you will be gradually feeding you daughter more and more solid food check out this site: http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/ it might be helpful. So I say stick with the breat milk and your demand will catch up and she will slow down.

-S.

My daughter when through the same thing - nursing seemingly all the time right around the time we started cereal. My thought was that she was either going through a growth spurt or needed more calories. Babies nurse more when they're growing to help your body increase the supply.

Eventually, once she ate a little more cereal the constant nursing decreased (and even more so once she ate veggies too). At eleven months (and eating lots of solids), she still goes through spurts where she wants to nurse more frequently.

Be patient - if it's a growth spurt or just her body needing more calories, her appetite will level off. Good luck!

my daughter was the same size as yours and always hungry. I found that at 7 months old we put her on a schedule and it was the best thing for all of us. First we did formula with one table spoon of cereal and one tablespoon of fruit for breakfast, formula for lunch, formula in afternoon for snack, formula with cereal and veggies for dinner and formula at 11.

At eight months old we added solids at lunch and then she no longer needed the extra formula at 11. Once she got on this schedule she slept better and did not need more than 24 oz of formula a day.

I think if you can get her on a feeding schedule that might help to cut down the amount of breastmilk she takes in.

My children were demanding little nursers as well. Seeing that she's 6 months, I would definately up the solids. She'll let you no if it's too much for her. Both my children were on jar foods by 6 months. Just introduce one simple fruit at a time & you can mix it with the cereal. I also always mixed water with the cereal to save the pumped milk. Many of us have felt like nursing machines...
Good luck & congratulations on nursing this long.

G.,
How many times a day is your daughter eating solids? At 6 months they should be eating 3 meals a day if she is and is still nursing a lot she is most likely growing. My son used to eat all the time now that he's turned 1 and into a busy toddler I cant get him to eat he just wants to run around explore. Kids go back and forth all the time. My 6 yr old is now the eating machine in the house. Dont worry about giving her a bottle of formula at night When i babysat my nephew my sister had a hard time keeping up with the demand so he used to get one bottle of formula while she was at work. You could try a supplement I know it helped my sister a lot. Good luck. Rachel

Dear G.,

It sounds like she's hungry. I would start offering more solids following the usual guidelines.
In my case, I pumped and would give my son one bottle of formula so I could get a break. Keep in mind that the calories per ounce of cereal are less than in one ounce of milk. You can also increase the number of times a day that you offer solids.
She is probably going through a growth spurt which is normal for a 6 month old.

I hope this helps,
A.

Hi There,
I nursed until my son was 18 mos old. He went through growth spurts when he seemed to need more milk but it didn't last. He hated baby food except the mixed cereal/fruit jars. I worked at night too and my husband gave my expressed milk too. I had to pump at work or when I got home. I remembered it was soooo hard. I got through it and you will too. I thought about formula and tried it once or twice in my lean pumping times but he hated it. It all worked out it will work out for you too.
R.

I bet she's going threw a growth spurt and that's why she's so hungry. I feel like that's all I do is breastfeed and pump, right now my daughter is passed out attached to me.
Have you tried taking supplements to increase your supply while you're at work?
How many hours/days do you work? I work nights too and would prefer that my daughter doesn't get formula but I figure if it's only a bottle of formula every once in awhile it isn't that bad.
You could also try to give her a little more solids if you think she's still hungry. My son used to gulp down his bottles but it was more because he was a fast eater and not "starving" although you would think he was the way he used to get excited when he saw the bottle.

ask your doctor or nurse/infant warm line about fenugreek or reglan as a supplement (for you to increase your supply).
I used reglan and I was able to continue pumping/feeding for about 8 months after my supply had dwindled to practically nothing. it's a naseau drug that has the unexplained side effect of increasing milk supply. i started on a few pills a day and cut down to one pill every few days and pumping and feeding became effortless.

Hi,
It sounds like your little girl is definitely ready for more solids. I exclusively BF my little girl until 5 months - she was clearly showing signs of needing more to eat (although I was really against giving her solids before 6 mo). We started solids and she was sooooo much happier, and so was I, because I wasn't having to BF her every 2 hours.

Also, when I give my little girl cereal (rice or oatmeal) I just mix it with water - not pumped milk - I saved the pumped stuff so I can have it when I really need it - in a bottle. Its completely fine to mix the cereal with water (according to my pediatrician)! Oh, and I would mix it much thicker at this point, she can handle it. Go for more of an oatmeal consistency.

Best of luck with solids - there are lots of books/references on feeding your baby if you are a bit scared/nervous (I know I was).

:)

Wow, it's wonderful how she has such a great appetite! My girl was the same way, I can relate. I'd say since she's 6 months and obviously hungry, you can definitely increase the amount of solid food she is getting. Definitely keep nursing and pumping, but try giving her larger (and maybe more frequent) solid meals. Since right now you are giving her 1 TB cereal with 2oz milk, try gradually increasing to 2-3 TB with 2oz milk. This will also be good for her to try out new and different textures, which she may enjoy.

How many cereal meals are you giving her a day? I remember when my daughter got to 6 months she was so eager for food, and we almost immediately found ourselves feeding her 3 cereal + milk meals a day, in addition to regular nursings. She was essentially having breakfast, lunch and dinner with nursing "snacks" in between. Some babies (people) have fast metabolisms, and it's just normal for them to eat a lot. My daughter continues to be a chow-hound, and is built like Uma Thurman, go figure!?! But she is healthy and happy, which is all that matters.

Good luck, it sounds like you are on the right track and doing fine!

Sounds like a growth spurt to me!
I remember my dd's first growth spurt.... my butt was superglued to our rocking chair! I nursed every 2 hours and then at her bedtime - we nursed for a 3 hour stretch! OMG! I remember my mom asking me to call a doctor because it wasnt normal (she fed us kids formula - completely different)... give it a few days... it should slow down.

If you think you cant meet her needs with pumping - dont feel guilty if you think about mixing BM with formula. Its ok. I remember when I had to do it.... I cried all the time. I felt like a horrible mom b/c I was supposed to only giver he BM! But in acuality - it was the best thing for her b/c when I pumped - I would get less and less each time and then I would stress about it - which made it worse for me. If you supplement - mix a little at a time so she gets used to it.

Have you introduced veggies or fruit as well? Maybe add a little veggie with the rice cereal (so she gets used to it slowly). I dont think you need to up the solids though unless she is still hungry after you are done feeding her. Then I would give her 1 1/2 tbs of rice cereal or 1 tbs of rice cereal and 1 tbs of veggie, etc. See how it goes from there.

Oh and by the way - feeling like you have utters - doesnt go away. My dd will walk by me with her tongue flapping and just have a "sip". Cute but crazy. My dd is getting a molar right now and is nursing a lot!

G. - my daughter is almost 6 months old as well and wants to eat ALL the time too - I breastfeed her exclusively and a lot of the time she wants to eat every 2 hours. I pump, and do produce a lot, but can't deal with trying to pump for her cereal as well. So, one little bit of advice that I've been doing is giving her 2 tbsp of cereal and just adding water, instead of dealing with pumping to put breastmilk in. She takes it fine, and it saves me from that additional pumping. Just a tiny bit of advice, but it might save you at least that pumping session. Also, when you introduce more babyfood, just add the cereal into the babyfood - it's easier. I did that with my son and it worked great.
GOOD LUCK - I totally know how taxing it all is, and I can empathasize with how you feel. It gets easier, I promise, the older they get - I have to keep reminding myself that too!

You could definitely do more solids, more filling solids - I know moms who are doing simple fruits at this age, pureed avocado, etc - sometimes these are more filling. Cereals are just empty carbs and won't fill her up for long!

Don't let anyone bully you into continuing to bf if you feel you've had enough. It's YOUR decision. I will tell you I have two boys ages 8 and 7 and they were exclusively formula fed, and they are inteligent and healthy little boys - HOLY COW, IMAGINE THAT! And they were never breast fed.

I understand that even if you bf for even a few weeks, yes it is beneficial, so I am not negating the positive effects of bf, but when you are working full time or even part time, bf can be difficult.

I'll repeat what someone below wittingly said "FORMULA IS NOT THE DEVIL!!!"

Good luck to you! :-)

I would up the cereal and baby food. I was nursing when my baby girl was six months. She had three meals a day and bottles of expressed milk or would nurse in between. I would give her cereal and fruit or veggie. I think if she is drinking 8-10 oz, she really needs more to fill that little belly. When she eats more, that will give you a break a little bit. You can get back to pumping to have milk to set aside for your hubby when you are working. She sounds like a healthy girl going through a growth spurt. Good luck!!

Definately up the cereal, the amount your giving is only for them to get used to it. She seems more than ready! Also, I started my daughter on veggies at 6 mo. -ask your dr. of course, but she was having cereal (about 4T.)in the am, and about 3/4 of a stage 1 veggie in evening.