My son was born just about 2 weeks ago. I had an induced, long labor which ended in a c-section. While in the hospital, he lost about a pound. (He was 9 lbs., 12 oz. at birth). I am determined to breastfeed unless it's absolutely not possible, but my milk didn't come in until a few days ago (basically 8 days post-partum). For the few days before that, I had continued to nurse and supplement with formula through a syringe. He gained about 4 oz. by day 7 of life. When my milk started to come in, we stopped supplementing because he was breastfeeding so well that we felt confident he was getting what he needed -- he was alert and content after feeds, there was visible milk and I could easily hear sucking and swallowing when he fed. Now, after 5 full days of exclusively breastfeeding, he has lost 7 oz. more. The doctor feels that he's getting the volume of milk to feel content, but the caloric intake is not what is necessary. I have tried pumping (I have a Lansinoh Double Electric Breast Pump), but it doesn't seem to be able to yield much (even after pumping, I can still hand express milk that the pump doesn't seem to be able to get). Has anyone else had a problem similar to this? Ideas, suggestions?
My son is gaining weight beautifully now, although it was a long and stressful road! We got to a point where his weight was almost a pound and a half below birth weight (at around 3 weeks). We ended up having to give formula almost exclusively every two hours for a day. This seemed to wake up his appetite and give him a burst of energy. Since then, we've been nursing at every feed and supplementing at most, when he has drained each breast and he's still hungry. It seems the problem is just a matter of not producing enough milk, even though I have more now than I did. I did pretty much everything -- pumping, cluster feeding, taking fenugreek and brewer's yeast.... At this point, I don't know if we'll ever be able to stop supplementing, but at least I know that he's getting the benefits of breastmilk, even if it's not all he's getting.
You are doing great! Check out kellymom.com for LOTS of advice. Just nurse, nurse, nurse. The more you nurse, the more your body will produce. Pumping does not yield as much as nursing does, especially in the first few weeks. He is probably just adjusting to BM full time. Is he having plenty of wet diapers? If so, you are probably fine.
Yes hang in there ! I believe I've said before that I could have fed 10 kids and had milk to spare, but everyone is different , and it's not always easy. Make sure you have a really healthy diet, lots and lots of water veggies, whole grain.........just eat well. A beer a day can help your milk supply, and some of the non-alcoholic types aren't too bad when they are really cold, so you get the helpful stuff with no worries.
Also keep in mind that breast-babies don't chunk up the way formula babies do....for formula Mom's I mean "chunk" in a nice way.
So just stick with it, keep punping to help supply and check the quality, and keep suplimenting a bit if you are really worried....it certainly won't hurt him.
Hi A.,
Are you feeding your son the same amount of times as he fed on formula? There could be your problem. Breast milk is digested by baby much more efficiently than formula is (and you'll notice baby's poops stink less on breast milk!!!), which is all a good thing...but it also means that baby gets hungry sooner on breast milk and needs to feed more often than he did on formula alone. My son was breastfeeding every two hours at one point! Thank God he slept a lot in those days...it gave my breasts a rest! For you, I'd simply recommend increasing the number of times baby breast feeds, and pumping to keep a reserve for when your breasts aren't available.
Does he seem hungry more often? I know my son did. My son was born with an extremely large birth weight, and he demanded more feedings as a result, so I myself wound up feeding formula to him twice a day to supplement the breast milk. You can always do something like this as well. But if his birth weight was normal, you probably don't really NEED to do this...it'll be more to give yourself a break than anything. Expect that when he breast feeds, it'll be more frequent.
Also...I wanted to comment on your remarks about pumping:
You seemed frustrated with the volume that pumping yielded, that it didn't seem like a lot. I would advise not to pay much mind to how much you express during pumping. I always found when my son was an infant that pumping was a more grueling process on my breasts than breastfeeding itself. I found pumping to be fairly painful, whereas breastfeeding was not. I don't think that the pumping process is quite as efficient a process of expressing milk as a suckling baby is. You have to have faith that your body is producing enough milk for your child--nature's amazing that way--and reserve the pumping simply for the purpose of creating a supply of milk for when you're not around or when it's not convenient to whip out your breast, or for when your husband wants to feed the baby.
Pumping, btw, won't make you produce more milk than if the baby fed directly off your breast. The only thing that gets you to produce more milk is to breastfeed more! The body is designed to keep up with baby's demands (that's why moms who are breastfeeding more than one child can still keep up with demands)...if the baby takes more, you'll produce more.
And finally, one more important point: make sure that YOU are getting an appropriate amount of healthy calories in YOUR diet. Although you might be anxious to lose your pregnancy weight, as long as you're breastfeeding, dieting is not the way to do it, as it robs important calories from baby. Your caloric intake needs to remain higher than your pre-pregnancy caloric requirements were.
But don't let that panic you on the weight loss front: Breastfeeding HELPS you to lose weight, believe it or not, and statistically, women who breastfeed lose weight faster and more efficiently than women who don't breast feed. Your uterine walls will contract down to size very nicely because of the breastfeeding--I know I could actually feel it as I breast fed. Breastfeeding triggers hormone production that gets your body back into shape. Nature's a wonderful thing.
Hope this helped even a little....good luck with your son!
I had a similar situation and what we found was that he was doing a lot of non-nutritive sucking which was burning more calories than he was taking in. What we did was nurse him as long as he would (good suckling, not that lazy stuff) and I would pump out what he didn't eat. We would then bottle feed him what I pumped because THAT'S where the calories are. The first part of the feeding is 80% water, so its more to quench his thirst. The latter part of the feeding is rich in fat and calories. That's what he needs more of.
Have you tried going to the Care Connection on Harlem (near Main)? They have a scale there. We used to go and weigh him, then nurse and weigh him again so I knew exactly what he was getting off of me. Kinda gives you a place to start. Good Luck and don't give up! You can beat this! You just gotta get to the bottom of it. Supplement only if he isnt wetting enough, otherwise keep him at your breasts! Hang in there Momma!
Hi A.: Everyone has different problems when it comes to nursing. I have a 19 mo old son and I nursed for 4 1/2 mos. I was lucky because I produced enough milk to feed more than one child. What I did differently was I would pump twice a day and my son from birth in the hospital had one formula bottle a day. I did that mainly so he would be used to it when I transitioned him and so that someone else could feed him. So he would get one formula bottle and one breast milk bottle per day. My sister used the double breast pump and when I witnessed her doing it, it seemes as though the pump barely worked. When I pumped, I used a single pump (I'm sorry, I do not remember the name of it). It worked like a charm. The more that you pump, the more milk you will produce. Before you went home from the hospital, did they have you meet with a lactation consultant? I met with one the day I went home and she spent over an hour with me and my son. (I didn't have a clue what I was doing). I would suggest supplementing a formula bottle once a day (maybe before bed time) and pump as much as you can. Did your doctors tell you to eat anything different? Anything more fatty or with more calories? Typically when you nurse, you have to take in more calories since when the baby feeds, he is taking a number of calories. (Hence nursing helps you lose weight after giving birth.) I would keep on trying. Your little boy will let you know if he isn't getting enough. I would try the one formula bottle a day Similac Advanced or Enfamil. See if that one bottle a day helps. There is nothing more special than being able to do something with your baby that no one else can. It is a bonding time that feels wonderful. Good Luck. If I can help any further, please let me know.
I have 4 children all of whom I nursed. They were all slim babies (so cute). My 2 sons are now approx. 6'2" and one is 200 the other is 240. They are all strong and healthy. Breast fed babies have so many advantages. Breast milk is by far the best and the bonding can't be replaced by anything else. Don't be too alarmed, remember the first few days the baby was getting colostrum which is the best immunization possible. Milk should be getting richer now, as long as he's happy thing's are most likely fine!
