breastfeed, feeling drained, especially at night
- Thread starter jamiexchan
- Start date
How old is your baby? That's the first question I'm wondering about.
If you want to increase your milk supply you're going to have to cut out the formula feeds. Breastfeeding isn't at all like formula feeding--you don't measure the milk by volume. Breastmilk CONTENT is what matters--not necessarily volume.
Is your baby gaining weight? Is your baby having 5-6 wet diapers/day? If so, your baby is getting enough from breastfeeding and isn't starving. What have you done to increase your milk supply.? The first step is cutting out formula completely out because if you feed with formula it tells your body to produce less milk and then you get into a cycle. So, if you are trying to keep with breastfeeding and especially if your baby is small, feeding formula is actually causing your breastmilk supply to go down.
genkimom gave a lot of good suggestions above on how to increase breastmilk supply. It takes time and effort. Breastfeeding can feel tiring and in the beginning can be a lot of work but it's worth it. You said you saw a lactation consultant? Where? Was it at the public hospital or the mother/child health clinic? If so, I would contact La Leche League and get a second opinion--the public hospital and local doctors are well known for giving poor breastfeeding advice to new mothers. Just because you can't get milk out with a pump doesn't mean your milk supply is low necessarily. Pumping breastmilk is really a lot different than feeding the baby directly. You will never get as much pumping as you do when your baby feeds directly. Pumping is not always an accurate way to measure breastmilk supply.
Here are some questions:
If you truly have low breastmilk supply, have you gone on domeridone? Have you taken fenugreek and fennel? Have you started eating a diet high in lactogenic foods (oatmeal, spinach). Are you on a good nutritional supplement that contains plenty of balanced calcium that your body can absorb (this was my problem when I had serious milk supply issues)? Are you getting enough calories in your diet (you need at least 500 more calories than usual daily)? Are you getting rest? Are you drinking enough water? Are you taking any medications or supplements that have a negative effect on milk supply (such as cold medicine)? Does your baby have a proper latch? Is your baby feeding frequently? Have you tried hand expressing--many women can get much more milk with hand expression than with a pump?
I think contacting La Leche League is a good place to start if you really want to keep breastfeeding. It is not easy and it takes a lot of work at first. You just need some encouragement and practical help from people who know what they're doing.
If you want to increase your milk supply you're going to have to cut out the formula feeds. Breastfeeding isn't at all like formula feeding--you don't measure the milk by volume. Breastmilk CONTENT is what matters--not necessarily volume.
Is your baby gaining weight? Is your baby having 5-6 wet diapers/day? If so, your baby is getting enough from breastfeeding and isn't starving. What have you done to increase your milk supply.? The first step is cutting out formula completely out because if you feed with formula it tells your body to produce less milk and then you get into a cycle. So, if you are trying to keep with breastfeeding and especially if your baby is small, feeding formula is actually causing your breastmilk supply to go down.
genkimom gave a lot of good suggestions above on how to increase breastmilk supply. It takes time and effort. Breastfeeding can feel tiring and in the beginning can be a lot of work but it's worth it. You said you saw a lactation consultant? Where? Was it at the public hospital or the mother/child health clinic? If so, I would contact La Leche League and get a second opinion--the public hospital and local doctors are well known for giving poor breastfeeding advice to new mothers. Just because you can't get milk out with a pump doesn't mean your milk supply is low necessarily. Pumping breastmilk is really a lot different than feeding the baby directly. You will never get as much pumping as you do when your baby feeds directly. Pumping is not always an accurate way to measure breastmilk supply.
Here are some questions:
If you truly have low breastmilk supply, have you gone on domeridone? Have you taken fenugreek and fennel? Have you started eating a diet high in lactogenic foods (oatmeal, spinach). Are you on a good nutritional supplement that contains plenty of balanced calcium that your body can absorb (this was my problem when I had serious milk supply issues)? Are you getting enough calories in your diet (you need at least 500 more calories than usual daily)? Are you getting rest? Are you drinking enough water? Are you taking any medications or supplements that have a negative effect on milk supply (such as cold medicine)? Does your baby have a proper latch? Is your baby feeding frequently? Have you tried hand expressing--many women can get much more milk with hand expression than with a pump?
I think contacting La Leche League is a good place to start if you really want to keep breastfeeding. It is not easy and it takes a lot of work at first. You just need some encouragement and practical help from people who know what they're doing.
Don't give up on the pump. In the beginning, I thought it wasn't working either. But after a few times, it got better.
Also, how long do you keep the pump on? Sometimes, the first 5 minutes, it looks like nothing is coming out. Then I get a "let down" and more milk comes out.
But the more you supplement with formula, the less stimulation your breasts will get, and the less milk they will produce.
But if you really try to 100% BF, and maybe do a little extra pumping, it will only take a few days for your breasts to produce more milk.
I hear local moms all the time complaining about having not enough milk. But then it turns out that they just aren't feeding / pumping enough. There's no big secret about diet, supplements, etc -- it really is just a matter of time and effort.
Don't give up now. Breastmilk is way better for your baby than formula. It's the only way to give immunity to your child.
Mine has been BF for 5 months now and has not had a single cold, flu, allergy or anything, even though it's winter.
Also, how long do you keep the pump on? Sometimes, the first 5 minutes, it looks like nothing is coming out. Then I get a "let down" and more milk comes out.
But the more you supplement with formula, the less stimulation your breasts will get, and the less milk they will produce.
But if you really try to 100% BF, and maybe do a little extra pumping, it will only take a few days for your breasts to produce more milk.
I hear local moms all the time complaining about having not enough milk. But then it turns out that they just aren't feeding / pumping enough. There's no big secret about diet, supplements, etc -- it really is just a matter of time and effort.
Don't give up now. Breastmilk is way better for your baby than formula. It's the only way to give immunity to your child.
Mine has been BF for 5 months now and has not had a single cold, flu, allergy or anything, even though it's winter.
BTW, your baby will not starve to death -- definitely not silently! They scream when they are hungry.
But serious -- moms have BF their babies since the beginning of time. Unless you have a major medical problem, there is no reason you can't produce enough milk for your baby. It sounds like you're also being held back by worry and a lack of confidence.
There is no need to worry.
But serious -- moms have BF their babies since the beginning of time. Unless you have a major medical problem, there is no reason you can't produce enough milk for your baby. It sounds like you're also being held back by worry and a lack of confidence.
There is no need to worry.
Gataloca
Registered User
Oh, actually the OP is a friend of mine. Since she might be quite busy struggling with her 4 week old baby girl, and taking care of her 21 month old toddler as well, I might try to answer some of the questions for her.
According to her, her baby hasn't gained lot of weight, and although the baby was regularly wetting the diapers, the diapers are usually scarcely wet. At the MCHC, the doctor was a little bit concerned about that, and suggested that she should feed, or at least, complement with formula.
I suggested her to contact LLL, and see some lactation consultant before giving up. She did called some LLL leaders for advices, and also went to see Mrs Chee. At Mrs Chee office, she tried to pump milk from my friend, and could hardly get 1 oz of milk out. Mrs. Chee did think that she indeed has too little milk, and gave her some medication (probably domeridone) for increasing her supply.
From what she told me later, the medication wasn't helping a lot, and she has started giving more feed with formula.
As a note, my friend is in care of a Chinese confinement lady, who is making sure that she gets a healthy diet and plenty of rest. In fact, she told me that sometime her baby would wake up in the middle of an afternoon nap, and her confinement lady would not allow her breastfeed the baby, stating that she need to get more sleep. Her confinement lady would then rock the baby back to sleep..............
According to her, her baby hasn't gained lot of weight, and although the baby was regularly wetting the diapers, the diapers are usually scarcely wet. At the MCHC, the doctor was a little bit concerned about that, and suggested that she should feed, or at least, complement with formula.
I suggested her to contact LLL, and see some lactation consultant before giving up. She did called some LLL leaders for advices, and also went to see Mrs Chee. At Mrs Chee office, she tried to pump milk from my friend, and could hardly get 1 oz of milk out. Mrs. Chee did think that she indeed has too little milk, and gave her some medication (probably domeridone) for increasing her supply.
From what she told me later, the medication wasn't helping a lot, and she has started giving more feed with formula.
As a note, my friend is in care of a Chinese confinement lady, who is making sure that she gets a healthy diet and plenty of rest. In fact, she told me that sometime her baby would wake up in the middle of an afternoon nap, and her confinement lady would not allow her breastfeed the baby, stating that she need to get more sleep. Her confinement lady would then rock the baby back to sleep..............
Gataloca
Registered User
And actually I wanted to say that it is common for baby to get fussy at night. And if the last breastfeed doesn't keep your baby happy for too long, a solution might be to do cluster feeding: http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/fussy-evening.html
Same here, I get very little milk out with pump alone, even when engorged. The only way for me is to nurse my baby and pump on the other breast at the same time. You'll be surprised how easy and the amount of milk you get pumped this way. Also by doing this, breastfeeding is not only mommy & bb's time, my husband can have his by feeding bb the milk I pumped after i breastfed bb on one breast.