formula feeding and low milk supply

[gflady]

Hi there,

I'll try to make this brief.

My lo has reflux, cow's milk protein intolerance and stopped gaining weight. So the paediatrician recommended we add in dairy free formula as she suspected I have low milk supply. Lo was getting really frustrated at the breast too. Started giving 2 ff a day and lo loved it and has started gaining weight really well. But now he's wanting less bfs and more ff. We're now up to 3 ffs a day. As a result my milk supply is rapidly decreasing. I'm not ready to give up bf but don't have time to express to maintain supply.

I'm stuck because part of me thinks it'll be great to fully ff and finally have my body back. but part of me is not ready to stop bf. As it stands I don't think I have much of a choice as my milk supply is so rubbish so will end up fully ff before long anyway.

I'm struggling with guilt about moving to ff exclusively. And preparing ff makes me worry as lo isn't predictable enough to make the ffs as advised on the tin. I end up filling his bottles with freshly boiled water and leaving them at room temp. When he's ready for a feed I just add the formula and give it. Is this OK??? Am I going to make him ill by not adding the formula to hot water? It's all making me a nervous wreck.

Sorry for being lame. Any advice, reassurance greatly appreciated. Xxx

 

[Bun87]

I have low milk supply too - lo lost 15% of his weight so we had to start ssupplementing. What I do is let lo feed ten mins off each side then top up with a bottle.

Re. Water for formula, we put our water in bottles ready then heat for 30 secs in microwave before adding formula and have had no problems

 

[Bun87]

Sorry phone went weird so will continue! By letting lo feed ffrom you first you get to keep the closeness of bf and keep your supply going.

I know exactly how you feel, i was hheartbroken when i couldn't ebf but I realised lo needed formula to thrive. Now I see it as he's getting the best of both worlds and dh can help more too

You are doing a great job and the fact that you are concerned proves you are a brilliant mummy xxx

 

[Etoiles]

I had the same issue with my LO. I really, really wanted to keep breast feeding so I got a supplementary nursing system so he can get extra milk while breast feeding. I also pump regularly and do think that this has helped my milk supply increase but it is a lot more work this way.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[Jendra]

I end up filling his bottles with freshly boiled water and leaving them at room temp. When he's ready for a feed I just add the formula and give it. Is this OK???

That's what I do every day and have for over a month. No problems here. I think you're fine.

I combi feed and have had time to pump, though I also take domperidon and fenugreek to keep the milk flowing as he only predictably BFs in the early hours of the morning.

 

[Guppy051708]

I would get an at breast nursing aid. I have IGT so i know exactly how you feel It isn't the same problem, but thats exactly what happened with my babies when i had to supplement (which is always)
What i have found, and i dont know you so i cant say for sure, but im guessing it probably has something to do with nipple flow preference (usually the bottle is faster), This was something i struggled through greatly with DS1 (but at the time i didn't know that was the problem). Its actually the entire reason i stopped BFing at 5 months, even though i didn't want to. He was just soo stressed w nursing bc the bottle was easier. So when i gave birth to DS2 and i KNEW i would have to supplement (bc of the IGT), i got a Lact-Aid. (another form is an SNS. I have used both-def prefer the Lact-Aid over the SNS). It will take a little bit of diligence on your part and some patience with the baby, but it will def get easier. I highly recommend either the SNS or the Lact-Aid and w time i am confident your LO will gravitate back to wanting breast. (assuming you stop using the bottles but as i said this may not be your LOs issue, but it sounds like it's a possibility).

Here is where i got my lact-aid. I'll attach a picture too, so you can get an idea of what it is. Also, i got an SNS from my lactation consultant. There is also a thing called a 5 French Feeding tube. I personally dont prefer it but it is another viable (and affordable) option.

https://www.lact-aid.com/

The lact-aid SAVED my breastfeeding relationship. It really did. And it helped restore the guilt that i had about not being able to BF 100%. It opened up an opportunity to feed my child at breast entirely-something that i otherwise cannot do without it w IGT. It was worth the effort in the begining and the money.

The nice thing about an at breast nursing sysmtem is that you dont have to pump around the clock. you dont have to manually express around the clock (though it could never hurt to do so), but the point is you breast will be getting all the stimulation needed to help with your milk supply. So the SNS/Lact-Aid kills three birds with 1 stone, so to speak. First you get to nurse your LO at breast (which will help with your mindset), second your LO will slowly lose the preference for the faster nipple flow since baby wouldn't be getting bottles, and lastly, you will get the nipple stimulation you need to maintain your supply and improve it. So you wont have to log all the man hours into everything that can be invovled with getting supply up.

Spoiler

https://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af180/Guppy051708/429401_10102353409240904_9379207_90056665_753087309_a.jpg


https://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af180/Guppy051708/stephaniek3lact-aid_zpseb5ee169.jpg

https://i1005.photobucket.com/albums/af180/Guppy051708/deluxe__89471131336809410001000_zps4972998f.png

 

[Smanderson]

I used fenugreek 2 tablets 3 times a day for just 2 or 3 days and my supply doubled but i have been pumping since day 3 and have decided this week to give up the pump and ff. I was looking in to how to prep formula as there seems to be so many different ways to do it and i found this link from the food standards agency so im going with what they say, hope it helps

https://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/formulaguidance.pdf

 

[Guppy051708]

RE: Fenugreek, this is often times one of the first herbs (and sometimes the only herb) that everyone, including lactation specalists, jump to at the first sign of low milk supply. It is a wonderful herb and for most ppl is perfectly fine and good and helpful, however, I just want to caution you. If you have hypothyroidism or any form of underactive thyroid, DO NOT take fenugreek. Everyone assumes that it is safe to take bc it's "only" an herb. This is certainly not the case, herbs are not bulletproof just bc they are naturally occurring. If you take it and have some type of hypothyroid, it is contraindiciated and has the potential to cause numerous issues....i know from personal experience. Too bad i didn't learn about it until it was too late.

I highly recommend "The Mother's Guide to Making More Milk" EXCELLENT book. And if you flip it to the back it list every natural remedy out there that can increase milk supply. It lists what medical conditions it's contraindicated in, who should take it, what it does, how much to take, when to take it, etc. Very very excellent book especially for those with chronic low milk supply.


Goat Rue is some pretty amazing stuff. You can take Blessed Thistle, Alfalfa and many others. But d your research! make sure that it's okay, bc some are not to be taken with certain health issues. IF you can, speak to an herbalist as well. Do your reading and dont assume just bc it's a plant that it's 100% safe for everyone. I am a firm believer in natural medicinal items but dont be fooled into thinking they are always harmless. In most cases they are wonderful and helpful, but dont be too quick to jump until you've learned about it.

 

[MindUtopia]

What about cutting dairy out of your diet and going back to exclusively BF? I mean if your LO has a dairy intolerance, it seems a bit silly for a doctor to recommend formula as most are dairy-based (I know you're on a dairy free one, but there's no dairy in breastmilk, so that seems like the obvious choice). The best advice I can give from my own experience is if you want to BF and you can without pain or due to any health issues of your own, then you should BF and cut out the formula. Drink lots of water, eat well, and keep your son on the boob as much as possible throughout the day. That will boost your supply. You might also pump in between feeds to get things going more.

I wanted desperately to breastfeed, but because of some health issues of my own and my daughter having trouble latching (in retrospect, I think she probably has a tongue tie, which I wish I had known to get checked early on), we only made it 10 weeks. Then I was too sick that I had to express and then combi feed with formula because my supply didn't respond well to the pump. Even with pumping 6 hours a day, my supply just plummeted to nothing. Our bodies respond best to babies and if supply is the issue, the best cure for that is lots and lots of feeding all the time. If I could have gotten my daughter back latched, it would have probably saved things. But without attention to your supply, it will disappear unfortunately. I would say, feed, feed, feed (and cut out dairy too) and see how things go in another few weeks. FF is easier in some ways, but if you can BF and you want to, then I'd stick with it. I cry all the time now because my body just didn't work the way I'd wanted it to and that I lost that. If you want it, then fight for it and ditch the formula as much as you can.

If you are going to use formula though, it should be made with recently boiled water. The boiling of the water is no so much to kill anything in the water, but to kill the bacteria that grows in the powdered formula. Your baby is 4 months, so it's less of a risk now than when they're very little. But it's easy to make it fresh everytime. I do it and it takes just as much time to boil the kettle and then cool the bottle as it does to boil the kettle and warm a cooled bottle of water. Or just make them all fresh with hot water and store them in the fridge. That's better than using cool water if you don't want to bother with making one bottle at a time.

 

[Hobin]

I just happened to come across the perfect article to help you the other day! But it won't let me post it because I'm new here! Argh. Ok. If you go to a website called Lactiful, and then navigate in the menus they have a section that's something like free lactation consultant advice, and then the article is called "How to supplement breastfeeding with formula". I think you'd find it really helpful.