Mixing BM and Formula & Pumping Advice needed...UPDATED PG 4!!

[Ragirl]

That's great! I was going to second what the other's said and then also say you can't equate the amount of formula a baby eats to the amount of momma's milk they need- but now you already know that..LOL!! sounds like it was really helpful.

I do want to stress the importance of eating enough. I was not worried about weight loss at first, was eating plenty (to ensure my milk came in) and had tons of milk. After a few weeks I decided I needed to start focusing on weight loss and cut my calories some. I saw a dramatic decrease in the amount of milk I made. When I started eating more, it came back. You don't need to eat a ton of extra calories, but you need to be eating a few more than you might if not bfing. Don't try to make the weight come off too quick...it will come off over time if you are bfing.

 

[bex]

Well I'm just back from 'Baby Cafe' which is a breast feeding group once a week (Ali, it's in the Fax and there's one at Bradley too we should meet there sometime maybe??)

It's run by the community midwives and there are lactation consultants there. It was RAMMED with babies and boobies!! Anyway the consultant was lovely and we had a long natter and she was very supportive. I need to go back to basics for a while and ditch the top ups, pumping and dummy - too many things to be doing so soon. She said she didnt think there was a problem with my supply. Like some of the girls have said, what you pump and what baby gets are not the same. She also said volume wise baby needs upto 30% less BM than formula as its obviously the perfect food and is digested totally differently. So I just need to believe in myself a bit more and go with the flow....ahem....
Either that or I can have a few days in bed having a 'baby-moon' and just having loads of skin on skin and feeding away.....

I'm really pleased I went - I'm really determined to get this right.

Thanks girls - I appreciate you input. x

I was going to suggest trying to get some support. Really glad you went. That's the same advice we got at antenatel class. The breastfeeding advisor kept saying if things become difficult to have lots of skin to skin. Good luck xx

 

[Mervs Mum]

Thanks Bex. We've had 24hrs with no top ups, no dummy and no pumping and my milk already feels better. She's a little bit more unsettled but we're by no means frazzled or broke by it. She's slept between 2 and 4 hrs between feeds and last night she just fed and slept with us. OH is walking about with her in the baby sling and she's settling lovely.....

I really want this Bex.....x

ps - hope youre ok honey - term tomorrow!!

x

 

[hotsexymum]

when i had harry becouse he could not suck hard i had to express milk every 3 hours and the more i done it more the milk come out

 

[Sarah88]

Go You!!

 

[BurtonBaby]

Great job!! I'd also say that right now, you cant really judge how much Hebe is getting based off of how much you are able to pump. I tried Fenugreek and Mothers Milk Tea when I was trying to increase my supply, along with lots of skin to skin contact, and constant nursing, and some pumping. It helped. I actually have an opened bottle of Fenugreek capsules, and an open box of the Mothers Milk Tea that you could have for just however much it would cost to post to you.. It might not be worth it if it costs a lot to post it... But I dont use it anymore, and they are both almost full.

Hope things get easier and easier by the day hun.

 

[formunky]

i was exactly the same and ended up stopping bf eventually at 4.5 months...but i did mix form and bp for months or bf then right away gave form...doc reccomended so i did it and he started gaining weight so that was awesome...i tried some herbal remdies as well...they worked a bit but a lot of work.....alot of pills...called fenugreek and mama milkstream...also i pumped but alot of ppl cant get milk when pumping and can bf fine so pumping isnt the most amazing thing out there

 

[Mervs Mum]

Thanks girls!!

We had another good night - I almost caved and topped her up but hubby was fantastic and took her off me and gave me some time to 're-group' and feed again. Nips are bearing up well and she's fast asleep as I type since 7.30/8am and its 10am now. She's sleeping with us which seems to help as she falls asleep on the breast, very cosy and snug and we get a good rest in between.

Burton Baby - thanks so much for that! If you can post them to me then I'll paypal you the postage right away - 'waste not, want not' eh!!!

x

I really appreciate the support girls!

x

 

[Michy]

Glad things seem to be getting better hun, I admire you for keeping on going xxx

 

[Tegans Mama]

There is a possibility your milk isnt in properly yet, mine didnt come un until about a week and a half after the baby was born.

 

[Mervs Mum]

Just wanted to let you girls know that the HV came today and she now weighs 9lb 3oz on day 12!!! Her birth weight was 8lb 11 and on day 5 she was 8lb 8oz so she is DEFINATELY getting enough since I stopped topping up on thursday and moved to breast only!!!!

I am over the moon.......

 

[Ann-Marie]

Well done

 

[Margerle]

Well done mommy!!!

 

[1st_baby]

well done hun

 

[Ragirl]

Congrats!!! You are both such a wonderful success story

 

[bex]

Well done Lisa, your hard work and perseverence (sp!) is paying off xx

 

[angellica]

Ahhhhh.... yeah that makes sense. I was going by this 3-4 hour per feed guideline which i suppose is for bottle feeding. Thanks! I'll try to put him to the boob as often as he demands, even if it's every half hour. x

Its easy to get hung up on the guidelines, especially when a lot of the health professionals that deal with very young children rely on infornation that is out of date (apologies for the generalization..)

I can only suggest that you keep going. It is a very worthwhile experience. You are doing well, but I would suggest dropping the formula. Speak to a specialist BF counsellor (NCT provide an excellent service and you don't need to be a member either)

 

[angellica]

Just wanted to let you girls know that the HV came today and she now weighs 9lb 3oz on day 12!!! Her birth weight was 8lb 11 and on day 5 she was 8lb 8oz so she is DEFINATELY getting enough since I stopped topping up on thursday and moved to breast only!!!!

I am over the moon.......

Well done

 

[Mervs Mum]

Ahhhhh.... yeah that makes sense. I was going by this 3-4 hour per feed guideline which i suppose is for bottle feeding. Thanks! I'll try to put him to the boob as often as he demands, even if it's every half hour. x

Its easy to get hung up on the guidelines, especially when a lot of the health professionals that deal with very young children rely on infornation that is out of date (apologies for the generalization..)

I can only suggest that you keep going. It is a very worthwhile experience. You are doing well, but I would suggest dropping the formula. Speak to a specialist BF counsellor (NCT provide an excellent service and you don't need to be a member either)

I think we do get hung up on amounts and timings when it comes to feeding. I found that once I kind of threw that out the window and just went with it, is wasnt actually that lng before a natural pattern developed. It's not been a week for us on BF alone, and already we have a pretty regular pattern of feeding and sleeping for certain times at certain times of the day/night.
Hebe is much more alert now she's not zonked out between feeds. It's lovely coz we get lots mor open eye time than we had been getting before.

 

[Whisper]

congrats hun it is soo worth it, well done
xx