Babies: 3 - 6 Months

Not enough breast milk :(

I started out really good, had a plan, pumped the opposite breast every time my little guy was nursing, I had a stash I was very proud of... but slowly and surely my stash has started to shrink. I've made it 4 months with BF exclusively and I know that's a big accomplishment. I really wanted to go 1 year. 

I'm not producing enough milk now and I feel like I'm letting my little guy down... like I've failed :(  I feel like I've tried everything natural that I can think about- gatorade, fenugreek, more milk, more milk plus, lots and lots of water- and not sure how I feel about prescription drugs to help?! I'm stressing about it and I know that stressing about it isn't helping. I know formula isn't all that bad and that nursing/BM for this long is very good, but I still can't help but feel like I failed. UUUGGG... 

I'm still continuing to pump and instead of every 4-5 hours, I've gone back to 2-3 hours hoping that my body goes back to the 'ol supply and demand and I'll get more milk. We've started adding a little bit of formula to his BM because I know in time I will either run dry or I won't have enough BM on hand to feed him, so I figure slowly introducing him to formula is the best thing to do. 

what have you guys tried to bring your milk supply up? 


Re: Not enough breast milk :(

  • Thank you I will post there! 

    I have returned to work. Even over the weekend when I nurse him I do both sides now and within 2 hours he's fussy. 
  • I send roughly 20-30 oz each day of frozen BM to daycare. Some days he eats every 2 hours but most days he will eat every 3-4 hours. 6-7 oz at a time usually.

    He is sleeping through the night! 
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  • That is way too much. No wonder you can't keep up. Bottles for BF babies should be 5 ounces, tops, maybe 5.5. Also, the average BF baby needs 25 to 28 ounces TOTAL per day. You need to talk to your daycare provider because they are way overfeeding your baby. Read about paced bottle feeding on kellymom.com, make sure you're using slow flow nipples on the bottles, and make sure they know how to soothe LO with something other than food.

    This! No wonder you are struggling to keep up. I doubt I could either at that amount. I send 15oz a day and DD usually doesnt finish that. Do you know if your son is actislly drinking all that daily or are they keeping extra there?

    BabyGaga

  • AGB03AGB03 member
    You definitely have not failed your child.  You should be proud for making it this far.

    I also agree that your LO is being overfed.  My son is 4 months, and most he eats at daycare is typically 12 to 14 oz and he is there from 7 am until 5 pm.  I send 16 oz just in case and he's only eaten it all twice. The daycare is pushing me to switch to formula because they say he is hungry.  WHAT?!!!  I'm thinking they are overfeeding my son when he has 6 oz at one feeding.  I still use slow flow nipples.  I think there is a general misunderstanding out there about how much to feed at one sitting.  Their poor little stomach can't take that much at a feeding.
  • I can understand how you feel. I felt that way when I had my first. I ended up supplementing, and then switching, to formula because I thought I was drying up. Looking back now, I realize he was being over fed, and my supply was just regulated. Baby sucks way more milk (and quicker), than a pump does. The pump is misleading. My baby nurses every two to three hours still. I would just keep pumping at work and nursing him as much as he wants when at home. That's my advice based on the same experience. Not to mention what others said about over feeding.

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  • chicki1012chicki1012 member
    edited May 2014
    Me too I agree with pp's. DS is at daycare 10 hours and I just send 4 4oz bottles. And most the time he finishes that. The only tine I feed LO 5oz. Is right before bed and he's STTN.
    Edit- like to add my supply is also taking bit of a hit and your not alone. I do however have to supplement with formula sometimes. Ever since I went back to work and DS STTN
  • I know it can be tough to hear that your LO is being overfed when it seems so out if your control. Just wanted to say keep an open dialog with your DC and give it some time, my LO was eating 20-22 oz at daycare for the first few weeks but we have successfully adjusted and now she eats 14-16 oz a day.
  • yty0205yty0205 member
    Also talk to your pedi.  Some babies require additional calories during the day, especially if they're STTN.  I send 20 oz (four 5oz bottles) and he gobbles it up between 8:30am and 5:30pm.  We upped it from 4 oz at a time to 5 oz because he was dropping on the growth chart and pedi wanted more calories in him.  My supply is still dwindling (or at least I can't pump enough to keep up while I'm at work) so we're supplementing with formula - mainly mixed with BM.  I'm struggling with guilt too, but I keep reminding myself (and you need to as well) that as long as you feed your baby, you're a GREAT mom.  ((Hugs))
  • Thank you for all your comments! I've talked to my DCP and  given them ways to soothe without feeding. We agreed to only feed him every 4-5 hours 6oz at a time. I also talked with our Pedi and he suggested that because he is sleeping through the night he might be wanting more during the day and that is normal but to only give him an additional oz at a time. 

    Thank you for your helpful comments!
  • I would encourage you to have them feed him smaller bottles more often.  Like 4 ounces every 3 hours.  4-5 hours is a really long time for BF babies to go without eating, and most BF babies do not need bottles larger than 5 ounces, ever.
    This is good advice.  4-5 hours would have been way too long for DS to wait at that age, particularly since he was STTN.  
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