breast milk

MoraBeshara

Hi mommies!
My husband doesn't trust me that I have enough milk for our son ...how could I prove that I have enough???!
I mean what is the suitable time to pump to have indication of how much I produce ??!!!

Flowerstar1023

Two things. One, wtf for your husband doubting you. You shouldn't have to "prove" yourself.

Two, as long as your son is growing weight appropriately and your pediatrician isn't worried about his growth and is also making adequate wet diapers and having bowel movements, you're making enough. Pumping isn't suitable to indicate how much you're producing no matter how long you pump because the pump will never extract as much as your baby can no matter how good it is.

KD32412

Is your son gaining weight? Does he have soiled and/or wet diapers? Those are indicators that he's eating enough. If he doesn't trust you, tell him to talk to the pediatrician or a lactation consultant.

leibas

You don't pump the same amount your baby is able to nurse from you. If you want to know how much baby is nursing you need to see a lactation consultant that can weigh your baby pre and post feed to calculate how much the baby drank during the feeding. And as pp's have said if baby is growing appropriately and having an appropriate amount of wet and dirty diapers then your making enough. Also some babies use breastmilk very efficiently so they don't have bowel movements as often.

MoraBeshara

My LO born 5.12lb and he was nicely increasing about 2lb per month ..,but these days he is not happy , don't take his naps as before and we has a very hard time during nursing .he become so fussy and sometimes refuse to take my breast and cry when we went to his doctor he said he is not teething but suffer from reflux and a lot of gases so my husband mentioned that he think i am not have enough milk as I produce 3oz after 45min pumping so the doctor said I should offer him formula
I said to him I will try increase my supply he said it is impossible increasing milk supply after the first 6 weeks !!! But I keep trying
Yesterday we went out and I didn't nurse my son for hours when we went back I pumped and also expressed milk by hands and I got 3oz from one breast at 20 min.
When I told my husband that I think I has more enough for him and the problem of our son is not my low milk he said he need to see a prove ...so how I can estimate how much I can produce as it is sooooo important to me to breastfeed my son exclusively

Mic512

You should try removing any gassy foods from your diet - but as PP said its hard to say if pumping will give you an accurate picture of what he is getting from nursing. I am exclusively pumping due to latch issues but I get 4 oz after 30 minutes of pumping. DD is 10 weeks old.

KD32412

MoraBeshara said:

My LO born 5.12lb and he was nicely increased about 2lb per month ..,but these days he is not happy , don't take his naps as before and we has a very hard time during nursing .he become so fussy and sometimes refuse to take my breast and cry when we went to his doctor he said he is not teething but suffer from reflux and a lot of gases so my husband mentioned that he think i am not have enough milk as I produce 3oz after 45min pumping so the doctor said I should offer him formula
I said to him I will try increase my supply he said it is impossible increasing milk supply after the first 6 weeks !!! But I keep trying
Yesterday we went out and I don't nurse my son for hours when we went back I pumped and also expressed milk by hands and I got 3oz from one breast at 20 min.
When I told my husband that I think I has more enough for him and the problem of our son is not my low milk he said he need to see a prove ...so how I can estimate how much I can produce as it is sooooo important to me to breastfeed my son exclusively

Breast milk is based on supply and demand. That means the more often you feed/pump, the more milk you will produce. Conversely, the less often you nurse/pump, the less milk you will produce. The doctor is incorrect, you can still increase your supply after 6 weeks, the only difference is the lack of colostrum in your milk. This is a link to La Leche League about increasing milk supply.
https://www.llli.org/faq/increase.html

Also, you might want to consider growth spurts -that could be causing the fussiness in your LO.

MoraBeshara

Thanks a lot ...this link is very useful for me

babyh310

Okay girl, bless your heart!!! Your supply can absolutely increase after 6 weeks!! Have you checked for a tongue tie! Sounds like baby is not transferring milk well, you've got the milk if you're able to pump it out afterward. The reflux and fussiness can also be signs of a tie. Please do look into a Le Leche League or find a certified lactation consultant! There is nothing wrong with supplementing if your baby is hungry, at the same time you need him to nurse so your breasts receive the stimulation and keep producing. Baby will always get more than the pump as PP have said. It can be a slippery slope once you start introducing formula. If breastfeeding is super important to you, I would suggest either switching pediatricians or making it clear that you want suggestions that support that, rather than "oh, give up, just do formula" as the first attempt to resolve the issue. Also, does your LO have stringy or clumpy or mucousy poo? Is it dark? If so, there may be something in your diet that is bothering LO. I ended up having to eliminate dairy, which was incredibly intimidating but actually hasn't been too bad and my baby is so much happier. We had a lot of your same symptoms so I feel for you! My son is now on Zantac and we don't dairy, and he's a totally different baby! Good luck mama! I know it's hard for both of you to see baby struggle, I hope you guys can get on the same page as a team, I'm sure it's really hard not to feel like he's blaming you. Your body made that baby and your body will feed that baby, it was designed to! Things like fenugreek, blessed thistle, Gatorade, lactation cookies, and teas can help... but again it sounds like the milk is there, baby is just struggling to get it. That's what makes me think tongue tie. Definitely look up tongue ties and see if you think that could be it, and if so have the pediatrician diagnose and look for someone with LOTS of experience doing infant revisions. A lot of peds will snip it in office but if it's not done right it can reattach and baby has to go through it all over again!

secretbaba

What she said ^^^

MoraBeshara

babyh310 said:

Okay girl, bless your heart!!! Your supply can absolutely increase after 6 weeks!! Have you checked for a tongue tie! Sounds like baby is not transferring milk well, you've got the milk if you're able to pump it out afterward. The reflux and fussiness can also be signs of a tie. Please do look into a Le Leche League or find a certified lactation consultant! There is nothing wrong with supplementing if your baby is hungry, at the same time you need him to nurse so your breasts receive the stimulation and keep producing. Baby will always get more than the pump as PP have said. It can be a slippery slope once you start introducing formula. If breastfeeding is super important to you, I would suggest either switching pediatricians or making it clear that you want suggestions that support that, rather than "oh, give up, just do formula" as the first attempt to resolve the issue. Also, does your LO have stringy or clumpy or mucousy poo? Is it dark? If so, there may be something in your diet that is bothering LO. I ended up having to eliminate dairy, which was incredibly intimidating but actually hasn't been too bad and my baby is so much happier. We had a lot of your same symptoms so I feel for you! My son is now on Zantac and we don't dairy, and he's a totally different baby! Good luck mama! I know it's hard for both of you to see baby struggle, I hope you guys can get on the same page as a team, I'm sure it's really hard not to feel like he's blaming you. Your body made that baby and your body will feed that baby, it was designed to! Things like fenugreek, blessed thistle, Gatorade, lactation cookies, and teas can help... but again it sounds like the milk is there, baby is just struggling to get it. That's what makes me think tongue tie. Definitely look up tongue ties and see if you think that could be it, and if so have the pediatrician diagnose and look for someone with LOTS of experience doing infant revisions. A lot of peds will snip it in office but if it's not done right it can reattach and baby has to go through it all over again!

Thanks for your words ..it is really touch my heart now I'm crying ( That is really what I feel and everybody around me treat me like I am crazy because I want breastfeed my son.
My son is now 16 weeks ...I don't think the problem is tongue tie he will suffer from that earlier..
I take fenugreek with blessed thistle and pump but not too much I don't add anything for my diet and he was just fine in the last 3 month ...but I notice his stool has stringy and so sticky and he tries to push and makes that sound as he trying to pass gasses most of the time and can't out it ...
His doctor put him on Zantac also I just hope he will be fine ...
That's all makes me feel I will switch from breastfeeding to exclusive pumping..so I will be assure of how many oz he takes :-S in each feed as he is so tiny and everybody see him think he just born 11lb and all that feel me guilty
I don't know what to do

secretbaba

I'm not sure I've understood this right, so correct me if I'm wrong, but you say that everyone thinks you're crazy for wanting to still breastfeed. Have lots of other members of your family or friends breastfed? It seems as though they maybe do not understand how breastfeeding works, and that could explain the feedback you're getting. I wouldn't change to exclusively pumping just to keep an eye on how much you're producing. Babies don't conform to numbers. Power pump and nurse more often, and your supply should eventually go up. It really is total rubbish what your paediatrician told you - if that was the case, women wouldn't be breastfeeding past 6 months, because as babies grow, so do their appetites! Stick with it if it's important to you (it sounds like it is) and it will sort itself out. Also, research online and show the findings to your husband - in fact, show him this conversation to put his mind at ease. Hope this helps.

soupalou

I made the decision to exclusively pump at 2 weeks for a number of reasons (primarily because my milk was not coming in and the breastfeedinng I was doing was torture for me and my LO) - do not make this decision lightly- it is A LOT of work -not sure I would make this decision again-with all the bottles and pumping time plus you still need to feed LO- I've been continually increasing my supply just by pumping (and I'm at 9 weeks)- so you can increase your supply after 6 weeks - doubled my supply between 4 weeks and 8 weeks
If you can continue to breastfeed, then supplement with formula until LO is done, then pump for 10 min - with 3 days a week of power pumping in addition I think you 'll definitely increase your supply, your LO will be nourished and grow and at some point your supply should increase enough to stop using the formula- add fenugreek and brewers yeast to the mix and they'll help you out too- and LOTs of water- don't give up- I wish I could go somewhere without having to pack bottles all the time or constantly worry about needing to pump (where, when ect.. How do I store it, what if my pump breaks).

MoraBeshara

Thanks all for your support .....
I read more about reflux and found that may the baby can't nurse as usual as he is in pain that's why he refused my breast most the time
My poor baby was suffering and i didn't notice that ( how horrible mom I'm :-S
He is getting better thanks GOD ,and I'm also trying increase my supply with all yours great advices ...really thanks ...I appreciate all your encouragement

KD32412

You might want to consider looking for another pediatrician. The fact that he/she gave such bad and INCORRECT breastfeeding information, offered no support for your issues, and didn't bring up the possibility of reflux, would be more than enough for me to switch. You're going to be asking this person questions and trusting him/her with medical issues regarding your child till he is a teenager, do you feel comfortable seeking advice and services?

Mummy0315

My son has acid reflux as well and is on Zantac for it which has help so much. He is still spitting up a ton but isn't in pain anymore and is gaining weight appropriately, he is also very gasy as well.. You would think a teenage boy was in the room with the amount of gas he has & the sound of it! He used to scream after eating & especially after burping (no I was not burping too much or anything strange) and would stop in the middle of nursing because he was uncomfortable and was acting very colicky. (was not because of what I was eating it was all due to the reflux). Another thing that helps is to keep the baby upright for thirty minutes after baby eats!! For uncomfortable gas we use Milicon. It's is like a detergent for the stomach is what the pediatrics said and It is not medicine. That has helped my son very much!

As for the milk production, get fenugreek seed (capsules) made by Natures Way. Lactation solutant told me to start off by taking 1 2xtimes a day then if needed 2 2xtimes a day or 2 3x a day( I only have to take 1capsole 2x a day). This will help bring in your milk!! Also, Honest company maked a capsule for lactation as well however if your baby has acid reflux you might not want to use that one because theirs has Blessed thistle and that can cause extra acid in the stomach. But fenugreek, Alf Alfa, and fennel are all galactagogue that should be just fine! I have heard that babies can sometimes get gassy off of the fenugreek but my little guy was already gassy to begin with and he hasn't had any problems since I've taken the fenugreek but you could also use the Milicon like I mentioned earlier!! Also, The fennel will help with babies digestive problems. You can get the tea instead of you prefer. Also check with your doctor before taking any of these. Our pediatrician says it's fine and so does the lactation consultant as the hospital but you may just want to let them know! Hope that all helps!!!

Mummy0315

Ps maybe try using fenugreek capsule for milk production and then drinking the fennel tea to help with the gas but fennel will also bring in milk so don't over do any of it or you'll be in pain from too much milk production and also might be giving your little one too much foremilk by the over production and they won't get to the hindmilk but the fennel tea will work for digestive problems and gas. But do pick up some Milicon from cvs or Walgreens it does help with the gas it's good just to have in the house! And ask the doctor about putting baby on Zantac if the reflux is really awful and painful for them. And don't forget to sit them up thirty minutes after eating it helps with the reflux and stop the fluids front coming back up before they have digestived the milk! (( hope that makes more sense))