Georgia Babies
almostanO
member
Options
how long did you breast feed
almostanO
member
from the beginning i have wanted BF Elliot of a year but the older he gets the harder it gets.
first he wouldn't drink formula. now he doesn't have a problem with that. We have had to supplement 1/2 formula and 1/2 BM during the day while I am at work. Now i feel like i am not producing enough milk to fill him up when I am home. I nursed him this afternoon and he was fussy so i gave him a bottle and he drank 4 oz. Do i just keep supplementing and nursing him when I can or throw in the towel and give up all together. This makes me wish i could be at home more!
Warning
No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
This discussion has been closed.
Re: how long did you breast feed
This is tough and obviously a personal thing. Throwing some thoughts/ideas out there: Do you think your production is going down? Are you getting enough rest, food, water? Have you tried supplements, oatmeal, etc? He could also be going through a growth spurt or was just overly hungry and too tired to nurse. It's less work for them to drink from a bottle, so maybe he was just having an off day? Is he on solids yet?
I'd do whatever you are comfortable with and can do, supply wise. If it's supplementing and nursing, that's great. I EBF (pumped while at work) for just over a year by the time I completely weaned my first. I had no supply issues, no real problems-it was great. This time around though, it's been one problem/issue/illness after the next and I don't enjoy it. It's also painful this time. Part of me wants to stop, but I would feel too guilty so for now I'm continuing. Do what works for you-you're doing great to have made it this far!
Abigail Taylor 09.18.2008
to answer your questions
Do you think your production is going down? yes Are you getting enough rest, food, water? probably not. Last week I had a huge deadline and this week I had a stomach virus. Had to go to the ER and was dehydrated Have you tried supplements, oatmeal, etc? oatmeal and lactation cookies with bewwers yeast, i think they help He could also be going through a growth spurt or was just overly hungry and too tired to nurse. It's less work for them to drink from a bottle, so maybe he was just having an off day? last week 2 days he wouldn't nurse at all and i think it was his teeth Is he on solids yet? he is eating solids and eats less when we supplement which adds to my suspicion that he isn't getting enough when he nurses
I think i am just feeling really frustrated right now with this hopefully it will all seem better tomorrow. I still am not going to be able to produce enough but if i give him something that is better than nothing right? maybe i should try those mother's milk suppliments. has anyone had luck with those?
Conner still nurses one time (in the middle of the night). When he was around 8 mos, my supply tanked. He would NOT take a bottle; it didn't matter what was in it. I called the LC and she recommended that I pump every 2 hours for 24-48 hours and I drank the mother's milk tea. It totally worked. My supply came back before the 48h mark; it was more around 24. You could try that; it might help and stay hydrated. that helps too.
WIth my 1st baby (aka Doodle) i nursed for maybe 3 days...pumped exclusively for a month with enough milke to last for about 6 weeks. With 2nd baby (Darren) I BF exclusively til October so ~9 months and then we went on a 7 day vacation and I didn't have enough stock piled so he started taking some formula (enough for 2 bottles of EBM a day, but he was drinking about 4 -5 bottles, plus he was with the grandparents so they pretty much shoved a bottle in his mouth whenever he even so much as whinced :-) I was VERY fortunate to work from home and thus pump from home or else there is NO WAY i would've lasted that long. After Oct I nursed him a few times a day like at night, overnight and in the morning...that dropped off. Around Christmas time I was pretty much completely rejected...i was crushed, but like E he just wanted MO' MILK and FAST...so he preferred the bottle.
You're doing great if you've lasted this long. Anything more you can do, great...if it's not working for you anymore than that's FINE too!
I weaned completely around 7 mos- I would have continued for much longer, but I could not get a letdown for the pump (my body forgot how to do it!) and Gavin went on a nursing strike right before I had to go on a business trip so that was that. But we had a pretty unique experience anyway, I think- and it may work for you too...
We had to start supplementing pretty early on b/c of supply issues and he lost so much weight in the NICU. At first it was just once a day and then once I went back to work, it was more and more. He's at daycare at my office, so I still went down to nurse him twice a day and at home, but otherwise, he got formula. I really didn't mind supplementing and for us, it felt like the perfect balance. I tried very hard to not worry about my supply and trusted that he was getting most of his calories and nutrients from the formula and I just viewed our BF sessions as a super healthy "snack." This was how the pedi told me to view it and it really helped me adjust my mentality. He told me that in the studies he had read that even BF once or twice a day still passed on all the "goodies" to the baby- just in a more concentrated form. Plus all the other benefits of bonding, skin to skin, etc. So he really encouraged me to continue nursing as long as my supply held out. So if you want to keep going, just nurse him first and finish up with a bottle and try not to stress over your supply. Remind yourself as you are nursing of all the wonderful things you are passing on to him even if you can't do it exclusively. He's still getting so much good stuff! Also, when I finally quit thinking about it and just said, ok we'll go as long as my body can hold out... my supply went through the roof.
I just realized how old he is... seriously, this is right when Gavin went on a nursing strike. Wouldn't come near the breast- LOVED the bottle. If I could have pumped and maintained SOME supply, he probably would have come back around. I remember when I got back from my business trip- totally weaned, all of a sudden he started rooting and looking for the breast everytime I held him... broke my heart :-(
Photo by Everything Nice Photography
My blog
I had trouble keeping up with DD's demand after I went back to work. At 4.5 months we had to start supplementing and at 6 months I quit. I agonized over the decision to stop but the fact is Cadence seemed to do better on formula than she did the breast milk..it didn't bother her acid reflux as much.
I ditto kep in that you just have to do what is best for you and your family.
DD- 9
DS-6
c/p- April 2016
missed m/c- 6w5d; discovered 8w2d- September 2016
I'm sorry. I know this is difficult on you. I nursed Ethan for 6 months. I had planned on nursing him for a year, but I went back to work when he was 10 weeks old and I was pumping at work. Unfortunately, my job became very demanding at times and I was not able to pump on the schedule that I needed to and eventually my boobs pretty much gave up. I switched Ethan to formula and he did excellent.
Poor Jack only got a week of breast milk. A week after my c-section, my incision became infected and I was put on a heavy dose of antibiotics to keep me out of the hospital. The doctor advised that I pump and dump while I was on the medicine and supplement Jack with formula...which I did. By the time I got off the medication, my boobs just weren't producing much anymore and Jack had taken to formula and bottles well so I just kept him on it.
I've been exclusively nursing for the past 6 months. I have had many days when I wanted to give up but my DD does not take a bottle...so it's boob 24/7! I plan to just keep going with the nursing until 1 year, at this point I don't want to try formula and trying to find the right one that works for her.
As for you're supply issues....have you tried Fenugreek to boost your supply? I use Mother's milk tea daily and eat oatmeal (instant flavored) almost daily, both help with supply. I have had no real supply issues. The Lacation bars are good- let my know if you need the recipe. Dark beer is also supposed to be good for supply. Make sure you drink a ton of water/fluids- drink about 2 liters a day!
Are you able to pump at work and/or in the car while driving so that you're getting stimulation? Just a few ideas.....what ever you decide will be what's best for you. GL!
Carter: 1 year - had to supplement with formula around 9 months i think (when i got preganat with Ava). I just couldn't make as much as he needed and the milk had changed.
Ava: 1 year. Had a ton of milk stored up and that's what helped get me though the last few months. Little brat wouldn't drink formula, so thank god i had the frozen stuff.
Just do what you can. I originally had a one year goal with Carter. It was one of the most difficult things I've ever done b/c it takes real dedication and commitment. The closer i got to a year the more I had to push myself.
With Ava, i felt like i had to go a year since i did with Carter. Basically guilted myself into it. I had to pump at work with both and it was hard, but you get used to it.
I forgot to add that i have used mother's milk tea and the capsules. They worked for me. I also ate a ton of oatmeal, drank plently of water and ate brewers yeast. Some of the dark belgian beer has tons of yeast in it, so i tried those too. The guy at the liquor store thought i was crazy.
To me it sounds like he's getting lazy if he's willing to drink from a bottle and not nurse.