Community› The Bump Message Boards› Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding
New Discussion

four day old and pediatrician wants me to supplement : (

Ohio_WeddingOhio_Wedding
in Breastfeeding

baby was born at 10 pounds one ounce and is down to eight pounds 12 ounces.  also concerned about jaundice.

anyone have any advice about supplementing?  doc says to try an ounce after every other breastfeeding for the next few days.

Report Reply to Post

Re: four day old and pediatrician wants me to supplement : (

  • LyssapeeLyssapee member

    You can pump and give him an ounce of pumped milk instead of formula.  It worked for my sister.

    GL!

    Lilypie Third Birthday tickers
    Report Reply
  • Loading the player...
  • synchrosallysynchrosally member

    We were sent home from the hospital supplementing with tube feeding.  Did your pedi give you any advice about tube feeding?  This might be a way to still BF and get youy LO back up to birth weight.  You might want to see a LC as well.

    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
    My BFP Chart     Pregnancy Ticker
    Report Reply
  • NiniJ55NiniJ55 member
    The only advice I have is if you do supplement with formula - make sure you are pumping to keep your supply up.  Otherwise you will have supply issues on top of weight gaining issues.
    Lilypie Third Birthday tickers Lilypie First Birthday tickers
    Report Reply
  • PerfectingMotherhoodPerfectingMotherhood

    Get a good lactation consultant to work with you, this is bad advice from your pediatrician. If your choice is to breastfeed and you have colustrum or milk coming out, it may be a latching issue and you want to make your baby feeds properly. A lactation consultant will help you work through that, weighing your baby before and after nursing. It's common for babies to lose weight after the birth and regain their birth weight after 2 weeks.

    Don't give up and get the right support!

    Report Reply
  • knedellknedell

    I think that your pedi is jumping the gun on this.  Supplementing this early on will only mess with your supply.  Have you worked with a lactation consultant since your milk came in? I would highly recommend doing that before making any major changes (ie supplementing).  My DS was born at 7lbs9ozs.  He was down to 7lbs when we left the hospital and dropped down to 6lbs10ozs before he started gaining again.  There were a few issues that led to this, but mainly that I didn't realize my supply on my left side was next to nothing and my right side was making the majority of the milk. Once I figured this out, we were back on track, but it took a LC to help me get to that point. DS is now 15 weeks and weighs 14lbs.  We never supplemented and although it took a little while, he got back on track and has been doing great ever since. 

    A couple of questions:  Do you feed on both sides at each feeding?  Can you hear DC swallowing when feeding?  Are you feeding on demand for as long as baby wants?  I know it can be frustrating, but the first 40 days establish your supply.  The more you let baby nurse, the more your body will make.  Your milk has probably JUST come in so the idea of supplementing at 4 days seems ridiculous to me.  You will just be shooting yourself in the foot.  There are some situations where mothers just don't make enough to support their baby's needs but those situations are few and far between.  Usually they arise from people getting bad information early on (like being told to supplement at 4 days).  Your pedi doesn't sound like they are supportive of bfing mothers at all. Good luck, and I would seriously seek out a breastfeeding friendly source before making the choice to supplement. 

    Report Reply
  • Holly88Holly88 member
    We had to supplement due to jaundice as well. I did a combination of pumping and breastfeeding. I pumped every 2 hours to keep my supply up. I usually got about 2 oz, which I was told is good for that early on. We would do half formula, half breastmilk in a bottle. Then, when his eating time matched my pumping time, I would breastfeed. We were given a syringe with a tube and I would slip that next to my nipple. The syringe had formula in it. Whenever he would stop sucking because he fell asleep (sleeping is an issue with jaundiced babies) I would squirt a little to get him going again.
    Report Reply
  • missa8182missa8182
    That's odd. DS lost more weight percentage-wise than that and my pedi never suggested supplementing. It's a slippery slope - I'm sorry any pedi is recommending that.
    Report Reply
  • americanadaamericanada
    we had to do this too that early on.  see a LC!!  the pedi's patient is your child and that's the quickest way they know how to 'fix' the problem. i wish i knew more at the time b/c i would have handled it better,  it's most important that your baby eats though.  i know that sounds silly to say, but sometimes you can get really determined and lose sight of that.  
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
    Report Reply
  • MNheidiMNheidi member
    imagePerfectingMotherhood:

    Get a good lactation consultant to work with you, this is bad advice from your pediatrician. If your choice is to breastfeed and you have colustrum or milk coming out, it may be a latching issue and you want to make your baby feeds properly. A lactation consultant will help you work through that, weighing your baby before and after nursing. It's common for babies to lose weight after the birth and regain their birth weight after 2 weeks.

    Don't give up and get the right support!

    I agree.  Your baby is BIG so it's not surprising he's really hungry but your body will catch up and a LC can help you become as efficient as possible.

    GL

    Report Reply
  • *cHs**cHs*
    My son was born at 10lbs and my doctor not the pedi recommended supplementing.He's 9 days old now and gaining weight...I ignored the doc and talked to a lactation consultant. Everything is good now. They have 10-14 days to get back to birth weight.?
    Report Reply
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"