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Attachment Parenting
What if there is no enough milk for baby?
Need some guidance..
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Re: What if there is no enough milk for baby?
If you start supplementing, your supply is likely to get even lower.
Nurse, nurse, nurse, non-stop if you have to, and your milk supply will boost for baby.
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How do you know? Is the baby losing weight? Not enough wet/dirty diapers?
My first choice would be to nurse nonstop to build supply (while staying really hydrated and maybe drinking mother's milk tea/fenugreek and doing pumping sessions when I could).
My second choice would be to see if a friend who is nursing could give me some milk while I was working to build my supply (only if I had concerns about weightloss/dehydration of my baby).
Next choice would be formula.
When I first started breastfeeding I had a hard time getting my milk supply in but didn't want to supplement so we had a little nursing vacation for several days...DS and I literally laid in my bed and nursed and napped pretty much non stop one weekend...I got up to use the bathroom and other little things, but we seriously spent a ridiculous time in bed just nursing and it helped like crazy!
Are you feeding on demand right now or trying to schedule feedings? Scheduling feedings can cause a low milk supply b/c you need for the baby to suckle as often as they are hungry for as long as they need to in order for your body to get qued in to make extra milk...if you already know this, please forgive me for telling you
Good luck! I really hope you are able to get your supply up! Kellymom.com is a great resource for breastfeeding as well...Also, does your local hospital have a good lactation consultant department? I know that ours had a warm line that I called a bunch of times with questions and they were SOO kind and helpful...I don't think I would have been successfull at breastfeeding without them...if you don't think your hospital has one PM me and I can message you with the # to the program at my local hospital as they don't ask if you are local or not so you could get some help from them!
First make sure your supply is really low. The only way to do that is with a weighed feeding.
If it is then obviously your baby needs to eat. Formula is not the devil and doesn't undo the good of BM. But every time you give it, pump. That will tell your body to make more milk.
I don't have enough information from your post, but I would consult with an LC and use their guidance. If you don't trust them, call a different LC and get a second opinion.
Forewarning that this is a touchy subject to me so apologies if I get off on a rant...
If there truly isn't enough milk for baby and you've tried unsuccessfully to increase supply, then OF COURSE you should give formula. I don't really understand what the alternative would be other than to let your baby continue to be hungry [ETA, just saw reference to getting BM from another mom which didn't occur to me so apologies, but that might not be within everyone's comfort level]. Definitely take some of the suggestions earlier in the thread to determine whether your supply is truly low and try to boost it first, if you prefer not to formula feed, but sometimes there isn't another option.
Sorry (and this is directed more at the responses than the OP), some of the prior responses just rub me the wrong way because I always get the impression that the pro-BFing community (and I am very pro-BFing by the way and would have EBF and extended nursed if able) kind of brush over the fact that there are plenty of women with legitimate supply issues that can't be helped. I pumped after every feeding, took domperidone, ate about twice as many calories as I should have been eating, drank gallons of water a day, ate oatmeal, drank beer, took more milk plus, fenugreek, goats rue, fed at least 12x a day, and at max I made about 10 oz. of milk a day (and he was about 3 months old by this point and needed WAY more than that). Let me tell you, it hurt immensely when I had done all that, and would mention low supply and be told by someone that I should eat some oatmeal and it would help.
Of course if you prefer to BF you should try everything within reason to make that happen, but I'm a bit saddened that no other response seems to address what happens if you still don't make enough. The tried and true supply increasers aren't a solution in all cases. I hope, for the OP, that they do work for you. And if not, be proud that you are giving your little one however much BM you are able. Best of luck!
It doesn't always work that way. Some of us just don't produce enough milk, despite taking every drug and supplement known to man, and our babies need formula. It's heartbreaking.