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Babies: 0 - 3 Months
Pelusa214
member
BFers & pumpers come in...
Pelusa214
member
DD is now 3 months old, and I think I may be losing my milk. We had bad problems in the beginning & I wasn't able to EBF until she was 6 1/2 weeks old. She was gaining really well (almost an ounce a day), but then we've had a very traumatic past 4 weeks with a bad vaccine reaction (not life-threatening or anything, but traumatic for her) & now she supposedly has a milk protein allergy. During this time she's started refusing to nurse. It's gotten worse & worse & now she will only nurse during the night & <sometimes> first thing in the am & right before bed. I finally had to start supplementing again. She hasn't completely given up nursing, but I never know when she's going to cry through a feeding & refuse to latch, and when she does nurse, she's STARVING again in 1-1 1/2 hours, so I know she's not getting enough because at 3 months old I think she should be going like 2 1/2-3 hours between feedings, not 1 hour. This has been going on for over a week, so I don't think it's a growth spurt. When she gets a bottle instead of nursing, I pump & only get MAYBE an ounce total from both sides, that's after 2-3 hours of not nursing. I never got much pumping anyway, but that's even less than I used to get. It takes me all day to pump enough for one bottle for her, and she's taking more than one a day. We have to give her Nutramigen & it's so gross! If she's not going to nurse, I would so much rather give her breastmilk but I don't know if it's too late to improve the supply situation. I REALLY want to get back to EBFing, but my poor baby has to eat. She's been through enough after 4 weeks of diarrhea and I have a bad feeling we're headed for an all-formula diet. Even my freezer stash is no good b/c it's from before I cut out milk :-( I have a call in to the LC that helped us get her EBFing at 6 1/2 weeks, but does anyone have any helpful suggestions from their own experience?
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Re: BFers &amp; pumpers come in...
My only suggestion would be to nurse nurse nurse and nurse some more. Just get comfortable and let her nurse whenever she likes. I think that's the only way you have any hope of increasing your milk supply. You need to tell your body to make more milk, so don't get hung up on schedules, or "she should only be eating every X hours" and just let her eat whenever she wants.
Good luck!
I would do a "nursing staycation." I would set aside the next 48 hours to do nothing but nurse at the baby's whims. I would set myself up for this by taking fenugreek, drinking lots of water and really focusing on relaxation, in order to help the milk flow. You sound like you are very frustated - may as well give it your best shot. I like this webpage: https://www.workandpump.com/pumping.htm
I personally am an extremely tense person. I read on that website something that said you should think to yourself, " . . .any breastmilk at all is a precious gift to my baby," then think of waterfalls or other relaxing things. This honestly worked for me.
Also - I have had some issues lately. I'm going back to work soon, so last week I wanted to try changing my pumping schedule. I pumped less frequently. A day later, I had the chills & felt hot - thought I had the flu. Then, my boobs were hard as rocks. Yep - early mastitis. I did all of the home things on kellymom & it went away in 48 hours. But, my supply was like 50% what it had been for the next 3-4 days. Now, I'm taking fenugreek & being more careful with my pumping schedule & it's finally coming back.
So, I do think you're body can definitely adapt. But, frustration just leads to being more tense, which is counterproductive.
I hope everything works out well for you!
I would not worry about the amount you are getting from pumping right now. ?You will only be able to pump a portion of what you DD can actually get, and a lot of people can only pump a few ounces per session even after 2-3 hours.?
My DS goes through periods where he wants to nurse ever hour or hour a and a half, even when it's not a growth spurt, so I don't think your situation is unusual. ?I don't know what an LC would say, but from personal experience, DS acts like he is starving when I honestly think he just wants to nurse for comfort. ?Since I feed on demand, I totally let him.
Is she crying like she is hungry or just really wanting the boob??
If I were you, I would just nurse whenever she wants to, no matter when she ate last, if you can. ?She make just want some momma time.