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Breastfeeding
What am I doing wrong???
I have a call into the hospital's Lactation center - but I thought I would try here too!
LO is 3 1/2 weeks old and yesterday he started wanting to nurse constantly and never seems satisfied. Yesterday evening I added 2 ozs of formula to an oz of BM that I pumped prior and he finished all but 1/2 an oz. was good overnight (drank 1 breast before falling back t sleep 2x) 1 pumped once at 10 PM while he slept and then the second breast at 12AM and 4AM - got a total of 4 oz pumping - fed again at 7am - both breasts and he was not satisfied until I had given him another 3.5 oz!
Trying to build a stash but he's having to eat it all! HELP!
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Re: What am I doing wrong???
Ditto to other posters; just feed the baby when baby is hungry. I'm sure the lactation consultant will give you peace of mind and some other helpful tips.
BF is exhausting and demanding in the first couple months and I think all mom's worry they maybe aren't making enough for baby. If you are getting lots of wet diapers and LO is gaining they should be fine. Your milk is supply and demand though so if you can avoid supplementing the formula unless you know your LO needs it... by supplementing you are then telling your body your baby needs less milk during that feeding. It's better for you to put LO to the breast as often as they need that first month to signal your body to make more milk.
If you need to work on your stash, make sure you pump after feeding LO, stay very hydrated and I've heard that pumping in the morning is most effective.
https://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html
Do you have time to just feed LO and work on your stash once you know you are producing enough?
this
This exactly! Especially the supplementing. It screws up everything.
"Just put him to the breast as much as possible, even if you feel like you're not producing anything. "
I do! I nurse as long as I can - but he fusses when he's not getting anything - also arches his back and pulls on my nipple Ouch! I'm already sore from constantly nursing (large nipples - yes he latches correctly)
I agree with the other posts, but want to add a comment. When DD was about 3wks old she would nurse about every 1 1/2 hours but after she was done nursing, would do the same thing (arched back 'cause there wasn't much left in there, etc.). I finally realized that she kept wanting to eat because she had either gas or poop that would only come out if she would eat/suck a little more. Not sure if this is your situation, but I just took some extra time to burp and rub her tummy to help things move along. She gained weight perfectly, so it was never a concern otherwise. It was SO frustrating, though, to have DD at the breast but be crying.
To ditto what some of the other girls said, I would focus all your energy on building up your SUPPLY at this point, not your freezer stash. If I were you, I'd stop the pumping and just put the baby at the breast as often as possible until this growth spurt is over. Only then would I revisit the stash.