supplimenting

myeverything1203 · December 2013

So since I have been in the hospital and given a TON of antibiotics and pain pills ive had to supplement BM with formula.

I was wondering if any of you ladies had experience with this. Bc im scared when I am able to BF again she wont want to anymore. I really dont like giving her formula...so I have to pump and dump til im able to BF again...hopefully by the end of this week. Any thoughts/advice/comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

tyedyeme12 · December 2013

I've been thinking of supplementing and switching to formula. My supply is just getting lower and lower and Jude just keeps needing more.

My thoughts were to try enfamil gentle-something and mix it with an ounce of breast milk. Eventually reducing the bm until just using formula. I'm not sure when I'm going to start this though

lollipoppoop · December 2013

I've been supplementing since I got home from the hospital. I can only pump 2 oz total in one day. My dd has never had a good latch and I plan to work with a LC. She fights me at the breast and I'm not sure if it's because she knows she can have formula that will come out of the bottle fast and doesn't want to work for it at the breast.

myeverything1203 · December 2013

Ive been using the similac gentle tummy one. She seems to like it. Im just REALLY scared she wont wanna breastfeed anymore by the end of this week. I hope she will bc I make a CRAP ton of milk and i would much rather BF. @tyedyeme12 you know there are lots of things to promote healthy lactation right?? I've gotten some mother's milk which is a tea and red raspberry leaf pills both help with healthy lactation. Or are you just wanting to use formula instead? I'm sorry your body doesnt produce enough! I have a friend that went through the same problem as you

myeverything1203 · December 2013

@citrusXoXo do you have flat nipples?? I was told I do so my daughter wouldn't latch on my nip either. So I was given a nipple sheild and she latches perfectly! It makes a BIG difference

mh89 · December 2013

They shouldn't be giving you anything that doesn't work with breastfeeding when you just had a baby. Both oxycodone and Vicodin are safe while breastfeeding, as are most antibiotics. What are you taking? You should call the infant risk line and they will check Hale's book to see if it's safe to continue bfing on your meds.

lollipoppoop · December 2013

myeverything1203 said:
@citrusXoXo do you have flat nipples?? I was told I do so my daughter wouldn't latch on my nip either. So I was given a nipple sheild and she latches perfectly! It makes a BIG difference

No they are not flat, I am not sure why she won't latch properly

myeverything1203 · December 2013

Well I have endometritis and ive been in the hospital since monday and will be here til friday or saturday bc the infection was really bad and the pain is so bad. So I didnt really have a choice. Even with just the antibiotics I still couldn't BF bc ive gotten IV antibiotics and pill antibiotics. And they knew I was BFing...but cant really do anything bc they need to get rid of the infection. I plan on asking my dr when I can start BF again

mh89 · December 2013

CitrusXoXo said:

myeverything1203 said:
@citrusXoXo do you have flat nipples?? I was told I do so my daughter wouldn't latch on my nip either. So I was given a nipple sheild and she latches perfectly! It makes a BIG difference
No they are not flat, I am not sure why she won't latch properly

It's something both mom and baby have to work on and keep practicing to get right. Go see a LC for help and/or watch latching videos over and over. Wait for baby to open wide then quickly bring her to the breast. Someone shared a really good youtube deep latching video here today, I'd link but I'm mobile.

mh89 · December 2013

myeverything1203 said:
Well I have endometritis and ive been in the hospital since monday and will be here til friday or saturday bc the infection was really bad and the pain is so bad. So I didnt really have a choice. Even with just the antibiotics I still couldn't BF bc ive gotten IV antibiotics and pill antibiotics. And they knew I was BFing...but cant really do anything bc they need to get rid of the infection. I plan on asking my dr when I can start BF again

I was on IV and pill antibiotics since I had a 103.8 fever post partum and could still bf. if you know what you're taking and the dosage, the infant risk hotline or anyone with a copy of Hale's book can tell you if it's truly safe or not. (Milkalicious.com - call them and ask, they have a copy of the book). Many doctors don't know anything about what meds are safe and automatically tell you to pump and dump just to be safe.

myeverything1203 · December 2013

Ohhh okay. Yeah I keep asking them and they said to ask my dr. That I should wait a couple of days after getting antibiotics to start up again. I dont know the dosage

Imma ask the nurse. So I just call the # on that website after finding out what antibiotics and dosage and they can tell.me.if it is safe? As for the pain pills...they give me morphine (which I took twice I think) and percocet

mh89 · December 2013

Yes, well it's Christmas so they're not open today (they're my old LC from when I lived in SoCal but they still help with med questions over the phone) but I think the infant risk number should work today since it's a national hotline. Google it, or it might be in AmyG's bfing sticky thread.

Also, if on the off chance what you're taking isn't safe, I'd tell your doctor to only prescribe bfing safe pills from now on, there are safe alternatives of antibiotics and pain pills, so there's no need for them to give you anything that could harm your bfing relationship you're trying to build with your new baby. Good luck!

myeverything1203 · December 2013

Ok. Thank you so much! As a new first time mom Im not aware of what is safe and what isnt

I feel kind of dumb bc I asked and all they told me was to wait til after I was done with antibiotics. Again thanks for the advice! I really really appreciate it!

hfitz · December 2013

Every baby is different but my baby has moved great between being bottle fed with breast milk and formula and breastfeeding. I have primary lactation insufficiency so she absolutely needs to supplement but I haven't had any problem with having her move between feeding methods.
hopefully your baby will be the same.

Also, I am currently on antibiotics and pain meds and everyone told me it should be fine to breastfeed. Obviously you should consult with your medical professionals but many people are able to breastfeed on medications.

myeverything1203 · December 2013

Awesome. Thank you ladies. I dont Think she will get nipple confusion...it's just one of those fears in the back of my mind. I give her a paci sometimes and she latched perfectly...so I hope it's still the same. Thanks for yalls experience, thoughts and comments!

hjweber · December 2013

mh89 said:

They shouldn't be giving you anything that doesn't work with breastfeeding when you just had a baby. Both oxycodone and Vicodin are safe while breastfeeding, as are most antibiotics. What are you taking? You should call the infant risk line and they will check Hale's book to see if it's safe to continue bfing on your meds.

I was in the ER today for a kidney stone & they gave me rx's for a few things that aren't safe while breastfeeding. I was told to pump & dump for the next few days.

I'm super bummed. I HATE pumping.

myeverything1203 · December 2013

hjweber said:

mh89 said:

They shouldn't be giving you anything that doesn't work with breastfeeding when you just had a baby. Both oxycodone and Vicodin are safe while breastfeeding, as are most antibiotics. What are you taking? You should call the infant risk line and they will check Hale's book to see if it's safe to continue bfing on your meds.

I was in the ER today for a kidney stone & they gave me rx's for a few things that aren't safe while breastfeeding. I was told to pump & dump for the next few days.

I'm super bummed. I HATE pumping.

Eeek...im sorry. I would be a little angry. I dont mind pumping just hate wasting my BM....it makes me mad. How long do you have to pump and dump?

tyedyeme12 · December 2013

I have heard of some of the things to promote lactation. But it has basically started decreasing. I got a clogged duct Monday, and though all my symptoms are gone, my milk still isn't being produced.

Anyway, I have been pumping and giving LO a pacifier for a few days, and tried nursing again today, and I feel like his latches are 100x better, actually than before I was pumping.

mh89 · December 2013

Soozerella said:
@mh89 I didn't know we used to be neighbors!!!

Were we? I didn't know you were from that area! If you're in south Orange County I definitely recommend milkalicious.com if you need to see a LC or get breastfeeding supplies. I took a baby sign language class there too. I miss socal... Mostly for the in-n-out.

hjweber said:

mh89 said:

They shouldn't be giving you anything that doesn't work with breastfeeding when you just had a baby. Both oxycodone and Vicodin are safe while breastfeeding, as are most antibiotics. What are you taking? You should call the infant risk line and they will check Hale's book to see if it's safe to continue bfing on your meds.

I was in the ER today for a kidney stone & they gave me rx's for a few things that aren't safe while breastfeeding. I was told to pump & dump for the next few days.

I'm super bummed. I HATE pumping.

Double check with your LC or infant risk to see if they're really not safe and ask not to be given scripts for unsafe bfing meds in the future, there's nearly always safe alternatives. Sorry you're having to pump and dump, that really sucks.

myeverything1203 · December 2013

I will have to ask about the antibiotics...but the pain meds they gave me were morphine through IV and percocet. I asked the nurse to make a note to prescribe me BFing friendly antibiotics for when I get discharged. I will find out tomorrow or the nxt time the nurse comes in tonight. Thank you @AmyG* and the rest of you ladies..ill be a little mad if ive been pumping and dumping for no reason

lollipoppoop · December 2013

I was on morphine and also took percot in the hospital and was told it's fine.

myeverything1203 · December 2013

I was given the clear for BFing again!! Woohoo. Im also taking Augmentin and flgyl. And was told to BF 4 hrs after taking the flgyl.

linzy2202 · December 2013

LO lost a pound in the hospital and so I had to supplement formula for a couple weeks. I used the similac supplementing kind the dr gave me. I was so worried she would like that better than my milk. I've since ran out of that and dr said I could now just use my BM but still give her a bottle at her middle of the night feeding. Luckily she she breast feeds through all that. However she does have some latching issues and has since the hospital so I have to use a shield and that works great. I'm hoping she will eventually be able to latch without the shield.

myeverything1203 · December 2013

linzy2202 said:
LO lost a pound in the hospital and so I had to supplement formula for a couple weeks. I used the similac supplementing kind the dr gave me. I was so worried she would like that better than my milk. I've since ran out of that and dr said I could now just use my BM but still give her a bottle at her middle of the night feeding. Luckily she she breast feeds through all that. However she does have some latching issues and has since the hospital so I have to use a shield and that works great. I'm hoping she will eventually be able to latch without the shield.

Yeah I have to use a sheild also

she wont latch without it...but I have flat nipples...so I cant really change that

esf60 · December 2013

I started supplementing with formula a few days ago after a bad bout of mastitis, followed by several clogged ducts, led to a serious decline in milk production. I'm currently BFing first, then topping her off with formula. She's happy to eat from the boob & the bottle now & she's always full & happy. I also give her a pacifier & she's never experienced the nipple confusion I was so fearful of.

myeverything1203 · December 2013

Every one makes me so scared of the nipple confusion thing...I was glad as soon as I put my boob near her face it was like a vacuum. Lol. So she had no problems

musicnmoon123 · December 2013

myeverything1203 said:

linzy2202 said:
Yeah I have to use a sheild also she wont latch without it...but I have flat nipples...so I cant really change that

You might be surprised. I have flat nipples as well, but with nursing, LO has drawn them out enough that I don't need a shield anymore.

myeverything1203 · December 2013

MrsHoffman2b said:

myeverything1203 said:

linzy2202 said:
Yeah I have to use a sheild also she wont latch without it...but I have flat nipples...so I cant really change that
You might be surprised. I have flat nipples as well, but with nursing, LO has drawn them out enough that I don't need a shield anymore.

Really?? How many weeks is your LO? They said when she gets older she may not need it. I tried without it when she was 2 wks old and she was just not havin it. Maybe ill try again and she if she will be able to draw them out to feed

myeverything1203 · December 2013

OMG thank you so much @AmyG!!! You are amazing!

this info is very very helpful. I'm kind of mad I had to pump and dump but I did get 4 things of IV antibiotics also

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