How long is a good rule of thumb to allow my son (6 wks) to be at each breast during feeding? I ask this because my son can be at one side for an hour. Then as soon as I remove him from the breast (when he was a newborn he would automatically fall off the nipple) an hour later and as he fell asleep, he would start screaming and seek for my nipple again.
Then if I solely breastfeed (no bottle of breast milk) all day he would be extremely fussy, rarely sleep and not be a content little guy. When I started pumping the 2x a day, getting enough milk between both breasts for all day feedings, he was a much happier baby. He was getting approx 4-5oz of breast milk at each feeding (5x a day of feedings). Then one formula bottle at night of approx. 5oz. He started sleeping through the night the night b4 Mother's Day.
Now that my milk supply has decreased a great deal (3oz between both breasts with pumping 2x a day) and I went back to feeding at the breast, he has become VERY fussy again. Will not sleep and rarely gives mom a break to try and pump the 5-6 times a day as others suggested on my other request.
I am at a loss as what to do. My schedule during the day and how rare my son sleeps during the day, makes it literally impossible to pump the suggested amount of times I need to get my breast milk supply back up to give him the bottle. I want my son to have the benefits of my breast milk for at least 6 months, but how can i if I can't make him satisfied during breastfeeding and not getting the time allowed to pump...what do i do?? Anyone else have this problem and what did you do???
Drink Healthy nursing tea to enhance your breast milk production. It was a great help to me when I was producing not enough milk.
I had this problem, too. There's a fabulous website, www.drjacknewman.com and it totally explains and demonstrates how to properly do breast compressions while breast feeding. Basically if your baby is "snacking" they could go on forever and not get the same amount in 10-15 minutes with the compression technique. She's been sleeping through the night since I started this at 6 months.
Prior to this, my daughter was nursing for up to an hour and she never seemed full. I called a lactation consultant and she explained that unless you are using a hospital grade pump, the pump will not increase your milk supply. (The pumps that retail for less than $500 are not hospital grade) I've used both grades, and there is a significant difference.
I ran into a similar issue. When I started pumping my supply decreased. I was able to get the supply up using the tea for nursing mothers by traditional medicinals and by allowing him to nurse. The more he nurses the more milk you will produce. It's a different sucking sensation than the pump and your body knows the difference.
I, too, was giving my son formula at night, but only 1-2 ounces and that was on top of my breastmilk at night. He has since weened himself COMPLETELY off of formula, in fact he throws a fit if you try to give it to him. I am actually grateful that he has done this. I always HATED giving him formula. He sleeps through the night typically (unless there is a growth spurt going on) so have faith. Your body will produce enough milk. Keep in mind formula wasn't the food that our great ancestors used and those kids didn't die from lack of formula!
Hi Summer,
The best place to go for help is the La Leche League. They are trained mom's who know how to help in all situations. I started going to meetings when I was preggers because my mom said to and it really helped. I learned a lot! But for now and for you, the leaders are available for questions night and day. And these women passionatley care about helping other mom's with breastfeeding(as do I). So please call for help or go to your local meeting. They are supportive and informative, also a bonus is you will meet other mom's and kids to socialize with. The help is free.
Also if you are apart of Kaiser Permanente they have free lacatation consultation.
To answer your question though, it sounds like your baby is nursing for comfort if it is taking an hour. When they are small they take longer, as they grow it gets shorter and shorter. I remember counting the minutes before my son was done. he took like 15 to 30minutes a breast (but he only did one side at a feeding), now he is done in 5 to 9 minutes! now I think, that's it? Are you sure?
The LLL leaders would advise women at the meetings with the same problems to go on a 24 to 48 hour nursing cycle. Get him on the breast as much as possible. Try nursing in short intervals every two hours and if you nurse him every 2 hours, you milk will increaseOur bodies take about 24 hours to reprogram the milk supply. I do know that from experience.
My son is 5 months and weighs 30 lbs, all from bf. so good luck!
Hi Summer. My milk also decreased as well and I learned from my first child that I could take Fenugreek tablets which got my milk production back up. Fenugreek is an herb that is used in a lot of food around the world. Ask a lactation consultant about them. It was recommended to me and totally worked. I like it better than the teas.
As for breastfeeding, it sounds like your son is not getting enough milk and is therefore, fussy and wanting more. Maybe your son sucks on the breast like a pacifier and then falls asleep, therefore, not drinking much. Try to keep him awake so that he can eat. Don't dress him too warm and skin to skin contact is important. Make sure he is latched on correctly and that you can see/hear the milk being swallowed. You may also feel the letdown that happens when your milk starts leaking out.
If you still have problems, ask a lactation consultant if you have access to one or you can contact the La Leche League which offers help to women on breastfeeding. http://www.llli.org
Good luck!
There's an awesome book, that I refer to as the boobie bible, though it's technically called, "So That's What They're For!" by Janet Tamaro. It's a wonderfully informative, though funny, book about breastfeeding and addresses many concerns and issues about breastfeeding. Although I never had your problem, I feel for you since nursing can be challenging, no matter what the particular dilemma is. I highly recommend this book as it will definitely make you feel not all alone in your concerns and will hopefully help to guide you to some answers. Good luck, you can do it, and remember that if he's gaining weight, something's working!
