My daughter is almost four months old and I nursed her up until I went back to work a month ago. I had success with pumping and a small stockpile of milk in the freezer, until about a week ago. At work, I can barely get enough for one feeding after pumping for 20+ minutes. I have been setting my alarm so I can wake up during the night to pump but get less than 2 ounces. Now, I don't have enough bottles to send with her to daycare tomorrow and don't know what to do!! I think my stress about it may be making it worse because yesterday and today, the supply has gone down even more.
I found many great ideas for increasing milk supply in the archives, but, in the interim, is there a formula that is best that I can send with her until I can get back up to five, four-ounce bottles again?
Any tips or suggestions would be really amazing.
You ladies are so great!! Thank you for the wonderful suggestions! Special thanks to Nancy H. for the info on natural solutions and Jess B. for sharing this website: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/pumping_decrease.html, which has soooo much helpful information!!! It put me at ease to know that our milk supply goes up and down naturally and it's nothing to worry about. I did end up having to send her to daycare yesterday with a pre-made bottle of Similac (left over from the hospital freebies) and she drank half of it with no issues. I was able to calm down enough to pump the five bottles needed for today and am, happily, back on track! YAY!!! :)
My emergency back-up was Baby's Only organic baby formula.
On the breastfeeding end, you could try "power pumping."
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/pumping_decrease.html
It's quite normal to only be able to pump 20 oz in 20 mins.
I used Enfamil, it mixes really smooth. But you may need to mix it in small amounts with breast milk to help her get used to the taste of it, slowly increasing the amount of formula to breast milk. My boys took both interchangeably, but I used both breast and formula with them from birth. I have heard that older babies who are used to only breast milk sometimes reject formula at first.
Please use either Baby's Only Organic for Toddlers (the company only puts "for Toddlers" on the label so Mom's will breast feed for the first year, I always put my newborns on this formula and they do amazing, or Earths Best They can be found at Whole Foods or Sprouts. Do not use anything with DHA in it that is artifical. DHA/ARA artificial (instead of the natural fish oil) has been proven to cause digestive issues. www.cornucopia.org
I would suggest your stress is the major issue. It is a vicious cycle when you lose the stress your breast milk should increase,but it is hard to lose the stress when you are producing less. I put all my multiples moms on Lactation Support found also at Whole Foods or Sprouts and it works wonders.
Good luck.
Call a lactation consultant or LLL Leader right away for help. Do not delay. What you might pay an IBCLC is nothing compared to the savings in formula and the health you give your baby by continuing to nurse. When you're home, nurse, nurse, nurse like crazy to keep up your supply. I have no experience with formula myself so I can't help with that. But good luck and seek help right away to ensure your success!
I definitely feel your pain, and unfortunately echo the pumping more often solution. I just wanted to add as well that the formulas are all 99% the same, but that 1% can make a difference - our son (who was not at all bothered to start on formula when this happened, by the way!) has a digestive system that's very picky about which one - the wrong ones make him use way too many diapers, shall we say. So you might want to experiment. Whichever works, Enfamil and Simulac (sold as Kirkland) are both much cheaper at Costco.
I used premixed Similac Advance. Formula is not poison and your baby needs to eat!
I hear ya! I was at home for 5 months, and then I pumped when I was back at work. I was never able to get more than 2oz in a pumping session:( I bought the charger and pumped to and from work, twice at work and then occasionally in the evenings after my son went to bed. I was never able to build up a stockpile, but I always managed to leave about 10-12 oz for him during the day and then i would nurse right when i got home, before dinner, before bed and when he got up in the morning. I did this until he was 10.5 months. then I switched to formula. We liked enfamil better. Similac smelled and i hated the yucky color.
You can try the mothers milk tea an dlots of water. Good luck!
Can you take a couple of days of of work, close to the weekend? Take a TH/FR or FR/M or M/T and plan on mainly nursing to let the baby build up your milk supply?
I had the same problem with my first child where I nursed her exclusively for 2 months, went back to work and then my milk dwindled to nothing over a couple of months. It would rebuild over the weekend, but then after a couple of months the baby started to reject my boob and preferrd the bottle. So this might be a permanent thing and I felt ever so rejected. So make sure you deal with those feeling accordingly.
For formula, I tried many, meaning I even tasted them and the powder ones taste the best and you'll waste the least in the long run.
Keep pumping though as you can always mix up the formula with your breastmilk for as long as it lasts.
This exact thing happened to me. I nursed exclusively for the 3 months I was on leave. Then by his four month birthday I noticed my milk supply seriously dwindling. I called my lactation specialist and here were the recommendations she gave me:
1. More Milk Plus capsuls by Motherlove. Costs around $30 but works. Or, take Fenugreek pills.
2. Mothers Milk Tea
3. Lactation cookies. You have to eat 4 a day (why say no to cookies)
http://www.food.com/recipe/oatmeal-chocolate-chip-lactati...
4. Drink lots of water
5. Nurse as much as you can when you are with the baby. Even if he's not getting anything out, the sucking stimulates your brain to produce more.
6. Pump as much as you can. I pump in the morning before my baby wakes up, then I pump 3 times in the 8 hours I'm at work, then I pump again about an hour after he's gone to bed. It feels like A LOT and it is, but it's worth it. Some people even pump after each time they nurse their baby but I just couldn't do that too.
7. And lastly, the thing that helped that I didn't find on the internet... my milk supply went down when my period started. Then after my period it came back up again. Something with the hormones.
So now I've been managing it all better. I'm still on a day to day just trying to make enough milk for the next day and I have about 6 bags in the freezer just in case. My goal was to make it to six months and I'm just a week away. I'll keep going as long as I can after that but at least I'll have made it to my goal. I wish you the best of luck. You can do it!!!
There is a book called "Mother's Food" that is fantastic and gives info about what foods and supplements will help and which you should avoid. It is like a breastfeeding bible. I highly recommend it. Here is a link on Amazon, but can be found elsewhere, too.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/1589612299/ref=dp...
I know this is coming late and it sounds like you've resolved your issues already, but here's a link to a blog with some great suggestions on how to bump up milk supply when you're at the 4-6 month mark:
http://mostgladly.typepad.com/cj/2007/09/its-my-party-an....
Read through the comments as well, there's even more great info there!
And consider checking out La Leche League - you don't have to be a member to attend meetings and they are a fantastic resource for BF'ing moms. Go to llli.org and click on "Find Local Support" to find a group near you.
A great formula on the shelves in most grocery stores is Good Start - I use Gentle Plus which is in the orange container with a blue lid. It's much gentler than Enfamil or Similac - easier to digest for little tummies. I combined that with breast milk for both my babies as my body was never able to make enough to keep up with the little piggies! Good luck!
I just wanted to wish you good luck! I was in the same situation with both of my sons. I dried up with our first at 6 month and our 2nd at 4 months. I tried Mothers Milk Tea, and it seemed to work somewhat. Good luck. Remember, it's not a bad thing for your child to get formula too. She's already had 4 months of the best you could give her. Be thankful for that!
