Lately my son has been Breast feeding all day long, having breaks for 20 minutes or half an hour. The longest breastfeeding time hes gone was for 12 hours, with 10 minute breaks. My mum and hubby kept making jokes and even when I took him to the doctor he couldnt stay still while the doctor was checking up on him because he was acting hungry, and even she found it funny. Anyway, while he was feeding yesterday he let out a huge cry and started fussing really badly and this went on and off for 1 hour. My mum said, well thats not normal, theres obviously no milk. Really it could be true because maybe thats why he feed for so long without breaks, because it was taking a long time to get the adequate amount of milk he needed. I decided to use the breast pump that hubby bought me and to my suprise I was only pumping 50 - 60 ml. Thats definatley not enough.. so now Im giving bub formula and expressing breast milk while hes not feeding. will see how he goes on formula..
6 comments:
Aw, that's really too bad that it's not working out so well... How old is he now? With both my kids the first two weeks were practically just me breastfeeding day and night and eventually it worked out. With my daughter I had no real milk until day 5, she was so hungry poor girl but when the milk started to come in she regained her weight and everything. Was your baby losing weight? That's really the main indicator since we can't know how much he's getting or anything.
It's normal to be able to pump only a fraction of what the baby is able to drink in a session. He's better at it and also with pumping your body is not reacting like it does with your baby. I pumped a little and just having a picture of my baby while I breastfed doubled my quantity but in the end it wasn't even enough to replace what she wasn't drinking while I was gone.
I'd suggest going on kellymom.com for all sorts of tips and information if you haven't already.
I had the same problem with my little guy. He was a marathon feeder, mashallah! I would supplement formula with him because I had no choice, he was and is still a hungry boy. It's ok to supplement. Especially now because he is growing so fast, mashallah. Boys seem to be good eaters! Keep pumping and feeding and your milk will increase. Get a good electronic pump which will help a lot. My baby is now 10 months old and only nurses at night... All night long. :). It's ok, it's what he needs and I work for 10 hrs a day so it's our time together. Mashallah, he is 12.5 kg! :-). So breast milk and formula is ok. :-)
Salaam Alaikum,
Have you tried fenugreek? I used to take it every time my supply would get low when I was nursing my daughter. Within a few days my supply would increase alhamdulillah. You could continue with formula or if youd like to give your baby both you can continue to pump every 2 to 3 hours. Within a few days your supply will increase, inshaAllah.
oh and i second what candice said about kellymom.com That sight is so informative mashaAllah.
Kellymom is great. I would also say to do at least 20min on each side for a feeding and only offer formula after he has nursed from both side.
Before you resort to supplementing, I would try fenugreek too. Some babies also don't get enough calories at each feed because they're not nursing for long enough at a time. The fat in your milk sticks to the ducts and so the milk at the beginning of a feed naturally has less fat. The later milk, called hindmilk, his higher in fat and helps baby stay full longer. He is also little, and it usually takes around a month to really establish a good supply. Don't be discouraged, youre doing great!
@ Candice
My Bub is 5 weeks old now masha'Allah.. Ive been pumping around 140 mls al hamdulilah and i think it has something to do with getting more sleep. thanks for your advice sis.
@ daisy
yes my lil one is a marathon feeder too al hamdulilah.. InshaAllah it gets easier for both of us.
@Rene Bare Essentials
Actually I havent tried fenugreek yet. What i do is i have a malt beverage and Milo which contains Malt. In my culture malt is known to increase milk supply. I will try the fenugreek though. inshaAllah
@Stacy
Thanks sis. sometimes I feel like I dont have enough milk and im failing. haha
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