she's not making enough milk to feed such a large newborn

[polishprinsezz]

so she has to supplement with formula. i was told this by my aunt about my cousin and her 10lb. 13 ounce newborn. she just cant make enough milk to feed him and he hasnt gained weight at his check up. all i could say to her about this is feed him often and consult a lactation consultant or have her go to a LLL meeting for support. that every feeding supplemented with formula is less milk she makes for the baby. my aunt said that my cousin is fine with how feeding is going so far. i did also say that it is possible to feed large newborns without supplementing. my children were over 9 lbs. at birth. it does bother me a little the attitude towards how supplementing with formula is taken so lightly in our society. the baby doesnt gain enough fastly to the doctor so we should offer artificial milk to put the weight on. i do feel my aunt could be an influence and would like to talk more about it alone with my cousin if i get a chance. thank you for allowing me to vent. i needed to get this off my chest. thanks.

[Inspired007]

I totally feel your pain. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard “I didn’t make enough milk” which can truly be the case, but it’s more rare than people think if they do it right.

Or “He was too greedy so I had to give him formula!” What??!!!!

[Mama~Love]

I hear ya. Since when does a large baby automatically mean they are twice as hungry as a average-sized baby? A large baby doesn't necessarily need to gain as much weight as a smaller one, so maybe their thinking is backwards??

Anyway, yeah, those comments bother me too.

[FullMetalMom]

Originally Posted by polishprinsezz

it does bother me a little the attitude towards how supplementing with formula is taken so lightly in our society. the baby doesnt gain enough fastly to the doctor so we should offer artificial milk to put the weight on.

It's troubling that so many pediatricians are more concerned only with a baby putting on more weight, rather than how the baby puts on weight. I wish doctors would be more concerned with nutrition, rather than simple weight gain.

ETA - women who have multiples can exclusively breastfeed, so why wouldn't a mom of a singleton "big" baby?

[bfmom]

I believe that you will find this post very helpful. I have a Lactation Counsellor on board my blog to answer questions about breastfeeding and she quite thoroughly covered the milk supply issue today. I hope you will find it helpful. If you have any other questions about it or it doesn't seem to fit you needs, please leave a comment and let us know.
http://www.breastfeedingmomsunite.co...t-milk-supply/

[khaoskat]

My middle child was 10 pounds at birth and he was basically exclusively breastfeed till he was about 9-10 months of age.

Depending upon the age, he probably lost the normal up to 10%, so that is about a pound. So, it takes him a bit longer to get back to birth weight because he has so much more than a typical newborn. Whereas most newborns have about 11 or 12 ounces to regain, he has close to a 17-18 ounces.

[Dahlea]

People are always surprised that my baby is breastfed and not eating other foods. He is huge, and has been since about 2-3 months old (currently 10 months and 32 lbs) They always are concerned that he's not getting enough, which I don't understand, since, hello, huge baby, how do you think he got that way? It seems like some people just want to have a "good" excuse to give up breastfeeding.

[zensven42]

The logic is so flawed. A 6lb or 8lb baby will eventually weigh 10 pounds, and breasts can obviously make enough to feed them. What does it matter whether they are 10lbs at birth, or 10 lbs a couple weeks after birth, it's still 10 lbs. Silly

And yes, women can breastfeed twins or even triplets. The more milk the child eats, the more the breasts will make.