Feb 2010 JUNE chat thread

[loulie]

Hi everyone... selfish reasons for starting this months thread - i hope you ladies are around because I desperately need your help....


HELP!! 16 weeks and my supply has vanished!
Is there anything I can do? I have caused this myself, I thought I could start introducing a couple of bottle feeds per day so that I can begin to leave my little one. She hasn't taken well to thebottle at all but i percerviered for a two days, offering 2-3 feeds as bottles. Then by last night my milk had all but dried up! My breasts have halved in size and feel completely empty!

I put her to the breast all through the night and whilst she's not getting anywhere near as much as before or as she would like she must be getting something because she's not yet screaming and she had a wet nappy this morning.

Is there anything I can do? I'm putting her to the breast every hour for half an hour to try to encourage more milk. I don't want to try to give her formula from a bottle but I guess there's only so long I can do this because my poor baby is hungry

any advice ladies? I feel desperate here

[moondiapers]

Have a beer, drink water, eat oatmeal, lounge in bed and nurse baby all day. You should be able to get a rebound in 3 days or so....but if you're worried that won't work you can use "more milk tincture" and domperidone as well. With the domperidone you have to wean off of it. If you stop it cold turkey your milk will decline again.

[moondiapers]

I just saw that you're in England??? domperidone is over the counter there!!!! the literature says 2 pills 3 times a day. My milk didn't want to come in and I had low supply because I had retained some placenta....and domperidone helped tremendously!!

[Keeta]

My naturopath told me to take 3 caps of fenugreek 3x a day and 2-3 caps of blessed thistle 3x a day. I also discontinued use of the nipple shield, so it's hard to know if it was one or the other or a bit of both. But, for instance, August gained 1.5 lbs in only 2 weeks! They're supposed to gain an oz a day, so this was 1/2 lb (8 oz) over normal.

[SilverFish]

how do you know your supply has dried up? what were you putting in the bottles? your breasts are normalizing by this stage, so it's common that they should feel smaller, have less strong let-downs, less leaking etc. i am very small-breasted and they often feel "empty" but i know they're not.

when your LO eats, do you see swallowing? if she's alert and happy and making dirty diapers, then she is getting what she needs. it's too soon to tell if she's not gaining, but if you're worried, take her to get weighed and see if she's still on track. at this stage, babies often start peeing less frequently also, so if you're used to a certain quantity of dirty diapers, you might be surprised at first. it was just recently that my LO started going a few hours at night with a dry diaper.

if she's acting hungry, it could just be a growth spurt. if she wants to be on the breast more often, that is the most likely reason, not that she's not getting anything! just keep offering the breast as you were. maybe take a break from the bottles until you're reassured, but all other things being healthy and normal, there is no reason a couple of bottle feeds of pumped BM should make your supply disappear.

[flavorfull1]

I was wondering what silverfish was. I know that right about that time with malachi I worried that my milk was dipping in supply because he started getting really fussy and nursing ALL the time. I also felt like my breasts were really a lot smaller and I never felt full like I had up until then. He does swallow and I can still feel the letdown so I know there is milk going in! I still freaked out and took alfalfa and drank more milk tea and ended up with the start of mastitis, red streaks and all. It is really nerve wracking to think your milk supply is dipping at all. Did you pump during those times that you gave the bottle or at an equivalent time so that you got the input you needed while baby got to try the bottle? I hope you feel reassured by everyone. It always helped to wear my baby more to stimulate more milk. Hang in there and let us know how you are doing!

[jabeen]

I'm taking fenugreek capsules, 3 cap 3 times a day for my supply issues. I started at 6 weeks, stopped having to supplement with formula by 8 weeks, and still take it now. Everytime I try to wean off, I feel like my supply drops...though it could be paranoia. So I'm just going to stay on it, figure it can't hurt! My boobs stopped feeling full awhile ago, but I know the supply is good since my LO is gaining well. Good luck, HTH!

[aramat]

HUGS, Loulie! Make sure you are staying well-hydrated, too. Hoping you are able to sort this out asap & without too much stress. Will be thinking of you!

[loulie]

Thankyou everyone so much for your replies. I knew she wasn't getting and milk because there was mo swallowing and when I tried to hand express I could only get a few drops whereas I had always *spurted* iykwim... By lunch time I was distraught. Had put her to the breast every hour for half an hour and she was getting nothing and my freezer stash was gone so I went and bought formula. She drank 4oz straight she was so hungry. I mourned the loss of my milk but decided I would just have to accept it.

But then, fabulous news, at tea time I went to take a shower and noticed my breasts felt fuller and in the shower I was able to express again and feel a let down! I'm so happy and so relieved. I have given her her last two feeds now and currently nak =) my let down is back to being so strong that my other nipple is dripping lol. I guess all the suckling we did for 8 hours did the trick.


So thanks again, I don't know what I would do without you all. Everyone irl just said 'oh well, you've done well to feed her this long maybe it's just time she went on to bottles'. NOT what I needed to hear!

[flavorfull1]

Yay! I am so happy for you! Way to stick with it and I am sorry it was so hard but wohoo for milk!

[NicoleS]

Yay for boobie juice! Can you send some vibes my way? I'm on domperidone now...

[Ninetales]

I need some reassurance that I'm not overdoing the binky. I was originally going to just use it in the car but Elsa is at a point where she sometimes wants to just suck. She can comfort nurse but it seems like she doesn't always like to. She'll start popping off, wiggling, mewling, etc. Then I give her the bink and she's asleep within minutes. Most of the time it falls out after she's asleep, too.

The other night I spent 20 minutes trying to feed her before trying her bink, at which point she dropped right off. This happens several times a day now, in addition to other times when she's fussy but doesn't want to nurse, play, or be held.

I know logically that it's ok because I'm doing what she needs and following her cues, but sometimes I feel bad when people talk about how bad they are and how the moms are neglectful.

[HappiLeigh]

Loulie, glad things got straightened back out!

Ninetales, both my kids would only go to sleep with binkies in their mouths. With both, they would get sleepy at the breast but then just start to fuss until I'd give them their paci, then they'd doze on off. I think they just didn't want to be bothered by whatever trickle of milk must have still been coming out, or something! I wouldn't worry as long as she's nursing plenty and you are following her cues.

We've entered the Age of Distractability here. DS probably nurses half as many times as he did a month ago. He's too busy checking things out! (But don't get me wrong, he's not exactly withering away, he's just cutting down the feeds and nursing fast and furious so he can get back to world-gazing.)
We drove to St. Louis this weekend to visit my in-laws and it was fun. The car ride was hairy on the way out there, but the actual visit there was nice. We visted the City Museum, which was like some kind of 4-year-old paradise for my DD. I'm so glad I know about babywearing--no idea how I would have gotten through all that without my mei tai!

[loulie]

NicoleS, I don't know if it would ever be possible with all your children but my suckling marathon definitely worked - 24 hours later I was totally engorged. My poor boobies don't know whether they're coming or going here! I was lucky that my mam had DD1 so I could just do that and nothing else. sending you milky vibes.....

Ninetales both mine have used and loved their pacifiers. Taking it away from DD1 was an issue we tackled carefully, but still it went and so in a way I think - if I hadn't given her a pacifier she'd have sucked her thumb... and that I could never take away.....

[NicoleS]

Caleb is so easily distracted too...it's getting really frustrating to feed him because he'll pop off and then 10 minutes later remember he's hungry still and sart yelling - nurse for 2 minutes, get distracted...repeat...

[SheBear]

Loulie, I'm so glad you were able to act so quickly to get your supply back!

Just wanted to mention that you might be one of those mamas (like me!) whose supply is pretty fragile.....I've always had PLENTY of milk for my babies to more than thrive--Gideon is positively fat and sassy--but I've always had to be super vigilant about protecting my supply. What I eat/drink, any meds or herbs I might consider taking, etc...

I'm also very sensitive to hormonal fluctuations. I am in the process of having my thyroid and adrenal function checked; low function can cause hormonal imbalance which in turn can mess with your supply. I also avoid hormonal forms of birth control. I don't do bc for other reasons, as well; but in case you are using the pill, I thought I'd mention that even the mini-pill can cause supply troubles for some women.

For me, I keep fenugreek, fennel, and goat's rue (you can get it pretty cheap from Mountain Rose herbs) on hand and regularly brew it into a tea. IME, it's cheaper to do it this way than to buy the Mother's Milk tea bags. If I'm starting to get sick, or if I'm feeling stressed (more than normal, LOL!), or if my supply seems to dip even just slightly, I'll start drinking the tea pretty much non-stop. It helps me through growth spurts, too.

Drinking wine, dark beer, & lots of water helps. Eating oatmeal helps. Brewer's yeast helps. Taking a warm bath every night (with baby nursing!) helps. Minimizing stress, simplifying your life/schedule, getting PLENTY of calories--especially make sure you are NOT limiting healthy fats!

Pretty much, I just have to be super vigilant all the time.....once the baby isold enough to start on solids (I try to wait as long as possible--until 8-9 months if I can), I can let up a bit and not have it be an all-consuming issue in my life. I'm really hoping that this thyroid/adrenal stuff will turn out to make a big difference, too!

Hope this helps somehow!

[busymama77]

Originally Posted by HappiLeigh

Loulie, glad things got straightened back out!

Ninetales, both my kids would only go to sleep with binkies in their mouths. With both, they would get sleepy at the breast but then just start to fuss until I'd give them their paci, then they'd doze on off. I think they just didn't want to be bothered by whatever trickle of milk must have still been coming out, or something! I wouldn't worry as long as she's nursing plenty and you are following her cues.

We've entered the Age of Distractability here. DS probably nurses half as many times as he did a month ago. He's too busy checking things out! (But don't get me wrong, he's not exactly withering away, he's just cutting down the feeds and nursing fast and furious so he can get back to world-gazing.)
We drove to St. Louis this weekend to visit my in-laws and it was fun. The car ride was hairy on the way out there, but the actual visit there was nice. We visted the City Museum, which was like some kind of 4-year-old paradise for my DD. I'm so glad I know about babywearing--no idea how I would have gotten through all that without my mei tai!

Hey HappiLeigh - I live in the Lou!! City Museum is totally kick a$$ and tons of fun. Glad to hear that you had a great trip to STL!

W had his 3 month pics taken yesterday http://www.smilesbywire.com/asp/sbw_view.asp - not sure if this is going to work or not - but he did GREAT! A little fussy in the beginning, but then he ate, spit up a little bit and felt better. It's amazing how much he's already changed!!
DH is off to Scotland today for 6 days so it's just me and the boys all week. Should be interesting.... This is the longest he's been gone since W has been born and honestly, the longest he's been gone in almost 3 years! I miss him already. But I've got my inlaws close by if I need a break or help and my parents are relatively close as well.

[jul511riv]

hi. /wave

[Snapdragon]

Ninetales I personally think a Paci is fine. DS loves his-0 used it a lot- starting to lose interest in it except for going to sleep and car- but Ithink it is a useful tool.

[Snapdragon]

I am finally feeling well enough to think abuot starting to get fit again. It has been 3 months since my c section birth. Now I finally have some help with things and things are more under control. I am also feeling physically stronger. So I can finally address this very big amount of weight that has not fallen away magically on it's own- . It feels good to be able to start to exercise again. I know 3 months is a long time to even start thinking about this but I was so overwhelmed w- everything that I couldn't. I would like to lose some of this weight! I am really so much heavier than I thought I would be 3 months pp, especially cause I was pretty fit before I got pregnant.