Please help me, I think I'm drying up and I don't want to!!

[BRmama]

Okay I'm on vacation visiting family and just recently found out I have a uti (urinary infection). The dr. prescribed to me an antibiotic that he said was okay to breastfeed with. On top of that I'm on coumadin for my blood clot which is also okay to bf. Anyway these last couple of days have been very painful so I took this really strong pain med for arthritis from my step mom that's very similar to ibuprofen the kind you get as prescription and that's the only thing that's been kicking the pain away. But unfortunately I forgot to check if I could bf with it, and now I'm almost in tears. I don't feel my breasts filling up.What should I do? My sister in law suggested this drink from like argentina that is sold in the latin stores called malta. She said this always filled her up. Also my son wont accept bottles. Please help, I'll do anything. Tia 

[HannahW]

Drink a beer (the yeast and the alcohol help you let down), take fenugreek (I bought mine at GNC, It makes everything flow better, milk especially), Mother's milk tea (I bought mine at Target, it contians fenugreek), Nurse only on one side (the other will have time to fill up befor you nurse on it), Pray for milk!

[PatioGardener]

nurse as much as you can - your milk will respond. no need to wait for a time between feeds or breasts - you are constantly making milk and the more baby drinks the more you will make.

how old is your nursling now?

[BRmama]

Thank you guys for the response, my lo is two months. I could drink the beer, but I have to make sure the fenugreek doesn't react with the coumadin. We're very spiritual and so I have been praying like crazy and if anyone of you pray please keep me in your thoughts. I'm nursing all the time now. Thanks again.

[Llyra]

It's very common and normal, after about six to eight weeks, for you to stop feeling so full between feeds. That's not drying up-- that's your supply naturally adjusting itself to baby's demand. Lactation moves from being hormonally-driven, to being driven more by supply and demand, right around this age. I have talked to so many women who get to this point, about two or three months, and then suddenly they feel like they have much less milk, and they worry that something is wrong. It's normal! I think it's just an unfortunate coincidence that it happened right when you had to take these meds, and that there's probably no connection between them.

There's no reason to wait until you feel full, to feed baby. Milk is made continuously while you nurse. If baby drains what's there, and keeps suckling, more will be made and let down. As long as you're feeding frequently, on demand, baby will get what baby needs. If baby's extra hungry for a few days, baby will want to nurse more often, and your breasts will get the message to make more.

Hang in there! It sounds like you've got some challenges, with your own health. I hope you get to feeling better soon!

FWIW, I wouldn't limit baby to one side, if you have doubts about your supply. Block feeding is a supply-reducing technique, used to manage oversupply. It's not an appropriate technique if you have concerns about your supply. A very classic supply-increasing technique, actually, is switch nursing, which means switching sides frequently during a single feed. You switch baby to the other side as soon as baby's swallowing slows down, and you wind up using each side multiple times during one feed.

However, it really sounds to me like your supply is fine, so unless you notice that baby is wetting less frequently, or baby stops gaining weight, I would just keep on doing what you're doing.

[BRmama]

Thank you all for the replies. I'm nursing him on demand. I had no idea what block feeding was but I do know what switch feeding is. I've been doing that. I'm also checking his diapers. They seem wet and one other thing is that he seems content. I'd imagine he'd be crying if he was hungry.

I checked my breasts and they still have milk. My main worry though is that it looks kind of waterish instead of the white color. I understand that bm will be more liquid-ish at first and then the hind milk comes. When I kept expressing I eventually got to the hindmilk because it did appear more whitish.I'm not sure if this makes sense. I apologize if it doesn't. I called my dr. and he is sending an order of the right pain med and he is also calling my son's ped to let him know I'm on these meds for the uti. Anyway as ffar as the bm do you all think that's normal? Tia

[Llyra]

The color and consistency of your milk will vary a lot. Don't worry about that-- your body knows what to do, and you'll drive yourself crazy for no reason if you start expressing milk and analyzing it. I used to pump for my DD1, and I've had blue milk and green milk and thin milk and creamy yellow milk. It all depends on how long it's been since you nursed last, and how often baby is nursing, and whether Jupiter aligns with Mars that day

And you're right-- if he was going hungry, he'd be protesting. If he's wetting diapers, then he's getting enough. FWIW, keep in mind too that this is also a common age for babies to switch to pooping MUCH less frequently. Some breastfed kids after about two months might go up to two weeks without a poo. As long as it's big and soft when it does come, and not dry or hard, all is well!

[BRmama]

Wow two weeks. Is that normal, or constipation? Sorry I'm still learning. I spoke with my pharmacist who said that none of those meds affect milk supply. I also spoke with my pediatrician who said that they don't affect my ds either.  His last poop was soft and runny so I guess that's good. I've been doing switch feeding for as much as I can that he tolerates. I guess my main concern is that my breasts are not hard solid as they used to be.

Okay I'm going to stop driving myself crazy!

[Llyra]

It's normal! It doesn't happen to all kids. In fact, it never happened to mine-- my guys continued to have several very soft or liquidy poops a day, all the way up until they weaned. But it happens to lots of kids. Constipation in breastfed babies is rare, but you'll know it's constipation not because of the frequency, but because a "constipated" poop will be hard and dry. But in some kids, the poops come so rarely because they're digesting the breastmilk so well that there's not much left over to poop out!

I only mention it because that's the other very common two-to-three-month concern, besides not feeling full anymore. It's good to know that less frequent poop at this age isn't a sign that baby isn't getting enough milk-- it's a normal pattern.

The not hard and solid fullness thing is normal! It really is! Your body, and baby's needs, have adjusted to one another. From now on, you'll probably only notice fullness if baby goes an unusually long time between feeds, or if you have to be away from baby for a period of time and baby misses a feed.

No need to go crazy on the switch feeding, if baby is content. It is useful during growth spurt periods, when baby seems hungrier than usual, or when baby seems fussy and impatient with the slower flow at the end of the feed. But if you go overboard with it, you might wind up with oversupply, and that's a whole other problem.

[PatioGardener]

Originally Posted by Llyra 

It's normal! It doesn't happen to all kids. In fact, it never happened to mine-- my guys continued to have several very soft or liquidy poops a day, all the way up until they weaned. But it happens to lots of kids. Constipation in breastfed babies is rare, but you'll know it's constipation not because of the frequency, but because a "constipated" poop will be hard and dry. But in some kids, the poops come so rarely because they're digesting the breastmilk so well that there's not much left over to poop out!

I only mention it because that's the other very common two-to-three-month concern, besides not feeling full anymore. It's good to know that less frequent poop at this age isn't a sign that baby isn't getting enough milk-- it's a normal pattern.

The not hard and solid fullness thing is normal! It really is! Your body, and baby's needs, have adjusted to one another. From now on, you'll probably only notice fullness if baby goes an unusually long time between feeds, or if you have to be away from baby for a period of time and baby misses a feed.

No need to go crazy on the switch feeding, if baby is content. It is useful during growth spurt periods, when baby seems hungrier than usual, or when baby seems fussy and impatient with the slower flow at the end of the feed. But if you go overboard with it, you might wind up with oversupply, and that's a whole other problem.

wise words from Llyra

[BRmama]

Thank you Llyra I feel more relieved now. If I didn't know any better I probably would have quit by now and just ff (while crying since I've always wanted to bf. I called the ped to see if he knew if any of these meds were.affecting ds2 or my milk supply and he didn't know how to answer except that I should google the meds with the word nursing and see what comes up. Also he said if the baby is fussy just do formula. Grrr!!!! Before him I had a great ped for my kids who wouldn't let me give up on bf until I tried everything i could. Anyway thanks for the response.