HELP! Low Milk Supply Mamas - do you have to wean quickly??

[mary g]

: Help! I'm not sure what to do. I've used a supplementor for my son since he was born, as I lack sufficient glandular tissue. The one time I was away for work, I pumped only 6 oz a day.

My son just turned 1 this month, and here's my dilemma:

I've had donated breastmilk (or in a few cases, had to use formula) this entire time. I feel guilty looking for more donated milk, as I feel it is needed by the really young babes. However, what do I do now? I don't really want to keep giving DS formula. But, I have about 3 days of frozen milk left, and then some powdered "back up" formula to use up that will last another week or so. Then what?

He is eating with me for three meals, but nursing down to nap in the morning and afternoon, as well as at bedtime. The curse of the supplementor is that I know how much he's drinking....about 3-6 oz each of those times.

Can anyone with a low supply issue give me advice? I don't want to force him to wean, but should I? He still nurses throughout the night a few times, and what I provide is usually sufficient. He also comfort nurses periodically thorugh the day. I'm happy (thrilled!) to keep that up. How much/quickly to I keep offering food and/or distract him and/or what else?????

Thanks for any suggestion!

[thepeach80]

There's definitely no need to wean, but he will have to have something if you're not going to get any more bm in his bottle/cup instead of the bm you were using. What you use is up to you and can depend on how much he eats etc. We used rice milk for my oldest, but would've done things differently had we known we had other options (all my kids are/were milk/soy intolerant). He was a big kid though. Evan stayed on formula till 2. I'm not sure if we'll try and keep Ilana on formula after 1 or not, in addition to her hopefully still nursing. Good luck!

[RootSnort]

As someone who donated through Milkshare when I had extra to share, I think you should keep going with the donated milk!

The Moms on Milkshare know how old your baby is, and I think that picking a recipient often has more to do with location than age of baby. If I had extra milk, I'd donate to you, because I wish all babies could have breastmilk for as long as they want. It's still beneficial in many ways!

[mary g]

Thanks for the suggestions. RootSnort, I guess I can post on Milkshare again...and just see what sort of response I get. That's a good point about the location.

And thepeach80, thanks for the words of support. My biggest question/concern is if I should still use the supplementor with goats milk in it, or is that just too much? I suppose I should give him sips of it now, to see if he even tolerates it.

[Live~Laugh~Love]

I ahev heard nothing but good things about milkshare, I am gonna try to share, my milk supply goes up and down... so its hard.

Dont feel "guilty" do what is best for your baby, your being a great mama, and that is all you can do...

[boheime]

If you can get breastmilk, do it. I'm a low supply mom and use formula in Lact-Aids to supplement at the breast until age two..and then we slowly switch to whole milk in the Lact-Aids. It isn't as good as if I had a full supply, but it is better than nothing. They still get what milk I can give and still have all the other benefits of being on the breast. I am still nursing my 33 1/2 month old with the LA and am expecting baby 3 any day now.