I really really wanted to exclusively breastfeed. To give a history of our breastfeeding, my dd was born with SGA (small for gestational age) and at birth she was 4 lbs and 6 oz. she was in the hospital for a week, where i didnt get any proper help with lactation and she was mostly on a formula diet :-(. I started pumping from her 1st day of life and was getting around 8 ml of milk per pumping session and I pumped around 5-6 times per day.
After coming home at 1 week, I had to continue pumping since the ped said that it was imp for her to gain wt and that we had to continue supplementing. I was unhappy, but at that time supplementing seemed to be the right thing to do.
I breastfed dd, pumped 8 times (in 24 hrs) and supplemented my baby with breast milk and then formula. I think I was so stressed, that I was not making a lot of milk and I did not have any of the signs that normally comes with the milk coming in.
When dd was a month old, I stopped pumping and supplementing and was exclusively breastfeeding for 9 days. Unfortunately, dd was not getting enough milk- she did not poop for 18 days and was crying all the time. So after the 9 days I got back to pumping, desperate to make more milk. It was back to breastfeed,pump and supplement 8 times a day.
This went on for another 2 months DD was not able to remove more than 1/2 oz of milk by nursing, I was not able to pump more than 7-8 oz per day and no galactagogue helped. Meanwhile her diet of formula went on increasing. I reached my breaking point with respect to pumping and decided not to pump anymore.
So after dd was 3 months, what we started doing is first nurse and then give bottle of formula. I would do this 6-7 times a day and comfort nurse her to sleep sometimes. But since I really wanted to her to get more breastmilk than formula, I limited her formula intake to 20 oz although the ped said she should have 24-26 oz. This felt better since pumping had taken its toll on me, but supplementing was still making me depressed.
This continued for another 2 months and when dd was 5 months old, with encouragement from two close friends who did/do CLW, I started nursing her at every opportunity and slowly cutting back on formula. At 6 months dd's weight was 12 lbs 10 oz.
Now dd at 9 months is getting around 4-5 oz of formula, around 1-2 oz solids (started at 6 months) 2-3 times a day and is nursing. Her weight is 13 lbs, so in 3 months she gained only a few oz. The ped is very unhappy and said that if I dont give dd 36 oz of formula, she may face lot of developmental difficulties, brain may not grow properly and be obese and diabetic when she grows up. ( Is this really true??)
I am worried and not sure what I should do. DD at 9 months is crawling slowly, starting to sit on her own after crawling at times ( she used to sit up very stably at 7 months), climbs over dh and me when we are sitting on the floor, kneels down, babbles, recognizes faces, smiles a lot , enjoys music.
Are there other moms who went through a similar experience and can you please share your views and help me decide what is the best for my baby?
Thanks,
Chetana
After coming home at 1 week, I had to continue pumping since the ped said that it was imp for her to gain wt and that we had to continue supplementing. I was unhappy, but at that time supplementing seemed to be the right thing to do.
I breastfed dd, pumped 8 times (in 24 hrs) and supplemented my baby with breast milk and then formula. I think I was so stressed, that I was not making a lot of milk and I did not have any of the signs that normally comes with the milk coming in.
When dd was a month old, I stopped pumping and supplementing and was exclusively breastfeeding for 9 days. Unfortunately, dd was not getting enough milk- she did not poop for 18 days and was crying all the time. So after the 9 days I got back to pumping, desperate to make more milk. It was back to breastfeed,pump and supplement 8 times a day.
This went on for another 2 months DD was not able to remove more than 1/2 oz of milk by nursing, I was not able to pump more than 7-8 oz per day and no galactagogue helped. Meanwhile her diet of formula went on increasing. I reached my breaking point with respect to pumping and decided not to pump anymore.
So after dd was 3 months, what we started doing is first nurse and then give bottle of formula. I would do this 6-7 times a day and comfort nurse her to sleep sometimes. But since I really wanted to her to get more breastmilk than formula, I limited her formula intake to 20 oz although the ped said she should have 24-26 oz. This felt better since pumping had taken its toll on me, but supplementing was still making me depressed.
This continued for another 2 months and when dd was 5 months old, with encouragement from two close friends who did/do CLW, I started nursing her at every opportunity and slowly cutting back on formula. At 6 months dd's weight was 12 lbs 10 oz.
Now dd at 9 months is getting around 4-5 oz of formula, around 1-2 oz solids (started at 6 months) 2-3 times a day and is nursing. Her weight is 13 lbs, so in 3 months she gained only a few oz. The ped is very unhappy and said that if I dont give dd 36 oz of formula, she may face lot of developmental difficulties, brain may not grow properly and be obese and diabetic when she grows up. ( Is this really true??)
I am worried and not sure what I should do. DD at 9 months is crawling slowly, starting to sit on her own after crawling at times ( she used to sit up very stably at 7 months), climbs over dh and me when we are sitting on the floor, kneels down, babbles, recognizes faces, smiles a lot , enjoys music.
Are there other moms who went through a similar experience and can you please share your views and help me decide what is the best for my baby?
Thanks,
Chetana