I don't think my 7 month old dd is getting enough milk from me. Her weight checks have been bad, started out at 20 percentile at 2 months, 10 percentile at 4 months, and now she is down to around the 3 percentile at 6 months. Her doc suggested I mix formula in with her cereal. I really didn't want to buy a tub of formula to mix 2 ounces a day and have it sitting there as a temptation to my DH and I in the middle of the night, so I didn't. Instead I decided to try getting her to eat more from me. She had been sucking for about 3 minutes and then letting go with a yell and then frantically trying to eat more with a little suck suck and then letting out another scream because there was nothing there. Switch to the other side and she was fine eating for about 3 minutes and then the letting go and yelling would start again. So I worked on getting her to eat longer to try upping my supply, which she is doing. I can hear her swallowing for awhile and then she just keeps going and eventually I'll get a 2nd, 3rd, 4th... letdown. I'm doing this to increase my supply but I don't think its working like I thought it would. While she is getting more, I think, she is just eating constantly. I was hoping by doing this she would get more at the beginning of the feeding, not just eating all day and night. I may have been able to spend my days feeding my first child but I can't do that now that I have a 4 year old that needs me as well. Even if I could its so exhausting. I have read to let her eat until she lets go, well she NEVER lets go. I always have to break her. I usually give her 15-20 minutes on each before I break her. She is usually sleeping at this point. I then go to lay her down for a nap and she wakes right up and thinks that was her nap. So not only am I constantly feeding her I'm never getting a break from her either. Night time is the same thing, every 2 hours or so she wakes up to eat and spends about an hour eating. I feed her in our bed but I'm not sleeping well, I'm uncomfortable feeding in bed and always scared my DH or I will pull the blankets up over our shoulders which would be over her head as well. I also have a dog I can't get out of my bed and in the winter time he seems to snuggle up closer where its warmer which is right where the baby is.
My only thoughts are she isn't getting enough to eat during the day, so she is eating all night as well. DH and I have been discussing starting a bottle of formula during the day, around 10:00 or so, then hopefully the next feeding I'll have more milk stored up for her and she can go longer until the next feeding at which time again I'd have more milk waiting, and so on. Will that even work, waiting longer between feedings = more milk at feedings? I feel like it either will if she empties the breasts or it will make more problems with cutting out a feeding = less milk.
My only thoughts are she isn't getting enough to eat during the day, so she is eating all night as well. DH and I have been discussing starting a bottle of formula during the day, around 10:00 or so, then hopefully the next feeding I'll have more milk stored up for her and she can go longer until the next feeding at which time again I'd have more milk waiting, and so on. Will that even work, waiting longer between feedings = more milk at feedings? I feel like it either will if she empties the breasts or it will make more problems with cutting out a feeding = less milk.