[Family4Christ]

Hi ladies,

How can I get more hind milk into my EBF 3 month old DD? I still have oversupply, so I produce quite a bit of fore milk. She hasn't gained in over a month now and gained 5lbs in her first 5 weeks. I've run the gammut on everything else it could be and now that she's nursing better and still not gaining, I need to figure out how to get her the higher calorie hind milk. Since she nurses for such a short time, I *know* that's really all she gets, with a little hind milk thrown in.

Block nursing does not work, as she nurses for a very short period of time every couple hours (3 minutes of constant, fast swallowing typically) and by the time the next feeding comes, I'm full of fore milk again.

I've considered nursing on just one breast all day and then pumping the other, but I'm not sure if that is the answer? Have any of you done that?

I know I can pump some before she latches on, but how much? That's why I haven't tried this, as I don't want to pump too much. How can I go about figuring this out? I pump a few times a week when she's not eating enough, but just once in the day, so I have no idea how much is in there at any given time. When I pump, it's obvious to me when it's fore milk, as it's so watery, but it's hard to tell when the creamy comes in.

Oh, she has a great latch and awesome transfer.

Any help and ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[binspired]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Family4Christ Block nursing does not work, as she nurses for a very short period of time every couple hours (3 minutes of constant, fast swallowing typically) and by the time the next feeding comes, I'm full of fore milk again.

I can't say I have any good advice, but I just wanted to say how envyous I am of your short sessions! My dd currently takes about 45 minutes! Good luck!

 

[Family4Christ]

and I am jealous of your long!

Used to be that DD would be attached 18 or so hours a day and that's when she gained wonderfully. I miss those days.

 

[RGsMom]

Just because she's not gaining weight right now, isn't necessarily bad. My DD grew at a very slow rate and some were concerned, but our ped reassured us that she was healthy as could be. As long as they are peeing/pooping regularly, I think she's probably okay.

 

[JessicaS]

is it necessary?

I mean, who is concerned about her weight? How much does she weigh? Has she been working on any milestones that could lead to a plateau in gain like crawling?

I had a weight gain issue with my son. He has a heart condition and his cardiologist wanted him get supplemented breastmilk in case he would need surgery, they wanted him to be stronger.

He wouldn't take the supplement, so I got his weight up by pumping foremilk and then nursing.

I basically just try and keep my breastss empty so he gets more hindmilk. It is pretty difficult though I am not sure i would recommend it unless she showed more signs of an issue rather than just her slowing down in her gain after such a huge jump.

 

[SStrezo]

I had the same exact problem with my son, who is now 7.5 months and gaining well. My problem started with me pumping too much. He would fall asleep at night and I would still be full. So, instead of pumping just until the pressure was relieved, I pumped until I was empty.....figuring I would have a great stash in the freezer. Well, a couple of days of that and my supply went through the roof. I had textbook oversupply/forceful let down problems. And that included him only wanting to nurse for a few minutes. The foremilk is bloating and he was also very gassy and had acid reflux. The only way I was able to fix it was to feed on one side per feeding. Yes, the other side was a little uncomfortable at first, but my body eventually adjusted. Once I was able to get my supply to calm down, my let down was not so force full and nursing all of a sudden became a very calming and pleasant experience. I found a lot of great info on foremilk/hindmilk imbalance on the LLC website. To this day, he still only nurses on one side per feeding except at night, before bed when he nurses from both sides. I also have to be very careful on pumping......If i empty too much, I seem to produce too much milk for the next day or two. Head over to LLC.com and you will find some great info about this very thing. Hope it helps!

 

[milkybean]

Quote:

Originally Posted by abimommy is it necessary? I mean, who is concerned about her weight? How much does she weigh? Has she been working on any milestones that could lead to a plateau in gain like crawling?

I totally agree with those questions!

Quote:

I've considered nursing on just one breast all day and then pumping the other, but I'm not sure if that is the answer? Have any of you done that?

Well I certainly wouldn't pump from the other side! I would just nurse many times from the same side, then when you can't take it anymore, switch for the next many milky-meals. And so on. They'll get used to it really soon.

I had tons of milk, but I never deemed it oversupply, and I wouldn't even have known for a second how to determine what sort of milk was in my breasts. I just nursed how it felt right. Sometimes he gained, sometimes he didn't. He got TALL fast, so he seemed to be a beanpole at times. He also had big physical milestones on the earlier side, and seemed to be fairly smart. So i figured that since sheer poundage is just ONE part of "growth", since the rest of his growth seemed to be going well, I wouldn't ever worry about his weight. Seems to have worked for me. I hope my words help.

 

[Tarielena]

If your issue is oversupply I wouldn't reccommend feeding on one side and pumping the other. That's what I did in the first few weeks with my son and my supply got HUGE. I was pumping 36 extra ounces a day, it's like I was always hooked up to that pump. It also made it difficult to be out with him for any extended period of time because he would either eat from one side and leave the other engorged and uncomfortable, or just get some foremilk from each of them.