So last night Ryan decided to shave the goatee. It itched too much. My favorite was the faces Emily would make when Ryan kissed her. I don't think she was a fan of the facial hair. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
Ok, totally different subject now. So I'm going to write about my nursing woos, so if you don't want to know, stop reading now! So I've had a low milk supply for awhile now. (since just before Memorial Day) I've been nursing Emily and then supplementing with formula afterwards. I was excited because it was getting better. She was taking less formula after each feeding. Then last night I nursed her for as much as she could stand then I gave her a bottle like normal. She drank 6 ounces. That's a whole feeding. I was REALLY upset the rest of the night. I don't know if she even got any milk when I nursed her. I don't know what to do. I thought for sure my milk was coming back, then this. I don't know. So then this morning I nursed her and listened very carefully. She was swallowing, so she should have been getting milk. I don't know if I should keep trying or if I'm just torturing my poor child. She nurses for about a half hour to get nothing and then inhales her bottle. I had planned to keep trying tell her 2 mo. check up, then decide if it was worth it or not. Now I'm not sure. Any advice? What do you think. And DON'T comment if your gonna say I'm a bad mother if I don't nurse. I don't need that kind of advice right now. Thanks in advance for any help you can give.
4 comments:
K first it's your life and your child and those people out there who have their opinions about nursing, whatever they may be....need to realize theyare just opionions and keep them to their selves! You're not a bad mother unless you're not feeing your child AT ALL.
Second, i'm thinking one of two things...first maybe she's going through a growth spurt and needs that formula (not likely though), as well as the milk. Second, which I think is the case, your milk supply is lessening due to stres of moving, new place, new job, 2 kids...life in and of itself...or maybe it's just going because it just is...whatever the reason there's a good way to see how much she eats. Instead of nursing her, pump for however long you would feed her at the time you would feed her. You'll be able to see how much she's getting then. If it's not enough/where it should be at in your mind, keep nursing her, but pump for 30 mins AFTER you've fed her...like if Ryans' home have him give her the bottle while you nurse. That way, even if nothing is coming out when you're pumping after she's already nursed, your body is telling itself that it needs to make more milk because there's more of a demand (the "sucking" is now lasting an hour instead of 30 mins). You could also try and pump like every hour for ten minutes and save the milk up (probably would make one bottle or so) that way you're tricking your body into needing to produce more.....does this make sense? You can also try "mother's milk" tea. This works for a lot of women. just do a search online for mother's milk. Also, have you tried calling the hospital's Lactation specialist? When you left the hospital they should've given you a number to call them if you had any questions...they are usually helpful.
Third, once you've done everything you can, don't stress, if the baby needs to go to formula then so be it. if you're loosing your milk then what else can you do? Don't beat yourself up about not being able to produce milk...just be happy that Emily is healthy, happy and readily taking a bottle...cause some kids don't that easily when nursed.
hope this helped, and good luck!
I don't have profound advice. I didn't nurse Gage - it didn't seem to work out. I am nursing Noah - it just seemed to work out. I don't think that Gage suffered or that Noah is any better off, so see how things keep going and don't stress!
Katie Allred used something that made her milk really rich, I think it helped her alot, I can't remember what it is though, it wasn't mothers milk, I can't remember but ask her when she gets back. Oh, so I decided to become a blogger, thank yourself, you convinced me.
Christi,
We've never actually met, I'm a friend of Mindy's from high school. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I know how frustrating this can be! With my first I had a REALLY hard time with supply and finally had to quit. I just wanted to tell you that if you do quit you shouldn't feel bad. You just need to make the best decision for you and your baby, and when you do that you'll both feel better.
My advice would be to try to pump a feeding and see what exactly you get. Then you'll know exactly what you're dealing with. Also I tried increasing my supply by pumping in between feedings b/c the more demand the more we're supposed to produce. There is a vitamin you can take that is supposed to help too, I think it is called fenugeek, or fenugreek - something like that. I tried it but it didn't help me but I know others that it has helped.
Most important is what works for you. We are better mommies when we're not stressed out so if that means giving up on nursing than that is what it means - your child won't suffer.
Good luck,
Jen
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