Share Your Tips for Breastfeeding, Please! :)

IT's impossible to tell if you're producing "enough" to satisfy baby unless it's obvious he's losing a lot of weight. You'll never come close to producing the same amount of milk by pumping. Babies are much more efficient at expressing the milk. The best thing to do is to breastfeed exclusively without pumping or formula. It will take baby time to get used to breastfeeding and baby will not starve to death during the "getting used to breastfeeding" period of time. I exclusively breastfed all 5 of my children and had some issue with all of them. Between difficulty latching, sore nipples, sleepy babies and biting (AAHHHH) and more, but I just hung in there through the difficult times and stayed persistent and consistent and they all learned to become professional breastfeeders. Sometimes after you breastfeed, your baby may act like they're starving to death. Really, your body will adjust to your baby's needs as he grows. Just nurse a little longer or sooner than usual and your body will make MORE milk for the next feeding. It doesn't take long for your body to adjust. If you pump or supplement, the demand will go down and your body will adjust by not supplying more milk because you told your body not to make as much. Keep nursing. And a lot of times, your baby isn't even hungry. My babies all acted hungry when they were tired. I never supplemented or pumped (except on one occasion where I needed surgery.) Your baby is only little for a short time so breastfeed your little heart out during this time when they're little. Enjoy it! Even if there is a struggle, push through it and you'll succeed. Hang in there and congratulations!!!!!

The absolute best advice I can give you is to be confident in your ability to feed and nourish your baby! Do not let your baby's nanny or anyone else cause you to have self doubt. If anyone tries to tell you that non-sense please tell them nicely to shut up! lol

I breastfed mine for 16 and 20 months respectively. My first was a 32 week preemie that I pumped for 12 weeks until I could teach him to nurse. Thankfully my second was full term (37 weeks) and took to nursing like a champ!

Here's my best advice:

-ditch the formula. It is interfering with your baby's/body's ability to regulate your supply to make just what baby needs. Breastfeeding is supply and demand. Right now your baby may nurse like crazy at one feed and then not so much at another. This is all part of baby regulating your supply. That takes about 6 weeks.

-Putting baby to breast is the best stimulation for making breastmilk there is.

-It is perfectly normal for infants to nurse every 1.5-3 hours. Perfectly normal! It does not mean you don't have enough milk! Breastmilk is a highly digestible perfect food and goes thru baby's system very easily. That is why a breastfed baby eats more often than a formula baby.

-You time nursings from the time you start nursing. So if baby starts eating at 1 you want to nurse again no later than 4.

-Don't go more than 4 hours between feeds at night and don't let baby go more than 3 hours between feeds during the day. Little ones can be sleepy I know but their little blood sugar can drop if they sleep too long. At around 6 weeks you can let baby sleep longer.

-Nurse on demand 24/7

-Ditch the bottle for right now. Bottle feeding is far easier for baby as you are seeing. Breastfeeding takes more work and babies can be lazy lol!

-What you pump and what baby gets are very different things. Baby is far, far better at stimulating and getting milk from the breast than the pump ever will be.

-When babies come up on growth spurts they will cluster feed. It will feel like they are on the breast constantly for a few days then go back to normal. Perfectly normal! This stimulates your body to up the production just as it's supposed to work.

-Mine also cluster feed in the days when they were getting ready to sleep longer at night. They would nurse literally from 5-8 (son) and 6-9 (daughter) and then pass out for 5-6 hours at around 6-7 weeks (my daughter-son was different as he was a preemie) but they tank up on lots of the fatty hindmilk and this helps them feel content and full to sleep.

Best to you and baby!

ok I have exclusively breastfeed both my girls. first daughter for 12 months and second daughter 14 months. So I feel i do know a thing or two about it :) K first thing is stop giving any formula. To get your baby to nurse well and to give you good milk supply you need to be exclusively breastfeeding. Your milk will come on supply and demand. So you won't make as much if for some feedings he gets a bottle. Also pumping doesn't stimulate your breast like actual nursing does so try to keep that to a minimum. Also for the first month or so you need to wake your baby to eat if he is sleeping past a 4 hour mark. Again this will keep your milk supply strong and keep him eating regularly. And breastfed babies nurse a lot...they don't really do schedules this early on so it doesn't matter if he just nursed a hour before. If he seems hungry feed him again. Always nurse on demand. As long as you do this and he has plenty of wet and poopy diapers then he is getting enough milk and there is no need for formula. So basically the rule here is..No formula and nurse, nurse, nurse.

The most common thing you hear new breastfeeding mom's say is that they are not producing enough milk. 8) I felt the same way too. I think we all do at first.

You can not determine how much you are producing by comparing it to how much pump.

If you are going to EBF then you need to EBF. Your baby gets way more milk out of your breasts than the pump will. And yes, they will want the breast more frequently. This doesn't mean that they are getting enough milk though. It is just the was things go with breastfed babies.

The more you nurse your baby the more milk you will produce. I was a terrible pumper producing only about 1.5oz-3oz every time. It was kind of discouraging. But my son was gaining weight and peeing and pooping regularly. It was a pain to build up a good frozen supply.

I don't want to go on repeating all of the wonderful advice you have received from the other Mama's out there. It is all terrific advice. Dori W., you are spot on.

Here in NYC we used to a have a place called Real Birth. They allowed you to come in to evaluate how much breastmilk your baby was getting. They would weigh the baby when you arrived and then you would nurse for however long you would normally nurse. They would then weigh the baby again. I had some friends who did this and it seemed to satisfy them. You can always speak to your pediatrician about this as well.

The only other advice I can offer again is if you WANT to EBF then you need to do it and take cues from your baby.

EBF sure is a commitment. I have no judgments toward those that choose formula. Every parent needs to decide what's best for their family and for themselves.

Try not to let others pressure you either way. It's your baby, your body, your decision.

Peace.

You are making enough milk, don't let a machine make you doubt your body's capability in providing nutrition to your newborn.

Stop bottles and formula ASAP. Latch him on at least every 2 hours... and feed on demand (when baby shows signs of being hungry). Pump AFTER he nurses on the same breast and pump the other side while he is nursing. Even if you pump only 1 ounce... you are definitely still making enough for baby. Baby suckles 100% out of the breast, the machine is lucky to get close to 25%.

Don't listen to your baby's Nanny. Go to a IBCLC or Le Leche League meeting to ask other experienced Moms for help.

Keep hydrated and have a healthy diet. Start pumping like crazy and stockpiling your breastmilk in the freezer. Most women can only pump until baby is about 3-4 months, then eventho their supply is stabilized, the machine cannot get anything out.

The amount of milk you're able to pump is not necesarily reflective of how much you're producing. Some women do not respond well to the pump.

It's great that your son is taking a bottle, but for now I wouldn't give him any more formula. Just keep nursing him and see how he does. He might be getting enough, but you'll never know if you don't try.

One thing that might help is to nurse everytime he requests and then pump immediately following. That extra stimulation might help you produce more. Also, many women swear eating oatmeal helps them produce more. Can't hurt!

It's all about supply and demand. So any time he gets formula your body is not getting the message that the baby needs milk. He should be nursing every 2-3 hours (on average, some babies will nurse more but at that age they shouldn't nurse less than that). Usually milk supply is just a matter of nursing more (there are some moms who won't make enough, but it is more likely to be a problem of not nursing enough and giving supplements). So hunker down and nurse.

Pumping is NOT a good way to judge supply because it is a learned skill and the baby is much more efficient than the pump. So, just bc you are only getting 1.5 oz it doesn't mean that is what the baby is getting when he's at the breast. And that isn't a bad amount, according to kellymom.com most full time nursing moms can pump .5 - 2 oz total per session. So what you are getting is normal! Pumping if he is going longer than 3 hours nursing is a good idea, but don't let the amount stress you out. You may want to add more pumping sessions until you get your supply up.

Increased skin-to-skin contact can be great for milk supply. It is calming to the baby so that will help him be more interested too. Another technique for increasing supply is to just hunker down for a couple days and only nurse, don't do anything else.

If you are still supplementing with formula, one thing to do so he will be more accepting of the breast is to end at the breast, so that he has that wonderful full feeling at the breast, rather than at the bottle. So you can nurse him, then if he isn't satisfied at the end of the feeding, give some formula, then return him to the breast to nurse some more.

Call a La Leche League leader. llli.org has a dropdown menu so you can find your local area group. Or you can call their Helpline 877-4-LA-LECHE. You may not be producing enough right now (because of the formula your body hasn't gotten the message that it needs to produce more), but if it hasn't been a lot, your supply shouldn't be too out of whack. Unless your baby nanny is a breastfeeding expert (I mean training, not just her own personal experience nursing) she really doesn't know. IF she is an expert, what is she basing her opinion that you aren't making enough milk on? Generally to judge that, if baby was exclusively at the breast, you'd look at number of diapers, how the baby was doing/looking, and whether he was gaining. What you are pumping seems fine, so that shouldn't be a concern.

And there are plenty of things you can do to get your supply up, most importantly NURSE NURSE NURSE!! :) There are other things that help, certain herbs, eating oatmeal (really!!), pumping more (power pumping), but if the baby isn't nursing enough your body doesn't know to produce enough, that is the bottom line.

Keep that baby with you. If you have a nanny taking care of the baby that can mess things up bc your body needs to know there is a baby there. Let the nanny take care of the older child and keep that newborn with you.

Another thing is to make sure he continues to have a good latch at the breast. Sometimes babies get confused when they are getting bottles and pacifiers in the early days. If his latch isn't good he won't stimulate the breast properly to produce enough milk.

I've only had one baby but she was nursed exclusively and never got a bottle. Not sure what you mean about second babies. It is true that the breasts are different bc they have previously lactated, but drying quicker, not sure? Your breasts will produce the milk the baby asks for (usually). You can do it. Giving bottles early on can complicate matters, but the supply will usually meet the demand and if he is having nipple confusion or preference for the bottle's easier access, those things can be overcome. Good luck!!

I actually never bought formula or even used formula. The best tip to make more is to have him lached on all the time, like hours at a time, formula feed (about 1/2 of what he wants so he is still wanting to suck) if need be and then instead of a paci, give him your breast.

Also, i can not pump. I exclusively breastfed 3 children to weaning and still pumping never worked...

you can also try your local La Leche League, they usually have people who will help. I wish I had more advise, I wasnt able to breastfeed either.

Stop bottle feeding, nurse on demand so as often as he wants it, your milk will come in. Remember that he may eat less but more often. If you really feel you're not producing much to where he's not satisfied try a glass of beer or La Leche League has tons of advice, google their site.

ok so its a supply and demand process. if hes eating formula then you arent telling your body to make that amount ..also he needs to be on you to stimulate milk production , pumping doesnt work as effectively....first of all you need to be seeing a lactation consultant or going to a breastfeeding group at the minimum. you cant do this on your own easily, and the support from other moms will be invaluable right now. if for some reason you arent going to heed that advice start cutting out a bottle feeding a day and getting baby to latch on to you as much as possible. should be on you at least every 2 hours with a longer period at night if she lets you. wake baby and get baby on you if you have to during the day . pump pump pump and as much skin to skin on your chest as you can do. in a few days you should start seeing some results and hopefully within a week or som be off the formula completely. Id hold off on giving bottles of breastmilk if you can, but obviously supplement with breastmilk over formula if you need to give baby some extra after a feeding. If you do have to do formula supplement a little bit ( ounce at most) after a nursing session. if you are pumping 1.5 ounces and baby should be drinking about 2 and baby can get more from your breast than the pump you are making enough milk, but what you need to do is to get off of the formula since they can go 4 hours with formula but not as long with breastmilk and then you are basically missing a breastfeeding feeding...get what i am saying? either way you need to ttalk to a lactation consultant. call the hospital or la leche league

I would say that you definitely need to stop trying to pump at this age. Wake your little one up to feed every three hours. You will never find a pump that empties your breasts like your baby will and therefore your body will automatically and naturally produce more. Plus when you pump, especially this early on you are not getting the fatty hind milk that the baby needs and this is what fills them up.
Good luck

Only thing I can offer that isn't already said is 4 hours is too long to go without nursing a newborn (too long for BOTH of you).

It IS supply and deman. If the baby needs more, the baby will nurse more, and thereby your supply will increase.

I agree, ditch the formula and follow the babies lead. If he needs more, he'll nurse more, and you'll make more!!

Good luck, good for you, and Congratulations to your family!!

:)

I nursed both my children and never had a problem with milk flow.
I nursed every 3 hours like clockwork for the first two weeks, and then stuck more or less to that three hour schedule during the morning to night. If the baby did not wake, then I did not pump. If I was really engorged, I did pump off the top to make it more comfortable.

To make more milk, after you nurse, then try to pump more milk. You need to empty the glands to get the positive feedback reaction.

Every time I thought the baby was hungry, I had her latch on.
You need to be relaxed when you nurse. Take a bath, listen to soothing music.

Also, every time I nursed, I then immediately drank a large glass of water.

Good luck.

You definitely don't need to supplement with formula or pump when he is sleeping. Your body produces milk in response to his nursing - so just nurse him. If he sleeps, sleep, too! Sleep is actually the biggest producer of milk - if you are over exhausted, you don't produce enough milk. Since you have a nanny, have her take him so you can sleep - get him on a every 4 hour nursing schedule - that way he will be hungry and drain the breast. Get him to nurse on both sides each nursing. Change his diaper, take off his clothes, etc, so he has to wake up and nurse on both sides. I know it sounds crazy, but over a few weeks they get used to eat/play/sleep - okay at 2 weeks he is just sleeping almost all the time.

But don't worry about having enough milk - if he has wet diapers and is latching on a nursing, you are golden!!!

Congrats!

Whether it's your first, second or 10th child really doesn't matter. Your body may produce milk exactly the same every pregnancy or differently. The number of children you've had doesn't affect it.

I breastfed exclusively from day 1. While lots of people worry they don't have enough milk, it's actually very rare. I put the baby to the breast every 2-3 hours; for the first couple of months, she usually only nursed on 1 side for about 5 mins (very efficient nurser!), so I worried that maybe she wasn't nursing enough, but as long as the baby has 5-6 wet diapers a day and is gaining weight, s/he is getting enough!

DO NOT use how much you pump as an indicator of supply! The baby is far better at getting milk than the pump is -- you might make 1 oz for the pump and 5 oz for the baby. Pumping is also not as effective at increasing supply as nursing is, so if you want to make more milk, putting hte baby to the breast every hour or so will trigger your body to produce more milk (milk production is demand-supply -- the more the baby demands, the more your body supplies). Supplementing with formula creates a vicious cycle ... it makes the baby nurse less, so you produce less and have to supplement more. If you want to breastfeed, I would highly recommend not supplementing.

Before worrying about your supply, I'd try just taking a "nursing vacation." Rest, eat/drink and nurse the baby every hour for a couple of days. You will probably produce plenty. If you find the baby isn't having 5-6 wet diapers or isn't gaining weight (these are the only things that would indicate he's not getting enough), there are things to do ... More Milk Plus, Mother's Milk tea, fenugreek, dark beer and steel cut oatmeal are all helpful. However, I really suspect that won't be necessary.

Good luck!

You need to wake him every 2 hours to get your milk to really come in. You aren't producing enough milk because you aren't breastfeeding enough.

You can let him sleep at night, but every 2 hours (determined from the start of the last feed, not from the end of it), you should nurse.

You have received a ton of fantastic advice, but I want to add that working one on one with an IBLCE lactation consultant can really help troubleshoot your individual situation. They also have nifty, super sensitive scales that can weigh the baby before and after a feeding and tell how much they got, which can be very reassuring.

Best of luck!

So far I've only breastfed once, but it was twins and I was determined to make it work and it did. The first thing that you should do if you want to breastfeed exclusively is do just that. I would cut out the formula. Each time your baby drinks formula he is drinking more than your body is making. Your body doesn't know you need the milk since he's not getting it from you. If he sleeps for more than four hours I wouldn't worry about pumping yet. You might end up pumping and then he'll be ready to feed shortly after and you're empty. I was able to exclusively breastfeed from the beginning, and we never needed to use formula (we also made it to 15 months). The key is to have him nurse with you every time. You need to do this to build your supply.

Congrats and good luck!

First, you can't use the amount of milk you've pumped to tell you how much you're actually producing. Babies are much better at getting it out. Is your baby loosing weight? Please keep in mind that breast feed babies are often thinner than formula fed babies at the same age so be sure to find a weight chart for breast fed babies. If your doc is concerned about the babies weight, it is possible that you're not making enough and you may have to supplement. But if there are no concerns about weight, the best way to ensure that you do is to stop feeding the formula and nurse as often and as much as he wants. Your body will figure out how much is needed and produce exactly the right amount. Right now, by giving your baby formula, he's not nursing, so your body doesn't think it needs as much so of course it's not producing enough. Do you see your dilemma here? Ideally, you had enough from the moment your son was born and the last two weeks should have been telling your body how much to make but you confused it by using formula.

I wasn't able to nurse my first baby either and I had a lot to figure out with my second but by my third it was so easy it wasn't funny and I nursed my fourth child just over four years (she weaned herself). She never had formula and I think she had a bottle maybe twice when she was an infant. So you can do this. Find a breastfeeding support group in your area or a lactation consultant. Some other people that know a lot about breastfeeding are doulas & midwives. Fine one! They're so much more hands on and can really help you in this area. In my town, doulas are big and three of my closest friends are doulas. I love hearing the birth stories of babies they've helped into the world. One of the biggest books they recommend are the baby book & the breastfeeding book by Martha Sears. So look for The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two and The Breastfeeding Book: Everything You Need to Know About Nursing Your Child from Birth Through Weaning (I would get both, look for used copies online). I had both and they helped me so much.

Also, diet is very important. Just drinking a lot of water/soup won't ensure that you make enough. You have to make sure you're getting plenty for your body as well because your body will take those nutrients regardless of whether enough is stored in your body which isn't good for you or the baby. Make sure you're still taking prenatal vitamins. They're just as important now as they were during pregnancy to ensure both of you stay healthy and get everything needed. When I was nursing full time, I ate well. I didn't eat huge servings, or enough for two people. But I did take slightly more at my meals than I normally would have so I knew there was enough to supply my body as well as what was needed to produce the milk.

Big hugs. It will be fine.

I haven't read the responses, so sorry if I repeat. With both of mine, they ate whenever they were hungry and for as long as they wanted. Sometimes it was on a schedule, sometimes not. Sometimes they would wake only once or twice, but sometimes it was every hour! Babies go through growth spurts at certain weeks/months. It helps to know when that is because the baby will nurse like crazy during those times. You will never produce more milk ahead of time - the babies need and subsequent increased nursing will prompt your body to produce more when it's time. You will be extra tired during those times. I never gave mine a bottle or formula, but the downside was that when the were older they wouldn't take one. My second child was not as great of a nurser as my first was right away. It was so rewarding to nurse my babies, but it was very difficult, too. If you let them lead the way, your body will meet their needs. It was always difficult for me to leave them in the care of anyone else, though. As I said, they wouldn't take a bottle and couldn't be far or long from the food supply! Good luck to you.

I have been blessed to breastfeed all 5 of my babies for at least 14 months each, so I have had a lot ups and downs breastfeeding. One lactation specialist recommended an herb called fenugreek that helps your body produce more milk without any negative side affects for baby. Another lactation specialist said that if you pump one breast while feeding the baby on the other side at the same time, your body thinks you are feeding twins and will begin to produce more milk. The more often you feed the baby, the more milk you will produce. For a few days, until your milk supply increases, don't allow baby to go more than 2 hours between feedings. Good luck--it's not always easy, but it is totally worth it. Hang in there!!!