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:ita with LLLMeg. Please don't let the plug scare you! Sometimes it just takes a while for a plug to go away completely. The fact that it gets smaller after nursing is a very good sign- it means the area is not totally plugged.

Welcome to the forum! A lot of moms start out with massive oversupply, but by the time their babies are a year old most of them are down to having just enough. Our bodies are smart, and they don't want to waste energy producing unneeded milk, so they "read" the difference between how much they are making and how much the baby is taking and use that difference to adjust supply. If you decide you want to increase your supply, the best thing to do is to nurse more and pump more, and to do that consistently. Adding in one pump session here and there is great, don't get me wrong! But if you really want to signal your body that more milk is needed, you want to pump/nurse more every day. If you decide that increasing supply is too much trouble at this point, I still don't think you need to start actively refusing to nurse. Your LO might have some tough times as she gets used to the fact that your supply isn't as abundant as it used to be, but eventually she's going to accept that it is what it is, and accept that while she can get unlimited snuggles out of you, more milk just isn't going to happen. If you want to hasten the process a bit, you could offer a sippy cup of milk after nursing, and see if that helps with the crying.

Hi nivlovely. What has worked well for me with really bad plugs is vibration (using a electric toothbrush or personal massager to "break up" the plug) and also, laying baby on the floor and leaning over baby on all fours and nursing baby that way. I also like the 'bag of marbles' massage technique, where mom gently lifts and moves around the entire breast, rather than rubbing and rubbing on the same spot. Also, cold compresses seem to help lots of moms. Sometimes, if a plug is reoccurring, it helps for mom to take lecithin and/or make diet changes. If nursing frequently is not taking care of the engorgement and the plug, what about doing some pumping or hand expression after nursing or between nursing sessions? Is the plug very painful? Have you had issues with mastitis? I am wondering what about this is scaring you? plugs are a fairly common event and while of course it is very important to work on getting the plug out, they are not usually a huge issue on their own. Is this a plug that is making nursing or other activities very painful? Or is it the fact it's been a few days? It can take several days to resolve a plug sometimes. Here is quick tips on plugs - http://www.llli.org/docs/0000000000000001WAB/WAB_Tear_sheet_Toolkit/17_dealingwithplugsblebs.pdf

http://www.thebadassbreastfeeder.com/every-again-until-the-day-we-die/ The previous posters have great advice. This is a blog that always has me in tears and makes me feel much less alone.

http://kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/toddler-foods/ http://www.amotherinisrael.com/babies-toddlers-eat/ In my experience toddler growth really decreases after the first year and it tends to plateau. They pack on pounds with a few days of increased nursing and eating, then shoot up in height. Would your pediatrician recommend whole milk and dairy products rather than breastfeeding for a slow gaining toddler if he wasn't allergic? I think the Kelly mom article above should reassure you that human milk is preferable. I am currently tandem nursing my three year old and three month old. From the other tandem nursing mothers I've spoken with, many nursing toddlers are very disinterested in solids after the birth of a sibling. Yet many also put on several lbs in just a few weeks. So I'd try adding more breastmilk into his diet rather than wean. Before my son's fifteen month check up, my husband was predicting he'd gained 4 lbs. When he expressed disbelief at the meager amount gained, the nurse laughed it off and said that a lot of kids gain little or nothing at that age because they move so much. He was a enthusiastic eater. People always commented on the variety and amount of food he ate.

Ok, so no, IMO, the only way a "too slow" weight gain could be possibly a result of lack of sleep is if a baby was being almost tortured to stay awake! I also truly believe that "making sure baby gets enough sleep" is a misleading concern, as most babies get enough sleep with little effort from others. They just sleep very differently than adults or older kids. On the other hand, a baby who is not getting quite enough to eat may not sleep well (while some might sleep too well.) Also, if a baby is taking a very long sleep stretch at night, that is going change nap patterns. I would suggest not worry about this. Your child's slowing gain was caught relatively quickly, and it sounds to me as if you have always been very loving toward your baby. You must forgive yourself. For one thing, you were following a doctors advice. For another, mothers make mistakes all the time. All of us (humans) do. This is how we learn. And to teach our children it is ok to make mistakes, we must be forgiving toward ourselves about our own mistakes. And yes it is very hard! Growth spurts- yes, most people agree that growth spurts occur in the newborn, which, for the breastfeeding mom, actually means "baby is nursing lots more than usual right now for some reason I cannot figure out so let's assume it is a growth spurt." But I am also of the opinion that too much can be made of growth spurts. Because very frequent nursing is just the norm, and how frequent a baby might nurse or "need" to nurse...

You've said it exactly as it is, "sabotaged". :( I just feel so horrible looking back to the times when DD was showing hunger cues when she was tired and I didn't let her nurse because she just fed about an hour prior. :( I can't forgive myself for that. I just hope it didn't affect her psychological development. I have a lot of nursing to make up for.

Thank you for your advice. DD's weight at birth was 3.4kg. At 1 month 5kg. 2 months 5.2kg. What I am wondering was, could the fact that she wasn't gaining much be due to the timed nursing or from her lack of naps (more awake=burning more calories). During appointments my DH is always with me. That's why we were both confused and disappointed at the pedi. When we mentioned growth spurts she asked where we heard that from and that there's no such thing for infants, only during puberty/adolescence (???). She kind of lost me there. Everything I've ever read about infants and feeding is that there will be growth spurts. I'll be looking for a new pedi. She clearly doesn't care for the welfare of my DD. A good pedi treats every patient as their own child.

of course it is possible to take 'too much' of any medicinal herb. Also, some moms should avoid fenugreek altogether, ones with diabetes for example. But why do you think you are taking too much? Are you following recommended dose? there are many brands of commercial fenugreek supplement so dosage varies pill to pill. there are also other herbs that act as galactagogues. If your concern is low production, and you cannot get baby to nurse more, then the most important thing is to pump frequently, with a very good pump. For eping, a hospital grade pump is the recommended equipment. What are you using for pumping, is pumping comfortable, and how many times a day do you pump? Also, when baby gets bottles, how big are they and how many a day, and is cue feeding and paced bottle feeding the method>? hand expression with pumping may help with output. http://kellymom.com/bf/can-i-breastfeed/herbs/fenugreek/

Congrats, krystine, and happy birthday to your little guys!

Thank you so much for the update! Congrats on first year of motherhood, that is such a big milestone!

Hi! So gas & fussiness is pretty normal in a 3 week old but there may be some things you can do. How is weight gain and stooling? How often (times per day total) does baby nurse? Any sign of fast letdown or high milk production? Any details appreciated.

I agree with pp but this actually is above average output for a mom who is nursing as well (in other words, pumping between nursing sessions rather than as a replacement for nursing sessions. ) Pump output is a unreliable indicator of overall of milk production-because many moms are not able to pump much, and yet have normal production. BUT, a high output like this is a good indicator you have enough milk. SO IF baby is having issues with gain, I agree, the issue is probably that, due to your doctors advice to limit feedings, baby was not nursing often enough. This is probably easily fixed by nursing more often! Of course, not nursing often enough and very long sleep stretches with no nursing will reduce milk production over time. Looking at your doctors sugggestions, they appear contradictory and confusing. I would suggest maybe bringing someone else along with you to appts who can help you with remembering what questions you want to ask and in interpreting the answers. Also, make sure all future weight checks are on the same scale and double check the numbers. The other thing to remember is weight gain is something most accurately measured over months, not weeks. sounds pretty ok to me. But percentiles are very misleading and it depends what charts are used. I cannot do metric in my head. Looking back over baby's whole life, I wonder, what is babies entire gain from lowest weight to now? Also, around this age, (after about 3 months) weight gain rate may...

My son is 2y9mo, cosleeping and breastfeeding ~6-8x/day lately. We just traveled to visit my parents, who have a house almost 4 times larger than our loft and a large yard and pool. DS has been running, swimming, shovelling, and doing general yard work for probably 8 hours a day. He napped twice, where he usually naps once, and fell asleep at 10 within minutes. He also can take up to an hour to settle at night, so this was remarkable. So, my advice is to add an hour or two of very active physical play and see where that gets you. Fresh air and endorphins are nature's sleep cocktail. Don't forget to keep lots of water on hand and have a few extra high protein snacks available, because you'll need them! :)

:ita I am likewise irritated. You were doing great and your pediatrician decided to sabotage you. When she told you that "Not all cries mean hunger", she should have followed it up by saying "but mothers know their babies best, and when a mom feels like a baby will be soothed by nursing, there is no reason to do anything else." I would follow the PP's excellent advice. Nurse more often, offering even if baby seems content to go longer between feedings. Nurse at night. Take away the sleep-extending tools like the swaddle and the paci, if you are using them. This is a good article on milk production, and why there's no one right interval between feedings: https://breastfeedingusa.org/content/article/magic-number-and-long-term-milk-production

Thank you for that article! It made feel better knowing I'm not alone and that others are experiencing it as well. I've tried swaddling but DD doesn't seem to like it. She likes to scoot around the crib when she sleeps. She also won't take pacifiers. I think she's gotten a liking to her thumb. I hope the frequent comfort nursing sessions will make her less interested in her thumb. :) She really does sleep 8-10 hrs a stretch. I am worried the DF will disrupt her sleep cycles and she'll get used to the 10pm feed. I guess I'll have to cross the bridge when we get there. :)

Have you tried the get-the-baby-back-to-the-breast tips here: http://kellymom.com/bf/concerns/child/back-to-breast/?

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on the baby! It's awesome that you have decided to pursue relactation. It takes a lot of strength to try again! Luckily, it seems like you have a lot of factors in your favor: you have 2 full months before you have to return to work, your baby will latch, you still have milk, and you seem to have a lot of determination! I would simply add in some fenugreek until you are at the recommended level. Just please be aware that while supplements are nice and do provide a supply boost for some moms, they will not do you 1/2 as much good as more pumping. The key to supply is frequent and complete draining of the breast- the more you can do that, the more milk you will see.

Awesome! Congratulations on making it through a whole year of hard work!!!

I don't think so. Maybe talk to your doctor, a lactation consultant, and your child's pediatrician first? I'm loathe to have someone embark on a course of treatment that they may not need, so I'd want to proceed with lots of advice on board!

Bsus65 thank you so much! That's what I was insinuating that he can't drink past let down without compressions and if my breasts aren't more on the full side he just chomps my nipple, ouch. Unfortunately I've been given bad advice and was bottle feeding expressed milk the whole first week of his life and then a little after.. I'm sure that didn't help. I've had a lot of struggles but still count my blessings that I am able to continue breastfeeding because some women can't at all. I've tried to quit twice and ended up in hysterics. I just can't quit.. My little guy looks at my with his big blue eyes and loves his milk! I will continue with the pain for now and hopefully CST helps flatten his palate more and move his tongue out and I'm sure with time his mouth will just widen. The chiropractor did a thermal scan on him and he does have tension in his cervical spine so we're working on that little by little.