new here with supplementing question... please help!

[@llli*lintrax]

Hi everyone. I just found this forum and am hoping I can get some good suggestions! I am a 3rd time mom to a 3 week old. I ebf my daughter (now 7) despite a very rough start (had to have my gallbladder out 3 days after we were discharged, pumped and dumped for a week but ended up nursing her for 1 year). My 2nd child I lasted only 10 months... became very depressed and chose medication over nursing.

Anyway, this little guy wasn't getting enough calories and lost 10% of his birth weight on his 2nd day in hospital, then started getting dehydrated (maybe 4 wet diapers per day) then became very jaundiced. The midwife suggested we nurse on both sides and then offer him formula or pumped milk after. So... I took this suggestion. Well, we all know the effort to drink from the bottle is less than the breast and I think this is the root of our problem. Matthias, latches on beautifully, has a strong suck and will nurse vigorously for 10-15 minutes on each side. Then he snacks... likes to stay latched on and will intermittently nurse for up to an hour... sometimes longer. Then when offered the supplement feeding drinks ravenously like he hasn't had anything in hours.

I am so incredibly frustrated! I spend literally hours with him only to end up feeling like I haven't even fed him!! His weight is back to normal, jaundice is resolved. Should I just eliminate the supplemental feeding and ride it out, nursing for hours on end, or does anyone have any other suggestions??

It is soooo difficult with the 7 and 5 year old needing mom to do things around the house, get them to school and kindergarden etc. and at the same time have an infant who wants to nurse at times, literally all day!! I'm feeling like giving up!!!

Any help would be most appreciated!
Best,
Linda

[@llli*mommal]

How much supplement are you giving your LO after nursing? This link talks about how to wean off of supplements: http://kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/basi...rease-formula/

It is really hard to balance a newborn and older kids, especially when the newborn is feeding for hours at a time. Here are some things that may help:
- Switch nursing. When baby transitions from active nursing with lots of sucking and swallowing to gentle comfort-sucking, take him off the breast, burp him, change his diaper, and switch him to the other breast. Hopefully that will stimulate him to feed more actively again. Keep switching him back and forth until he will no longer eat.
- Sling. Sometimes babies nurse not so much because they are hungry, but because they like being near mom. A sling can allow you to hold and cuddle baby and also move around the house. Some moms even learn to nurse in the sling.

[@llli*lllmeg]

Matthias, latches on beautifully, has a strong suck and will nurse vigorously for 10-15 minutes on each side. Then he snacks... likes to stay latched on and will intermittently nurse for up to an hour... sometimes longer. Then when offered the supplement feeding drinks ravenously like he hasn't had anything in hours.

This nursing behavior sounds like it could be entirely normal. Baby may suck down the bottle because he still wants to suckle and he cannot suckle on the bottle without sucking it all down. Then he has so much in tummy he shuts down in order to digest. So it does not necc mean baby is still hungry when bottles get sucked down.

I am so incredibly frustrated! I spend literally hours with him only to end up feeling like I haven't even fed him!! His weight is back to normal, jaundice is resolved. Should I just eliminate the supplemental feeding and ride it out, nursing for hours on end, or does anyone have any other suggestions??

If you think it is safe to so without the supplements it may be a good idea to try. Watch output and weight gain of course. Baby may begin nursing more effectively more quickly if he no longer gets 'confused' by bottle feeding. Other idea-breast compressions? Often allows baby to get more at the breast in a shorter amount of time so sometimes helps with really long feedings.

Breast compressions: http://nbci.ca/index.php?option=com_...tion&Itemid=17

I have a 5 and 8 year old and have been horribly debilitated by severe morning sickness & pregnancy complications for several months. They have been late to school almost every day, I have enlisted friends to pick them up after school & put them in the schools after care program more than I would like, and I have told the kids that right now we just can’t do all the things we used to do after school. I feel guilty, of course, but the reality is my health and the health of my unborn baby has to take precedence. The health risks of not nursing, especially this early, are so great, I think the comparison holds up. Your kids see you caring for what they know is the most helpless and fragile person in the household. They may have anger and sadness you cannot do as much as you once did for them, but they are also learning an important lesson in love & parenting. And remember, this intense time is temporary!

[@llli*lintrax]

Hi again Brooke

I nurse him on the first side until he stops or falls asleep, so I'm thinking he's getting the hindmilk (hoping anyway) Also, I'm pumping after nursing or if I have to give myself a break, I'll pump while hubby gives him a bottle of pumped milk. But, I'd like to cut that out!

Thanks again!

[@llli*lintrax]

Thanks for the good suggestions and support! Am going to try the switch nursing and the sling. He is the most cuddly baby of all 3 and frankly, I find it hard to put him down at times knowing he's the last!

[@llli*lintrax]

Thanks so very much for the support. I remember at this point having a heck of a time with my first son, your talking about your 5 and 8 y.o. helped too. It's nice to know I'm not alone with these guilt feelings. But, like you said, the benefits of nursing compared to a few weeks of sacrifice on mine and the kids parts are unquestionable. The kids are taking it as well as I could hope. Some feelings of jealousy and my 5 y.o. is having some listening issues at Kindergarden, which he normally doesn't have and is very quick to cry these days (not normal for him). I think he would be having these issues whether or not I was spending so much time nursing though.

I'm going to check out the breast compressions and give that a try too!

Thanks and best wishes for a healthy pregnancy! Hope your morning sickness resolves!!

[@llli*hippehpanda]

I supplement with my son and have since before we left the hospital. He also had jaundice problems and so I started giving him about 2oz after breastfeeding and he went from nursing for 30 minutes per breast to about ten and then gulped up the formula. Once we got home I switched the formula to a vented bottle with a slow flow nipple and waited for my supply to really come in. It's been three months and now we just have formula time of day and breast milk time, from about noon until I get off work in the evening Noam has formula and then all night and morning he gets only breastmilk.
He did have a little bit of a problem at first acting as though he may have preferred the bottle over the boob but it turned out he was just still a little too young and inexperienced to get a strong suck and my breasts were a little over full for him. After my supply regulated and he got happy in our routine he vastly prefers the breast to bottle.
Of course if you're worried you can serve him his formula cold and see if he still gulps it down like he's starved.