Re: Help! Foremilk or Allergy Issue
Are you nursing 8 minutes per breast because someone told you to, or is that just basically an average time that your baby decided? If someone told you nurse that way, they need a
. Allowing him to take the lead on how long he wants to nurse on each breast is a good way to maintain your milk production at the level he demands. It will also allow him to take in the proper balance of "fore" and "hind" milks. One thing to note about the phrases "foremilk/hindmilk" is that there is no big dividing line where after x time, it switches over. It's a gradual change from thirst-quenching relatively less fatty milk at the beginning to creamier more filling milk as time passes. You've pumped, so if you've noticed the milk at first is more or less homogenous, then when let sit, the fats separate out, this is normal. Cow's milk does it too if you buy non-homogenized milk. And if you look at the top of a gallon of non-hom. cow's milk, it's a thin layer of fat there too. Whole cow's milk is, what, 4% milkfat? I bet your pumped milk is at least that.
For weight checks remember that with babies every tiny bit of weight can make a huge difference between an apparent gain or loss, and scales may not all be calibrated the same so that can easily throw off a reading. For this reason, it is best to weigh the baby naked or in a dry diaper on the same scale every time.
One thing you can assure yourself of is that your diet is not affecting your milk production unless you are severely malnourished, your body will take away from its stores of various nutrients to provide them to your baby first.
How much formula are you supplementing, and what are your nursing goals? If you want to exclusively breastfeed we can help you troubleshoot how to wean from formula supplements. If you are supplementing with formula, unless you are pumping to make up for the missed feeding, your body will interpret that as reduced demand and will over time respond with reduced supply. Perhaps even doubly so, since formula is slower to digest, which can cause baby to skip a meal he would have eaten had he had breastmilk.
Other mamas on here who have exclusively pumped can tell you it is not easy. It requires many many times the work as does breastfeeding and only gets harder as time goes on, where breastfeeding becomes much much easier at some point usually within the first few months. EPing takes incredible dedication, and requires you to put your life and baby on hold while you pump, wash, warm bottles, etc.
Poop: is baby in pain trying to pass a bm? If not, green poops are within the realm of normal, and try not to let it bother you.
mama to a little raccoon, born under the full moon, Nov '11