Is it to late for me to try to up my supply??

[@llli*mrsvitz]

This is an extention of another thread I started earlier last week: Updated!

My DS is BF mostly and had formula to supplement. He was 7lbs 8oz when he was born and left the hospital at 6lbs 13oz. He is now 19 weeks old and weighs 12lbs. His Ped is concerned and said that he isn't getting enough to eat. So I was told that he needs to be getting 30-32 oz of BM/Formula in a 24 hr period and he needs to be eating solids 3 times a day. I am trying hard not to worry, but the Ped said that he looks great in everything else. He is hitting all milestones, is very happy and content, just too small for his age.
I was told that after nursing that also need to give him a bottle of BM or Formula to make sure he is getting enough. He has atleast 6 wet diapers a day and poops at least once every two days. So I thought that since I can't "count" his nursing sessions in with his daily oz, that I was going to exclusively pump for a while until this is under control. That was a horrible idea I found out. I have pumped 4 times today and have only got 5 oz. That is only one bottle! I am taking Fenugreek 3, 3times a day also. I need to up my supply again. Is it too late?? Any advice would be helpful.

[@llli*djs.mom]

If you are serious about getting your supply up you need to pump at least 10-12 times a day. Your original plan was to pump 8 times a day and today you only pumped Half that many times. It's all supply and demand. You need to up the demand. 4times a day isn't enough. Since you are already supplementing (which I did not understand from your initial post. Everyone that answered you thought you werer talking about going from exclusivley breastfeeeding to exclusively pumping.) you need to increase your supply via the pump. So you need to pump 10-12 times in a 24hour period. The more you supplement the more your supply tanks. So if you are using formula and then only pump 4times in a day, what message does that send your bodY? That you don't need to make milk. You want to send it a different message. SO you have to pump as often as your baby would feed. 10-12 times MINIMUM.

[@llli*djs.mom]

And a breast fed baby doesn't ever need a 5oz a bottle. That is milk wasted. a breastfed baby needs 1-1.5 oz of milk for every hour away from their mother. S0 if you are gone for 8 hours the outside most your baby needs would be 12oz. If you are gone for 10 hours the outside most would be 15oz. So leave bottles that are 2.5 -3oz. 4oz would be a huge serving.

[@llli*lehall]

As far as I understand, unless your body has completely stopped making milk, it is never too late to up supply. The biology of breastfeeding is that lactating breasts are always making milk. Emptier breasts produce faster and as the breasts fill up, production slows. So the basics of upping supply are to remove more milk more often. let your baby nurse as much as he wants, and maybe even offering more often as much as he is willing. You can also pump one side while he nurses on the other. If you absolutely must count ounces (which sounds weird to me, but I am not a medical professional) you can rent a scale and weigh before and after feeding. all the best

[@llli*mrsvitz]

I was supplementing because I didn't think that my supply was enough. I used to be able to pump 12 oz a day at work, but since I have been exclusively pumping it has dropped 12 oz down to 5 oz (that is just when I am at work - Sorry if I forgot to add that was for work only).

[@llli*lllmeg]

The short answer is that mothers typically can increase milk production, at least somewhat, no matter what baby's age. A great resource for methods of increasing milk production is the book making more milk.

But I am confused by the suggestion that a not even five month old baby needs to be eating 3 meals a day- meals of what? Almost nothing has more calories than breastmilk...

around 30 ounces of breastmilk a day is what a typically exclusively breastfed baby over a month old or so needs. Exclusively breastfed means, they are not getting anything else. If you are giving your baby 3 meals of baby food a day, that would tend to decrease what baby takes in from the breast, which would be detrimental, weight gain wise...
Have you stopped nursing entirely? Pumps don't work as well as a baby, usually, baby gets the milk out much better. So it is very hard to increase supply or even keep it appropriate just by pumping. And also, What you can pump is not a reliable indicator of what a baby gets when they nurse.

Did you ever try increasing the number of daily nursing sessions? Or see an IBCLC to have breastfeeding assessed to see why baby was not taking in enough milk-assuming that is even the problem? Some babies are just slow gainers, or poor weight gain can be due to other factors.

And what is the complete weight history, is baby healthy otherwise?

how many times a day did your baby nurse before you started supplementing?

[@llli*djs.mom]

OK. But it doesn't change what your number needs to be. Which is you need to pump 10-12 times a day at least to get it back up.

[@llli*djs.mom]

Also by my calculations your baby is gaining a lb a month. How does that equal 0%?

[@llli*mrsvitz]

According to the WHO, my DS is in the 0% for his weight. I don't know how they figure it out but that is what the chart says. I don't think my DS is too skinny. He is just a small child. I have decided that I will nurse when I am with him and pump when I am not. I coslept with him last night and let him nurse when he wanted. I don't know how much or if he was getting anything, but I am going to continue to do that. I am going to up my pumping at work to 5 and try for 6. I will up my Fenugreek too. I really want this to work!! I really want to make it 12 months.

[@llli*mrsvitz]

The short answer is that mothers typically can increase milk production, at least somewhat, no matter what baby's age. A great resource for methods of increasing milk production is the book making more milk.

But I am confused by the suggestion that a not even five month old baby needs to be eating 3 meals a day- meals of what? Almost nothing has more calories than breastmilk...

around 30 ounces of breastmilk a day is what a typically exclusively breastfed baby over a month old or so needs. Exclusively breastfed means, they are not getting anything else. If you are giving your baby 3 meals of baby food a day, that would tend to decrease what baby takes in from the breast, which would be detrimental, weight gain wise...
Have you stopped nursing entirely? Pumps don't work as well as a baby, usually, baby gets the milk out much better. So it is very hard to increase supply or even keep it appropriate just by pumping. And also, What you can pump is not a reliable indicator of what a baby gets when they nurse.

Did you ever try increasing the number of daily nursing sessions? Or see an IBCLC to have breastfeeding assessed to see why baby was not taking in enough milk-assuming that is even the problem? Some babies are just slow gainers, or poor weight gain can be due to other factors.

And what is the complete weight history, is baby healthy otherwise?

how many times a day did your baby nurse before you started supplementing?

The doctor is having me feed DS 3 meals a day of fruits, veggies, and/or cereal. He also wants him drinking 30-32oz of BM or Formula a day also. I was nursing until last Wednesday when I was told that nursing was only a comfort thing right now and that he needed to be supplemented with BM or Formula after each session to make sure that he was getting enough (because of not knowing how much BM he was getting directly from nursing) I was supplementing about 1-2 bottles a day of formula because I could only pump 9-12 oz at work and he wanted more than that while I was gone. He surpassed his birth weight by his 2 week check up, but due to insurance issues hasn't been seen until now (his 4 month check up), but was up to date on all his shots. He gained 4 1/2 lbs in 4 months, and is on the 0% for his weight. That is why the doctor is concerned about. He says that other than his weight he is healthy and has reached all of his milestones so far. He just said that his brain is growing very quickly and he wanted to make sure that he was getting enough calories for that. My DS has more than 6 wet diapers a day and has at least one dirty diaper every two days (most of the time it is everyday, sometime multiple times a day).

I am not sure how many times my DS nursed before supplementing. I fed him when he acted hungry, we co sleep, so he got to eat through out the night when he wanted too.