questions from AniahsMommy422

[Sassafras]

hello..i have a question

my baby is 18 weeks old and she is teething. i have recently slowly started introducing her to solids but she still prefers the breast which is no problem with me. However, recently my milk supply has dwindles and i have fenugrek but i think its causing an adverse reaction. i was wondering if there is anything else i can take to maybe boost it up a little. i really dont wanna stop breastfeeding. i took mothers milk tea in the very beginning suggestion from lactation consultant because my baby wasnt stimulating my milk.

please let me know as i am getting depressed.

[crystal555rose]

What indicates that your supply has dwindled? The best way to boost supply is to nurse, nurse, nurse. A teething baby will want to nurse often for comfort then may recoil from the breast because of gum pain, not because of dwindling supply.

No rush on solids, they are for exploration and fun at this point. Do not let people make you feel that your baby is "behind" because she is not interested in solids. I would just tell them she is not interested and while you give her the opportunity to eat, you will not force her. At this age eating a large volume of solids simply means they are getting less super nutritious breast milk which is not necessarily a good thing.

When my baby was miserable with tooth pain I would give infant tylenol.

[whitnessforhim]

I agree there is no rush to introduce solids. I'd actually stop with the solids and encourage baby to nurse more. This is the most efficient way to increase your supply. Introducing solids at this point could be what is effecting your supply, teething could be another possibility.

[Nipple_nectar]

You realize that the introduction of solids is the first step towards weaning? The AAP recommends that you wait until baby is a minimum of six months old, you said your baby is 18 weeks, that is a little over four months, right?

IMO, your baby is too young for solids and with that said, if you return to full time nursing, your supply should rebound.

I recommend that you do some research on determining your baby's readiness for solids as well. I know alot of professionals that for some reason do not follow the guidelines laid out by the AAP.

http://www.breastfeeding.com/forums/showthread.php?t=344

[AniahsMommy422]

well thanks for the advice everyone.

unfortunately i cannot nurse full time, im a full time mother so i pump and when i get to her i nurse. but what i pump has dwindled so i havent had enough for a full day at daycare

i dotn force the solids but when she grabs at my food and gets angry cause she cant have it i give her a banana or something in her mesh bag.

while on our trip to ny i pretty much nursed the whole time and my milk supply doesnt seem like it is back to normal.

i dont know..jus a little confused

[Shaunsmom]

well thanks for the advice everyone.

unfortunately i cannot nurse full time, im a full time mother so i pump and when i get to her i nurse. but what i pump has dwindled so i havent had enough for a full day at daycare

i dotn force the solids but when she grabs at my food and gets angry cause she cant have it i give her a banana or something in her mesh bag.

while on our trip to ny i pretty much nursed the whole time and my milk supply doesnt seem like it is back to normal.

i dont know..jus a little confused

How old is your baby now? 19 weeks? IMO, that is way too early to introduce any solids at all. Babies can be introduced to solids when they are at least 6 months old.

I work outside the home 40 hours a week and was able to pump for my daughter. A lot of the times, she reverse cycled at night time.

How do you know your milk supply is low? The output on a pump is not the sole indicator of how much milk we have. Some mamas don't respond to a pump very well whereas another mama may be the pumping milk queen. Know what I mean?

[crystal555rose]

I also work full time. I did a lot of nursing when I was not at work. I also did a lot of pumping, but as Shaunsmom described, I was a pumping milk queen ;)

It sounds like you are judging your supply based on what you pump (or don't pump) which is not accurate. The only way to truly know what she is taking in is to weigh baby before nursing and after with a very good scale that measures small increments. An easier way to know if she is getting enough is that you have a healthy, peeing baby with normal growth as assessed by your pediatrician.

Nurse as much as you can (this can be exhausting but it will not last forever, learning the side laying position helps). Pump as much as you can with the goal being to pump when you would miss a feed, even if you get little or nothing. This will help stimulate supply despite the inefficient emptying. Allow baby to nurse lots when you are available to do so. Quit beating yourself up about this, if you are doing everything you can and you still need to supplement with formula while at work than that is fine! It sounds like you are doing great mom!!

[AniahsMommy422]

hey thanks everyone!

yeah i was basing it on my supply via pumping because i was pumping enough at work to get her through the day at daycare and after daycare i would just nurse her when she wanted. i know when i stress my supply dwindles but a lot has been going on in the past week or so so i kidn of want to think thats it.

according to her daycare logs she is fine..poop/pee and all and the dr said she was fine but that was when it was purely breastmilk. i started suplementing. sending as much bm as i could and some formula to make up the rest. they give her the formula last because sumtimes i pick her up early so she doesnt need it.

im just worried. thanks for the advice.

[Nipple_nectar]

There are some things you can do that may increase your pumping output. Eating oatmeal helps alot of moms and using a tincture called nursing mothers blend from www.kerrysherbals.com will also be of great benefit.

What type of pump are you using? You could always switch to a stronger pump. You could also try using angled horns, I increased my output that way: www.pumpinpal.com

How often are your pumping sessions and how long does it last? How long after she nurses are you pumping? If you could provide a tentative schedule of what an average day looks like, we may be able to help.

The most important thing to know is every time your baby eats, your breasts need to be involved. If you are unable to nurse you need to pump to ensure a plentiful supply.