I am affraid that my breast feeding days might be coming to a close. And I know I wrote about how stessed breastfeeding makes me, I still really want to make it work. I couldn't with Jaxon, so this time around I was super happy that I was able to bf Chloe. (And then I go and write about how stressfull is is and I totally jinx myself.) Since I posted that my supply has gone way down and in turn Chloe needs more and more. This is so hard!I feel like I have tried everything. I have been taking Fenugreek, 3 at a time, 3 times a day! Along with More Milk Drops 3 times a day. I have done it all. I met with a Lactaion specialist. I got a hospital grade pump. I have tried different holdings, compressing, massaging. I drink water all day long. I eat certain foods that are said to help with it. and on and on. I don't know what else to do. As of now Chloe is getting about 1/4th of her milk from me. And rest is formula. My lactation specialist made no improvement and reffered me to my doctor for a prescription. So last week I met with him and went over my concerns. He said he would give me reglan, but told me not to get my hopes up. He said "If the Nipple Nazi's can't help you. Then theres not much left you can do.' (speaking about the lactation specialists) But I'm still determined and requested a prescription and filled it right away. And
maybe it's helped a little. And I say maybe, because the difference is so minimal that its hard to tell if there is a difference at all. The side effects of reglan are horrible though. Lucky I didn't get them all. But the headaches! Damn. Those I am not fond of.
So I am trying. Really trying. Anyone have some awesome cure for low milk supply? Anything else I should be doing? Because I am so frustrated and I am trying, really trying to be able to do this for my daughter. Advise would be greatly appreciated!
help...
I really wanna be able to do this for this little angel:
She is so cute!!! I don't have any great advice for you, cause I am new to breastfeeding too. I will ask my sister if she has any tips, she has 5 kids. Do you pump after you feed her or inbetween feedings? Maybe that could help. I will ask around and see if i can find some good advice, I'll let you know what I find out.
ReplyDeleteOH Amanda I'm so sorry!! That's so great that you're stinking in there by the way. What a good mama :) I can't believe none of the things have worked!!! How frustrating! Everything I kept thinking of you had already tried :/ When my milk supply would get a low I was just told to feed more often and drink more water but it sounds like you've already tried that so I'm useless here! hmmm, another thing that would work for me was putting warms stuff on my boobs ( I feel weird writing boobs on here haha) I would get in the shower with super hot water multiple times a day and so much milk would come in that it would start dripping!! CRAZY!! and what a waste right? Anyway, also make sure you're not wearing super tight anything (bra, shirts etc) and only sleep on your back...I know these things sound silly but it worked for me! Good luck! She's BEAUTIFUL by the way!!
ReplyDeleteugh that's awful! I'm so sorry it's not going well. It sounds like you have tried just about everything. Some simple things that helped me were Mother's Milk tea three times a day and oatmeal in the morning. But my greatest assistance was the drug domperidone. It's like reglan but without the horrible side effects. Unfortunately, insurance doesn't cover it and some doctors don't like to prescribe it because it isn't FDA approved (long story but it's all political reasons, every country outside the US recognizes it as the best lactation assistance and safer than reglan). Another tip is to pump in between feedings for 5 minutes, sometimes the quantity of how often you are stimulated is more helpful to producing more than how long you feed/pump. (but I know that might not be possible because of the amount of time it takes when you are raising two little ones. Here's my favorite site for breastfeeding assistance, it's geared toward mothers like me who had to induce lactation but the tips it gives will help any breastfeeding mom http://asklenore.com/breastfeeding/induced_lactation/increasing_milk.shtml
ReplyDeleteBut I think the most important thing for you to remember is that you are doing a fantastic job. Even though Chloe is only getting 1/4 of her milk from you, that small amount is still doing wonders for her and every drop counts. And she might be getting much more than you think, babies at the boob get so much more than a pump ever will. Partial breastfeeding is still successful breastfeeding. You are still giving her so many of the fantastic benefits. Please don't get down on yourself for not giving her more. I think it is wonderful that you are still going at it even when it has become so difficult. I hope you can do more but even if you can't you must remember that you are a success at this, what you have done is so wonderful for Chloe.
I'm so sorry. I was the same with Lola. Luckily I didn't dry up until five months but I tried mothers milk tea and the drops and drank tons of water and tried eating oatmeal. It sounds like you have been doing everything you can. Keep trying but if you dry up, know that it is ok and that you did your best for sweet Chloe. After I tried everything I could the thing that made it easier was that I accepted that I did my best and that my baby would be healthy and happy on formula as well. Don't beat yourself up, sometimes our bodies don't cooperate and there is no shame in that :)
ReplyDeleteditto and ditto... they have said it all. (leahelle... i was also going to recommend pumping right after feeding.) I just wanted you to know I was thinking about you.
ReplyDeleteDari is right... you've done your best for the lil' miss she got the most important stuff the first few days!
Let me know if I can help... sometimes it's the stress or to much physical activity? I'm always here to be a couch potato with you.