supply question

[choffmann]

Hey! I have a  6 month old touchy dd with treated reflux.....  we always had issues with eating well especially in the afternoon (which I know it quite common for most)... but i do beleive it is affecting her weight (some of it due to reflux but she does have low weight gain..nothing the drs are concerned about though).. and her sleep.    i bascially have an EAEAS day.. because she cant seem to do a full feed at once with her reflux.    She settles well in the morning as of course she eats great...  But the afternoon naps are hit or miss depending on two things - if she is OT she has a hard time and if the feed doesn't seem to go well.  I also think our nights are affected too depending on the feed. I know how to handle the OTness but I do beleive there are times its hunger that makes it hard for her to settle... i have been observing her alot and taking mental notes  

So my question is this....

1. can i increase supply without pumping or taking supplements?  - i pumped for first three months of her life .. i cannot look at pump anymore.. Phychologically I just cant do it...   fenugreek gives me headaches.  I am drinking a ton of water and eating oatmeal and high protein stuff as much as possible.    i just started switch nursing and compression.. maybe that will help?

2.  Should i supplement the afternoon or not so good feeds with some formula? I know that  may hurt my supply more so not sure if i should do that or not. But i thought maybe before night sleep feeding to help with more calories...   she goes to bed btwn 6-7pm depending on her wake up and I dont do a feed before 1030 (unless she is really hard to resettle and seems hungry)....  and sometimes she can even go to 330 but that depends on the feeding  going well before bed....   I dont mind evening feeds really but i just am concerned about her slow weight gain (1-2 ounces per week) and her being hungry....

Thanks!
Christy

[Jocasta]

If you want to continue nursing, I really do think you need to forget about supplementing - this really will not help with your supply issues at all.  Have you heard of an SNS (supplemental nursing system) - this'd be especially handy if your lo would feed for longer but gets frustrated when the milk dries up.  If you are interested, google it and if you decide to go down that route, make sure you let dd feed from you until she's emptied your breast before introducing the SNS.

It's best not to use bottles - especially at her age as bottle preference can be very harmful for a good nursing relationship - personal experience here!  It doesn't affect all babies but it's very difficult to overcome for those it does affect.

Breast compressions will definitely help as will switch nursing - you know that you can go back and forth as often as your lo will allow right?

Have you tried Mothers Milk Tea or Blessed Thistle (also known as holy thistle)?  Could be worth a shot...

Hugs honey - you're doing great!

[choffmann]

thank you so much for your reply.

I havent tried the tea or just blessed thistle (didnt realize that could work without the fenugreek)...

I figured supplementing would not help things but i also dont want her to be hungry.  We had a really good feeding tonight and she settled well and hasnt gotten up every hour like last night....  maybe my supply is increasing with the switch nursing i have been doing.  Yeah i have heard of the SNS  and if i did give her more milk, it would probably be the better choice than bottles. I do not want/need nipple confusiion as we had that before when i pumped/bottle and breast fed in the beginning.... I do not want to go through that again.

thanks for your help!

Christy