How to top up?

[misher]

Hello,
I remember reading a post from a women who was advised by Tracy to top up her baby in between feedings for a bit to help encourage her baby to eat more during each feed. I think her consult with Tracy was a Mother's Day gift. I can't seem to find it again and was hoping someone could help. 

If not, here is my challenge...

I have a six month old son who is BF.  We are starting a little rice cereal this week.  I am sure that he isn't taking in enough during each feed as occasionally my DH will give him a bottle and he will only drink 4-5oz.   We gave him two bottles today with ebm to see how much he is actually drinking per feed.  At 7:00am he drank 7oz which was amazing.  Then at 11;00am, he would only take 3oz.  We tried again an hour later and he took another two ounces. I wasn't sure if this would throw off his EASY.  He bf again at 3:00 and then at 6:30 before bed.    I am concerned about this b/c he is still waking a few times during the night wanting to eat. 

Any help would be much appreciated.

[Aly Mac]

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=649.0

it's under the nap FAQ's (as it's also to do with extending 45min naps).  Hope this is the one you want.  I used this for upping my bf so she ate more in the day.  It does work (though a little tiring).  Really it's all about getting more calories into them in the day so they wont be hungry at night.  so whatever you are giving at night try to give in the day.  You may wish to gradually reduce the amount at the nw instead of cold turkey or you could try cold turkey and you lo still wakes at night out of habit, use the paci instead.  (I think tracy rec this somewhere!)

Anyway good luck - also if you can't seem to get more food into your lo, I also have some tips on how to increase your milk supply without pumping etc.

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

Just remember that 6 months is time for another growth spurt...you might want to watch giving extra by bottle unless you're also pumping because it could affect your overall supply.  Basically, you'd want him to be stimulating your breasts to produce more and by topping up (if not also pumping), you miss out on that...

Also, are you sure that the NW are hunger motivated and not other factors (e.g. developmental milestones, habitual waking..)?

[misher]

Thank you for responding! 

Aly Mac - thank you for hunting down this post for me.  I would be interested in you tips for how to increase my overall supply.  I do want him to eat more during the day.  We have worked hard to get close to a 4 hour EASY as he was a snacker a month ago.  I don't want my topping up to turn him back into a snacker. 


Erin - Is it ok if I am giving a bottle of ebm instead of simply breast feeding him for one or two feeds? We only do this so we can see exactly how much milk he is taking in.  I am basically pumping a few times as it takes more than once to get 7oz and then giving him a bottle.  my DH usually gives him a bottle, then I pump at the same time.  Just want to be sure that if I feed him at 7:00am and then top up at 8:00am that I won't be hurting my milk supply.  Hope my question is clear.

I don't want to cut out all of his night feeds b/c he may be going through a growth spurt as mentioned. I believe he really does need the feed as he takes in a full feed on both breasts at night.   I do give him a DF at 10 and then another feed b/w 2-3.  He sometimes wakes however, before his DF to eat (around 9:30) and at 12:00 and 5:00am. If I could help him eat a little more during the day, that would be great.  Also,I have considered that his nw could be do to poor napping during the day. He belongs to the 45 minute napper club.   We are really working on this but we have a long way to go. Trying to extend A time and consolodate some of the naps.  This has been one step forward, two steps back for so long.
Thanks for your help.

[Aly Mac]

Forgot about those growth spurts...they seem to pop up all the time! Erin knows much more about this than me, so follow her lead!!!

This is just my experience last month - as I said, everyone's different. I have never used formula and don't really express much. If you need to increase your own supply (ie: you lo's not eating enough in the day because you don't have enought milk)
- I also had advice from nursing mothers here which was to pump one hour after the first feed, and then after the next feed, give them what was pumped, then pump an hour later again.  Continue this cycle for 3 days and then you will have increased your milk supply and at the same time they are getting more food.! Obviously a baby's suckling is much more effective than pumping, but I just wasn't getting enough into mine, so I tried this.  It seemed to work for me, but a little hard work...and you had to stay home for the whole time due to the pumping.

- I was then advised (by one of the mums on this site) that fenugreek (a herb used for congestion - go figure!) was also good for increasing supply.  I took it for three days (1000mg 3Xday) and this was by far the most effective for me.  I really felt the increase (!) and Lilly fed really well and has continued to do so..

As I said this was my issue, supply may not be yours, just keep that in mind, but thought I would share incase...

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

Good pumping suggestions from Aleesa! As long as you're pumping to give the bottle within the day then it shouldn't affect your supply. Your supply is likely fine - I really suspect a combination of growth spurt (if this is a new occurrance) and the poor naps/habitual waking thing.  6 months is also a time when they start realizing they like having you there, so there can be more wakings from that....

[misher]

Thank you for your help.  I am going to try your suggestions today.  I planned to stay home this week to work on getting our EASY more solid as well as our naps. 
Your advice is much appreciated!
M