how do you know when you dont have enough?

[mummy sam]

For the last couple of days my bub has been (well lets put it in a nice way) in a horrible mood, and it is generally after his afternoon nap so about 5, he screams, wont go to anybody else and wont feed. Well sucks for a little then comes of and screams. So i put in on the other and the same happens. I thought that it was because he didnt want any, or whatever. He is teething and had immunisation on monday so i also was also putting it down to this.

However today he did it all again, screamed for 20mins finally went to sleep, slept for 45mins(not enough!) :( then did the no feed, i'm going to scream thing again for another 20mins. By this point i was fed up and made up a 100ml formula bottle, he went through that so fast!! So anyway is this because i'm starting to dry up or not producing enough for the evenings??
How do you know when this is happening?? :confused:

[aardvark]

How many good wet nappies are you getting per day? If you have a good supply, you should be getting upwards of 7 per day.

It's also quite normal for the breasts to be fuller earlier in the day, and less so in the evenings/night time.

If you start complementary feeding with formula, you will contribute to the reduction of your supply, as baby won't be stimulating the breast to produce more.

You need to make sure you are drinking enough fluids, and getting enough rest. A book I have called "Breastfeeding and the working woman" suggests that when you need to boost your supply, of possible, you and baby should try to spend a day in bed, just feeding and resting.

You can also try Fenugreek tablets (a herb) from the health food shop. They are reputed to boost your supply.

[tyler's mum]

tyler has been alot like this the past few days,,, she scream's,,, not sleeping much,,, however she is drinking her bottles and eating her food,,, when she is sleeping she crys in her sleep,,, i dont know what to do,,, i put it down to her teething,,, i give her the gel,,, teething rings and also when really bad dymodon,,,

i used to put her straight in her cot after her bottles,,, now she crys for a least an hours something b4 she will go to sleep,,, it gets so hard and im so tried,,, i feel for you,,, hopefully it wont last much longer for both of us:rolleyes:

[xkwzit]

HI MummySam

Number of wet nappies and steady weight gains will tell you whether baby is getting enough.

It is quite common for babies to have a witching hour (usually between 4 - 7 pm - so a few hours really) where they are restless and irritable and may want to feed frequently.

It may also be a growth spurt.

If you really think you have a problem, I (personally) would see an LC before supplementing with formula as you may wind up weaning before you wanted to. Supplementing may decrease your supply, or your baby might prefer the bottle. It doesn't always happen, but it is a real risk.

Cheers

[mummy sam]

ok well he normally has between 6 and 8 good wet nappies a day though today i think it was about 4!?

if his not feeding from me what am i meant to do?? just let him continue doing the one or two sucks coming off and screaming and repeating this process???

He is putting on the weight, no doubt about that.
could it be teething??? and i just have to put up with it?

i dont know! too many questions and i dont think i could handle him doing as he
has for the last 4 nights again tomoz night.

oh and he does latch on ect correctly

[dannii]

hi, i was just reading about it on the australian breastfeeding website so thought id paste some info for u.
it has tons more info!

If your healthy baby shows these signs, then your milk supply is fine.

At least six to eight very wet cloth nappies in 24 hours (provided no other fluids or solids are being given), or at least five heavily wet disposables.
A very young baby will usually have two or more soft bowel movements a day for the first several weeks. An older baby is likely to have fewer than this. In fact some breastfed babies can go seven to ten days between bowel movements. As long as the baby is well, her tummy is soft, and there are plenty of wet nappies, there is nothing to worry about. The normal range can be from more than six a day to one every ten days. Small quantities of strong, dark urine or formed bowel motions do suggest the baby needs more breastmilk.
Good skin colour and muscle tone.
Your baby is alert and reasonably contented and is not constantly wanting to feed. Your baby may still wake for night feeds - some babies sleep through the night at an early age, while many others wake during the night for quite some time.
Steady weight gain and growth in length and head circumference.


hope it helps

[mummy sam]

thanks dannii so maybe i'll put it down to teething or just a phase and pray he gets out of it.... fingers crossed

[lovemybub]

I agree with aardvark - by giving your baby formula you will cheat your breasts out of the stimulation needed to keep producing the correct amount of milk for your baby.

You could maybe try looking up the Australian Breastfeeding Association. They have some very helpful stuff on there, or even try contacting a lactation consultant. I have found both to be extremely helpful.

Also, if you are stressed about feeding or not having enough milk etc, then it may be difficult for your milk to let down and this could be what your bub is trying to tell you, rather than you not having enough milk. Try consciously relaxing while you feed, maybe try lying down to feed, or listening to some relaxing music.

Babies also go through growth spurts where they can become fussy and want to feed more often - this is their way of increasing your milk supply to match their demand. I've been told a lot of mothers worry that their milk supply is drying up when this happens.

I can sympathise with you, because my 3 month old DD is going through a fussy period too - not sleeping much, refusing some feeds etc. It is difficult and I'm still trying to work out exactly what she's trying to tell me! :confused:

If you are worried about your milk drying up, try expressing a little milk in between feed times to help stimulate your supply.

Uh oh, speaking of fussing babies... gotta go...

[1stbaby]

I've just started breastfeeding (my baby is only a month). The midwife assumed i didn't have enough as he wasn't gaining much weight and he wasn't sleeping.
Anyway I ended up giving him a bottle of formula for 2 weeks 1-3 times at night. I didnt want to as I knew it could mess up the breastfeeding supply etc but I was advised to do so. Luckily we've kicked the formula habit. I think the main thing that helped was that i feed him each time before I gave any formula (and he really needed that extra top up) and I didn't give much. the big thing that helped boost my supply was expressing 2 or 3 times a day and taking blessed thistle - a herbal capsule you can get from the chemist.
As someone else said, a big thing to do is see a LC and if you are not happy with that one, see another. Don't do anything unless it rings true to you. The 1st LC I saw wanted me to give him a top up of formula after each feed and i just didn't think that was a good thing to do, so I went and saw someone else.

[austi05]

My five week old has been fussing on the breast for the last 2 weeks. She pulls herself off screaming throughout the feeds. Her weight gains aren't huge and I've been advised my milk supply might be low :(

My community nurse suggested using Fenugreek capsules and if that doesn't work, then taking Motilium (which is actually a drug for nausea which also seems to somehow increase prolactin as well?). I'm a bit scared about taking them. Do they work, does anyone know

[lovemybub]

The 1st LC I saw wanted me to give him a top up of formula after each feed ...

What kind of lactation consultant was that :confused:

I know it can be hard when bubs is fussing and you're tired or hot or frustrated or whatever, but have faith in yourself. If there is one thing I have learned in my three months of being a mother it is that even the best doctors, consultants, mothers (yes, even your own mother) will not have the instincts you have when it comes to your baby. Whoever said it above was right - trust your instincts on what's right for you and your bub.

I have found a little bit of expessing really helps me manage my feeding, and if you freeze it after you've expressed it, then you have some extra supply on hand for those occasions when bub might need a top up. But remember that bub's feeding determines your supply, so if she's making a habit of wanting a top up, do a bit more expressing to help the supply.

Isaw a quote somewhere that said something like "like anything worth doing, breastfeeding takes patience and practice. And it is worth doing."

All the best.

[Me]

If it is tiring you out perhaps try expressing for your evening feed - get someone else to cook dinner so that you only need to worry about giving the bottle then expressing either for the next feed or the next night which ever you choose. and after he's finished with the bottle and is still hungry then perhaps top up with formula.
I thought my supply was low last week so was expressing every feed so i could see how much DD was having then topping up with formula when needed and within a few days my supply was well up there and i don't need the top ups now.
The best thing about it was that i could see my supply increasing each day as i started off only being about express 30mls in 30mins then after a few days got 140mls in 30mins - now that's a big difference and DD is MUCH happier and i can understand why!

[mummy sam]

Well as several have said keep at it which i have been, though tonight at 8.45 i was trying to feed DS and he was doing to pull off and doing the cry thing so i tried to hand express (which i have never had a problem doing) and nothing.
I do also have a manual pump so tomoz i'll express after his feeds and hope that it starts to build up again.

Oh the good thing about today was i didnt have the screaming that i have had from DS the last 4 evenings. It was almost like heaven :)

JRmumma if only i could have someone cook dinner for me, but being a single mum, i have to do it myself. Bummer :(

[1stbaby]

[QUOTE=lovemybub]What kind of lactation consultant was that :confused:

Yeah I wondered about that. So I went to see my doctor and another lactation consultant. the other lactation consultant said he obviously needed the top ups but it was good I was doing it very sparingly as it was not good to pump formula into a breast fed baby.