Having to stop

[BecH]

Hi everyone,

My bubba is 5 months old. In the last month she lost just under a kilo (i can't believe I only weigh her monthly, now the guilt is killing me). I have spoken to the child health nurse and a midwife and lactation consultant and it seems I am actually one of those women whose milk supply dwindles and now she is crawling I can't keep up the supply.
It is breaking my heart as I never had any probls breastfeeding and I would have fed for as long as she wanted.
My main questions is has anyone else gone through this, and also how have you given formula to a baby that hates it. (There were so many tears last night because neither of us want to do this).

thanks for any help you can give......
Bec

[my babyemmy]

hi sweetpea, there is no need to feel guilty, you have tried your best & thats all that matters! My MIL is a maternal & child heath nurse & was a mid wife for 20 years & when a simular thing happened to my SIL,my nephew was also losing weight so they had to try many different formulas & even bottles, finally my nephew was happy with karricare gold formula & wide neck bottles but it was so heartbreaking as it looked like nothing was going to work!But everything is brilliant with him now! it can get pretty expensive to try all formulas & bottles so may i suggest try satchels of whatever formulas you can get! I really hope it all works out for you (im sure everything will be fine soon);) All the best! (i would love to know how you get on & what ended up working)

[rynosmum]

Hi Bec,

First of all - hugs to you.

I stopped breastfeeding also at 5 months due to having pnuemonia and some pretty heavy antibiotics that turned my milk so baby wouldn't touch it.

I, like you, was devastated. DS went through bottle refusal and it was hard...he had had a bottle before for EBM and I would sit there with him getting so upset and having to just keep touching his lips to the bottle hpoing he would tire enough to take it. I also would put him on the breast for a few seconds and then gradually push the bottle in and the nipple out until he was drinking from the bottle. We used S26 Gold and within a few days he was guzzling it and loving it.

Sometimes we have no choice in weaning which is truly unfortunate. But at 20 months, my boy is a healthy 15kgs and certainly has no ill effects from the formula...and I did get to stop having to wear breastpads day and night so that was a small positive ...;)

[Goosie22]

Hi,
Is this the first time she has lost weight or not gained? Did the child health nurse discuss ways to increase her weight through Breastfeeding? Is she(baby) happy otherwise? There are a lot of things you can do before reaching for the can of formula. Please keep trying, increase your feeds, express a few times a day, Breast compression(when the baby is feeding compress your breast to increase the ammount of milk ejected into the babies mouth) using a nursing suplimenter(supply line)with the EBM to add extra to each feed, and even drugs like Motilium(Domperidone) If you need help to work out any of the suggestions please contact me:)

[kuz78au]

Just a suggestion, have you tried using a breast pump after and during feeds? If you get a double one (electric pref) and use both at once it tricks your body into thinking you have 2 babies and increases your supply! I tried it for a while when mine dwindled and it worked wonders!

I hope it works out for you! Go with what you think is best.... Good luck! :p

[rylea's mum]

i can only imagine how you feel, put up a fight but, like gossie22 said there are things you can try and the lc and nurse should be behind you 100%, of course but if you feel it is right for bub keep persisting with the formula as look at the wonderfull start you have given you bub already.
hang in there either way, your obviously a great mum!:D

[BecH]

Thanks everyone,

Goosie, yep I have tried expressing and even upped my food intake, and put her to the breast hourly but it just hasn't improved. A kilo is such a significant weight loss I don't feel like I can try too many other things, she is now below the 25% for weight but the 90th for height and she is unhappy and very tired. She is waking hourly at night and now I know why! I understand where you are coming from goosie because they were my first ideas but having tried most it appears I am that 1% of women this happens with.

Thanks for the bottle and formula advice.

Bec

[rynosmum]

Bec,

You do what you feel is right for your baby. You're right, that is a lot of weight to lose whilst she is so little.

When I had to wean, my OB said to me - if you can breastfeed for 6 weeks, that's really good; if you can do it for 3 months, that's great; if you can do it for longer, fantastic ! There's no shame in having to move her to formula - you've given her a fantastic start for a wonderfully healthy life.

If you want to chat, feel free to PM me at anytime. You sound like a great Mum and I completely agree with you - something needs to change quickly for her happiness and health. Go with the formula - I used Avent bottles and teats but there are some other very good teats that more accurately emulate a nipple - most large pharmacies have a full range if you don't already have them.

I'd imagine your little girl will start to feel better very soon with a big full tummy.

I started my DS on some solids at this time as well - is she having any of that yet ? It may also help to fill her up.

[Goosie22]

No worries BecH,
Just wanted to check, because early weaning can leave you with a terrible grief sometimes when you wean when you don't want to. Finding the people who give you good advice is hard sometimes.
Good luck
sending supper milk vibes your way.

[shaz77]

Hey Bec H,

I have had a similar issue. My DS had lost weight (300g) at his four month check up and was crying after every feed (he was previously in the 97th percentile for height and weight). I went off the mini-pill after thinking that was affecting my milk supply but he had lost more weight at his 5 month check up. I have given him the occasional supplementary bottle (once every few days) using S26 stick packs or Karicare gold sachets (available from Coles). He takes the formula ok but I still feel really disappointed. My MCHN seems to think once he's on more solids (has started some rice cereal and vegies) that he will catch up on his weight gain. I'm not sure whether to persist with bf or just switch to formula (MIL would NOT be happy!)

anyway, just wanted to let you know you're not alone. Hang in there - I'm sure you'll find the right solution for you and bub.

[cobysmummy]

stopping bf was really hard for me too .. i know how you feel...

at 4 months coby was a 7kgs :eek: but after that he started gaining a little then loosing a lot... in a nice pattern... i wasnt too worried as he was always happy and healthy...

but the CHN told me he wasnt getting enough milk and to give him a bottle of formula... he was also playing around during bf times and learning to use his new teeth :eek:

ever since that bottle of forumla he never went back to the boob... it was so upsetting.. i tried and tried for days to get his to take to the boob but nothing worked... (nobody screamed when he bit the bottle :rolleyes: )

needless to say then even when he was on formula he didnt put on anyh weight and only just reached 8kgs at 10 months old...

everyday i wish i was still bf... but i believe that the mother knows best for their baby.. do what u feel is best.. not what the CHN tells you too... i wish i did

[lovemybub]

I have heard that marshmallow root can 'beef up' your breast milk, ie make it more creamy and therefore more filling. I was speaking to a friend the other day who said she took marshmallow root and her baby filled out pretty quickly...

It's only second hand advice as I currently have no need to fatten up my bouncing baby, but it might be worth a try before giving up.

[lovemybub]

Oops. Just realised my signature could be a bit insensitive in this thread...

Being able to make milk is one thing, but being able to do what's best for your baby is more important - ((((hugs to you))))

[BecH]

:D Thanks to Cobys mummy and lovemybub. I am upset at changing over but we will try sup feeds for awhile (hopefully she doesn't completely switch). I will do it because I think I would be feeding for me rather than for her if I continue as I honestly can't keep up with her needs, much as I tried.
To Lovemybub I am not offended at all, making milk for my child was a delight and I still make milk just not quite enough for my active crawling little devil:D

[kuz78au]

Hi BecH, just another thing when you mentioned the bottle, pigeon make these great protethestic teats (I don't think I spelt it correctly?!) that are shaped very closely to the nipple shape so the bubs has to still work to get milk out of the bottle. Just a suggestion so that it may not be so hard to switch from breast to bottle...? I did it with mine and he was successfully doing both at once. But the teats were like $5.95 each, a bit pricy! Anyhow, just a suggestion!
Good luck :p (((HUGS)))

[BecH]

If anyone was checking to see how we are going I thought I'd do an update.

We went to avent variable flow teat, and s 26 formula (but I put a tiny bit of banana on the outside of the teat on the first go) she drank 100 mls yesterday.
Her solids have been going really well, but we will weigh her next week and find out how her wieght gain is going. So far she is still more interested in breast, so we are just doing a night complimentary feed and will increase it if she needs it.

Thanks so much for all the support and kind words, I am feeling much better,

Rebecca
Ruby 27/08/06

[xkwzit]

Thanks for the update Bec, sounds like you are both doing well. Keep us informed :D

Cheers to you

[Rhys'Mum]

Bec

I so understand. I have had to start giving my son a formula bottle for his dream feed because my supply was not sufficient. I felt enormous disappointment and guilt. He had been fussing at late feeds for some time, had started waking at night and was generally unsettled. I thought it was just a combination of being away over Christmas, development and teeth. Turns out poor little tyke was actually hungry. So, bad mother me - guilty of misreading the signs, guilty of starving my child, guilty of a stuffed up body, guilty for contributing to supply probs by huge exercise binge and starting to eat like a normal person...

I actually tried about 2 wks of expressing after every feed and took medication prescribed by my GP to increase my supply. I did manage to get enough for a bottle to supplement his late feed and to make his morning cereal but I was exhausted and it seriously impacted on my time with Rhys. When one day I missed one expressing session I couldn't get enough to do both, and he suffered. That's when I called it a day. Fortunately he took to formula (although he does seem to be developing eczma so we may not be out of the woods yet).

Even though I know I shouldn't I do feel guilt about the past weeks, and now it seems my supply is dropping further and I feel sad about that too. But I do not feel guilty about putting him on formula because it really is what he needs now (well I tell myself I do not feel guilty because I know I shouldn't and because if I say it enough it might come true). All the best with it, I hope you guys manage to sort it out quickly and if you need to chat feel free to pm me.