CHN says low supply

[faery]

so i had my CHN visit today and she reckons i have a low supply. Ds has put on like 100g in the last 3-4 weeks. he is 5 months old. we have both been sick with flu the last couple of weeks but are better now.
he weighs 6.2 kilos and has grown 2 cm. CHN wants me expressing and feeding him that with a bottle or sippy cup.
I'm all for trying to boost my milk with herbs etc. but is expressing really necessary??
he feeds all the time, feeds 2-3 or more times a night. i can't really see when i would express with all this boobie munching going on!

[Goosie22]

I'm all for trying to boost my milk with herbs etc. but is expressing really necessary??

No, its not.

Your baby has put on weight, grown in length and you have been sick. Honestly these CHNs seem to have nothing better to do than undermine womens confidence when it comes to Breastfeeding.

Just out of curiosity, how much weight did your baby put on last time and what would have been acceptable this time?

[meme]

it sounds like your baby is still growing and is feeding well and reasonably contented, which would indicate that your milk supply is fine i would have thought.

i know i once had a chn who was concerned over my dd's weight gains as she seemed to stop gaining for a while, she was about 9mths then. i have since heard that this can be quite normal in breastfed babies and i am glad that i didn't listen to her and get all worried. i Knew that my bubba was fine and when i told my mil she reassured me that her children had been very similar weight for age and also breastfed infants.
i guess i'm trying to say (in a waffly sorta way:o ) that there are other things to consider than just weight charts, when it comes to whether your baby is healthy and growing.
more frequent feeds would boost supply mmore effictively than expressing and cup feeding anyway, imagine all the energy you could waste on that rigamarole, when you could be relaxing with a nice breastfeeding cuddle:D

[the_queen]

Great advice has been given so far - just thought I'd add, a breast pump is not that great at removing milk from your breast. I mean, it can do the job if necessary, but a baby is much more efficient.

I don't visit the CHN at all, I've got the opposite "problem" and my baby is very big so I can't be bothered with medwives who will just stress me out.

[munchkin05]

just wanted to let you know i had a problem with my chn aswell
ben was slow in gaining weight and she was convinced it was my milk
so we started him on solids at 3.5 mths and that didnt even make any difference

he still is a little boy he is 14mths now and 8.4 kg
but he eats like you wouldnt believe

you just have to trust your own judgment if bubs looks healthy to you and seems fine the i wouldnt worry
as long as they are alert and not sick looking and you happy to keep giving boob then keep doing it

good luck :yelclap:

[faery]

goosie, i had him weighed about a month ago and a month before that. he put on a kilo in between. and this month just that 140 or so g.

I went to an ABA meeting today and feel much better about the whole thing. i think what was stressing me out was how much she wanted me to express. ds still feeds (or has a comfort suck) every 2 hours, maybe more sometimes, and the though of expressing when i am having a booby break was not a happy thought!

going to stick to the tea (yum yum) and leave it at that.

thanks 4 the advice:thumbsup:

[Goosie22]

So glad you went to the ABA meeting, you wont look back now:thumbsup: .

[Sherrie]

I don't visit the CHN at all, I've got the opposite "problem" and my baby is very big so I can't be bothered with medwives who will just stress me out.

Yep I don't see one either and have the same problem, maybe thats why!


Faery I wouldn't see that nurse again, sounds to me like she is just trying to quietly make you give up BF either that or shes a few cents short of a dollar! :thumbsdown: