DD2 was exclusively breastfed for 12 weeks and was putting on about 100g a week. Then she only put on 30g in a fortnight. DS and DD1 are home with me all the time and I have no help so I don't exactly get much of a break and for me, rest is crucial to maintain my supply. I figured I wasn't making enough milk and started supplementing with formula (Bellamy's).
DD2 couldn't get enough of the bottle and put on 200g in a week. I decided that I'd just keep going with the bottle but as the breastfeeds decreased she got constipated. So I changed her formula last week (Nan Pro) and she loved that even more, drank more of it, spewed less...I thought we were going great.
Now she has a rash which is getting worse and GP thought it might be roseola "baby measles" but wasn't sure. DD2 is very unsettled but otherwise seems well, not "sick" as such, and I started wondering if she is allergic to an ingredient in the new formula, rash came up about 72 hours later. GP thinks this is a plausible theory but can't be sure either way so I am to change the formula again (I think the fish oils is the likely suspect) but also try to relactate.
She has prescribed Motilium, I've just taken my first tablet. I still can get some milk out - DD2's last breastfeed was only 3 or 4 days ago and DD2 will still happily have a go at feeding but she isn't getting much so she faffs about a bit, and she gets angry with the left breast but that one has never been her favourite! It has always had less milk, ironic cos DS always favoured the left.
Any tips? I've read about fenugreek but what form does it take? Where do I get it?
The most important thing for relactating is to keep emptying your breasts - either by baby, pump or hand expressing. Motilium is much more effective when in conjunction with regular feeds and pumps. Initially aim for 2 hourly during the day and at least once overnight - feed bub and then pump afterwards....Or if bub isn't hungry then just pump.
Put bub to the breast as much as possible. Give her lots of skin to skin contact. Can you have a bath with her and let her feed and cuddle as much as she wants.
Giving formula will lead to more supply problems cos you need bub to keep taking milk (the amount she needs) so you can make milk (the amount she needs).
We had a fortnight when my little one only put on 30g too, but the next week was 190g so it kinda evens out. I think if you still have milk, you just need to get bub feeding from the breast again and this will get your supply up again.
I've had supply issues through most of the last 11 months of bf and I've found accupuncture by far the best thing to help my supply, and best of all it's completely natural - as well as the frequent draining of the breast it might be worth having a chat with an accupuncturist to see if they are able to help at all.
When I was trying to up my milk supply and lessen the bottle feeds with my DD, I would put her to the breast before a bottle and aim for at least 10 mins, give her a bit of the bottle and then put her to the breast for as long as she would take it. I would also try to offer her booby in between feeds. And we coslept. It felt like she was on the boob all day. But by the time she weaned when I got pg with DS when she was 7mths old, she was down to having 2 fairly small bottles a day.
I was on motilium too, taking the most I was allowed to, I think it was 90mg a day if I remember correctly (it was over 3 yrs ago!) I tried the fenugreek, but it made DD really windy and gave her belly pains, so I stopped. I would try to make sure she had a big feed in the mornings when my boobs were particularly full. This was the only feed for a long time that she would happily take and not have a bottle after, I loved this feed!! Another thing is to try not to stress about it. I know ti can be hard when all you wan tis the best for bubby, but the best is for baby and mummy to be happy and relaxed because it will affect both of you if you're getting stressed out.
There are other natural things you can try, milk thistle is supposed to help with milk supply. Drinking planty of water and eating a healthy diet will helo too. You can try aktivite (an additive you put in milk, a bit like milo, I was drinking tonnes of this each day, luckily I thought it was delish!! If you really want to do it, you could try a supply line, it's a little tube which goes onto your breast and leads to a supply of formula in a pouch, so baby can suckle at your breast and stimulate your milk supply, but still get more formula at the same time (does that make sense??). There are teas which are supposed to help also (though I can't think of the name of them.)
I see that you have other kidlets too, so it may be hard for you to be giving baby so much of your time. When I was trying to up my supply, DD was an only child so I could do it, and dedicate lots of time to it all.
Good luck.
If you can get DH to help out with the other kids, perhaps try spending all of a day with DD2 - holding her, sleeping with her, cuddling her. And just feed her constantly. Whenever she's unsettled, hungry, tired. I know she's no longer a newborn, but feeding her constantly for a day or two will have a great effect on your supply. Try to only use the bottle if you have to. How much formula is she having? How many bfs do you get in during a day?
GL! Sounds like you might know your baby very well.
Thank you everyone for your input, I so appreciate it.
Well the Motilium has had absolutely no effect whatsoever except to make me feel very sick, crampy and itchy (and diarrhoea) and ironically my breastmilk seems to have almost completely dried up. I couldn't get out a single drop whereas the day before I could still get a bit of a jet of milk.
However it is not all bad news. I switched DD2 back to the Bellamy's formula and plan to give her a little diluted prune juice every day to keep things moving. The rash is almost gone after 36 hours and she is not as unsettled so I will keep going for another couple of days and then try her on the Nan Pro again. I know this sounds silly but I need to know if it is the formula or not. DS is a very allergenic kid (has an Epipen) and DD2 is sooo like him in so many ways. At the very least, I now know that if it is the formula that is causing the problem it's not a milk allergy, it's just an ingredient in the Nan. I'm very relieved, I was feeling very daunted at the thought of trying to build up supply given that I know that a supply problem was what started me on the formula road in the first place.
I've stopped taking the Motilium and I have some breastmilk again! The best part of all is that I've gotten a couple of bonus breastfeeds with DD2 that I wasn't expecting - and she grinned up at me while she was feeding, I do love that, it's my most favourite thing about breastfeeding. So I will keep putting her to the breast and try and keep up some breastfeeding at least. She will be my last baby so I was very upset about not continuing for longer, given that DS got 20 months breastfeeding out of me (and some bonus feeds when his sisters came along!) He very smugly told me "I had breastfeeds when I was a baby and when I was a boy!"
You might also want to be a bit of a mean Mum and put her back onto "newborn" teats - they are slower, and more like breasts in terms of the effort required to get the milk out. So she may then be more willing to persist with the BF as well.
Foods like celery and cashew nuts are also meant to help increase supply. Also a little bit of Jasmine 3% essential oil on a hot flannel placed on the breast can help too.
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Advice for relactating
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