Long Term Comp Feeding - How do you prepare yourself

[cheekymonkey]

I suffer with insufficient glandular tissue. I had a very difficult BF journey with DS. Stopped BF at 8weeks due to low supply and breast refusal and expressed till 4 mths until he would no longer take the EBM in a bottle, the ultimate rejection. I often wonder if I could have tried harder, saw different LC's used the SNS more, if I could have done better. I do no have an easy going baby, high needs, shocking sleeper, reflex and generally unsettled , so that certainly didn't help our situation. Things seemed to get sooo much worse when he stopped getting breast milk, but this did coincide with the 4 month mark which I know is when a lot of babies become more wakeful, however, he never really seemed to settle. I guess why I am re-visiting all this is I have decided that I will try again with the next bub, even though I know I will have supply problems again. I know that it will again be difficult, this time with a toddler running around. We are certainly not rushing back into it, we are thinking about a 3 yr age gap?? I know I am going to have to dedicate a huge amount of time to trying to make my next BF journey a bit more rewarding, in the hope that I can finally say, I'm proud of myself as a mother, which to date, DS is 10 months, I have never been able to say. I am starting to put a plan in place. I am going to see Dr Amir during pregnancy and see about natural progesterone and Goat's Rue and I also have an LC in mind to see and work with after the birth. I guess I am after any thoughts and advise from anyone who has comp fed long term successfully. How do you cope with Breast refusal? How do i prepare mentally for what I know will be a difficult BF experience, with a toddler in tow?

[Janie]

I just wanted to pop in here to remind me to come back! My son was long-term comp fed (still is really!), so I might be able to give you a few tips. It sounds as though you have excellent plans in place, especially seeing Lisa (I need to go and see her too, while I'm still lactating, as I suspect I may have the same problem as you, maybe even tubular hypoplastic breast/s).

Good on you for seeking help before it's needed I'll try to come back in here later today, or tomorrow.

[cheekymonkey]

Thanks Janie, your advise would be greatly appreciated, I aspire to achieve what you have

[Michelle71]

I too comp fed for most of our breastfeeding relationship until DS self weaned at 15 months when I was roughly in the 3rd trimester of this pregnancy. My right breast was the *issue* mostly so I will be working hard on feeding this time too.

Janie will give you lots of ABA AND personal advice from her experiences and training but for the generic stuff I can let you know what I did from my personal experience.

[cheekymonkey]

Thanks Michelle, what kind of bottle did you use? I used a Medela Haberman as I was told this would help stop breast refusal, obviously didn't work, I am open to trying something else next time. Congratulations on overcoming the hurdles and continuing to BF until 15 months, a great achievement, you must be very proud!

[Kmn]

Did you ever use or consider using a supply line instead of the bottles? That might reduce the breast refusal aspect of things.

[farella21]

CheekyMonkey~ You may not be reading this anymore but I am in search of answers for my own low milk supply and wanted to know how you were diagnosed with IGT? I noticed in another post that you mentioned you had an ultrasound revealing normal glands, but I noticed you received a diagnosis. How is insufficient glandular tissue diagnosed?

A brief account of my story:
I had my first daughter last year. I experienced some breast changes (i.e. tenderness, nipple changes, some change in shape (breasts more full), but not a huge increase in size during pregnancy. I did not experience engorgement after birth, and struggled to establish a supply. We started supplementing at about 4 weeks because it was apparent my little girl wasn't gaining. There are multiple issues that may have affected breastfeeding, including my little girl's weak suck, though perhaps this was DUE to my low supply rather than the other way around. I worry that IGT might be something I suffer from as well. My breasts don't really look like the pictures I've seen, but maybe that is not something immediately apparent. Where do I go to find out? I really want to have another child, and like you, hope this next BF experience can be less traumatic for both myself and my baby. Thanks for any insights you can provide.

[cheekymonkey]

Farella - I made contact with a good LC, she said that the ultrasound showed normal glands for the size of my breasts, but not for normal lactating breasts. A lot of GP's know very little about breastfeeding. When the GP told me the scan was normal I asked if there was enough glandular tissue to feed a baby and he couldn't give me an answer. Someone like Dr Lisa Amir (in Melbourne) is a doctor specialising in Breastfeeding so I will be seeing her before I embark on my next breastfeeding journey. My breasts don't look exactly like the pictures (the severity varies) but the general characteristics are there, small, uneven, widely spaced, kind of cone shaped. Are you still lactating at the moment? It would be a good idea to see a good LC. I believe that if your bub has a weak suck, this is a probable cause for your low supply though, which means it may not be the case ext time around. Hopefully the other girls in this thread will pop in and share their experiences.

HTH