demand feeding and got 7mnth old baby to sleep through the night!

OK bubba's off the boob now :)

The name of mine is Fortis. Its a 750g white tub with a green label. I just looked on the back and its make locally here in Perth so not sure if you'll get it all over Australia, but I'm sure if you ask in the health food shop they will have something similar. I just told the lady i wanted it because I was breastfeeding and she suggested this one.
They are pretty expensive hey! I would use what you have first. They are probably the same in terms of protein content, I just try and avoid additives and preservatives where ever I can :)

I am soooooooo glad you posted this my DD was sleeping through until about 6 weeks ago, so I am also going to try protein supplements to see if it helps! Thanks :) and I'm very glad to hear you're bubba is sleeping so well for you :)

thanks for the name of it Munchkin mumma, I couldn't find it here (small town) but I did find another one which is suitable for breastfeeding so I am really interested to see how I go with it.

I also read somewhere yesterday that breastfeeding women should have a daily protein intake of 1 gram for every pound they weigh. That is a lot of protein! I think I can do it though, with eggs, smoothies with protein powder, eating more lentils and chickpeas, and I'm not a true veg as I eat fish, so tuna salads for lunch. Anyway I started on the high protein diet a couple of days ago and today I noticed a higher milk supply. I felt fuller, and during two feeds today when DS pulled away milk was just squirting everywhere.. that hasn't happened in ages. Could be coincidence, or maybe it's due to the higher calorie intake.. not sure but poor bub got milk all over his face before I realised lol!

So I have been having the powder for a few weeks now. DD2 is still not sleeping through the night but she is not waking for a feed anymore so Her waking problems were more then just not enough protein. I have taken her to an Osteopath twice now and we are down to only 1 wake up at night.

I am still having the powder but only once a day.

When I bought my powder the lady did ask if I wanted it for meal replacement and that if I did it was not recommended. When I told her the reason she said it was fine then and to treat it like a snack. So I was having one mid morning, afternoon and one before bed. I did notice that I was very thirsty all the time when I was having 3 shakes a day so I was drinking a lot more water, I think this may have boosted my supply too which I di not really need. I am back to leaking everywhere again. It seems to have settled a bit with only one shake a day.

Thanks just made a fridge reminder for myself

Hi All
I bought a supplement yesterday and I have one shake today (first one), how many are you having? I read Kazzo was having three a day then cut back to one what is everyone else doing?

TIA

Hi Kimmy, I am having one a day (with just milk and raspberries, blueberries and blackberries.. yum!) plus I sprinkle some on my museli in the mornings. But I have made sure to make each meal high in protein with eggs, tuna, chickpeas, lentils, nuts etc.

No problem bec923, I'm glad you found something similar. That really is a lot of protein to fit into one day that you mentioned!! Think I'll have to start looking up lentil and chickpea recipes, the powder is just too expensive to have all the time.

I have also just been having one lot of powder a day. I put it in a smoothie with banana, blueberries Greek yogurt and honey. Yum yum :) It's hard to say for sure if its making a difference as ds's night wakings were still pretty random but we have had a couple of nights where he had had a longer stretch between feeds so fingers crossed :)


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Thanks girls, I will stick with one a day for now but am also going to up my intake (about to have boiled eggs for lunch :)) DD slept from 11pm to 7am last night, I know one shake won't have made much difference (if any) but lets hope she can do it again tonight!

Oh thats great KimmyF! :crossfingers: she does it again for you tonight.
I didnt have my shake yesterday and DS was up a lot! Will be a good experiment to see how he goes tonight as I am making sure I have PLENTY of protein today. Does anyone know if it is in your system/milk straight away though or os it something that has to be built up in time? :think:

I just grabbed a Kilojoule counting book I have, which includes protein, iron, calcium counts in the back. I made a list of foods with how much protein they have, and stuck it on the fridge. Certainly if I'm not as stressed and I do this, my milk is whiter rather than quite so watery.

good news here.. DS has slept through the night TWO NIGHTS IN A ROW!!!!! I am amazed. I don't know why, I am not sure if it's because of my high protein intake or not but he has never slept for more than 5 hours in a row before. The night before last he slept from 6:30, woke and fed straight back to sleep at 10:30 (as usual) when I took him to bed (just to explain, he sleeps in a bouncy hammock in the lounge room until I go to bed, then he sleeps with me), then didn't feed again until 5:30 am. I thought it was a once off, but last night he went to sleep at 6:30 again, woke and fed to sleep at 10ish as usual but I was up late so I took him to bed with me at 11:30, fed back to sleep then woke for another feed at 8am!! I couldn't sleep though, I think my body is used to waking every two hours lately so that's what I did. Hoping tonight he does it again and I actually get to sleep through too :D

I've been trying to increase my protein during the day, I'm pretty sure I get enough at dinner time, its just brekky & lunch I struggle with. I've got a protein supplement, but its disgusting to have on its own lol. Its by Slm. Any recommendations on 'nice' ones? Lol.
And any ideas on foods to have that are high in protein for brekky & lunch? I know tuna .... and thats about it lol.

I think I jinxed myself with my last post. Last night DS woke about three times :( He went straight back to sleep each time though. I think another tooth might be coming through.

Shan - High protein breakfast foods that I have are eggs and mushrooms. Two eggs has about 24g from memory. Or I will have natural yoghurt with honey and muesli with some protein powder mixed through. For lunch.. hommus is an easy one to make, have on flat bread or use instead of butter. A batch lasts for a few days in the fridge and it can also be frozen. Peanut butter (I get the natural one) on wholemeal sandwiches are a very simple source of good protein. Any kinds of nuts. Beans, dried ones are best as canned ones are high in salt. Dried lentils cooked up with vegies can made into patties or wrapped in pastry. Chickpeas are fantastic in curries. I make a lot of these type of things so I can freeze them and have easy but good lunches. I mix my protein powder with soy milk and frozen berries or fresh strawberries in the blender which makes it taste better. Hope you get some ideas from all that!

Hi,

This thread has been worrying me for some time. it's great to care about your diet for sure. And we'd all like a nights sleep. We are so culturally inculcated to believe that cow's milk is the standard it's hard to accept what *real milk* (human mother's milk is like) Real milk is often pale and bluish. And in fact in the days before homogenisation the cream on cows milk settled in a layer at the top and it didn't look as white as it does now when you pour it from the carton! You milk will look more bluish if your breasts are very full when you express - there is a greater proportion of milk to fat. It will look whiter if you express not long after a feed. But if it comes out of your boob it's just perfect for your baby. In most parts of the world they use protein more as a garnish. There just aren't the vast quantities of food we have available. Mothers breastfeed just fine and babies grow and thrive on their milk. So, yet, eat a healthy and balanced diet so you can can feel healthy and energetic, but you don't have to eat great quantities of anything in order to breastfeed. Just a normal diet is fine.

That is understandable Barb but I for one was never worried about the consistancy of my milk or the amount. More a good nights sleep after DD2 was a great sleeper that suddenly stopped been a great sleeper. I was looking for anything to help so I thought adding some more protein might help and although I can't say that doing that alone has, something has changed and DD2 sleeps without waking for a feed. I also feel better and the only thing I changed was upping my protein. So I don't think it has hurt me (or DD2) in any way. Infact I think I am eating better then ever now.

Thank you for your input Barb, I totally understand what you are saying. I agree with Kazzo, I too have never doubted my ability to produce milk or the quality of my milk. As I understand it breast milk is perfect but if the mothers body is lacking in something it will be even more lacking as the body uses up the stores to make the milk perfect. I know that's not the scientific explanation it's just how I understand it. So I have found that since upping my protein to recommended levels (I am a vegetarian who never really watched my protein and iron intake before now) I have more energy, feel more 'awake' and generally feeling so much better. I have noticed I have more milk, but maybe because I am drinking more water.

The ABA class I went to which was run by Desley, she gave us a copy of some research paper which the conclusion was to err on the side of eating more protein? to prevent colic. Sorry I have thrown it away. Her advice was not to follow a weight loss diet or a diet where you are eating more carbohydrates while BF.