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Have you used it? I've just been prescribed it, was a bit of a struggle because the GP was totally clueless. But on advice from a colleague of Rodney Whyte's at Monash, I'm to take 10mg, 3x a day for 5 days, then begin to wean off it for 7-10 days, aiming to be off the drug completely by the 16th day of taking the drug.
What have people's experiences with it been like? Did it work for you? Did your milk supply maintain a good level once off it? Did you take it while pregnant?
The Women's Hospital fact sheet advises a slightly higher dose. I found I had to get to this level for their to be any noticible affect (I wasn't pregnant though).
Domperidone for increasing breast milk supply - Fact Sheets
PZ, have you spoken to the ABA or a LC? The 'rules' when pregnant are quite different to when you are not pregnant, the hormone changes are prioritised for the current pregnancy. if your GP is clueless, it might be helpful to find someone who can help. Do you have any friends who are midwives or LCs who can do some research for you? Have you spoken to any IMs yet? I think MAMA has a drop in breastfeeding clinic- they may be able to help with advice/info.
Have sent a PM on FB
Thanks guys.
Fiona, you're the second person to mention the dose is low :( I'm so confused, the dosage advice came from calling the number for Rodney Whyte at Monash. I'll have a read of that fact sheet, thank you.
Same to you HotI, thanks hun. I could probably ask my doula with DD, she's a midwife.
Wow, the fact sheet is so different to what I was told and what people are telling me. I think I'll call the ABA tonight and see what they say. I don't want to be taking this for nothing. Monash said I should notice more milk after a day or two. What the?
PZ I was given it in hospital after DD was born. Around day 4 I think. Anyway it gave me psychotic horrendous dreams (full on crazy) the first night so I stopped taking it!! Dr had mentioned "dreams" could be a side effect.
The dosage does not seem right at all BUT I do not know if maybe dose different when pregnant as I have not known people to take it while preg.
I took it with DS1 and I was on Max dose for weeks and it did bugger all, I never noticed and increase in supply but I did with herbal things which cant be taken while preg, (i took blessed thistle and alflafa from 5 weeks until 9 months and stopped at preg)
Good luck. I would ring again and ask to speak to Rodney himself.
I am taking it at the moment. I noticed it working pretty much straight away and DD2's general mood improved very quickly (as she was no longer hungry all the time). I am taking 3 or 4 a day, my GP said it was the kind of thing you take as needed so it varies. TBH I haven't heard of taking it for 16 days then stopping, anecdotal evidence I have heard is of people stopping and their supply going back to crap soon after, but that could be just the people I know?
I took about 6 or so tablets a day for almost a year and had a good increase in supply. When I stopped taking it my supply reduced a lot (I EE so I could see it all happening) so I had to take it the whole time. I used the fact sheet as a guide in my discussions with the doctor. Initially I was prescribed 3 tablets but that did nothing.
Hi,
How old is your baby now? And what's going on (I realise low milk supply - but tell us the circumstances?)
Circumstances are I am 8w4d pregnant, my milk started dropping from 5 weeks and is now near gone. DD is 11 months old.
Rodney is on leave so I couldn't speak to him.
Herbal supplements helped last year when I had supply issues, but have not done a thing this time. Not sure what else to do. I also have some major breastfeeding aversion from being pregnant. I'm so close to just giving up.
*hugs* Pregnancy hormones are probably getting in the way. I haven't heard of increasing milk supply during pregnancy :/ I hope Barb can help you.
Hi,
To be honest I wouldn't recommend motilium in this context. Your placenta is producing progesterone which is blocking prolactin (the hormone that makes milk) and that is as it should be! Motilium works by increasing prolactin levels under normal circumstances, but it is not likely to be useful under this circumstance.
Your milk supply will dwindle. At this age your baby can have milk to drink in a cup if he is able to tolerate cows milk. No need to introduce formula. It is likely your little one will keep breastfeeding - milk isn't necessarily the main game here. It's all about comfort. It is also likely that the breastfeeding aversion will lessen as the pregnancy goes on. If you or your baby does wean you have done an excellent job, you should be really proud of breastfeeding so long and so well.
Why would I have been given advice to take motilium then? This sucks :( For my DD, milk is the name of the game. She has lost a kilo since I've been pregnant, because she isn't getting the milk she needs. She doesn't eat a whole lot of solids yet, despite out efforts, she's just not hugely interested. I don't even know how many bottles of cows milk she'd need to have a day. I've tried so hard and fought through so much to breastfeed my daughter, and now it's being cut short :( She's effectively being forced to wean before she's ready.
PZ, I might be wrong but it's not that she's being forced to wean as such. At her age I think I'm right in saying she would likely be making the transition away from BF for her main source of nourishment anyway :dunno:
She may continue to still feed Hun. Between 8-12mths DD only put on 30g as thats when I fell pregnant. And BM was her main food then too. She will pick up and eat more don't stress too much, just let her get used to the changes and take it at her pace. DD is still feeding strong despite me only having colostrum and barely much there. Still some days she won't eat hardly anything but I just continue to offer her food. They won't starve themselves they will eat if they are hungry.
I know it's stressfull but try to relax and just take it as it comes.
No, I don't believe she'd be preparing to drop feeds yet if I weren't pregnant. I know babies are 'supposed to' at this age, but DD is not ready for weaning to begin. She's dropped weight, she screams for more milk after she drains me in two or so minutes for more. She doesn't eat 'well'. If I weren't pregnant and losing my milk, DD would have been feeding often well past her first birthday. She already doesn't sleep, and this is just compounding that.
Thanks for all your help ladies. On Monday I'm going to calm the Women's Drug Advisory and see what they say. I'll call the ABA today. And I guess I'll pick up the search for EBM.
I don't think all kids drop feeds at that age. I know DD didn't. She barely ate any solids until she was 1.
There's no way I'd be introducing cows milk at Isla's age, but that's just me.
Call ABA. There has to be a way to get your supply back up.
Maybe you do have to look at supplementing her feeds then. If she doesn't take enough in solids, and you can't produce enough, she might need EBM or ABM. My daughter was still having 12 feeds a day at 12 months when i feel pregnant, and i found it so hard when all the increase supply tricks just didn't work. I began giving her cows milk but kept breastfeeding as much as possible and she kept feeding through the pregnancy. SHe also upped her solids after a couple of months. I went through the guilt thing too, i didn't want to wean her prematurely.
Every woman is different, but my milk decreased during 1st tri, then plateaued for a few months, another dip, plateau.... I was able to increase it slightly couple of times. It wasn't a continual drop in supply.
Hi PZ,
I was just on Pinky McKay's website & she has an ebook titled ‘Making, more mummy milk, naturally’ and she is promoting her new lactation cookie range 'Bookie Bikkies' (you just pay postage and get a 'free' sample). I don't know if it will help you or not, just a thought whilst you try to find a more permanent solution.
Thanks Rhi :) I've tried her cookies and even spoken to her in person about both DD's sleep issues and feeding issues, and was told 'oh, well hopefully she'll grow out of that. At least you're young enough to keep up with her'. So not a huge fan of Pinky anymore.
I guess I just have to accept that the pregnancy is taking priority in my body.
The diet we follow has a baby diet aimed for formula fed babies to get off formula. So we're talking about babies under one being totally on solids. Which you woudln't even need to do as you are still BFing even if it's just less supply. If you'd like I could copy some of the foods for you so you could introduce them to Isla. They are nutrient dense foods. I know bone broth with raw egg yolks is an early food which I was feeding my little one by Isla's age and it's super good at packing weight on.
I think that sometimes there aren't solutions to things, and to keep searching for them and searching for them causes even more stress and adds to the perceived problem iykwim.
There are things that we wish would go a certain way (especially when it comes to our body) and it is extremely upsetting when it doesn't. It's right to look for an answer to rectify the situation, but sometimes it gets to a point where we just have to accept it just "is" and deal with it emotionally and practically as best we can.
I am thinking of myself in this too (as in fertility) but it could be applied to your situation.
I know you would love to have breastfed for a longer time. And, who knows, you may be able to do that....But, if it gets to the point where you can no longer nourish Isla predominantly through breast milk, that's okay. It's not your "fault". It won't damage your relationship with her. Things change. Things happen beyond your control. You can't beat yourself up over it.
Pinky is right in that Isla will grow out of this phase. I promise you. In the meantime, please try not to add more pressure to yourself by feeling bad about things you can't control.
Take care x
Hi PZ. What a tough situation :hug:
I'm not really going to give advice but just some thoughts as such....
Firstly, I was on Motillum for low supply with DD1 and like others have said, my dosage was a lot higher (2 tablets 3 times a day!) and I was on it for about 4 months before I started weaning. I wasn't pregnant though so the dosage may need up be lower but weaning after such a short amount of time seems pointless to me :dunno: And yes, it helped with my supply for sure.
My DD1 self weaned at 11.5 months. She just refused the breast for a few days in a row and that was it. Babies can certainly self wean at that age but I understand Isla is not doing that. Just saying that babies certainly do it, there was no stopping my DD, she just decided she no longer wanted boobies by pushing them away and climbing down off my lap!
Babies can move to cows milk a little earlier and can thrive on it too. I don't have studies to reference, just one amazing (and a little sad) example that happened to my close friend's DS in March. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in March this year. The tumour was really big and aggressive so a mastectomy was scheduled ASAP. She got the diagnosis on the Monday and her breast was removed on the Wednesday - damn quick. Her 11 month old was the biggest boobie monster, still having several feeds a day including 2-3 overnight. Despite having cancer and losing her breast, her DS's breastfeeding was one of her biggest concerns. It concerned all of us that are close to her actually. Well the poor little guy was given no choice, he had to wean cold turkey and he'd never had a bottle in his life. The first two nights were a bit tough on him but he survived and quickly adjusted and loved cows milk. And even better, he started sleeping through - for the first time ever. A totally unexpected bonus. He hasn't looked back. It was super tough on my friend and her little man to have to break their beautiful bond so quickly and unexpectedly but they had no choice and it all worked out ok. The extra sleep at night couldn't have come at a better time either.
On solids, have you tried Isla on purée or mashed foods as well? Baby led solids isn't for all babies. Some babies prefer the texture of puréed or mashed food. It could be worth trying her on softer foods to see if she takes to it better. Just a thought.
So, as I said, no real advice, just some things to think about. Good luck and congrats on the pregnancy :)
Hi, Pumpkin,
It sounds like you have a whole lot going on. Tell me (I seem to remember something from previous posts - but I might be wrong, my memory isn't great these days) Does your little one have allergies or food intolerance? Is anyone in the family coeliac? Has your little one been sick lately? This might be one of the factors underlying her reluctance to eat. I don't think she will be forced to wean at all. I don't think she needs bottles at all either. Have a look at her diet. With children that are reluctant to eat you want to make sure that what they "are' having is calorie dense - not low cal. If she has no sensitivity to cows milk, dairy foods are really helpful - cheese, yoghurt or milk in a cup (not a bottle!) are good high calorie snacks or might be added to cooking. The natural sensitivities women feel in early pregnancy might be playing a role in your perceptions. Morning sickness and feeding aversion impact on your ability to cope. You sound really disappointed about the prospect of breastfeeding ending sooner than you hoped. That's a normal feeling, but I don't think it will necessarily happen.
:( I'm sorry hun, I think I do remember reading the issue you had with her. I wish I had a solution for you. I can't imagine how difficult this is for you. ((hugs)):
PZ I second the idea of feeding isla more mushy foods if it will help full her up. What about porridge, cereal avocado etc. by 11 months ds was feeding himself using a spoon.
I also think you shouldn't worry about your supply. Keep feeding dd. she's getting something and may feed well after your new bub is born. Feeding while pg is tough but there are also advantages.
Just keep ticking along and deal with the main issue at hand which is filling up your little ones tummy. Cows milk, yogurt, puréed etc are great. What about those organic squeeze things from the supermarket.
As n2l said I think it's time to let go of expectations and try to just relax into a new normal.
:grouphug:
Thanks. It's really hard to relax into this new normal and I'm struggling a lot. With this whole pregnancy honestly.
I do a mix of BLS and mushy/spoon foods. She just spits most of it out. She loves playing, and tasting, but not so much eating. I'm definitely not going to stop boob feeding her. I really appreciate everyone's advice here :grouphug:
I think you are right when you say your body is giving the pregnancy the priority, it knows what it needs to do now and I think it will be hard (or impossible?) to get it to do otherwise.
Not sure if you are offering her solids or BF first, but perhaps if it is BF first you could try the other way around? By the sounds of it she will still be draining you every feed anyway so from a demand perspective it would still work the same?
It is hard, my first was a non-eater when I needed her to be eating for several reasons and it was VERY frustrating.
I agree with this. It won't necessarily happen, it's just that the bf is changing. DS was 12 mths when I was pregnant, and I knew my milk had diminished and we were on to colostrum. I introduced a cup of cows milk at night. His feeding pattern hardly changed at all because he was feeding to sleep, and didn't care if he got anything or not. It definitely wasn't about the milk when feeding through my pregnancy. But it became about the milk again once bub arrived :) Supplementing the milk side of it doesn't equal weaning at this age as there's so much more to the relationship now.:
Just read this and wanted to post it for you re: egg yolks:
:
Eggs from truly pastured hens allowed to roam and eat bugs are one of the most nourishing and easy to digest foods on earth. Raw egg yolk has actually been compared with human breast milk in that it’s almost 100% absorbed into the body apart from digestion. They are loaded with amazing nutrition from, amino acids, loads of vitamins especially B vitamins, essential fatty acids, zinc, magnesium and more. They are pretty much a perfect food. If you are able to get really good quality eggs, this would be a great way to ensure that you are getting a good spectrum of essential nutrients for overall health.