3 1/2 months and SAD:(

[mother_of3_]

Help.... My Dd will be 4 months on the 30th, Due to a high drop in birth weight after having her , her pediatrician instructed me to supplement with formula... Due to fussiness, gas ,constipation, and rashes... She has been switched to 3 different formulas... as well as me stopping breast feeding to rule out an allergy from me.... Now, upon trying to bf , SHE WON'T... :( She SCREAMS like someone is hurting her and refusing to latch on.... My supply was lost quite a bit , the manual pumps didn't /doesn't work. I hand express to get what ever I can which abt an ounce to an ounce and a half .... I am extremely SAD :( and I want to bf or at least pump for her .... Any suggestions? What abt rx medi to help with milk production...???


Sincerely, SAD MOMMA

[Zazayam]

I'm sorry :( I really wish I knew what to tell you.. That's pretty much what happened to me with my first son. Turns out the dr was wrong and I should never have started formula, we didn't recover it but I had zero resources at hand. I think you can pull through this and get her back to BF. How long has it been?

Lower flow nipples, keep offering the breast and snuggle skin to skin as much as possible. Just take her to your bed and don't leave for a day or two, offer the breast whenever she'll let you. Pump when you can, I hear fenugrek (sp?) works well.

[mostlymaydays]

I am sad for you because it sounds like you we're given some bad advice that sabotaged your best intentions. The first thing you might want to do is find a good lactation consultant. You might need help getting the baby to latch and might want to consider a supplemental nursing system to deliver pumped milk or formula through tubing while the baby nurses, stimulating production. Lots of skin to skin. Take a good long weekend and just cuddle in bed and try to nurse. An ounce and a half isn't as dismal as you think. I exclusively breastfed each if my babies without any bottles but after the first 4 weeks I couldn't pump a single ounce. You can get some mothers milk tea (fenugreek and blessed thistle herbal tea). Eat lots of oatmeal. I'm sure you'll get others chiming in here with more suggestions. I don't get upset when a mom makes the decision to not breastfeed, but when a mom wants to breastfeed and is steered off path it really breaks my heart. We have a good handful of moms here who have successfully breastfed their babies after a few months of near hopelessness.

[SadieJames]

^what she said.  Just wanted to add that I donate milk to a mama who is inducing lactation for her adopted daughter - so don't lose hope! You can do it, I'm sorry you got such horrible advice/no help before but you can do it! Seek out a good lactation consultant and I second using an SNS.

[gdiamante]

Your hand expression amount is FANTASTIC! Please look at our resources sticky for info on RELACTATION. Tons of info there. If your breasts are still on body it's entirely possible to get her back there. Not EASY mind you... but possible.

And file this away for any future babies: Normal newborn weight loss ranges from 10- 12% of birth weight. The more interventions (IV fluids, c-section), the greater the loss amount.

[mother_of3_]

Thanks ALL.... I have been and will keep trying the skin to skin and offering the breast. So far, no luck :( but I'm still hand expressing.... I have an appt to see my location specialist today , so we will see happens... I'm trying to invest in an electric pump , so if all else fails with my lil one I can pump.... I've been doing some research and read abt a rx drug called reglan. Has anyone heard of it , or tried it? It's supposed to increase your milk supply. I thought abt trying to use it so I won't loose mine with all tht is going on with baby.....

[momma1013]

Try some fenugreek or mothers milk tea. The fenugreek is easy to find around here and I live in rural oklahoma. (For supply)

[mostlymaydays]

Start a new post specifically asking for experiences with Reglan. I know there are moms here who have used it. If I'm not mistaken I also think the side effects (depression first comes to mind) can be overwhelming. I think domperidone is recommended over Reglan but you I think you need to get that one from Canadian pharmacies.

Quoting mother_of3_:

Thanks ALL.... I have been and will keep trying the skin to skin and offering the breast. So far, no luck :( but I'm still hand expressing.... I have an appt to see my location specialist today , so we will see happens... I'm trying to invest in an electric pump , so if all else fails with my lil one I can pump.... I've been doing some research and read abt a rx drug called reglan. Has anyone heard of it , or tried it? It's supposed to increase your milk supply. I thought abt trying to use it so I won't loose mine with all tht is going on with baby.....

[mostlymaydays]

I want to add that the very best thing to stimulate a good supply is a baby with a good latch. Even a really good pump isn't nearly as stimulating so you'll need to do twice the work for the same yield. I'd try the mothers milk tea and oatmeal before any drug therapies. Those are usually reserved for when you're doing everything else right and still stuck in low gear.

If you're browsing for pumps, google "closed system pumps." If you end up in a position where you're going to try to do some serious pumping, you don't want to skimp on a pump that can't do the job. You're better off *investing* in a good pump that costs $250 than *wasting* $80 on a bad pump.

***** All that said, your life would become considerably easier on the issue if you could just get that baby back to the breast. The sooner you can get to see lactation consultants the better.

[stepconfused182]

 It doesn't sound to me like you need a galactagogue if you are hand expressing that much. I think you just need to work on getting baby on the breast and let her do the work!

Quoting mother_of3_:

Thanks ALL.... I have been and will keep trying the skin to skin and offering the breast. So far, no luck :( but I'm still hand expressing.... I have an appt to see my location specialist today , so we will see happens... I'm trying to invest in an electric pump , so if all else fails with my lil one I can pump.... I've been doing some research and read abt a rx drug called reglan. Has anyone heard of it , or tried it? It's supposed to increase your milk supply. I thought abt trying to use it so I won't loose mine with all tht is going on with baby.....

 

[Tckosdk.2012]

Call your medical insurance co. for a pump. They are suppost to provide you with a electric breastpump since it's technically a piece of medical equipment. I got a 300.00 Medella double electric for free through my insurance. Just though I'd add. Good luck momma :)