Baby Can't Stay Latched on and Seems to Need More Milk than I Can Provide

I had the same trouble with my first child. I tried but eventually supplemented with formula and then, I got less and less milk so we had to go formula the whole way. She got 3 months of breast milk which is far better than nothing.She is nine, very bright,and has never had a weight issue.

With my second birth, I had twins. I started to have the same problem early on so the doctor gave me some pills that really increased the milk supply. I don't remember what it was called but it did the job! For awhile, but I continued to have difficulties because they were twins, and again stopped at 3 months. They are 7 and healthy, strong, bright and no weight issues at all.

Good luck. I know how much this means to you. I just wanted to give you another perspective if it ends up that way.

Hi C.,
First, let me assure you that what you are going through is normal. Raspberry leaf tea will help to increase your milk supply, just drink a couple cups a day, and make sure you are getting plenty water. You should be able to find it at most stores, and any natural foods store. Unfortunately, supplementing with a bottle may be leading to the difficulty your daughter is having staying latched on, and certainly does nothing to increase your supply. You will need to be 'drank dry' at least 4 times before your body starts responding. Between the raspberry tea and patiently nursing, your supply should increase within two days. Best of luck with your little angel.

I am sure your milk supply is fine. Pumping is different than nursing. Nursing uses two types of suction and pumping only uses one. When my little one started coming off at that age I did a couple of different things. As they are getting older their eyesight and hearing is becoming better, this leads them to be distracted. Try removing distracting noise and bright lights. Play white noise if you have it. I used to stare at my son so his gaze would stay on me. I also tried different positions like laying down and the football hold. My son would sometimes cry when nursing. Around three months I started going to a chriopractor. I mentioned this to him. With my permission he checked my son and found that his shoulder was in a locked position. My son immediately smiled and began moving around after he adjusted him. I do think you should talk to your doctor. Most doctors did not study lactation so find a lactation consultant or La leche league. My LC was on speed dial for the first three months!

Hi C.,

Breast feeding and formula supplementation are very personal decisions. As a mom, you know what's best for your daughter so follow your instincts. That being said, I wrote a few additional thoughts below.

If your baby is gaining weight, then you're producing plenty of milk for her. I don't know about formula causing obesity, but I do know that it will affect your milk supply. She may be going through a growth spurt, so if you feel she needs more, then you can supplement with pumped milk: that way, you can boost your supply as well as provide her with more milk. I think you'll find that if you pump consistently at one time of day (morning seems to work best), then your body will produce more milk at that time. Also, if your milk let-down is too fast or slow, she may be getting frustrated and pop of the breast as a result. You may want to consider going to a lactation consultant or your peditrician if you're getting frustrated. I had to see a lactation specialist multiple times with my daughter. Breast feeding is hard work: I don't know how anyone does it without help!

If she has been nursing up until now very well then check to she is she might be teething? If not, then check for any signs of stuffy nose or a sore throat. My 11 month son whom I am nursing has had a throat infection and had a fever recently.

A. C.

I had a similar problem at 5 weeks old. My son would latch and suck for a minute and then release. I would go back an forth between the breasts. He would cry. He started crying all the time. I thought he was getting colic. My husband heard that soy formula was good for colic and brough some home. Reluctantly I tried it even though I was worried it would "ruin " breastfeeding. He gulped down 2 oz. like a pro and wanted more. After a full bottle of formula he was a happy baby and I was DEVASTATED that my child had been HUNGRY and going without complete nutrition from lack of enough breast milk. I consulted the lactation specialist and started pumping aggressively. It increased my production some, but not nearly enough. I supplemented with formula (luckily my son liked both). I finally just switched over to formula at about 10 weeks and he's been one happy, healthy kid ever since. And not obese in the slightest. He just eats a lot and burns it. Even ate a lot baby food, people were amazed. He's two now and still eats pretty well. For some people pumping significantly increases milk supply and for some it does not. Try pumping (consult the lactation specialist at your hospital to find out how) but if it does not work for you, please don't feel guilty about using formula. I recommend Nestle Good Start with DHA/RHA if you use formula. It's enzymes are pre-broken down making it very easy to digest. It's a great product.

Hi C.,

Congratulations on your baby! I agree that you should consult with a lactation specialist. But something you said triggered a memory. Two of my children had to be supplimented with formula for various reasons. The first because I had to be on medicine that was not good for her for a few weeks. I pumped and dumped then when the time came, she wasn't so happy with the breast. My lactation specialist told me it was because a bottle is so much easier to suck on. Less effort for more milk. When she went back to the breast, she was frustrated becasue she wasn't getting milk as fast as she knew she could. Consequently, my milk supply was low (you will produce as much as your body thinks you need and pumping is not the best way to do that.)

You said you were supplimenting with formula, your baby could be preferring the bottle, like I said, less effort, more reward.

You do need to build up your milk supply. You've been given some good advice... I'm not sure if brewers yeast has been mentioned but that's what I used. (my mom said to drink a beer but I didn't want to) You might want to switch to a nipple with a smaller opening but I'd check with your lactation specialist. If you don't know one, ask your pediatrician.

Good luck!

S

By the way, I did get my little girl to nurse again after the bottle, she nursed until she was a little over 2 years old.

I went through the same thing with my 2nd baby, around 3 months as well. I actually ended up pumping and freezing my milk. I pumped after every feeding (which is a total pain in more ways than one). But after a few days my supply came back. i didn't feed her the breast milk i had pumped because I wanted to save it for when we had a baby sitter or I was out and about(and I didn't want her to get used to the bottle), but the more milk you express (whether through pumping or nursing) your body will respond and produce more. I pumped after each feeding and at first you will feel like you are just pumping air and then you will pump more and more and you will realize your supply is right back to where it should be.

Best of luck to you and don't feel guilty if you have to supplement more instead....with my first I breast fed for 9 months and with my second I ended up only doing it for 5 months becuase I got mastitas in both breasts twice and my milk depleted.

Take care!

good lactation centers will rent you a digital scale so you can weigh baby RIGHT before and RIGHT after nursing. The scales can tell if she even drank 2oz.
Medela sells SNS nursers you can tape to your nipples and then baby thinks your breasts have a good suppy, while giving your breasts the stimulation they need.

It's a long painful story why I wasn't able to give my daughter much breast milk, nor her wet nurse, but the point is she ate mostly Enfamil Lipil. She is nearly 6 now, and her BMI is a slim 14. It's probably the most she has ever weighed! If anything, when she was on formula we had a hard time keeping weight on her.
I suspect if kids get enough outside play time, and a variety of veggies FIRST, before the "white stuff" at meal times (when they are toddlers) they are not doomed to obesity.

Have you tried the nipple "shield"? I am not sure that is what it is called. It is by Avent and it looks like a clear silicone Barbie hat. It goes over your nipple and allows the baby to latch on easier, and stay latched without any pain or discomfort to you. My little guy nursed for 10 months with that. I wish I would have known about it with my first child, she only nursed for about 4 months due to latching issues.

Blessings! :0)

C.,
Contact a certified IBCLC Lactation consultant. I had low milk supply too - or so I thought. Your baby may be going through a growth spurt and setting your breasts to make more by needing more. It is supply and demand. You can also try mother's milk tea, fenugreek capsules, and oatmeal to increase supply naturally. My lactation consultant was only $125 and she stayed for 3 hours. She weighed my baby pre feed and post feed to see how much milk he pulled. At 5 months I started a drug called domperidone. It is only available through compounding pharmacies with a Rx from your Dr. Stay away from Reglan. That one crosses the blood brain barrier and messes with your dopamine. It's the only one available in the US (politics) but domperidone is used in europe and canada for GI issues. The side effect is increased milk supply, so some Dr's (like Jack Newman in Canada) use it regularly off label. It does not cross the blood brain barrier.) I only used hte drug for 1.5 months. It caused me to have plugged ducts. Start naturally first though and please hire a lactation consultant. You will be so glad you did!
Good Luck!

C.,

Have you checked to see if your daughter has a tongue tie? Both of my boys had them and it made it hard for my older son to latch on or take a bottle or pacifier.

Also with boys of my boys I didn't produce enough milk. I have never heard that too much formula would cause obesity. I am of the opinion that you have to do what is best for your baby. If you aren't producing enough milk to satisfy her then you have to substitute with formula. It doesn't make you a "bad" mom. I struggled with the decision with my first child too. But in the end, I decided it was better to make sure he wasn't going hungry.

You can also talk to your Dr. about taking Reglan to help increase your milk supply. It has worked for me!

Good luck!

Hi C.,

You are such a good mom to look for a way to continue doing what you believe is best for you baby, even when it isn't easy.

In terms of supply, my advice is to keep nursing. Continue offering her the breats when she is hungry. If she's coming on and off it may be a problem with her latch. I'm sure you've noticed she has grown quite a bit lately and she may not have quite figured out how to nurse as a non-newborn baby. If your drs office has a new moms group, why not stop by, or make an appointment with a lactation nurse to see if they can help with the technique.

On another note... though you expect it closer to 4 months, she may be getting interested in other things to eat. I was determined to exclusively breatfeed (with breast milk bottles while I worked) until 6 months. At 3 1/2 months my son started snatching our food off of the table while we held him and putting bits in his mouth. So the day he was 16 months old I gave him rice cereal. He was thrilled! He is now 2 1/2 and is still an adventurous eater (helped himself to sushi off my plate tonight instead of his teriyaki chicken). Some kids just want a little variety in their diets. Talk to your pediatrician about when to start cereals.

Good luck with everything and enjoy your baby!

T.

I couldn't breastfeed my boys because I didn't produce enough milk. All 3 of my kids were formula fed until a year old. My 15 year old weighs 110 and is 5'6" tall, my 8 year old weighs 60 pounds and my 6 year old is 40 pounds. They are all tiny little things, especially the youngest who is actually underweight. I'm not sure formula causes obesity, at least it certainly didn't with my boys.

Your baby is likely having a growth spurt and your body just hasn't quite caught up to her needs yet. Sometimes that takes a week or so--by the time you get this, problem may be solved! :) Some things that help your body keep up with your baby in milk production are drinking a lot of water, getting enough sleep (yeah, right, with a 3 month old!), eating healthfully. The water is a really big deal--it really works to drink a lot. Relaxing when you nurse helps let-down.
When I had trouble with my babes (3 of them) turning away as though they didn't like the taste or smell or something, I experimented with eliminating different foods. None of them appreciated when I ate foods cooked with garlic or other strong flavors. Try cutting back on dairy also, which can be a big offender. It could also be that she is more aware of the world around her and even though she is hungry, can't stay focused long enough to nurse. The world around her is too exciting! She'll get back to it. Keep nursing, it'll work out. Good luck!

Hi C.,
There are a couple of things that come to mind. Perhaps she doesn't stay latched on because of some soap residue or lotion or laundry detergent that is on your breasts? This may be a long shot but something to think about.

In terms of milk supply have you tried Mother's Milk tea? It works great at building back the milk supply. I would also avoid caffine as much as possible, drink plenty of fluids and try pumping an additional time each day. Hopefully within a few days you'll have plenty of milk.

Hi C., I'm sure you're going to get a TON of responses to this! My 2 cents - I have an almost 4 year old and a 2 month old. With my older daughter I always felt like I was not producing enough, yet I think deep down I was and I could - but I just wasn't very good at pumping and I liked my sleep A LOT. At 3 months she was sleeping through the night and I also went back to work at that time. My milk started to take a dip, but I didn't want to get up in the middle of the night and pump. So, I supplemented one bottle of formula a day. Knowing that breast milk is so important, I continued to try and to nurse every day and I'm happy to say we made it 9 months. Every one is different - don't beat yourself up about it, but try your very best.

Now I'm having problems with my milk because I got really sick last week and I was running a very high fever. I think I was dehydrated as well, so my milk again started dropping. For the first month of my baby's life I pumped an extra 4oz per day and froze it. Then for the second month she drank an extra 4 oz from the freezer each day. My pediatrician kept telling me it was a growth spurt, but she continues to show signs that she is still hungry. So... I am supplementing formula now - even earlier than last time. One thing that is supposed to help is to pump after every feeding. Don't worry about how much is coming out - but rather how long you are pumping. The trick is to stimulate your breasts into thinking you need to make more milk. I only express milk for about the first 5 minutes or so, but I stay on the pump for at least 10-15 minutes so that my body will start to think it needs to make more milk. And most important - you need to pump every time you give your baby a bottle of formula or else you will start making less and less milk.

Gook luck,

L.

sorry but it sound like she is read for the bottle and formula, unfortunately the more you suppliment the more she wants!!

C.,
You are the mom, you do what you think is right for your baby. If you think she needs formula, then give it to her. You can always continue to pump extra to stimulate more milk production. And if you are able to produce all she needs - GREAT.
My experience was similar, and I suplimented one meal everyday from the time my dd was about 2 weeks old. I did everything in the book to stimulate more milk, but she still needed that extra bit from the bottle. I have to tell you, I think I got the best of both worlds. Since there are wonderful benifits to having her take a bottle.
My only regret is that I hesitated to give her formula when she was hungry. If she's hungry, feed her, whatever that means.
I don't think that some suplimentation will have any longterm affects. My dd is only in the 30th% in her weight and I'm sure it wouldn't even be that high without formula once a day.
Best wishes to you.

I would recommend if you are in the Fresno area to get an appointment with Dr. Cyndy Curry, D.C. ###-###-#### The baby's jaw could be out of alignment and Dr. Cyndy treats both prenatal moms and NEWBORNS as in 3 days old.

She's cured acid reflux in newborns and latching issues in breastfeeders.

I saw her while carrying twins for my best friend. She's the main reason I was able to deliver twins vaginally and not go "C" section!

I was able to increase my milk production through herbs and heavy protein eating. I ate so much chicken I thought I'd grow feathers and cluck - but it worked.
Now to remember the herbs. Traditional Medicinal Tea has "Mothers Milk" tea which helped along with Fennagreek (sp?) and one other. I also drank lots of milk (whole milk) myself. I watched my water intake. Just enough to stay healthy and hydrated - but not over. That will wash the minerals out of your system and therefore out of your milk!
Oh, something thyssal(sp) was the other herb. Call Mommy Matters at ###-###-#### for other options. Gena the owner is a Doula and knows some tricks.

Regarding the Breast vs. Bottle issue... all that is in breast milk is TOTALLY digestible by baby and does actually prevent obesity (studies are now proving). However, much of preventing obesity is keeping your child active as they continue to grow.
There are actually more non digestible ingredients in formula. I have a typically developing 4 1/2 year old that's very active. She was only 2 weeks premi BUT not having those 2 weeks robbed her of the ability to latch correctly and she never could truly get the hang of it! We finally went to formula after 2 months of complete irritation and a stay in the ICU from Hyponutrimia (which the Drs never really explained or couldn't) but they said breast feeding moms experience this with their babies. Non-the-less, she was Formula for the rest of her first year. She isn't fat - but she does have, what my grandmother calls "Milk Fat" on the tops of her arms but no where else on her body. Both my husband and I are lean and breast feed... we'd contribute the "milk fat" to the formula. But we had to do it!!! So we did!!!

You have to do what's right for you and the baby - not just the baby!!!

Hope this helps.

Dont know what to tell you about how to get more milk, but on the formula note:

My son was soley on formula (i could not breast feed or pump). He is 7 yrs old, 51 inches tall and weight 53 pounds. He has never had a weight problem. And in all honesty, out of all the moms I know (I belong to a local group with over 100 moms) the breast fed babies are always heavier. Breastmilk has more fat in it than formula.

So please, do not be afraid to give her as much formula as she needs with your milk. She dows not need to be hungry.

Dear C.,
Congratulations on your baby!
My baby girl is 22.
She was never a great nurser. Even when she latched on, she didn't eat much. It was a sad trickle effect.
She didn't nurse much, therefore I didn't make much.
I tried supplementing with formula, and after that, my daughter was done with me.
I was not ready for it...but she was.
And she did fine.
Both of my kids ended up having formula and they are perfectly healthy. No obesity. Breast milk is always best if you can do it. But don't beat yourself up if your baby is ready to be done before you are.
Take care!

Make sure you are getting a good latch by "sandwiching" your breast for baby to latch on, no one told me this when I was first nursing and it helped alot with my 2nd baby, also make sure YOU are eating enough and drinking enough water, or your milk supply will go down FAST.Try not to supplement as this will also make your supply low.good luck.:)

If you really want to keep breastfeeding i would try try to give her bottles. Your supply is directly related to how much sucking the baby does. Supply and demand. YOu might want to try to pump inbetween feedings to get your supply up. It may just be that your body has not cought up yet with increaed hungry. i had that issue for few days every couple of months. but after i pumped a whole bunch it was fine. Also save the milk you do pump and if you need to give her more after a feed you have it to give to her.

Also you might want to have her toungue checked at the peds office. When my cousin was a baby his tougne had attacked to far foward in his mounth and he coulded stick it out far enough to get a good lacht. they didn't figure it out until he was 5 and had to have surger to fix it. When if they would have figured it out when he was baby it could have been fixed at the doctors office. Its not that big of a deal but have it checked.
Good Luck
A.

Hi, C.,
Try not to supplement with formula if you can. The more you supplement, the less your milk will dwindle, as it is taking its cue from your baby. If you can just have her nurse more often, you milk supply should increase. It works on supply/demand. The more you end up supplementing, the less your body will need to produce, so it will produce less. This is a long shot, but just throwing it out there...I started potty training my 3 month old and one of the signs of needing to poop was latching on and off during breastfeeding. They all do this, but I read that this was something I should be attuned to if trying to train him. Sure enough, whenever he did this, he needed to poop. So I took him to the potty and he did it. (He can now use the potty whenever I take him. He still goes in his diaper, but he knows how to pee and poop in the potty and was able to do it from 3 months old). I am not positive that your daughter needs to go necessarily, because it sounds like it has been happening repeatedly, but it still might be the case. My 5 month old also tends to do this when not enough milk is coming out. It is usually at the end of the milk supply on one side and he is still very hungry. If that is the case, I just switch him to the other side and he stops doing that latch on and latch off thing. It sounds like it might be the same thing with your daughter. It could be that she is hungry and not enough milk is coming down. Sometimes I try massaging my breast while he is feeding to try to get the milk down faster for him. The best way to keep the milk supply up is to keep your baby breastfeeding! Good luck!

hugs momma!
3 months is a growth spurt time, so I bet your body will catch up with her. I would just focus on cue feeding/on demand when she seems hungry. Supplementing with formula is a slippery slope, as your body will never adjust to your baby's needs if it doesn't know it needs too, you know?
I wouldn't worry to much about how much you pump, as many momma's have a hard time getting a sufficient let down on the pump vs. a wonderful let down with baby.
Also, the on and off can be baby just more aware of her surrondings-easier distracted. My kiddo started around 4 months with that.
xxxx-
S.

One of the reasons that it may feel as if you don't have enough is that she is going through a growth spurt. The major growth spurt times of an infant are 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months. I had a similar situation when my little one was 6 months old and I got through it by pumping up to 4x a day- a pain I know- and nursing as much as I could.

Good luck!

C. ~ I was having the same problem. I am a first time mom to a 3 month old son, and he was not getting enough milk. I went to see a lactation consultant and she put me on Goat's Rue. It is an all natural herbal supplement that will help with lactating women to produce more milk. I put a few drops in some liquid three times a day and I was quickly producing more milk. Now he eats fine. Research it and see if it is something for you, it really worked for me. It is not sold everywhere I bought mine at a small local nutrition store. I would start there. Hope this helps. ~ S.

My son had the same problem (he was a hard baby ALL AROUND, never slept, cried alot, ect..) so when the breast feeding wasn't working and I needed some type of balance and help from my hubby I gave up the breastfeeding and went to bottle feeding, then we went through tons of nipples before we found one that worked for him! To make this LONG story short, on his first trp to the dentist at about 3, they told us he was tongue tied and asked if he had problems feeding!!!!! AND all aong I thought it was ME!!! THAt something was wrong with how I was feeding him!!! Anyways, he had to have surgery and because of his age and the fact he had teeth, they had to put him under.... Not trying to scare you, but maybe you should take her to her ped and ask, they said if anyone had figured it out earlier, pre-teeth, they could have numbed him and did the procedure at the doctors office. Just wanted to share iwth you, JUST in case!!! I would hate for anyone to deal with what we did! GOOD LUCK!

Giving her formula is reducing your milk supply, so stop doing that. Your body will respond to her needs and make more milk.

When you have nursed on both sides and she wants more, give her more! Put her back on the other breast and let her nurse til she is full. Both my boys were "Three Side Babies" as I called them, two sides wasn't enough when they were growing so fast. It's ok to just keep that baby at the breast til she decides she is full and done.

Call your LLL leader, they give free advice over the phone and she can help you with the latching issues.

There are plenty of reasons to stick with breastmilk instead of formula, and right now, real life help from a lactation consultant can get you on the right track with ditching the formula before it becomes a cycle of giving more and more which causes your milk supply to dry up. If you are in Placer county, call the Breastfeeding Coalition, they helped me when my son was tongue-tied and they are very knowledgeable.

In the meantime, go to www.kellymom.com, I'm sure they will have some ideas to help both your latching issue and your supply issues.

best of luck, these are solveable issues and I know you can do it!

I would contact a lactation consultant and they can evaluate the situation for you, especially if you want to continue to exclusively breastfeed instead of supplementing. One other thing about staying latched on is my son went through this for a couple of days and was making me extremely crazy. I knew he was hungry but he wouldn't stay on long enough to eat. After trying everything and pumping and feeding from a bottle I realized I had used a new brand of soap that affected the way I smelled. Once I stopped using the new soap and went back to the old soap, we had no problems. So just make sure you haven't changed soaps, detergent, deoderant, etc. Anything that can interfere with his sense of smell of you. It happened again a few months later when I used my husband's shaving cream in a pinch since I had none, and he was having none of that. Since I had already been through this I just went in and showered again making sure to thoroughly wash all the parts that had shaving cream with my own soap. Came back out and he latched right on. Some kids are just sensitive to that type of change. My daughter had no problem with scents and I freely changed soaps several times with her without any problems, so I think it depends on the child. Good luck.

C., have faith in your body! You are producing enough milk for your baby. My son did this too, he just go bored and wanted to keep switching sides. Try singing to her, playing with her, etc while nursing. Also, double check her latch. I'm sure you already know how to do it properly, just go through the steps like it is the first time. They have growth spurts every 2 months and you will think they are starving to death. They really aren't! Just remember, the more you nurse, the more you make. I never was able to get more than 2 or 3 oz with pumping, but I know my son got enough to eat. He's 17 months now and we were stopping nursing (we had stopped for 6 days) but he got a stomach flu bug so I've started him nursing to keep him hydrated. I'm SURE I was all dried up, but babies are persistant and well equipped to bring on the milk! My point, if you want to supplement go ahead. Just remember that each time you don't nurse your body thinks baby doesn't need the milk. If you don't want to supplement, keep nursing and nurse as often she wants. Either way, as long as you keep nursing you'll still produce. If you go the no supplementing route and still have worries you could go to your local hospital (usually where you gave birth) to the Lactation Station (or some similar name). You can weigh your baby, nurse her, then weigh her again. It will ease your doubts and fears she isn't getting enough. They usually have lactation consultants the will help you if you have any questions. Sometimes they do it without a fee! The weighing shouldn't cost anything - at Sutter it is free. Good luck and congrats on your baby!

One thing I wanted to mention that I didn't see in earlier comments is not to judge how much milk your little girl is getting by how much you pump. Babies are much better at getting milk thank pumps are (even the best hospital grade pumps can't compare to a nursing baby). So don't let the amount you pump concern you (BTW- 2.5 oz is pretty average for a pumping session). SHe may be going through a growth spurt or teething.

Hi C.,
You need to call La Leche League now. Do not just go see any lactation consultant. There are good and also very bad lactation consultants. Do you have a friend that has successfully breastfed her children? Maybe a family member?? Ask them for advice.
Supplementing with formula is counter-productive. Your body makes milk on the concept of supply and demand. If you are giving your baby formula, she is not on your breast so your body doesn't get the signal to make more milk for her! The more you supplement, the less milk you will make and she will end up on formula if you aren't careful.
You need to make sure YOU are getting enough food and water for yourself and nurse, nurse, nurse as much as possible. You CAN and WILL make enough milk.
They best way to tell if she is getting enough milk is by paying attention to what is coming out. Does she have enough wet diapers?
Please get help now. LLL is volunteers so the help is free. If one consultant can't help you, find another one.
PLEASE, don't take advice from people who haven't or "couldn't" breastfed their children, that is not really help at all.
I hope everything works out and you continue breastfeeding!!

I have a 36 day old baby. I had the same problem of latching from the beginning accept my daughter was biting & getting frustrated also. I ended up with mastitis & 2 plugged ducts in this short period of her life. After the mastitis & first plugged duct I switched to pumping due to the duct being too painful to allow her on. I am now just pumping & bottling & it is working just fine for my baby & I. She gets as much as she wants & I know how much she gets. She no longer bites on the bottle or gets frustrated. Try pumping more often for longer periods of time & make sure you are drinking your 8 glasses a day of water preferably but the guide line is liquids in general. I pump every 3 hours for 15-20 minutes & I average about 1 oz per hour but I am going to begin pumping more often so I can see if I can produce more in order to have a little more back up in the fridge as she gets more hungry. If I can hang on thru 3 infections in 1 month, you can to! It is so important for our little ones to build their immune systems even if you have to supplement with formula as long as she is getting some breast milk, it's better than nothing. Good luck!