i have been breastfeeding my baby for 2 months now. I also pump 1-2 times a day to increase my milk production so i will be ready to go back to work. The problem is that it doesn't seem to be increasing, as a matter of fact it seems like im not making as much milk as i was and im worried I won't be able to pump enough when I go back to work. I was thinking about supplementing formula but I'm not sure if that's a good idea or not. And if I do, what formula is reccommended? Do I start him off with just one bottle a day? Whats the best time of day to start this?
Fenugreek is herbal and worked really well to increase my supply. I have also heard of Mother's Milk tea. As far as formula goes, I think they are all pretty much the same, at least I know there is no difference between Enfamil and Similac.
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Pump after each feeding not just 1 or 2 a day. You will not see much of an increase and you should only need 5 min after each feeding or both sides. I agree you need to make the envestment in Medela double electric pumps and look at a pick or record the babies feeding noises & hungry cry to listen too with head phones while pumping at work. Relax while pumping. Drink lots of fluids. Remember 1 thing it takes 48 hours to see the reults of the increased demand. The baby will tell you he/she is not getting enough.
Good luck and it will happen. I have breastfed/bottlefed breast milk only to all 3 of my kids until they were 12 months old. It can be done try not to stress. If the baby is happy then you are doing it, Great Job!!
Make sure you have a high quality double electric pump. I can't repeat that enough. If you are going to be away from baby you need to invest in a Medela Pump In Style. Or it might be more cost effective for you to rent a hospital grade pump.
It does take time to train your body to let down while pumping. Relaxation, visualize the milk flowing, looking at baby's pic, smelling baby's clothes are helpful.
What you pump and what baby can get while nursing are usually very different. Baby is always better!
Cross the formula bridge when/if you need to. Stressing about it won't help with the pumping. It will make it more difficult.
Practice learning to pump now. Invest in the Medela Steam Clean bags. They make clean up so much easier!
If you find you need to supplement once you return to work, ask your baby's doc what they recommend. It might also be helpful to mix formula with breastmilk to ease the transition but again, cross that bridge if you have to. You might be surprised and not need to.
Think about it. You are with baby and nursing frequently right now. So of course you aren't going to get much when you pump. But when you go to work you will be pumping that session that you are missing with baby. Milk will be there.
Are you nursing on demand? Your baby probably needs to nurse every couple of hours. Also, try to have the baby nurse both sides at each feeding or as often as possible. If you do start to supplement with formula, it's almost certain that your current supply will go down more.
Unfortunately, even the best pumps do not stimulate the breast anywhere nearly as well as the baby's mouth and lips and suckling does. The baby's nursing is really the best way to increase milk supply.
Be sure to drink lots of water and any non-water beverages should (mostly) be uncaffeinated (sp?).
I also found that personally, being tired made a huge difference. When I was tired, I simply made less milk. So, I pretty much put everything (cleaning, laundry, etc.) on hold so I could nap as much as possible. No social life--just me and a date with my bed whenever possible. Even 15 minutes helped. :)
I also accepted, when I went back to work at 2.5 months after my LO was born, that I'd be nursing him multiple times after I got home from work, and I spent a lot of time on the couch nursing and watching movies.... (He was a slow/inefficient nurser...).
In terms of formula, I think that there are basically 2 kinds - ones with a cow's milk base, and ones with a soy base. I think most docs say to start w/ cow's milk-based formula, and only switch if the baby has trouble digesting it (gassy, colicky, etc.)
We haven't supplemented, but have you tried anything to increase your production? I find that eating anything oatmeal - hot cereal or cookies mostly increased mine significantly. There are also herbal supplements that you can try like fenugreek. Do you pump first thing in the morning after nursing? Check out kellymom.com and the La Leche League websites.
As always, you can call the nurse at your pediatricians office AT ANY TIME with questions--don't hesitate to do that.
I would probably mix breast milk and formula and gradually increase the formula over a week or so to a full bottle of formula.
I liked the premixed formula--Similac Advance. Good luck!
Don't supplement until you have to! Supplementing will definitely decrease your milk supply. I'm guessing you are worried about your baby rejecting the formula, but usually that doesn't happen. I would recommend waiting until you are back at work, your frozen milk supply is nearly gone, and you aren't pumping enough to meet demand. Then, you can try giving him formula. In all likelihood, your baby will accept it fine ... if there's any reluctance, though, you can mix prepared formula with pumped milk for the first couple bottles. In terms of when during the day to try, I'd go with anytime your baby is in a relatively good mood and hungry but not starving. You don't want him to reject it out of crankiness. Really, any formula should be fine. I had to supplement both of kids due to low milk supply, and I used Enfamil.
The more I pump the less I produce too, it just something about nursing your baby to keeps your production up. I use the herb fenugreek and it really works just after a couple days I could really tell I was making more milk. Also drink plenty of water. That's my input sorry I don't know about the formula though.
I agree with other posters get a high quality pump. It also helps to pump both sides at once. I Breast fed two of my children and for one I pumped for a year he had a medical problem that would not allow him to nurse and I was able to pump enought milk that during that year he never needed formula. It is alot of work to pump and can be done. I did work full time during that year also.But in my situation it was the best option.
There are vitamin supplements you can take to increase supply. I think one is Blessed Thissle and the other in Fenugeek (not sure on spelling). Also, eat oatmeal every morning. It sounds crazy but worked for my sister. Also the other poster is right about pumping after each feeding. I had to supplement and I was given Similac which my daughter did really great on and you can sign up at their website for coupons. When I had to switch my daughter to soy, we started with Enfamil because it was given by pediatrician, but it was really think and we didn't like it and went back to Similac. At 6 months we switched to Babies R Us brand and my daughter had no problems. Also you may want to start off by mixing breast milk with formula so it is not such a shock to your babies system.
