Are there any breastfeeding groups here?

[kaisergirl]

Breastfeeding Articles--Use of Reglan(r) to Increase Milk Supply

Ask your OB about taking Reglan. Reglan is a prescription that is normally given for acid reflux, but will help with milk supply and is completely safe for baby.

Good luck.. bf'ing is hard work. Mine was in NICU for 5 days too and I pumped and pumped trying to get milk for him... I did supplement with formula. It was not the end of the world... Get some rest and enjoy that new little one.

[Potaty]

Sandra~ What great news!!!! I love the pic, that is too precious!

It will get easier and it is very likely you will be able to wean her off the shield once she gets better at latching. I started out having to hold each breast in my hand in *the perfect* position for it to work and right now at 10 weeks I am typing with both hands as he nurses on my Boppy!

[LunaAshling]

Just wanted to pop in for a minute... I ran a bf group here 3-4 years ago.


Here is a link to a 2005 thread: Oct-Dec 2005 Mommies and Nummies Support... for "Present and Soon To Be" Nursing Moms


It still has a TON of good info!!!!!! Many were in ketosis even!




I am bfing #3 and he is 2.



It CAN be done!

[emslight]

hi luna. thank for these links. v helpful. had a q to ask - even while lc'ing did you find that calorific needs were greater because of the breastfeeding. i have kept carbs to about 20 per day for 3.5 weeks now but some days i can get quite hungry, even though i eat between 1800-2000 cals. this seems to be so different to other people doing lc who experience a real curb on hunger. from previous threads, did others who were bf'ing feel like this? milk supply isn't affected at all and like others, bf'ing does not help me lose weight - instead my body kind of clings to it.

[emslight]

Sandra - i love the pic of your babe. my hubbie was looking over my shoulder whilst i was reading your post and he thought that the pic was of our little girl ruby! have a look at rubyrose.ploggle.com and see what you think! i'm sure it's just that newborn thing and also the fact they both have dark eyes.

hope you are doing good. your last post seemed so much more positive, like you'd turned a corner. keep us all posted on how you are doing.

these are my girls - taken in the last week. Lola is 2.5 and Ruby is 4 months.

[Potaty]

Thanks, Luna!

[sbarr]

Still struggling - we get decent sessions occasionally, but it's so slow and I'm afraid she doesn't get all she needs.

I'm becoming more frustrated because BF isn't very quantitative and I just sense that she's not getting enough because I do know when we fill up her belly via bottle, she sleeps, otherwise she fidgets and fusses (not real crying, just that ongoing background noise a la newborn).... I do best when I can see results, etc.

Sigh, sorry, I'm not one of those super-human nursoid types who just love breast feeding and want to do it until the child is 18. I love holding her and snuggling her, but BF has been so awkward with a slipping shield, a fighting baby.

I want to enjoy the process, but I almost dread the battle - please don't flame me, I truly want to do what is best for her, but for it to be enjoyable for both of us, not the continual fight of forcing her to the breast, tears in my eyes, hoping she'll latch, she half-heartedly tries, then seems to fall asleep, so I try to put her down and she cries and I try a bottle, stressing that I can't even produce enough to keep her going with wasted BF sessions.

I'm thinking of coming up with a general regimen, something I feel comfortable with and know she's thriving. Maybe this will help me relax more and enjoy her more - I'm stressing that I try to BF, she cries, I try to pump, but don't have much time when she's always fussing.

BF - 3-4 times a day (realizing it's probably going to be a futile fight, keep it short so I have enough time to pump afterwards)
Pumped milk - 125 ml/4 oz. 2-3 times a day so at least she will sleep
Pumped milk (if possible) or last resort formula after final BF in evening (we really need to fill her up for a good sleep).

I know this is a BF forum, but does anyone here who feels strongly about BF ever give formula, if so, does anyone give organic formula and have an recommendations. I felt victorious last week when she finally started BF, but now it seems like she cries all the time - I'm sensing that I need to take a threefold approach and want a quality formula to fall back on without GMO soy, bovine growth milk, etc.

This whole fiasco is really throwing me into a funk - probably best to get out of the house, let John deal with her and go buy extra diapers, bottles, formula for the long march ahead.

[mindysf]

Is it too late to join in? I have an 18-month-old daughter who still breastfeeds quite a lot, including at night (we are co-sleepers). I was paranoid about doing Induction, or anything close to it, for a long time because Dr. Atkins himself says, "The weight loss phases of Atkins are not appropriate for pregnant and lactating women." But after chatting with a few people who did it themselves, testing my breast milk for ketones, and making sure I had plenty of vitamins on hand, I decided to give it a go. About six years ago, I lost 35 pounds on Atkins and kept it off until pregnancy, when I gained some but not a lot of weight. Now I'm back on Induction, like the good old days, and finding myself...TIRED! Anyone else have that effect?

Mindy

[sbarr]

Mindy - welcome....I don't think there is a deadline... More the merrier.

I've been the resident whiner for the past week.

For me, tired is related to lack of sleep and 4 am feedings, but other than that - not too bad with the eating.

I'm currently just over 170, with a goal of hitting 135 by the end of the year - only 5'3" and I carry 135 very well. This is 1.4# per week for a few more weeks and then 1# per week until the end of the year. Hopefully, I can get a few weeks ahead of schedule for events like Thanksgiving, etc. - I've lost it before and I can lose it again and the BF should certainly help. It also helps keep me focused and meticulous about my eating.

My gloom and doom of yesterday is a bit better - sorry for my melodramatic rants. I'm wondering if it's a bit of PP depression - all I did was cry yesterday, feeling useless.

Against my sleepier demon on the right shoulder, I listened to the advocate on the left shoulder and BF at 2 am - we tried several positions, she fought it - and eventually gave up on lying down and put her in my lap - she took one side and the rest a bottle - granted, not great, but better than the giving up that I was considering yesterday.

I bought a bunch of extra Avent bottles - with the intent of 2 4 oz bottles of expressed milk spread throughout the day - about 2 oz. with each BF session (after the diaper so she doesn't associate it with BF and think she can skip BF and just get the bottle). In the evening, if there is enough, will give her my milk, if not, I did buy some organic formula yesterday and will pad the final 10 - 11 pm feeding to try to get her through to 4 am so we can all get a bit of sleep.

This morning - 8 am feeding went well and then again at 10. I'm augmenting quantity with pumped milk and trying to organize the bottles so I know how much she has consumed. She's not not an "eager beaver" eater - so the only gauge I have is how much she cries - and if it's BF only, she cries a lot.

Ah well, more optimistic today - hoping for the best and hoping that she learns to nurse without such a fight.

Take care - off to try to BF again!
Sandra

[4devochki]

Sandra, many babies will fall asleep during feeds and have to be woken up.

Is she gaining ok? ask your pediatrician about her weight gain before you run to formula. She is probably getting more than you think.

When I got home from hospital with my twins there were plenty of days we all did nothing but nurse (and nap in between). The more you nurse, they more you produce, and your daughter is a much more effective extractor of milk than any pump.

I did have to supplement the twins for the first month until my supply caught up (they were born at 37.5 weeks), but they have been exclusively breastfed since then.

Can you get the lc back in again for a tune-up?

Wishing you the best,
Cassandra

P.S. Hi Mindy! Since starting Atkins last month I've had the opposite feeling--don't know what to do with all this energy! Hope you perk up soon.

[4devochki]

oooh, i replied before seeing your last post. Way to go! So glad things are looking up, Sandra.

[sbarr]

Victory - a small one. Miss L slept from about 12:30/1 am to 6:30 am - 5 1/2 - 6 hours - 3 weeks old and sleeping most of the night. She had a late night combination of expressed milk and a little bit of organic formula since it was so late and I'm really striving for a good night's sleep for everyone.

We got up this morning and with less than a minute of struggle and no screaming she latched. She didn't drink as much as usual, but the "no struggle" was my tiny victory and we'll work on quantity later today. I'm feeling more in control now, better rhythm (BF every 3 hours or so, keeping two 4-oz bottles in the fridge as chasers to top off the baby so she can sleep and also a chaser of formula for night).

We all crashed in front of the TV last night - me and Lindsey on the couch snuggled up, John in a chair. Woke up shortly after midnight - sheepishly looking at each other, admitting that exhaustion is not a good thing. She took her bottle and with a few minutes of fussing, she went to sleep - oh blissful sleep!

I'm at peace with a balance of BF several times a day, expressed milk as needed to top off and a dose of organic formula to pad the night for a longer sleep session. Ideally, I'll move more and more into BF for volume once we get the mechanics down so I can start express milking to freeze and store for when I need to go back to work.

The longer sleep sessions will make a big difference when I have to go back to work (that's another 5 weeks out, but I want to prepare her for that gradually - since we're all living in the house and need to find a schedule we can all live with and she gets all of the love and nourishment that she needs and we all get sleep).

On a good note - off topic, found a great baby sitter yesterday. She's a grandma-type who raised 6 children, who takes care of 2 other young children, is a half mile from my office, welcomes people to drop in throughout the day and charges about 60% of day care who would require full-time for an infant - so, my total cost is like 40% of what I'd pay full-time or a huge anonymous daycare.

We took Lindsey over when we met her and her face melted when she saw Miss L, said "I want her" and cuddled her to an immense set of boobs saying - I don't think I'll ever put her down. She'll probably get MORE hold-time there than at home.

Finding part-time care for an infant is almost impossible with centers in Albany - not sure if same elsewhere (they have such specific ratios that the must keep the cribs full), and I wanted a home environment for the first couple of years. I'll start her in a couple of weeks - half day the first week, then a full day, then two days to ease her into another environment before I return to work.

I'll probably ease into work with 3 days a week daycare, Tues - Thur and then work from home Friday and Monday. That should give Lindsey a little bit of structure - only two transitions a week.

Questions for the group:

What types of foods do you eat to keep up a good milk supply? I'm trying to keep 1800 calories and +/- 60 carbs with a lot of attention towards protein and calcium.

My typical menu:

B - 1 c. organic yogurt or cottage cheese, 1/2 plain applesauce (or blueberries), 1/4 c. hydrated chia seeds (protein, some carbs)

S - 2-egg egg salad with mayo and a bit of mustard

L - Grilled cheese sandwich or chicken salad

S - ?? Varies, maybe chia seeds with half and half, 1/2 c. rice with milk and coconut oil

D - Basic, mainstream - maybe a hamburger on Ezekiel bread, pizza

I'm also taking fenugreek, brewer's yeast and will be starting blessed thistle when it comes in the mail this week.

What do you eat? Are you able to lose weight and keep up milk supply? My goal is 1# per week and at least 75% of Lindsey's norishment from my milk. 100% is ideal but I'm taking tiny steps to keep my sanity and ensure she thrives.

[momof9]

i remember that when bfing i feed the baby all of the time. every 2 hours and she/he ate for 1hour. i gave a formula bottle at night with dad so i could skip a feeding and sleep. i was never sucessful at pumping. i may try to rent a hospital breast pump and see if that helps. we all do what we got to do.

[sbarr]

Hi momof9 - yes, we do the same with a small dose of formula at night. Last night, Miss L slept for 7 or 7 1/2 hours, about 10:30-11 pm to 6 am. I'm still in shock. I started worrying - maybe I slept through??? But, then I realize, this girl has a set of lungs and while we do not have her in our bedroom, her room is 8 feet away and we keep both doors open and when she's agitated she'll kick off covers and John said she was still swaddled perfectly this morning, quietly looking around. I set my alarm for 4 am and when I woke up and she was quiet, I went back to sleep. (I usually gauge when she goes to bed, add 3-4 hours based on how much she drank so that I'll wake up no matter what). We're trying to get very structured on evening feeding - 7 pm and 10:30 pm, hoping that she learns to sleep well.

BF went well this morning - she did both sides (still with shields) and a little bit of reserve milk to top off afterwards while I pumped. I was so excited yesterday that I was able to gradually get ahead and freeze 140 ml. Heck, I might even have to thaw it today or tomorrow, but I considered it a huge victory to get ahead enough to freeze one bag. Ok, I really do need a life when freezing a bag of breast milk is the highlight of my day.

Trying to carefully plan meal to get right nutrients and hopefully keep up with my weight loss (trying to lose 1.4# per week) - seems to have slowed down this week, but my primary concern is milk supply - that is TOP priority:

B: Yogurt/Apple sauce/Chia seeds/Granola (standard fare)
S: Almond butter and jam on GC scandanavian crisp bread
L: Chicken salad w/ sliced boiled egg on top
S: Lara bar??
D: Parmesan baked chicken with green beans

Trying to get outside each day - took a short walk at the park yesterday and hoping to start at the gym tomorrow.

How is everyone else doing?

[LAlow carb]

So glad ya'll started this thread!! Well my story goes like this:

Had 1st baby (Jade)11 years ago (flew by too fast), was unable to b/f her, I tried for two weeks with no milk supply or support on b/f. Lost 100 lbs after she was about 9 months old doing Atkins.

Had a baby (Brie) 17 months ago, breastfed exclusively for the 1st 6 months, b/f her for 7 months until I became pregnant. Never lost weight after I had her, actually GAINED weight!! UGHH I was so hungry and used b/f as an excuse to put weightloss off, never tried lc while b/f b/c I was afraid.

Had a baby (Jax) 10 weeks ago, got preg while b/f #2, so MORE baby weight, I weighed almost 300 lbs when I delievered. For the 1st 8 weeks I watched what I ate and bascially ate low fat, lost 30lbs but it stopped.

My big reason for lc:

So when baby turned 9 weeks my sister in law tells me I am to be a bride'smaid in 6 months!!! Oh NO!! So I started Atkins and I have lost 5 lbs in one week. I drink lots of water, but I do feel that my milk supply has lowered. It may be that I also went back to work at 6 weeks, and I have been weaning him off night feedings (feel like I will go crazy with no sleep, after all 2 kids under 2 requires a lot of energy and a healthy mind). His weight is fine but he often pulls off the breast and cries which makes me believe he is not getting enough, my breast aren't hard between feedings, and I no longer have surplus to store.
I feel like I am being so selfish wanting to lose weight, and also vain. But, I was is my brother's wedding after having baby #1 and everytime I go to my Mom's I see the pic on the wall of me looking like a cow and I can't stand the thought of having all these pics haunting me again!! So any encouragement and comments are welcome. I think I will go to wholefoods and get some of these suplements for milk supply.

Oh and I have been tired too, Usually when I do lc I have more energy , so I believe it is more the nursing and lack of sleep taking it out of me!! But my hunger has decreased drastically!!

[4devochki]

A six week old baby needs to eat at night, at least once, if not a couple of times (every 3 hours, let's say). Your supply could be diminishing because of skipping feedings. Good luck.

[emslight]

Hi everyone. Just scrolled through this and realise that my last 2 (long) posts never went up?? Not sure why but sorry if it seemed like I'd disappeared - especially to you Sandra as I had written in reply to a couple of your posts. Anyway, hope y'all good. Sandra - how are things going?

LAlowcarb - welcome too? how is it going?

My 4 month old is doing good. I'm still exclusively breastfeeding and she is thriving! Feeds are not nearly as long as they were in the first few months and she goes through the night from about 10.30 - 6, sometimes 7. The next challenge is to try and get her going down earlier so my hubbie and I can finally recalim evenings as adult time!

[Potaty]

Hi emslight! The women's health boards have been pretty slow lately, not sure why.

Tucker turned 12 weeks old so I am getting ready to start back to low carb. Can you share a typical day's menu with me? Are you doing induction levels or a bit higher?

[emslight]

Doing induction levels but weight loss is slow. I've lost 7 pounds in just over a month and most of it came off in the first 2 weeks. I think this is for 2 reasons - 1/ my metabolism is slow after years of yo-yo dieting and 2/ my body is clinging onto weight for Bf'ing. When I stopped BFing my first, I lost half a stone really easily without really dieting. But... I don't mind plodding along anyway as I have tonnes of energy, feel marvellous, my skin is clear, my milk is plentiful and I'm not eating rubbish. So if it takes me weeks and weeks then so be it because for the first time in a long time I feel in control and am avoiding binges.

The key things I've been doing are:
I've avoided the low carb bars and have limited splenda to once a day - usually in the morning in my egg cream or flax cereal. I've made sure I've been getting in lots of veg and flax for fibre so am not constipated and I drink lots of water and herbal teas. I've been eating when I'm hungry which has averaged out at about 2000 calories a day, according to fitday. I've kept carbs to 20 so am almost certainly in ketosis which doesn't seem to have been a problem for young Ruby.

Typical day's menu is:

breakf - egg cream made with eggs, cream, coconut oil, splenda/dv syrup, spoonful of flax and sometimes half an avocado for extra creaminess (and goodness for the babe!)

or i have egg cream (without flax) and a bowl of flax 'cereal'

or, if it's the w.e. the whole family has a cooked breakfast of sausage, eggs, mushrooms

snack is usually some cheese and celery/raw veg or a protein shake or slices of cold meat and a spoonful of coconut oil or as an occasional treat I make coconut bark

lunch - i almost always have mackerel/tuna/salmon/chicken with green salad, occasionally boiled eggs, some olives, and homemade dressing (olive oil, vinegar and mustard)

supper - have been doing recipes from this site and others so trying out loads of things from homemade lamb and feta patties to beef stroganoff to beef stew to chicken coated in parmesan and fried and of course the staple, steaks and greens. Tonight I have had roast chicken and broccoli with home made gravy. As a wicked treat (and if i've not had cream in the morning) I might make a pudding by whipping up some heavy cream with a scoop of vanilla protein shake and a dash of da vinci syrup.

That's about it really. I think induction level carbs are fine as long as you make sure you are getting in the fluids and fibre. Plus, I'm taking a really good quality prenatal vitamin (also meant for nursing Mums) as well as probiotics.

Hope this helps. I started this when Ruby was 3 months too. She's now 18 weeks and weighs 18 pounds 2 oz and remains on the 91st centile so really there's no doubt that she's getting plenty of good nourishing milk as I mentioned in an earlier post, if anything, my supply has gone into overdrive.

[sbarr]

Hi everyone - I'm having a rocky time with BF with a shield (Lindsey starts fine and then slacks off and sleeps and when I awaken her, she doesn't want to eat but cries when I try to put her down). I do supplement at night with formula trying to get her to last for 4 hours and as a last resort when she won't BF enough to stop crying.

Big breakthrough this morning - I think this is because she's older, more aware of her actions - but, out of total experiment this morning - I overslept a bit, woke and she was screaming and didn't quiet down when I picked her up so I knew she was HUNGRY!!! I pushed her to my breast without a shield because it was downstairs and her bedroom is upstairs and she actually latched to worst breast (shape nipple, less milk - I picked that one because it was dripping down my belly and leg) - I was amazed and have a renewed hope that I can stick this out a bit longer since my pumping is decreasing output.

I'm continuing with:

Fenugreek
Fennel seed
Blessed Thistle
Brewer's Yeast



emslight - 91 percentile? Wow! Lindsey went to pediatrician last week and weighed in at 8# 3 oz (at almost a month, she was born 7# 4 oz) - putting her directly at 50th percentile - she's not very tall so I'm happy. She's incredibly strong - during belly time she actually raises herself bottom so she's on her knees and plows her head along the leather couch for a few inches. She's not coordinated enough to raise head and bottom at the same time, but at a month - that would be impossible...

I'll look forward to continued reports on what people are eating - my awesome weight loss stalled, now the rest is real work, not fluid loss from the birth.

[Prozak]

sbarr... first of all Miss L is absolutely PRECIOUS!

Emslight... my Jenna Rae looks so much like your Ruby it is SPOOKY!!

So here we go...

A happy healthy baby STARTS with a happy health (not to mention well rested) Mom.

you do what works for YOU and if that involves supplementing with a bottle, then by all means you just go ahead and do it.

I am of the camp that breast IS best.. and have had to get over the fact that I was NOT physically able to BF my youngest 2 100% (breast reduction). My surgery was done when I was 3 weeks pregnant w/#2 and had NO idea. I was successful with 30% of BM for 4.5 months and was exclusively pumping (let down issues).

this time around I was well armed and more knowledgeable about supply and issues and we were able to do it without the pump and worked our way up to 70% BM for 6 months.

It was the hardest thing I have ever done, pills, pills, pills, timing, nursing in weird spots because i had to, waking up 14x a night because she would fall asleep and then wake up hungry again (she is still not sleeping through the night and she is almost 8months knock on wood she did last night).

one if the more personal difficulties I had was I am also the body type that hangs onto my maternal fat for as long as I am Bfing, and the pills, pills, pills i was taking can actually cause weight GAIN if one is not careful (not reglan but domperidone avail as a galactagogue in Canada and the UK only I an know dozens of women on my breast reduction group who are livid about that but have found ways around it).

I am literally BURStIng with information about milk supply and will try to answer any questions you might have about trying to increase it.. It is something I am passionate about. But my research tells me to avoid using Reglan, especially for more than 2 weeks. There are some known side effects that Domperidone does not have (if you can get our hands on it, but it won;t help with weight loss in the least)



I will add that when I made the choice to toss away the pills! pills! pills! it was a tough one. Jenna LOVES the boobie and prefers it to anything else... so we continue to comfort nurse at night and in the morning if we have time. I hardly think she is getting anything anymore, but she does still occasionally have a nice seedy poop.



I do want to urge Moms to research the introduction of grains to your babies... Doctors now are suggesting waiting until AFTER they are 7 months old, and there is research out there showing that the introductions of grains and cereals before 2 years old might have a connection to Type I diabetes and grain intolerances among other things.

Stick to whole foods... feed them meats and veggies, grind them if you have to, but really I think that letting them feed themselves teaches them to appreciate food as opposed to having us sitting there shoving it down their throats. At 8 months and NO TEETH Jenna is now chewing meat, brocolli, roasted red peppers, cauli, cheese, pears, avocado, apple chunks, asparagus, watermelon (her fave of course) and had only had a few organic rice crackers (100% rice) as a treat when she wants to chew on something. She loves ot eat dinner with us and it is SO nice to not have to spoon feed her, in fact she prefers I cut up the food and place it on her tray to feed herself. When she is done she just stops eating!

I started her out with raw carrots... she would gnaw on one of those for HOURS and it helps to teach her to chew.

Oh, I do spoon feed her plain 6% MF whole yogurt slightly sweetened w/stevia and some pear chunks... OMG you would think she was eating ice cream she loves it so much.




Here is Jenna Rae at 6 months old after eating some steamed brocolli:

[emslight]

Hi everyone.

Sandra. 50th centile is great going. My girls have both been big (long and nicely chunky) but their Pa is 6ft 6 so it's no real surprise to anyone. Brilliant news about the nipple shield. Are you still using it? That's exactly how I weaned my first off it - I needed to feed her and all the shields were in the sterilizer so I just plonked her on and she fed and I thought, hang on a minute, maybe we can do this again and before we knew it, we were feeding without the shields. Keep us posted on how you're doing. It will get easier and easier with time.

Prozak. Your wee one does indeed look like the Rubester. I think it's those dark brown eyes. Sounds like you're doing a great job with the solids. You're following a similar routine to the one I did (and still try to do) with Lola - lots of meat, fish, veggies and low carb fruits. Worst thing is my mother... whenever she looks after the girls Lola is given chocolate and rubbish as 'treats'. It makes me so MAD. I came back on Sat and Lola was eating sausages (good ones from the farmers market so no problem there), baked beans (low sugar and salt so okay, ish) and a moutain of tomato ketchup! Ketchup with beans? Good Lord mother what are you doing. And Lola was eating the ketchup up with a spoon like it was food in itself. It's no wonder that I was a fat kid. Thankfully, Lola isn't fat. I'm hoping she's got some of my hubbie's thin genes.

Here's the latest pic of the girls. We have our first holiday as a family of 4 next week. Going to Crete (greek island). V excited!

[LAlow carb]

Well...........I was doing great, lost 7 lbs holding it at bay.........and then my OB wanted me to do a postpartum blood sugar test. I fasted, had someone to watch my little ones, and the lab tech had me drink 75mg of glucose , then realized she forgot my fasting. Diet ruined and now I have to do it again. I'm so frustrated!! Do they realize how I have struggled and what two kids in two years has done to my body!! Not to mention the heat, I will smother under all this fat!! I am one of those that holds on to fat at all cost, I think I would survive a famine without a problem!!

I have been working so hard and now I'm off the wagon, I have to finish what I start, so I'm enjoying a couple of free days and after the test, I will get back on the wagon. I got some Brewer's yeast and I think my milk supply is better.

My lil boy is finally sleeping through the night........getting there has been rough. Now my 18 month old has been clingy and needy.....guess she just realized the 3 month old is requiring a LOT of mom's time.

The other day she lifted up her shirt to nurse her babydoll!! I almost fell off the couch!!

I hope you all continue to write in, I really need to share your struggles and not feel so alone. I really feel like you understand what it is like to want to be healthy and also give your child the best start in life possible.

Thanks for