All the breastfeeding mommas out there

THanks, i misunderstood her, she's starting the actual induction tomm morning, just getting the stuff to soften the cervix tonight. So tommorow he will be born. Thank you, im so excited!!

Well Ladies, im getting frustrated with the results im getting. Ive had the little man home for a week now and i started using the lact-aid all the time like 5 days ago. But it seems as if my supply has decreases instead of increased. I think part of the problem is that im not pumping between feedings. But if im using the lact aid for all the feedings, i dont see why i would have to pump in between too. Isnt the point of it so the baby learns how to nurse and creates stimulation for you at the same time. I was up to pumping 8 times a day and now im nursing like 6 times a day. He likes to eat more all at once instead of "snacking" every 2 hours. So should i be pumping inbetween feedings?? Not like i really have time for it, but it just seems like my breasts have kinda went soft and dont feel firm and large like they did when i was pumping. I know its only been a week nursing but ive been pumping for almost a month and i think im getting about 1 1/2 ounces a day now. Maybe 2 ounces. Im not exactly sure. Im eating oatmeal everyday for breakfast, i take 160 mg of Dom, i take 6 fenugreek pills, and take Motherslove- More milk special blend 4x a day like the instructions say. I guess i just dont know what more i can do besides come to the conclusion that this is all im going to produce. I will be going back to work in a month and i wont beable to pump while im there so im afraid my supply will just drop back down to almost nothing when i go back. I really thought by now i would be producing a few ounces a day. At least 3 or 4 maybe. Im just frustrated cuz im doing everything "right" and im not getting as good of results as i would like to get. Thanks for letting me vent..... Rach

Rach, Sounds like you're doing awesome! It was almost a couple of months before I got up to 2 ounces. The main thing is to keep that baby nursing! He is going to build your supply faster than a pump will but it will still be a gradual build-up. Also, I remember reading somewhere that loss of engorgement does not mean you're making less milk. Here are some tips from La Leche League that might be of help to you and I'm sure the other ladies will chime in as well: [url=http://www.llli.org/FAQ/pumpwork.html]LLLI | FAQ on Pumping and Supply Issues[/url] Hang in there, I think you're doing a fantastic job for that little boy!

FYI for anyone thinking about using Goats Rue or the formula Motherslove more milk special blend with Goats rue in it, it takes upto 2 months or more for more tissue to develop. So you wont see results right away if you are taking it. It is "supposedly" suppose to make your breasts develop more tissue and glands hence making more milk. Whether or not i believe that is a different story, but ive been taking that instead of the fenugreek and blessed thistle. It has all those in it, just with other herbs and in a different formulation. Cant really say if its making me more milk or not. Just thought i would let ya know if anyone is trying it. Rach PS- DONT GET THE LIQUID KIND. GET THE PILLS OF THE MORE MILK SPECIAL BLEND. The alcohol free liquid stuff is so terrible tasting i can barely choke down the 1/4 of a tsp you have to take. So nasty!!!

First of all, I am thrilled that you got the baby! How much did he weigh, and what does he look like (and anything else you'd like to say about him). I am sorry it has been almost a week since you posted and I haven't seen it before this. I know how urgent feeding issues are. Are you feeling any better about it, yet? I think, in a lot of ways, it is best to avoid thinking about how much you are producing, most days, and just reevaluate every week or so. As long as you can see that the baby is doing well, you shouldn't need to think too much about how much you are producing. Too much focus on it can not only turn what should be a wonderful experience into a frustrating one, but the stress from it can inhibit milk production, too. How are you trying to tell how much you are producing? He may be getting more than you realize. If you feel like you can pump in addition to nursing on demand, without causing soreness or keeping you from getting sleep, you can do some pumping in addition. Another thing you can try is pumping the opposite side while the baby is nursing. It makes use of time you are all ready sitting, and also takes advantage of the let-down from the baby nursing. That was the only way I could ever pump more than a dribble at a time. I agree with Angomomma, in that it sounds like you are doing well, overall. Just try to get beyond the discouragement. It takes time and patience, but it is all worth it. Isn't it wonderful just to be able to nurse your baby? I thought it would have been worth all of the extra effort, even if I didn't produce milk and, in fact, I have known two ladies who, for some reason, couldn't see that they ever produced a drop, but both say that they wouldn't trade it for the world. One of those went on to nurse a second child, and the other was very sad when her son self-weaned at 13 months, because she was hoping to keep nursing a lot longer. Hang in there and have a great time with that little guy! Darillyn noelani54@hotmail.com

I'd like to chime in :) Our son (by adoption) is now 1 month old :) I don't pump, but I do take 180mg of Dom. per day (60mg x 3) I use a Lact-aid and love it! I use it with formula as I have not been able to find donated breast milk yet, but I have a lead as of today :) I bf my bio DDs with difficulty d/t supply. I actually took Dom. with the second DD. I am LOVING nursing my son with the Lact-aid as supply is no longer an issue!!!! He is by far my best nursing experience ever. It's just so relaxing with him. Glad to join this thread, Nora

Wow, Nora that is wonderful! I also nursed on demand with the Lact-Aid. My last four kids nursed until they self weaned, at an average of about two years old. two of them were willing to forego the Lact-Aid, once there were taking other foods and liquids, and two insisted on having it there, long after they needed the nutrition from it. That included the one I produced the most milk for. Since you are on domperidone, it is much more likely that you will be able to dispense with supplements earlier than I did.I think pumping is usually inferior to nursing a baby with the Lact-Aid, as far as milk production, but definitely inferior as far as the experience, for both baby and mother. There is nothing more beautiful than a baby at the breast! I also believe that constant concern about milk supply can turn a wonderful experience into a frustrating one. With the Lact-Aid, we can make sure our babies are getting enough to eat, while increasing our milk production, and just relax and take advantage of the wonderuf time you have together. I encourage women not to count ounces more than about once a week, if that. Your post is so positive, I know moms who see it will find it encouraging. I wish you all the best as you continue to nurture your baby!Darillyn

Hi everyone!! Havent heard from alot of you in a while, hope all the nursing is going well. DS is now 7 weeks old. I cant believe he is that old already-the time has flown by. Seems like just yesterday we were not so patiently waiting for a match and everything since then has worked out pretty darn well. Ive gotten a little lazy with my nursing lately. Honestly, its so much quicker with the bottle and now that im back to work its so much easier to give him a bottle in the morning when im running late as it is to nurse with the lact-aid. He seems to be not wanting to use it so then he fusses and pulls around and it takes forever to nurse so i am probably bottle feeding him 1/2 the time and nursing half the time. If i dont nurse him i pump, but i feel bad- ive only been at this 7 weeks and I am already getting lazy about it. I guess i just need to make a commitment to get nursing more and maybe he will like it again. He loves nursing without the lact-aid but i am only getting about 4oz a day so i cant just nurse him a feeding w/o the lact-aid. Ive also been a little lazy with taking my herbs. I need to do a better job with that. Even forgot to take all my Dom. a few days too. I think my mind is going!!! Anyways, just thought id see how everyone is doing with their babies. Rach

Rach, I have been thinking about what you have said, about bottlefeeding him half the time, but feeling badly about it. I have been there, with my first two babies. My second son had a severe suckling defect, so it wasn't as much the fact that it was so much easier to use bottles but that was a big factor with my first. When our third baby came, as a big surprize, I thought a lot about what had happened with my first two babies and tried to use that experience to help me along with my third. I knew that the first few months were the hardest and wanted to make sure I would make it "over the hump" with the third, and keep nursing for at least a year. One thing I hung onto was the fact that, with the first two, every time they were sick or hurt, I would really wish I could nurse them. That went on until they were about two years old. So, with #3, when I got discouraged, or exhausted, and tempted to turn to bottles, I remembered how I had felt, before. I hung in there, and it got easier, and more enjoyable, after the first few months. He nursed until well past infancy, when he decided he no longer needed to nurse. I suggest trying to imagine how you will feel about it in the future and evaluating what your goals are. Although there are definite benefits to nursing, you don't have to keep nursing to be a good mother and raise a healthy child, especially if your son does well on formula. If making bottles the primary feeding method and nursing mostly for comfort is something you could be happy with, you don't need to feel badly about doing that. If you think you will regret not focusing on breastfeeding to a greater extent, do what you can to make it as convenient as possible and hang in there!Here are some of the tricks I found, to make it as convenient as possible. I know you know some of these all ready, but I am just going to throw them out there anyway, because there are others who come and read these posts.Have enough Lact-Aid so that you only need to do washing and filling once of twice a day, and then make that chore as simple as possible. Keep a bowl of water on your kitchen counter and throw each empty Lact-Aid into it until you are ready to wash them, so they don't get milk dried in them. In general, it is important to go ahead and wash them all as soon as you get done with the last one. Plan ahead, though, so that in the evening, or anytime you think it might be inconvenient to wash them by the time they are all dirty, you can do a quick wash to make sure you have enough prepared units to last until it will be convenient to wash them all. If you can get your husband or someone else to do that, all the better. Also, I found that it was easier to mix up a day's worth of formula every day at about noon (to avoid the possiblity of running out at night), rather than just mixing when I filled Lact-Aids. Sometimes, I mixed the milk in a sports bottle with a long spout on it so I could fill the bags straight out of the bottle without needing the funnel. That was after I had started just holding the bags, rather than using the bag hanger. That made it a little faster.I always kept a filled Lact-Aid in the fridge with the neck cord on it and adjusted. When I needed it, I could pop it into a Tupperware tumbler full of hot water for a few seconds, to take the chill off and then be ready to nurse. The milk doesn't have to be warm, unless you need it to flow as fast as possible. Cool or room temp is usually fine. It is very helpful to figure out the fastest way for you to get hot water. I lived in lots of different places over the years that I was using Lact-Aids. In Germany, I could get hot water out of the kitchen sink, immediately, because there was a little water heater right underneath it. In Vegas, it was fastest to keep a tea kettle on the stove with a small amount of water in it, and just turn on the gas burner full blast. In our first house in Utah, where the water heater wasn't real close to the kitchen and I had an electric stove that didn't heat very fast, the fastest way was to keep a cup with a little water in the microwave. (not heating the Lact-Aid in the microwave, just the water).Wearing the right clothing all the time helps, too. I just wore knit tops that could be easily lifted up. I had a few nursing fashions, with flaps and slits, but those made it harder to get to the Lact-Aid, so I didn't wear them much until the babies were older and not needing to nurse as much.Another thing I found very helpful was to allow myself one four ounce bottle per day, with some kind of nipple that would not flow too quickly. If I ended up in a situation where it was especially difficult to nurse, they would get the bottle, usually from someone besides me. If I didn't need it on a particular day, I didn't use it, but I often did. I felt like that helped keep the whole experience from being overwhelming. It may have cut down my milk supply a tiny bit, but I don't think it was significant. My last baby absolutely refused to have anything to do with a bottle or pacifier, after she had nursed once, but my others were willing to take them. In your case, I think it is very important to try to find out why your baby doesn't like to nurse with the Lact-Aid, but does like to nurse without it. It is most often the other way around, where they don't want the breast unless the Lact-Aid is there. I wonder if he has come to see the breast as a comfort but not a food source, or something like that. If you want to keep trying to use the Lact-Aid, it is important to try to figure out some things that will help him like it more. Are you using tape with it? If so, I wonder if he doesn't like the feel of the tape. If you wear a nursing bra that has a frame that goes all the way around the breast, so that there is still something on top when the flap is lowered, it is much easier to do without tape. You can try increasing, or decreasing the flow and see if that makes a difference. Another thing you can do is clip the tube and see if he will go for it if the milk isn't flowing. If the problem is that he has come to want the breast more for when he isn't hungry, maybe that would help. You can use a hair clip to cut off the flow. Then, maybe let him settle in and then start to let a little bit of the supplement to flow and see if he will gradually start to accept more from it. I assum he is getting the same kind of formula from the Lact-Aid as he gets in a bottle. You could also try varying the position of the tube in his mouth and see if that makes a difference. Babies are such individuals and some can be very picky about things! Anyway, I hope my attempt at motherly advice has provided something to help. I had a friend in German who had breastfed four bio babies and an adopted baby, in the 60s and 70s and she was a great source of support for me, and I try to provide that for younger mothers, now, when I can.For Nora-I am really happy that you are having such a nice experience nursing your baby with the Lact-Aid! Some people say that moms should avoid letting the baby have any more from the Lact-Aid than absolutely necessary, but that can turn what should be a wonderful experience into a negative one, and often result in the baby getting not only less time at the breast, but less breast milk, in the long run. Enjoy this time!Darillyn

Hey ladies, Sorry for my very long absence. I realized that I was starting to obsess pretty unhealthily over all things adoption so I decided to take a break for a couple of months and regroup. Starting January, I stopped reading my adoption blogs and message boards, quit taking my Dom, and stopped pumping. Well, what do you know? We found out on Friday that a wonderful young lady chose us to be the parents of her little boy, due April 14. :woohoo: So along with all of our other frantic preparations, I need to get try to get my supply back up! We are over the moon and excited to meet this baby boy!

AngoMomma~ Congratulations!! And figures, right?! LOL! Hopefully you be able to get your supply back quickly, but don't stress too much if you don't. Once baby is home he'll do the best job at bringing it in!! I hope the next month goes smoothly and quickly for you!

Thats wonderful news. Just when you think its never gonna happen, BAM.... it does. I hope the match goes well and soon you will be trading in that pump for a much better, much cuter version!!! My little guy can drain me in a few minutes compared to the pump that takes 15 minutes. Well, at least it feels like he's draining me at least.... I hope he is! Good luck, Congrats, Rach

Thanks, ladies! Fortunately, I still have a freezer full of pumped milk so I can at least supplement with breastmilk for a couple of weeks if nothing else. Do you think I should start pumping again or just take my Dom and wait for the baby?

I'm really excited to read your news! Its totally up to you, if or when to go back to pumping. Have you ordered a Lact-Aid? It is wonderful that you have the frozen milk! I always found it helped to get through the anxiety of waiting, to stay real busy and especially busy with preparations for the baby. Time spent pumping might help you pass the time, as well as more milk to offer the baby right away. However, it would also be fine to just wait and let the Lact-Aid and the frozen milk provide more of what the baby needs, at first. I don't know, if you weren't going to pump, if it would be advantageous to get back on the dom right away or if it would be just as good to wait until a couple weeks before the baby is due. We are waiting for a baby boy soon, too, but it is my first grandson!

Congratulations, Darrilyn! You must be so excited!