Need help from breastfeeding moms!

[Bluegrrl]

Couple of things you could still try, although she sounds like she is doing better. Contact La Leche or another lactation service since they are very helpful with that sort of thing. My hospital offered free lactation consultants, so you might want that.
Nipple confusion is a real thing. They get confused between breast and bottle, so they might not feed well from mama. A baby knows your smell, and who is giving the bottle. You should give only the breast, and let other people give bottle. That way, she may feed better from you. She may be teething a bit - if she bites (wow, it hurts!), don't stop feeding. Just set her down, tell her that "we don't do that", and over time, she will learn Pavlov-style that if she bites, there will be no food. She'll get it.
If your breasts are starting to hurt, do pump and freeze it to mix into cereal and stuff. I like handpumps because they are more convienent and feel more comfy. Do not forget to have a picture or an item of your child (to smell) since that stimulates your milk production. There is also a "feeding cup" which you may be interested to buy. Its a little silicon cup with a spout and you fill it with milk and squeeze it on the sides for you can give it to the baby "teacup" style.

Try pumping and feeding as much as you can - always offer even if she doesn't seem to want it, so you can at least keep up production. Get into a dark room and relax with her. My son would feed like crazy, then kinda stopped for a while, then started up again. He is three, and I weaned him at two 1/2 because he was just sucking for fun (I didn't have any milk left). Also, check out the book "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding". It explains a lot about feeding and what to do in situations like this. Good luck, and hope all this helps. BTW: we introduced foods at 1years. "Food before one is just for fun" - one of the women I met used to say this. Also, beware that some Peds may tell you to use formula. My mom is a midwife (and works for the National health opinions that are instituted in the U.S.), and has seen some pretty slimy deals with formula companies and doctors. (See Nestle and Africa scam). Always try breast first, unless it is the absolute last resort. But really, some babies just get a little finicky around this time, and then turn right around into feeding again. Again, good luck and keep up the feeding faith!

 

[erin327]

Yes. Keep pumping as much as you can at least for a while to maintain your supply while you work out what is happening. Sometimes babies go through nursing strikes at about that age. You might read up on that. Around that age my kids both starting nursing less often. They still both nursed at bedtime, during the night, first thing in the morning, and then before naps. They maintained those nursings for a long time after that and picked back up a few more nursings after a short adjustment time. Hang in there and keep offering!

 

[disneypolybride2008]

Couple of things you could still try, although she sounds like she is doing better. Contact La Leche or another lactation service since they are very helpful with that sort of thing. My hospital offered free lactation consultants, so you might want that.
Nipple confusion is a real thing. They get confused between breast and bottle, so they might not feed well from mama. A baby knows your smell, and who is giving the bottle. You should give only the breast, and let other people give bottle. That way, she may feed better from you. She may be teething a bit - if she bites (wow, it hurts!), don't stop feeding. Just set her down, tell her that "we don't do that", and over time, she will learn Pavlov-style that if she bites, there will be no food. She'll get it.
If your breasts are starting to hurt, do pump and freeze it to mix into cereal and stuff. I like handpumps because they are more convienent and feel more comfy. Do not forget to have a picture or an item of your child (to smell) since that stimulates your milk production. There is also a "feeding cup" which you may be interested to buy. Its a little silicon cup with a spout and you fill it with milk and squeeze it on the sides for you can give it to the baby "teacup" style.

Try pumping and feeding as much as you can - always offer even if she doesn't seem to want it, so you can at least keep up production. Get into a dark room and relax with her. My son would feed like crazy, then kinda stopped for a while, then started up again. He is three, and I weaned him at two 1/2 because he was just sucking for fun (I didn't have any milk left). Also, check out the book "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding". It explains a lot about feeding and what to do in situations like this. Good luck, and hope all this helps. BTW: we introduced foods at 1years. "Food before one is just for fun" - one of the women I met used to say this. Also, beware that some Peds may tell you to use formula. My mom is a midwife (and works for the National health opinions that are instituted in the U.S.), and has seen some pretty slimy deals with formula companies and doctors. (See Nestle and Africa scam). Always try breast first, unless it is the absolute last resort. But really, some babies just get a little finicky around this time, and then turn right around into feeding again. Again, good luck and keep up the feeding faith!

Thank you so much, i will look for the cup. She nursed 37 swallows, which is great, at 4:30am, then slept til 9am and i thought she'd do great. She barely nibbled. I was surprised i let down! She was barely doing anything, but i guess it was filling her mouth so she swallowed, sucked a few times, and eventually got to 24 swallows. Then she popped off, to poke at my face, smile and babble. She also seems pre-occupied with gas, she normally goes poop after her morning feed. Guess that was distracting her. I will keep offering her the breast. I'll try in a little while.

 

[disneypolybride2008]

she did well enough today that i did not need to pump or give her food. since she did not do well on one side, i offered her 30 min later on the other side, which she took, then offered more frequently than an hour all day long. She seemed to like that, and she was actually sucking! I think she did get her mouth hurt on that plastic easter egg and now it's getting better. she spent a lot of time nursing and suckling, as if her meager let down was not enough.. so hopefully my supply picks back up. it was already adjusting to her smaller requests. It is so great to have her interested again!

 

[Terapin]

For your supply you can try blessed thistle and fenugreek supplements. Very safe. Dosage is 3-4 capsules each 3-4 times a day. Works really well to increase supply and make things easier for you.

 

[unrequited23]

In addition to the herbal supplements, oatmeal and gatorade really worked for me. Dehydration, decrease in calories, decrease in sleep and increase in stress can all negatively impact supply. I used to joke a snack, a big glass of water, a long shower and a nap would resolve a lot of breastfeeding issues.

 

[disneypolybride2008]

she has been back to normal! thanks for your helpful suggestions everyone