PS Mommy Thread-Newborn to 12 months!

[rockpaperscissors67]

I can totally understand why you''re frustrated!! I would be, too. Breastfeeding is very much an art and not a science -- so much depends on the nursing diad. You and Claire are a team and are bound to do things differently than other nursing teams out there.

First, yay for having a PIS! Those are *great* pumps and comparable to hospital-grade, so that''s a big bonus. I''m glad you found flanges that are more comfortable. Pumping should not be traumatic, even if it''s not very much fun.

Second, getting 1/2 oz. after feeding is, IMHO, very good. I pumped for 8 months during the day for my son and there were some nights that I had to pump to make up enough for the next day. I was lucky if I got anything close to 1/2 oz. directly after feeding. I think the biggest benefit to pumping after feeding is just the added stimulation, so you shouldn''t even care how much milk you get.

Also, your supply is going to be highest in the morning, too, so don''t let what you pump in the evenings discourage you. The amounts you''re pumping sound well within the norm to me. It can take some time to condition your body to respond to the pump. A lot of women do get discouraged in the early days of pumping when they don''t get very much. After several weeks of being on a schedule, your body is much more tuned to pump. The fact that you were having let downs before you hooked up is a really good sign because it shows that your body is responding.

Something else you could try is to pump one side while you''re nursing Claire. This does require some juggling and can be hard at first, but it takes advantage of the multiple let downs the baby creates. This does double duty -- you get some milk to save to give her plus it''s the added stimulation that''s good for your body.

As for how long...if you''re pumping after a feed, 10 minutes should be sufficient for the stimulation. I don''t see any harm in going to 15 minutes, but I don''t think it will mean much in the whole scheme of things...except more time you''re hooked up to the pump.

I think you''re on the right path and trusting your intuition is a good thing!

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 11/15/2009 10:38:55 AM
Author: neatfreak

Date: 11/15/2009 2:17:41 AM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
Pheonix The *only* and I mean *only* accurate way to judge what your baby is getting is to assess her wet and poopy diapers. Input equals output! She should be having at least 6 heavy wet diapers per day (heavy is about 1/4 cupof water in a diaper if you want to see what it feels like), and then at least one nice poop.

Well that''s not the ONLY way. Another great way is to weigh Claire before a feed and then after. Then they can see how much she''s getting in a feed.

LOL, yes, I may have been a tad over emphatic

I was thinking about methods that she could use at home to monitor I guess.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 11/15/2009 1:07:26 PM
Author: neatfreak
Phoenix .75 is great! I''m sorry if I missed somewhere-but is the point of this to increase your supply or to get her to eat more?

If it''s to increase your supply-just nurse and then pump. And forget about the formula. Basically you just want to stimulate as much as possible to get more milk flowing. I personally used to pump a few times a day to get more milk flowing for my twins-and I would try to pump for like 20 minutes. By pumping AFTER the milk is gone it signals to your body that more needs to be produced. Worked well for me and I only pumped like 2-3x a day just for longer periods.

If she''s not eating properly/enough-have they explored WHY? Sounds like you probably have enough milk...so you might want to talk to her pedi or someone else to try and figure out why she isn''t eating enough/gaining.

And has any LC weighed her before and after a feeding to see how much she''s getting? That would tell you right away whether she''s getting enough or not. And then you could stop worrying about your supply if she is.

Ditto to all of this.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Drumroll please... CIO night 5 update

Hunter slept for 12 hours last night without making a peep!

Hallelujah, free at last, I hope it continues

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 11/15/2009 2:46:41 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
Drumroll please... CIO night 5 update


Hunter slept for 12 hours last night without making a peep!

Hallelujah, free at last, I hope it continues

I have to say CIO is amazing...we had to use it recently too when the boys had a relapse in their sleep habits and we started waking with them 1-2x a night each again. We had to cut it off since we knew they didn''t need anything. And after 2 nights of CIO they are sleeping through the night again, are less cranky, and don''t love us any less.

It''s a great tool in the right situation.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 11/15/2009 2:50:22 PM
Author: neatfreak

Date: 11/15/2009 2:46:41 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
Drumroll please... CIO night 5 update


Hunter slept for 12 hours last night without making a peep!

Hallelujah, free at last, I hope it continues

I have to say CIO is amazing...we had to use it recently too when the boys had a relapse in their sleep habits and we started waking with them 1-2x a night each again. We had to cut it off since we knew they didn''t need anything. And after 2 nights of CIO they are sleeping through the night again, are less cranky, and don''t love us any less.

It''s a great tool in the right situation.

True dat!

 

[phoenixgirl]

My substitute at work just emailed to ask if Claire had regained her birth weight yet and told me that his first child didn''t regain his until six months. Men.

I think it''s safe to assume that his son didn''t get back on track weight-wise until month six, but if he had an 8 pound six month old, that is definitely failure to thrive!

So I did the math, and Claire has gained 1.4 ounces a day since we started pumping and supplementing, which I''d say we do an average of 4-5 times a day, not the 8 times per day prescribed by the LC. Since everything I''ve read said babies should gain 0.5 to 1 ounces per day, and this is twice that much when we''ve only been doing half the supplementing, I have to assume that we are on track. But the LC said that maybe if she had gained twice as much we could stop doing what we''re doing, so the LC wanted her to be gaining 3 ounces a day? Doesn''t that sound unhealthy? And even in her down week she still gained weight, only 2 ounces. If 0.5 ounces a day is acceptable (3.5 ounces per week), it just doesn''t seem like we were that far off the mark to begin with. We just had a bad week. So we were supposed to make up for that with weeks and weeks of gaining 3 ounces a day????????

I am just getting really angry about all this ridiculous advice. I feel like I''m some kind of deviant horrible mother if I don''t follow the advice because who wants to take risks with her child''s life, but I just think the advice we''ve been given has been haphazard and ill-conceived, and I believe that part of Claire''s 8 pound birthweight was all the fluids we got during labor before the C/S.

 

[Mrs]

Hi mamas! Haven''t had much time to be on here lately since my mom was visiting for a while but I skim when I can and wanted to say hello!

Welcome to the new mamas!

DD congrats on getting Hunter to sleep so well!!

TDM I liked your idea about organizing threads by cohort.

phoenix, I''m sorry you''re getting such conflicting advice. You''re not a bad mother! Trust your gut.

question re: CIO: for those of you who have had success with CIO, did you use the ferber method of going in regularly to check in/soothe (but not pick up)? Or did you use the extinction method in HSHHC?

Sage is 8 months today and has been a TERRIBLE sleeper lately. She''s been waking every 2 or 3 hours in the night and sometimes even more. And she has been needing to be held in order to fall asleep even for naps. When I put her down awake she screams bloody murder and can''t seem to stop. She gets so exhausted with the screaming that when I do pick her up she passes out but often when I try to put her down again, she wakes up and starts screaming again. I''m hoping that her poor sleep was a function of her having to share her room with my mom while she was here but I''m not sure.... She used to cry herself to sleep when she was really small and she was fine so I''m not opposed to CIO but now when I let her cry, she can''t seem to stop even when she''s really really tired... I had my mom take over for half of one night and she ate a whole bottle with her and then ate a ton later with me as well. So I guess she is really hungry but I believe she doesn''t *need* to eat every 3 hours at night.... She''s only eating solids once a day so perhaps I should increase that? I''d love your thoughts.

thanks ladies! I hope you''re all well! And sorry for not giving a shout out to everyone individually!

Mrs

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 11/16/2009 9:50:12 AM
Author: phoenixgirl
My substitute at work just emailed to ask if Claire had regained her birth weight yet and told me that his first child didn't regain his until six months. Men.

I think it's safe to assume that his son didn't get back on track weight-wise until month six, but if he had an 8 pound six month old, that is definitely failure to thrive!


So I did the math, and Claire has gained 1.4 ounces a day since we started pumping and supplementing, which I'd say we do an average of 4-5 times a day, not the 8 times per day prescribed by the LC. Since everything I've read said babies should gain 0.5 to 1 ounces per day, and this is twice that much when we've only been doing half the supplementing, I have to assume that we are on track. But the LC said that maybe if she had gained twice as much we could stop doing what we're doing, so the LC wanted her to be gaining 3 ounces a day? Doesn't that sound unhealthy? And even in her down week she still gained weight, only 2 ounces. If 0.5 ounces a day is acceptable (3.5 ounces per week), it just doesn't seem like we were that far off the mark to begin with. We just had a bad week. So we were supposed to make up for that with weeks and weeks of gaining 3 ounces a day????????


I am just getting really angry about all this ridiculous advice. I feel like I'm some kind of deviant horrible mother if I don't follow the advice because who wants to take risks with her child's life, but I just think the advice we've been given has been haphazard and ill-conceived, and I believe that part of Claire's 8 pound birthweight was all the fluids we got during labor before the C/S.

I think that there must have been some miscommunication somewhere-I doubt it would be even possible to get Claire to gain 3 oz. a day at this point. Maybe she meant that she wanted you to gain an oz. a day instead of .5 oz?

Anyway-you obviously need to follow your own instinct here and make sure to ask lots of WHY questions when an LC or even a doctor tells you to do something.

Can I ask why you haven't asked your pedi about the weight gain? You can call them anytime-they might be able to either explain the justification for what you are doing or tell you that you can stop.

If you choose to stop with the supplementing/pumping I would just make sure to bring her in weekly for the next few weeks for a weight check. That way you can be sure she's still gaining-and then you won't have to worry.

 

[neatfreak]

Mrs We did the extinction. Personally, for us, checking on them only made them more upset, not less.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 11/15/2009 2:50:22 PM
Author: neatfreak

Date: 11/15/2009 2:46:41 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
Drumroll please... CIO night 5 update


Hunter slept for 12 hours last night without making a peep!

Hallelujah, free at last, I hope it continues

I have to say CIO is amazing...we had to use it recently too when the boys had a relapse in their sleep habits and we started waking with them 1-2x a night each again. We had to cut it off since we knew they didn''t need anything. And after 2 nights of CIO they are sleeping through the night again, are less cranky, and don''t love us any less.

It''s a great tool in the right situation.

Sounds great DD! Hope things keep going well. CIO is so much easier early on too. I know people who tried it when their kids were much older (18 mos) and it''s extremely difficult then, and most likely not going to work because of the high drama associated with it).

 

[E B]

dreamer- 12 hours sounds HEAVENLY.

phoenix- Three oz. doesn't sound right. When H was gaining ONE ounce a week shortly after birth, my doctor and the LC nurse were thrilled, and he was early and was 'making up' weight. I too have heard the .5 - 1 oz a week gain as a good goal to aim for. I agree with neat- if you stop the supplementing, ask to check her weight every week or so to see if she's gaining a healthy amount. She could be on BM alone, if she's gaining almost an ounce and a half with the formula. As for the pumping, Pandora is spot on- I don't get much when I pump either, but H is 75th percentile for weight, so he's obviously getting plenty from the breast alone.

Mrs- Could it be a growth spurt? She may need to eat more than once a night for just a short period of time. My little guy is only five months, but I suspect he's going through a spurt because he's ravenous at night. I'm sorry about the lack of sleep- I'm right there with you!

H takes his first plane ride on Thursday! Eeeeeeek. We're bringing a Boppy, his Sophie (teething toy), and teething tabs in the diaper bag, and hopefully he'll nurse/sleep for the majority of the flight. If only we could take his doorway bouncer, and somehow suspend it from the center of the plane so he could bounce down the aisle. This kid is all about bouncing these days.

We had his six month photos taken this last weekend (a month early) since we'll be out of town, so I'm on pins and needles waiting for those. So excited to see how they turn out.

 

[janinegirly]

Haven''t checked this thread in awhile--hope things get better DD.

My little one is 13 mo''s and taken to waking up 1-2 nights now as well. Don''t think CIO is an option, she just hates waking up in dark room with no one around. Paci and me staying around is what it takes. I never gave CIO an honest try, maybe I should have! It seems to have been v. successful for most.

 

[MustangGal]

Phoenix - I''m sorry you''re having such a bad time BFing! Good luck, and I hope it gets better soon.

Blen - congrats on the BOB!

DD - woohoo for better sleep! I might have to try CIO a bit in the morning. Kyle''s still waking up earlier than I would like...

Mrs - nice to "see" you! I hope you''re enjoying staying home.

Well, today is Kyle''s 9 month appointment. This has been his longest stretch without going to the pedi, 3 months, so I''m interested to see how he''s doing. I weighed him last night, and got 19 pounds, so we''ll see how that compares to the doctor''s scale

. And it''ll be nice to go to the pedi and have no shots to worry about!

 

[gailrmv]

MRS What is her teething situation? We had a couple hellish nights with A and each time, it turned out that he was cutting a new tooth. I wish I had any answers for you. I agree that at their age they shouldn''t need to eat every 2-3 hours at night. we have A eating 2 solid meals a day (both are small). In the evenings I nurse him around 5, baby solid food around 6 or 7, bath, then nurse again around 8 and then he goes to sleep. Some nights he''s up once or twice and he does want to eat and then goes right back down. I consider those nights good. Other nights he''s up more often to eat and sometimes has trouble getting back to sleep, and that''s when I start to get frustrated. I''m not sure what steps I am going to take either. I feel that when he''s eaten and is otherwise taken care of and needs to be sleeping, I don''t have an issue with letting him cry some - but after 15-20 minutes I usually go in there and try to soothe him. I''m ok with CIO in theory but in practice I don''t know.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 11/16/2009 11:39:45 AM
Author: neatfreak
Mrs We did the extinction. Personally, for us, checking on them only made them more upset, not less.

Ditto ditto ditto. I actually think from a learning theory perspective that Ferber is out to lunch. If you go in, then you are rewarding the crying, and if you just extend the time period, then all you are doing is using a quasi-variable reinforcement schedule. That is the hardest type of reinforcement to extinguish!

I know it is hard but if you want to use CIO then I personally think you have to stick it out no matter what. Know your babies cries, and know when it is just frustration and fatigue versus true distress. Choose a time when you feel that sage is happy and content and feeling secure.

As for feeding, Hunter also ate a lot at night. But I notcied he ate hardly anything in the day! How much do you think sage drinks in the daytime? Since we got rid of night feedings, he is much more focussed and drinks a lot more in the day. I think the night feeding was a habit.

But I also feed him 3 meals a day which I think helps. He doesn't really eat purees anymore, unless his teeth hurt, and mostly self feeds. If you are curious, here is a typical day:

7am BIG nurse
8am breakfast - half a cup of oatmeal (slow cook, mushed with a fork), banana and apple sauce mixed in, sometimes an egg yolk too.
10am nap
11:30am nurse
12pm lunch - half an avocado, 1oz of shredded meat OR half a cup of tofu OR egg yolk cubes, some bread
2pm nap
3pm nurse
5pm dinner - pasta, peas and carrots, meat OR tofu OR egg yolk and nurse
7pm nurse and bed

This seems to be enough food for him. But apparently babies differ a lot in how much they eat?

 

[rockpaperscissors67]

PG, you KNOW that you are not some deviant, horrible mother if you don''t take that LC''s advice! It sounds to me like you have been working your tail off to try to get the right advice and do the best thing for Claire.

I agree with you that expecting Claire to gain 3 oz a day *could* be unhealthy. There are some breastfed babies that pile on the weight naturally so they might be gaining that much and if that''s what their bodies do, I don''t think it''s bad. At the other end of the spectrum are the breastfed babies that gain more slowly and I don''t think that''s necessarily bad either. To me, the key is allowing the baby to gain at the rate that''s right for her.

I think some doctors put too much stock in those weight charts instead of looking at the overall picture. Did you know the weight charts were based only on formula fed babies? It''s well known that breastfed babies tend to gain differently, so, IMHO, plotting them on these charts is bound to create worry for at least SOME parents.

I''d rather look at a combination of things. Is the baby hitting the appropriate milestones? Is the baby content much of the time? What is the build of the baby''s parents?

All of my kids have been slow gainers and I won''t lie -- it''s hard. I second guessed myself a lot with the older ones and they ended up on formula by the time they were 5 months old. My experience with my younger daughter is what really changed things for me.

My older daughter wasn''t gaining as the ped wanted, so I started supplementing. It only took a couple of week until she was on formula completely because I was really ignorant about how to do supplementing right with pumping (IOW, I didn''t!). At that point, Hannah would projectile vomit 1/2 of every bottle I gave her. She didn''t start gaining weight, either. At birth, she was just a tick under 7 lbs. and at 6 months, she was 10.5 lbs. I had to throw a fit to get her in to see a specialist, who diagnosed her with reflux. She was put on Reglan and by 10 months was on a mostly solid diet (which totally deviates from all recommendations). At a year, she weighed 15 lbs. The entire time, she was hitting milestones appropriately and was a normal baby -- she was just skinny!

Now she''s 16, 5''6" and about 110 lbs. and can out-eat everyone in the family. I''m 5''6" and not pregnant, weigh around 115 lbs., so where do you think she got her body structure and metabolism??

Anyway, with #4 -- my 2nd daughter -- I was determined to keep breastfeeding. I knew a lot more by then. Kate was 7 lb. 14 oz. at birth, 11 lbs. at 6 months and 15 lbs. at 1 year. Today, she''s a very active 9 year old, who is tall and pretty skinny -- and perfectly healthy. As a baby, she gained exactly like her sister, but had none of the problems with reflux and went on to breastfeed for, well, a lot longer than most people would expect.

And then #5 was 8 lb. 4 oz. at birth, somewhere around 11 lbs. at 6 months and 16 lbs. at one year. He''s now 3, tall for his age and....skinny!

Do you see the pattern? LOL! Now when a pediatrician starts in about the low weight gain, I have history with the other kids to back up my theory that kids gain at the rate that they are *supposed* to and forcing them to gain more would probably not be good for them. Every single one of my kids is thin and completely healthy, just like I''ve been my entire life. I figure that just as some babies are going to be at the top of the weight charts, some babies have to be at the bottom.

Sorry this was so long. I just want you to know that it can be perfectly normal for a baby not to gain in great leaps and bounds. BTW, what you said about Claire''s birthweight probably being inflated due to the IVs is absolutely right! It''s likely that she could have actually lost more than 10% of her birth weight and it would have been fine, all because of the added fluid.

 

[phoenixgirl]

Neatfreak, I''m really hoping the pediatrician will be more flexible than the LC. The reason I didn''t call today is because we have a checkup tomorrow, so I''m going to lay it all on the table then, and because the doctor has deferred to the LC''s advice in the past and I didn''t want to have to explain over the phone why I think the LC is wrong.

I know it sounds really dumb, but the LC really did say that if Claire had gained double what she gained (when she gained 1.4 ounces per day) then we could ease up, which is why I think she wasn''t seeing the big picture. She did need a calculator to calculate the difference between 8 lb. 1 oz. and 7 lb. 12 oz. so I doubt she put it together how much Claire was actually gaining.

Rock, thank you for your personal stories. I had just recently heard that those charts were based on formula feeding. Today we tried a modified nursing holiday where I''ve been feeding her every 1.5 to 2 hours and trying to avoid formula, although I did just give her an ounce because she still seemed hungry and wasn''t really concentrating on the breast. If the doctor gives the ok, though, then I won''t do that in the future and will just go through the awkward period of waiting for my supply to meet her demand.

And guess what . . . no spit up/throwing up all day! I won''t be surprised if she spits up now after the formula, but it''s telling to me that if she''s getting the right amount then it won''t come back up.

To answer your questions, DH and I are both lean people and neither of us were big babies; I was actually very surprised that she was 8 lb. at birth; that''s huge in my family.

 

[Pandora II]

PG - Good luck tomorrow! It sounds like things are going in the right direction for Claire which is the most important thing!

Ebree - Sounds like you need a Jumperoo asap! I have a ''Sophie'' as well as so many of my friends swear by them - sadly Daisy has no interest so it looks like the cat will be getting it for xmas!

Daisy hits 6 months tomorrow...

where did all that time go??? And so we get to start real food. Although we were out today and she helped herself to a large gherkin off my plate - the whole thing vanished pretty fast so I guess she liked it, wasn''t what I was expecting - she spat out the nice healthy chunk of avocado that I offered her.

I''m having to watch her like a hawk in shops now - she helped herself to a rather nice Lamaze Peacock toy in a department store the other day, it was a very similar colour to the toy that is on her stroller so I didn''t realise for a good 10 minutes by which time she''d had a good old suck. She wouldn''t even hand it over to be scanned at the till...

However she''s played with it for hours ever since so it''s been worth every penny!

 

[E B]

Date: 11/16/2009 12:54:56 PM
Author: EBree

phoenix- Three oz. doesn''t sound right. When H was gaining ONE ounce a week shortly after birth, my doctor and the LC nurse were thrilled, and he was early and was ''making up'' weight. I too have heard the .5 - 1 oz a week gain as a good goal to aim for. I agree with neat- if you stop the supplementing, ask to check her weight every week or so to see if she''s gaining a healthy amount. She could be on BM alone, if she''s gaining almost an ounce and a half with the formula. As for the pumping, Pandora is spot on- I don''t get much when I pump either, but H is 75th percentile for weight, so he''s obviously getting plenty from the breast alone.

phoenix, I just realized I typed one ounce a week, and I meant a day. Sorry about that!

 

[fieryred33143]

Sorry for me post typing one handed and on phone. My supply just isn''t bouncing back. All I''ve done for the past 1.5 weeks is have Sophia on my breast and pump like crazy. When she eats, she drains both breast in probably a minute or two and then screams. The other night I gave her formula after she drained both breasts and she took 4oz so I know she''s not getting enough from me. It''s so sad. I''ve been doing fenugreek, drinking a ton of water, eating oatmeal 3 times a day, and having raspberry leaf tea. Any other ideas? I feel so lost. I know she''s not satisfied with just the breast anymore but I have no idea how much formula to give. I start with 2oz and either give 1 or 2oz more depending on how she does. It''s messing my whole "groove" so to speak. I feel like I don''t know what to do to take care of her anymore.

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 11/16/2009 6:55:25 PM
Author: fiery
Sorry for me post typing one handed and on phone. My supply just isn''t bouncing back. All I''ve done for the past 1.5 weeks is have Sophia on my breast and pump like crazy. When she eats, she drains both breast in probably a minute or two and then screams. The other night I gave her formula after she drained both breasts and she took 4oz so I know she''s not getting enough from me. It''s so sad. I''ve been doing fenugreek, drinking a ton of water, eating oatmeal 3 times a day, and having raspberry leaf tea. Any other ideas? I feel so lost. I know she''s not satisfied with just the breast anymore but I have no idea how much formula to give. I start with 2oz and either give 1 or 2oz more depending on how she does. It''s messing my whole ''groove'' so to speak. I feel like I don''t know what to do to take care of her anymore.

Try taking her to bed with you and letting her feed all night - it''s grim for your sleep for a while, but did wonders for my supply.

 

[E B]

fiery, love, I'm sorry you're feeling discouraged. Have you looked into using Domperidone? I know mela has had success with it, and several people in my breastfeeding community have noticed a nice supply increase while using it.

 

[mela lu]

Fiery - DOMPERIDONE ! It saved my supply. I take 3 pills, 3 times a day, before my meals. I have tons and tons of milk now.
DD - Great CIO update. Good Job! I agree that CIO has its time and place. I used it those 2 nights and he "learned". Since then, he's been sleeping 12 hrs through the night, however, the last couple nights he's been waking. I suspect it's teething. He's not drooling, but he is crankier and has red cheeks, so I feel like they are bothering him. When did hunter get his teeth?

For those considering CIO. It will work 100% of the time, (rather quickly) when you commit to it. I agree with Dreamer that Ferberizing is only reinforcing negative behaviour, but for those people who feel uncomfortable with CIO, thre are some methods of 'elimination' that could work. (slower and tougher)

I feel badly that I'm not "here" lately. I've decide to spend the month of Feb 2010 in Florida, so I've been really actively trying to find a holiday rental. I think I found it...just have to sign the papers. YAHOO! Bite my butt Canadian Winter!

Daisy - you crack me up. A gherkin! wow. Which leads me to my next question. Romeo is 5.5 months, and I'm going to start solids soon. How is everyone doing with Solids? (Dreamer, your daily schedule was GREAT! Exactly what I'm interested in)

Does anyone make their own babyfood. I plan on it, and would love any tips.

 

[neatfreak]

Re: Domperidone I believe this is still banned in the US though (but I can''t figure out why). So you''d have to order from an overseas pharmacy...which can be sketchy. So please be careful if this is what you want to use!

 

[mela lu]

Sadly it is still banned in the US. I forgot

Its a shame, because its an alternative to supplimenting with formula. This is from Dr. Jack Newman's website:

Domperidone (Motilium™) is a drug that has, as a side effect, the increase of milk production, probably by increasing prolactin production by the pituitary gland. Prolactin is the hormone that stimulates the cells in the mother's breast to produce milk. Domperidone increases prolactin secretion indirectly, by interfering with the action of dopamine, whose action is to decrease the secretion of prolactin by the pituitary gland. Domperidone is generally used for disorders of the gastrointestinal tract (gut) and has not been released in Canada for use as a stimulant for milk production. This does not mean that it cannot be prescribed for this reason, but rather that the manufacturer does not back its use for increasing milk production. However, there are several studies that show that it works to increase milk production and that it is safe. It has been used, for several years, in small infants who spit up and lose weight, but was replaced until a few years ago by cisapride (Prepulsid™) (cisapride has since been taken off the market because it can cause serious cardiac problems). Domperidone is not in the same family of medication as cisapride.

More here: http://www.drjacknewman.com/help/Domperidone%20Getting%20Started.asp

 

[Dreamer_D]

Date: 11/16/2009 7:04:10 PM
Author: Pandora II

Date: 11/16/2009 6:55:25 PM
Author: fiery
Sorry for me post typing one handed and on phone. My supply just isn''t bouncing back. All I''ve done for the past 1.5 weeks is have Sophia on my breast and pump like crazy. When she eats, she drains both breast in probably a minute or two and then screams. The other night I gave her formula after she drained both breasts and she took 4oz so I know she''s not getting enough from me. It''s so sad. I''ve been doing fenugreek, drinking a ton of water, eating oatmeal 3 times a day, and having raspberry leaf tea. Any other ideas? I feel so lost. I know she''s not satisfied with just the breast anymore but I have no idea how much formula to give. I start with 2oz and either give 1 or 2oz more depending on how she does. It''s messing my whole ''groove'' so to speak. I feel like I don''t know what to do to take care of her anymore.

Try taking her to bed with you and letting her feed all night - it''s grim for your sleep for a while, but did wonders for my supply.

This also worked well for me at times when I felt I was low.

mela When did you take the pills? When was your supply low?

re food -- www.wholesomebabyfood.com Ebree gave me the link and it is great. We started with breakfast of one type of food pureed or mushed. Discovered pretty early that Hunter isn''t a fan of the super strained foods and so most things were mushed with a fork after that. We added dinner when he was about 8 months and added lunch a couple weeks ago because he seemed HUngry. I think we also slightly use a Baby Led Weaning approach in that he mostly eats foods with his own hands, except mushy things that he can''t pick up, and he also usually just eats things that we are having. He''s a real chow hound so it has been pretty easy so far.

 

[mela lu]

Date: 11/16/2009 8:59:03 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
mela When did you take the pills? When was your supply low?

re food -- www.wholesomebabyfood.com Ebree gave me the link and it is great.

DREAMER - I gave you that link, LOL ! My LC gave it to me. It is good, if not oddly organized. Thanks for your accounts of introducing foods. It helps hearing what works for others so I can have some tricks in my poche when I start too.

I started taking domperidone when I got back from my vacation to Italy/Croatia and I was suffering from such bad pains that I was only nursing off one side. My supply dipped really low at that point. The LC suggested that along with releasing Romeo's tongue tie, that I start the pills to boost my supply. Presto Magico. Between the snip-snip of the tongue and the pills, We're back at 100%. I'm actually weening from them now. I'm going to stay on a low dose of them as I introduce foods, and then once I feel confident with the solids, I'm going to eliminate them completely. I'm not worried about my supply, but there is something REALLY REALLY nice about having all this milk. KWIM? I'm kinda greedy for it and dont want it to stop!

 

[gailrmv]

Fiery I''m so sorry about low supply

My friend was prescribed Reglan to help with her supply during her period. It has some side effects - mainly that it can cause depression - so she was warned only to use it just for a short time, but maybe you can talk with your dr about if it would help you?

Mela Yay Florida!! What part? I hope you will be near the ocean! I make most of A''s baby food. I love making it! It''s really easy. I got a steamer insert from the grocery store. I steam food for him (usually at the same time as I''m making veggies for us) and then puree it in a food processor. I freeze the food in ice cube trays and then store the cubes in labeled ziploc bags. I found some ice cube trays with covers so they don''t get freezer burn. So far I''ve made pears, squash, sweet potato, green beans, peas, zucchini, and cauliflower. Sometimes I give him organic jarred foods - for example, I read that you are not supposed to make carrots at home for some reason, so he has jarred carrots. Anyway, I just defrost the cubes when we need them. He''ll eat anywhere between 1 and 3 cubes per meal and he has 2 meals per day. Sometimes I mix them like a cube of squash and a cube zucchini together. Sometimes I mix in oatmeal too for texture and because it has iron.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 11/16/2009 10:19:20 PM
Author: TanDogMom
I read that you are not supposed to make carrots at home for some reason, so he has jarred carrots.

It''s not that you aren''t supposed to-it''s just that frozen cooked carrots taste awful. So if you make them at home just use it all right away.