Dropped too much weight, struggling with supplementing.
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I did that and now 6 weeks she goes straight to breast
I had to supplement .. I did breast on one side whilst collecting let down on the other side with Hakka then straight into bottle for him to top up. It was a struggle to keep him awake or I often had to wake him again. He also threw up often which sucks but still it worked. You could try cup method. Didn’t work for us. My boy also loved milk from a syringe lol like a calpol syringe. Fed is best though so if you need to supplement with formula too then that’s life. We also do a bit of that.
Your supply takes 8 weeks to establish. Keep breastfeeding and it’ll all regulate itself and baby will gain all the milk they need. Don’t stress just offer breast minimum 8-12 times in 24h. It’ll all fall into place. (Extra advice don’t fall for formula top up trap!) xx
I know some people are against it, but I did a formula top off with both my kids for about a month. Nursed like I normally would and made sure I was empty. Then offered an ounce or so of formula. Made it easier for me because if they didn’t drink the formula, it was no big deal. Whereas if it was pumped milk, I felt much more “attached” to it and sad if it was wasted. I was a little sad at first because I wanted to exclusively breastfeed. But my baby being full and growing adequately is much more important than my want to exclusively nurse. I stopped after a month or so and my babies both had very successful breastfeeding journeys.
@Haley I was super attached to my milk and would get upset if it was wasted too! Hahaha So much work goes into producing 😭
I had to top up too because my baby was in NICU at first and i had to ensure he is gaining adequately before he could be discharged. I had to top up with formula as i could not pump enough but after he was with me i always put him to the breast first to ensure he stimulates it and tried to eat as much as he could and then gave him the bottle. I was very sad and really wanted to breastfeed but he started gaining well and i could lose the top ups in a couple of weeks. I know it's hard to accept but ultimately you want to make sure you are both okay. It does not mean you won't be able to exclusively breastfeed later on just keep the breasts stimulated. You got this & wish you all the strength!
Are you giving the breast milk straight from the fridge??
You could try a different bottle. Maybe baby got too much milk too fast? I like the doctor browns natural flow with size 1 nipples. I tried Nuk natural bottles at first and my baby would choke from getting too much too quickly
Hi all, we actually ended up in hospital and baby is having several investigations into what’s going on because she’s being sick after every feed and had lost more weight. Hospital have been amazing with breast feeding support for top ups and I’ve been pumping mostly using breast milk but I have had to relent and give baby some formula too because after the stress of being admitted I was running on empty and had nothing left to give. Hopefully we have answers soon and baby gains some weight 🤞🏻
Do you offer bottle before or after breast? If after then I would start with the bottle for now just so you can be sure how much they are getting then offer breast afterwards. This is temporary once they start gaining weight you can probably go back to just breast!